Nov. 16, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
Reminder: Union meeting is today at 1 pm, 3 pm and 15 minutes after the longest first shift line time.
From Community Services: Names are now available for the annual Adopt-A-Child Christmas event. You can see Wanda Richard, Tina Hayes or Mike Bridgins for a child’s name or you can make a donation. There is no limit on the number of needy children available so let’s open our hearts and wallets in true Wentzville fashion to help those less fortunate than us to have a Merry Christmas.
From Bloomberg: General Motors Co. will suspend production at its factory that assembles Chevrolet Cruze compact cars for one week to avoid oversupply of the model as Japanese rivals’ inventories rebound (net field stock stands at 67 days, up from 39 last month). The Lordstown, Ohio, plant will stop output for the week of Nov. 28, Chris Lee, a spokesman for the Detroit-based automaker, said in a phone interview. United Auto Workers Local 1714, which represents the plant’s hourly workers, cited competitors’ inventories recovering from the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan as a reason for the shutdown in a message to members on its website. Cruze has outsold Honda’s Civic this year through October and trails Toyota’s Corolla by 1,316 deliveries. “We don’t want to overproduce,” GM’s Lee said in a phone interview. “Those days are gone from a GM standpoint. We’re just keeping it in control and we’ll ramp it back up and be prepared for a strong start after the first of the year.”
From the Detroit Free Press: The UAW is laying off about 58 staff workers who belong to a separate union to help balance a budget that has been squeezed by membership losses in recent years. The layoffs are the result of an August agreement that provided buyout offers to the Office and Professional Employees International Union, which represents about 260 UAW employees. A total of 100 members of the OPEIU who work at the UAW will be laid off or accept a voluntary buyout package. "Following the nation's economic collapse, the UAW lost an unprecedented number of members," UAW President Bob King said in a statement. "The UAW has drastically reduced the number of staff on payroll, cut the benefits and pay of its staff, cut post-retiree health care benefits, among other measures," King said. The UAW hoped enough workers would accept the buyout offer to prevent any layoffs. "Since the number of OPEIU reduced did not match the goal, layoffs are necessary," King said in the statement.
From the New York Times: Jay Leno is nearing a milestone. “I took delivery of the Volt on Dec. 12 last year,” Mr. Leno said in a telephone interview before appearing Tuesday at a Chevrolet event held in conjunction with the Los Angeles auto show. “And I’ve never had to put gas in it yet.” The comedian and late-night television host said he had put about 11,000 miles on his Chevrolet Volt in the last 11 months. “They gave it to me with a full tank of gas,” he said. The tank, by the way, holds 9.3 gallons. “I’ve used less than half of that.” Mr. Leno’s expansive garage is in Burbank, and every car is maintained with a full tank of gas, current registration and valid insurance, so he can select any one of them for a drive. Some of the cars are almost never driven. Not so his Volt. It has quickly become a favorite. “It’s my daily driver,” he said. “It really is. I commute in it to work every day. My commute, and all my other daily running around, totals less than 35 miles.” Chevrolet claims that the Volt can travel about 40 miles on electric power alone, under normal driving conditions, before the juice in the batteries would be depleted, after which the car’s small gasoline engine would provide added range. “You get 40 miles free, as they say,” Mr. Leno said. “Because of the way I drive it, it almost never kicks into gasoline mode.” Mr. Leno echoed one of the primary marketing points used by Chevrolet to differentiate the Volt from purely electric cars like the Nissan Leaf. “I mean, I could jump in it and drive to Vegas,” he said, a trip of about 280 miles, door to door, from Burbank. “They say the range is something like 400 miles.” The Leaf can travel roughly 100 miles before requiring a charge. Aside from the mileage, Mr. Leno said he was also pleased with the rest of the car, especially its technology. “It’s a real breakthrough,” he said. “I know people probably get tired of hearing me say that. But it really is.” The comedian then went for the rimshot line. “You know it’s good because they lose money on every one of them they sell,” he said.
• Forbes compiled their worst car/truck flops for 2011 and one particular recipient caught our attention. That would be Consumer Reports pick for most reliable pickup, the Nissan Titan. How in the name of Japanese bias can that be? Take it over, Forbes: “Web2Cars warns potential buyers that the Titan’s ‘noisy V-8 and exhaust may interrupt the driving experience.’ It also notes that the truck’s reliability has dropped well below average for the past five model years. The Titan lacks a full-time AWD to match the power output, and a lack of passenger room for crew cab models makes it subpar compared to competitors.”
While we’re on the topic of Nissan flops, the Wall Street Journal reports the NV full size van is expanding its marketing horizons in an effort to juice early anemic sales by presenting a couple of chow-wagon concepts at the Los Angeles auto show this week. Interested in a gourmet grilled cheese on wheels? How about a strawberry/jalapeno ice cream cone? Nissan’s got your answer with their custom vans ready to deliver these culinary delights (?) to your door. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
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