July 27, 2012 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
•From the Chaplaincy Committee: There will be an in plant memorial for Ronald “Ron” C. Crisler today at 4:45 pm in the Chassis Chapel located at column C-42. All are welcome.
•The traffic lights on Highway A at the body (#2) and chassis (#4) entrances have been activated. Unfortunately we had no advance notice that this would be done this week. As soon as we find out the schedule for these lights we will let you know. For now assume that they will be operating when you are coming to and leaving the plant.
• Second quarter financial results from our competitors continue to come out. Volkswagen AG’s operating profit rose 3.4% to $3.98 billion on revenue of $58.4 billion, which was up 19%. That equates to a profit margin of 6.8%. Nissan reported operating profit of $1.5 billion, which was down 19.5% compared to last year. Revenue was $26.7 billion and profit margin was 5.7%. Hyundai reported profits of $2.2 billion, up 10%, on revenue of $25.4 billion for a profit margin of 8.7%. Kia had profits of $960 million, down 10%, on revenue of $14.4 billion, a 6.7% margin.
• From the Wall Street Journal: Ford Motor Co. is working on one of the biggest gambles in its 108-year history: a pickup truck with a largely aluminum body. The radical redesign will help meet tougher federal fuel-economy targets now starting to have wide-ranging effects on Detroit's auto makers. But Ford will have to overcome a host of manufacturing obstacles, plus convince die-hard pickup buyers that aluminum is as tough as steel. Ford is hoping the switch to the lighter metal will cut the weight of its F-150 truck by about 700 pounds, according to Ford executives familiar with the company's plans. The new Ford truck is being designed to come out in 2014 capable of hitting the increasing fuel economy standards through 2020, one of the executives familiar with its plans said. That would equate to roughly a 25% improvement in fuel economy. The aluminum body is being used for the F-150 only; the larger F-250 and other Ford heavy trucks don't fall under the new fuel-economy standards.
GM, Ford's longtime rival, which outsells Ford some years in trucks with Chevy and GMC combined, also looked into increasing the use of aluminum to improve fuel-economy in future pickups. But GM concluded customers will balk at paying more. "Pickup buyers have enjoyed this bandwidth of cheapness, in which they get size, capability and aesthetics at affordable prices," said Mark Reuss, who runs GM's North American operations. Instead, GM plans to address the fuel-economy challenge by producing two different trucks. Next year, GM is expected to launch a full-size truck for customers who need power and towing performance. GM is working on improved engines and transmissions to reduce fuel consumption. The new trucks will also have a sleeker design to improve aerodynamics, and use aluminum to cut weight, but not to the same level as Ford. Then, about two years later, GM will add a smaller truck. It won't be able to haul quite as much gravel or tow as much gear as the bigger model, but GM is counting on it to offer 20% better gas mileage, without the extra cost of heavy use of aluminum parts, a person familiar with GM's plans said.
Tom Brune
UAW/GM Communications Coordinator
Wentzville Assembly
636-327-2119
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