May 21, 2013 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
In case you missed it, temporary hourly employees are now eligible for the GM employee discount on new vehicle purchases. To register, go to www.gmfamilyfirst.comand check out the latest deals.
From WardsAuto: General Motors North America President Mark Reuss says stocks of the auto maker's large pickups are at healthy levels as it juggles production ahead of redesigned models hitting the market soon. "We're selling through them very successfully," Reuss tells WardsAuto on the sidelines of a community event here today. GM's inventory of Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups closed April at 229,706 units, down 4.7% from 241,098 at the end of March, according to WardsAuto data. Day's supply stood at 103. Typically, 103 days would be high even for pickups, which auto makers keep at higher levels because of the various body styles.
But GM needs stocks to remain above the industry average of roughly 80 days because it has been idling assembly plants to change tooling for the '14 model trickling to dealers now. If stocks fall too low, GM could jeopardize future market share of its most profitable vehicle, especially if rivals start incentivizing. If inventories get too high, the auto maker might have to discount to move the extra models. "We're hitting this perfect," Reuss adds. "Whatever the truck, there's demand right now." The executive speculates the industry might be riding Wall Street's tailwind. Earlier this month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at more than 15,000 for the first time. "The confidence piece is staggering," he says. "I think the industry is catching a little bit of what the stock market is feeling." Reuss sees May sales stacking up nicely against last year's result, when auto makers delivered a strong 1.3 million units, and says GM will skip the industry's annual summer shutdown again this year.
"We'll have some rolling changeovers, but we're in launch," he says, referring to GM's aggressive product cadence this year as it turns its product portfolio over from the oldest in the business to the newest. GM's redesigned 7-passenger cross/utility vehicles have been among the products benefitting from a re-freshening. The Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia have logged double-digit sales increases this year, although they did cool off slightly in May by rising just 5.5% in April. Deliveries of the trio jumped a combined 62.4% in March. Reuss says shoppers are migrating to the vehicles for other reasons as well, such as their combination of capability and fuel economy. "There's a niche there we own - a little bigger vehicle, a lot better fuel economy; and everybody does not have to buy all-wheel drive," he says. "People are tuned in to that, and the mid-cycle enhancement is dynamite. We put a lot of money into (the large CUVs) and it's paying off."
From the Chattanooga Times Free Press: A national right to work group is offering free legal aid to Volkswagen’s Chattanooga employees who feel they’re being pressured to associate with the United Auto Workers. “Recent media reports suggest that UAW union officials are working to negotiate the workplace conditions of Volkswagen’s Chattanooga employees even though the workers are not represented by the UAW’s union hierarchy,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, said in a statement. The Springfield, Va.-based group said that it has “seen again and again the UAW union hierarchy pressure companies to cut backroom deals designed to push workers into union ranks whether the employees like it or not,” he said. VW’s board member in charge of human resources said last month that the automaker is in talks with the UAW about setting up a German-style works council labor board.
From Automotive News: Gone are the days when Toyota expected to challenge Detroit's dominance in full-sized pickups. "We're never going to challenge the Big 3 in terms of volumes," Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota's North American region, said in an interview. Now, he says Toyota will combine compact and full-sized pickup volumes when measuring its success in the truck market. The redesigned Tundra coming this summer will have plenty of competition.
The redesigned Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-sized pickups will be introduced in June. The Ford F-150 will be redesigned next year. And the Ram was re-engineered last year. Lentz's outlook marks a change from when Toyota came out with its first full-sized Tundra in 2006. At the time, Toyota targeted 300,000 Tundras a year -- within spitting distance of the Dodge Ram. It engineered a massive $100 million marketing launch to conquest Detroit loyalists. Toyota also prepared its Princeton, Ind., plant to backstop Tundra production in San Antonio, should the big truck exceed the Texas plant's 200,000-unit capacity.
But after a couple of years near 200,000 units, the recession hit and Tundra volumes fell. Last year was the first time since 2008 that Toyota sold more than 100,000 Tundras. Both the Tundra and Tacoma now come off the same assembly line in San Antonio. If the Tundra can't reach its numbers, Toyota can crank up Tacoma production. "Tacoma is so strong in the [compact] marketplace; there are some months where we are over 60 percent share," Lentz said. "The sweet spot [for Tundra and Tacoma combined] is 250 to 300,000 units." Toyota sold 242,986 pickups in 2012; 101,621 of them were Tundras and 141,365 were Tacomas. "Some shoppers will only consider compact," Lentz said. "Some will only consider full-sized. But in the middle, there is some interchangeability between those two."
Can Shaquille O'Neal really fit into a Buick LaCrosse?
During a recent episode of the "Inside the NBA" postgame show on the TNT network, analyst Charles Barkley kidded the 7-foot-1-inch Shaq about his LaCrosse ads by saying O'Neal had to be rubbed down with Gold Bond Lotion to slide in (Gold Bond is one of the products Shaq endorses)
Here was the exchange: Barkley: "Had to grease your body to get in that Buick." O'Neal: "It takes me two seconds to get in my Buick." Barkley: Co-analyst Kenny Smith "told me only you and one of your kids can fit. You have to go to the amusement park with just one kid at a time." O'Neal: "It's probably true." But Shaq does indeed drive a Buick, brand spokesman Nick Richards said.
Tom Brune
UAW/GM Communications Coordinator
Wentzville Assembly
636-327-2119
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