Under the dealer’s franchise contract, he is an agent for the manufacturer. The term “warranty” is defined as a period of time when the manufacturer guarantees their product to perform to published specifications. If it doesn’t, they agree to repair it as necessary given a few guidelines. Most importantly is that the vehicle has been unmodified, or in the same configuration that it was delivered to you. In other words, the manufacturer isn’t going to repair a transmission if you had a supercharger installed on the engine. Even larger tires or wheels can void warranty; it’s up to the dealership service manager. Once your vehicle is tagged as “Warranty Exempt”, it is usually permanent.
As per the warranty agreement with the manufacturer, the dealer not only contracts to perform any warranty-able repairs, but also does so at a drastically reduced price to the manufacturer. The hourly monetary rate may be the same but the actual charge time is much less and in fact, is actually stipulated by the manufacturer themselves. This creates a tremendous challenge for the dealership and ultimately the technician. The same water pump replacement pays 1.2 hours under warranty but 3.0 hours are charged for “Customer Pay”. It actually takes most tech’s nearer the Customer Pay time to accomplish. Which vehicle would you rather work on?
Therefore warranty creates chaos for the dealer in many ways. A warranty repair is basically done at no profit, or in some cases, at a loss. Even replacement parts are charged to the manufacturer at a reduced price. So the technician spends the same amount of time performing the repair as a customer pay job, but earns less than half in true dollars. Therefore, the dealer AND the technician make much less. Because of this, warranty jobs are viewed unfavorably and in many cases used as a punishment for poor performing employees. While the favorite tech’s are busy making good money on Customer Pay jobs, the scorned ones are trying to pump out the warranty jobs in a feverish pace trying to make somewhat of a paycheck. Ever wonder why you usually come out of the dealership with more problems than you came in with?
Just as a side note: When I was working at a Cadillac dealership, I couldn’t figure out why I was getting mostly all warranty jobs while others were knocking out Customer Pay jobs one after another. While they flagged 120 hour paychecks (2 weeks) I struggled for 60. I finally went up to the Service Dispatcher and asked only to be told I was the new guy, I had to earn my place, etc., etc. One lunch I made a statement about the way warranty was distributed and finally one guy told me “You need to get on the program!”. I asked what “program” he was referring to and he replied that if I didn’t give the dispatcher a “commission” from my paycheck, he wouldn’t give me the good jobs. Go figure….I left 2 weeks later….
But there is one important benefit for the dealer concerning warranty. It brings a customer into the service department. In today’s service departments, many choose to upsell you even though your repair is covered under warranty. An air filter here, or some washer fluid there, it all adds up. In fact, more than ever before, many dealers are making it a policy to FIND ways to charge you for each and every visit, and it’s not hard; just look at your owner’s manual. Even under the warranty period there are suggestions for routine service based on mileage. These service intervals, (i.e. 12, 000-24,000, 36,000 miles etc) are an open ticket for the dealership to charge you for what you believe to be needed service. In actuality, if you can even find a listing for what the interval service consists of, you’ll also find that it involves a series of nothing but “checks” and “inspections”, not any real service. Sure IF these checks were done it might take an hour but usually these are viewed as the “gravy” jobs. No work for good pay.
“Genuine” Service and RepairYou might bring your vehicle to the dealer because you believe you are getting the best in factory service and parts. In reality, how do you know? You don’t. The dealer has to provide a budget for training and this is one of the first areas for “cost management” i.e., cuts. The internet offers training for dealerships but of course there is no “hands on” experience to go along with it. I have seen many applicants for technician positions that came with stacks of diplomas and certificates. One guy I remember, looked like a GM Master Tech on paper, but lasted only two days after I caught him using crescent wrench on a brake caliper bolt. Even your DMV makes a written test AND a hands on driving test mandatory for a license. Simple isn’t it?
Parts are another reason you might choose to return to the dealer. After all, they ONLY use the authorized factory parts right? Hardly. In fact, there is nothing in writing anywhere that says they must. In many cases, the dealer may not have parts in stock and thus he out sources to local parts houses and service providers. These parts are almost always cheaper in price AND quality. The dealer then adds those items to your receipt as if it is a factory numbered part and of course you pay the hugely inflated price.
In many cases there are no “factory brand” parts available, only a specification. Most common is oil. The dealer uses the oil of his choice, in most cases the least expensive he can get away with. Same goes for other fluids which are usually purchased in bulk containers and hidden away in a back storage room somewhere and piped into the service bays.
