State of the Union April 19, 2011

April 19, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com


From Chairman Mike Bullock: With the alternative work schedule agreement we operate under, Fridays can be scheduled two on and one off and Saturdays are strictly voluntary.

Union Meeting is this Wednesday, April 20 at 1 pm, 3 pm and 15 minutes after the longest first shift line time.

From UAW Region 5: Gas prices have been spiking for weeks and $4 gas is quickly becoming a reality across the nation. We need to make a concerted effort to have our active and retired members, their families and friends write, email or call their US Senators and Representatives and ask them why they are not speaking out for us on high gas prices and tell them that they and their colleagues in Congress must stand up for us. Call the Capitol switchboard at (866) 338-5720 and ask for your Senator or Representative or go online to www.house.govor www.senate.gov.

There will be 2012 and 2013 pilots going down the line this week and next week. Changes for 2012 include a switch to the 4.8 V8 from the 6.0 for the base engine in the one-ton passenger van. Unloaded vehicle weight range (uvwr) will increase on diesel and gas cargo vans and there will be various software and calibration upgrades to the powertrain. For 2013, a backup camera with display in the rearview mirror will be available as well as backup sensor in the rear bumper. Also optional will a radio with built-in navigation system. The 177” wheelbase cutaway will top out at 14,200 gross vehicle weight range (gvwr) and the 159” cutaway goes up to 10,600 gvwr, which should expand the market for these cutaways.

From Bloomberg: General Motors Co. (GM), the largest U.S. automaker, will raise prices by an average of $123, or 0.4 percent, per vehicle because of higher commodity costs. The price increases will be on most models in the U.S. and will be effective May 2, Tom Henderson, a spokesman for GM, said in a telephone interview. The move isn’t related to the Japan earthquake, he said. GM is following Toyota Motor Corp. and Ford Motor Co. in boosting prices. Ford said April 4 it would raise prices by $117, or 0.4 percent. Toyota’s increase on most models averaged 1.7 percent, the automaker said March 31. Industry price increases are common as automakers enter seasonally stronger months for sales in the spring and summer, said They will be supported this year by parts shortages resulting from the March 11 Japan earthquake and tsunami, she said. “Auto companies even before the tsunami have not been able to meet their production targets,” said Maryann Keller, principal of a self-titled consulting firm, in a telephone interview. “They’ll get away with a price increase because there just isn’t a huge supply of vehicles out there to result in a great amount of discounting.”

From the Detroit Free Press: Through March, Camaro has sold 19,972 cars to Mustang's 15,419. The Dodge Challenger is gaining steam but still a distant third, with 9,742 sales. In 2010, the Camaro outsold the Mustang for the first time since 1985. During the first two months of 2011, GM outspent most other automakers in the industry with its incentives. But according to Edmunds.com, the average incentive on the Camaro fell from $1,016 in January to $410 in March. The Mustang, meanwhile, was offering an average of $1,662 in January and increased its incentives to $2,081 in March. Those incentives contributed to a 46.8% sales surge in March to 8,557 Mustangs. Still, the Camaro finished the month ahead after selling 8,964.

From the Wall Street Journal: The U.S. government plans to sell a significant share of its remaining stake in General Motors Co. this summer despite the disappointing performance of the auto maker's stock, people familiar with the matter said. A sale within the next several months would almost certainly mean U.S. taxpayers will take a loss on their $50 billion rescue of the Detroit auto maker in 2009. To break even, the U.S. Treasury would need to sell its remaining stake—about 500 million shares—at $53 apiece. GM closed off 27 cents a share at $29.97 in 4 p.m. trading Monday on the New York Stock Exchange, hitting a new low since its $33-a-share November initial public offering. "Planning for the sale of our remaining GM stock is still at an early stage, and the IPO lock-up does not expire until late May," a Treasury spokesperson said. "At that point, we will consider all of our options, based on our twin goals of protecting taxpayers' interests and exiting as soon as practicable." Shares have been hurt by rising fuel prices, industry production disruptions and management turnover. At Monday's price, and taking into account shares sold during the IPO, taxpayers would lose more than $11 billion on the rescue if the government dumped the rest of its stake now.

From the Detroit News: Nissan Motor Co. will reprogram software in 5,300 electric Leaf cars after some drivers complained they had trouble starting the vehicle. The company said the reprogramming will start next week. The company hasn't disclosed how many complaints it has received. Nissan said it has no plans to recall the vehicle. "This is not a safety issue as the vehicle will not stop running while being driven (unless, of course, you run out of juice), but may not restart once it is turned off," the company said.

More Detroit News: Federal safety regulators have upgraded an investigation into nearly 150,000 Honda CR-V SUVs over reports of smoke and fire occurring inside the driver's door. The probe covers 149,583 2006 Honda CR-Vs and focused on melting or burning of the master power window switch and related electrical system wiring components The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has upgraded its preliminary investigation opened last year to an engineering analysis. In November, NHTSA opened the initial investigation based on three reports alleging smoke and fire that occurred inside the driver's door. The complaints reported that the master power window switch — and in some cases its wiring harness — had sustained heat related damage and required replacement. Since opening the investigation, NHTSA has received two additional reports. Honda has received 24 other separate complaints related to the issue. Chris Martin, a Honda spokesman, said the automaker will continue to cooperate with NHTSA. "Honda is continuing to analyze this but we've not yet reached any conclusions," he said.