The Service Manager is responsible for his department. If you have an honest, moral person doing the leading, it will be far more likely the others will follow suit. Careful supervision is necessary to ensure both a second opinion and that repairs or service is actually needed, ESPECIALLY when those employees are working on commission. But how do you know? Well, you don’t but there are ways to check out your service facility before you actually go there.
Call your Better Business Bureau or the authority that governs the auto industry in your state. In California, the Dept of Consumer Affairs has a separate department called the Bureau of Automotive Repair. They enforce the rules and regulations governing that states auto industry. You can contact that agency and ask for a complaint history. Ask friends and neighbors, even those you don’t know like parts store owners, or prominent people in your community. Ask those in your workplace. While opinions may vary widely, you can make your own decision based on information you receive. Ironically, one place you might think to call first may not be any help at all. The manufacturer’s own help line will most likely avoid giving any advice or recommendation for their dealers. Ask if they will provide you with your dealers’ CSI score. CSI stands for Customer Service Index and it is a very important factor in rating a dealer. The score ranges from 0-100 with 100 being “Excellent”. More on CSI later…
A good service department will be clean, neat and organized. You will be greeted by a service writer. They are the spokesmen for the dealership. If they are well dressed, cordial and polite, you are off to a good start.
So what if your dealer is questionable? Find another one. In fact, General Motors has recently adopted a policy that allows you to take your vehicle to ANY GM dealership regardless of make for warranty. While this may be of convenience to you by location, it may also stimulate competition between other GM dealerships for your service dollar.
There are many ways for the dealerships to improve their service and as they lose more and more customers to those offering better service, they might finally try to do so. I’ve sold hundreds of cars for GM just by offering competent service. Our customers bought GM over and over again because they knew and trusted where to take their cars. Many customers choose to avoid the dealer altogether for trivial warranty items rather than endure a visit to their service departments.
The dealership “model” needs to change in many ways beginning with management and corporate involvement. While the dealership themselves may be a privately owned business, the manufacturer must implement (AND ENFORCE) procedures that will help support their consumer. Stronger incentives for service scores are a must but there must also be penalties for lack of performance. Do you remember getting a long survey when you last visited your dealer for a warranty repair? Did you throw it in the trash like all the other junk mail? Well, what you should do is fill it out completely and honestly. This is what’s called the Customer Satisfaction Survey and this is actually scored by a private company. This “score” is called the CSI or Customer Satisfaction Index. The manufacturer uses this score as an incentive to the dealers for a variety of issues including their actual inventory. The CSI can drastically affect a dealer in many ways, both good and bad. But in reality, with poor sales and dropping market share, the manufacturers are less prone to penalize even a poor performing dealer. Our local Chevy dealer in La Quinta, Ca. had a CSI of only 25 but his lots were full of inventory. Imagine coming home with a test score of only 25 on your homework?? But if no one cared, would you?
But there are also alternatives to the dealership service department. In many cases, some of the best technicians choose to leave the dealer and open a private practice. You’ll find these folks by word of mouth, NOT the biggest ad in the yellow pages. Ask around as described above. If one name keeps popping up, give them a try. Although they won’t be able to perform factory warranty repairs, they will most likely be approved to honor your extended warranty.
And remember, regardless of whether you own your vehicle or lease it, you can choose any facility you prefer to service your vehicle. You DO NOT have to return to your dealer. In fact, many times your independent technician will point out items covered under warranty that your dealer mechanics may choose to ignore. After all, who wants to work for warranty pay when you can earn three times more on non-warranty work??
There are recent rumors of an exciting and unique employment opportunity within the sacred halls of Generous Motors. As close as I can pin this down, the un-official position is located somewhere within the GM Design or Marketing departments. Job description as follows:
US automaker is currently seeking to fill the position of ‘Descriptive Paint Engineer’. No experience necessary however, applicant should be very creative with previous knowledge of the paint names used on the Corvette automobile. New paint names (and its description) must be non-offensive or suggestive (i.e. War Bonnet Yellow-1971), and should not refer to any substances or situations deemed unhealthy (Marlboro Maroon-1967). This is a corporate position therefore salary will be minimal if any.
Applicants must respond via email (Jim@AutoMastersofBG.com) and suggest at least one new color name and description. Color categories as follows and it should be mentioned that new color ideas will be strongly considered.
Colors (in order of popularity)Red, Black, White, Silver, Blue, Green, Yellow, Others, and “Far Outs”. “FO” colors include such mistakes as Black Rose and Turquoise Metallics :-)). Names in the past have included descriptions of nature (i.e., Sunflower Yellow, Fathom Green, Frost Blue, Fawn Biege, etc) or many chosen are geographic suggestions (i.e. Honduras Maroon, Sebring Silver, Panama Yellow, Daytona Blue, Riverside Red, Mosport Green, and Monaco Orange). Some of the simplest titles come from the mineral charts and depict some of the most unique colors ever used including Copper, Bronze, Pewter, Ruby (Red), Jewel (Blue), Gold (Aztec), Silver (Nevada), Sapphire (Crown), and Inca (Silver).
Be careful not to re-use a name that has been previously used on another vehicle. For instance, one of the all time most popular Corvette colors is white. This color has been named differently many times though the actual color disparity has been negligent in many cases. White has carried the names Polo, Classic, Can-Am, Polar, Ermine, Snowcrest, Arctic and Speedway. Please note that in many cases these very same colors were used on other models but were labeled differently. Most recently, the new colors for 2008 were announced. For Corvette, the new Jetstream Blue Metallic and Crystal Red Metallic are actually the very same colors used on the XLR but Cadillac carries the names Elektra Blue and Crystal Red. In fact, the Chevy truck line has offered many of the very same colors used on the Corvette for years. Chevy Colorado is Sunburst Orange while the Corvette nametag suggests a more powerful icon, Atomic Orange.
There are up to eight colors offered for the Corvette lineup each year. How about something new? Top color suggestions in all categories will be announced on the website http://www.AutoMastersofBG.com, voted on for popularity, then forwarded to the appropriate people within GM (NO KIDDING!). Ever wondered who named your Corvette’s color? Who knows, you could be responsible for the next Corvette color to hit the streets! Good Luck and BE CREATIVE!
Jim Van Dorn P.S. Please feel free to send pictures to illustrate your new or custom color if possible.Finally!
We want to thank all of you who participated in the Corvette paint color contest. Thanks for such a fantastic response! We have received HUNDREDS of suggestions. We have the final sugestions listed below and they have been submitted to the marketing department at GM. Will you see one of your suggestions on an upcoming new Corvette paint color? We'll see...
Oyster Pearl, Snowflake Pearl, Obsidian Black, Technology Red, Glacier Blue Metallic, Serpentine Green, Charcoal Smoke Metallic,
Thanks again to all of you who participated. It would be great to see a real green or a pearl white on a Corvette! Oh....and along the way we picked up a tidbit of information about upcoming Corvette colors. In the near future you may see some very special paint options with "special effects".
Stay tuned for an exciting announcement regarding future happenings at the Bowling Green Corvette Assembly Plant!
Jim Van DornWell folks, For several months now there have been top level discussions of moving Corvette production to the newest GM plant in Spring Hill TN. Many of you do not how close that decision was to being made prior to the recent UAW/GM negotiations.
Most of you don’t know this but the BG plant is actually very antiquated when compared to most all others in GM. In fact, the paint department that paints the two flagships of the GM fleet, the Corvette and Cadillac XLR, are painted in the oldest, most ancient paint department in all of GM. Then how do those cars keep being rated as the top in all of the US in quality by several of the various survey companies? Well, you can thank the many dedicated employees who work 2 shifts in the paint department in order to stay up in quality and numbers with the single shift of assemblers. The 7 miles of conveyer system is also as old and in need of major upgrades.
When GM moved to BG in 1981, the city (who actually owns the land and property) gave GM a 30 year lease for just $1. That lease is up 2011. Also, the plant was given very reduced utilities and a sales tax exempt status from the city and state as well. The plan was that GM would bring many new jobs to the area….a fact that never occurred. You see, the plant hires mainly UAW members from its own ranks, many from closed plants elsewhere. Therefore, very few, maybe as little as 2% of the workforce at the BG plant is from the local community. This has been a sore spot between the plant and the city of Bowling Green for some time.
But the plant, along with the NCM have been the mainstay of tourism dollars for many years and in fact, are the top attractions in all of Kentucky. Over 22 million in tourism dollars were spent here in the city just last year and most of that attributed to the two Corvette attractions. Combine that with nearly 1200 employees living in the area and one can easily understand that even though the plant doesn’t hire many from the community, its economic impact is considerable and in fact, vital to the Bowling Green area.
Spring Hill on the other hand, has brought much in the form of economic growth to its area and has the newest of all paint lines and although the plant was built for Saturn production, shortfalls in sales has left millions (yes I said MILLIONS) of square feet of state of the art production facility unoccupied. If left to the GM beancounters, the Corvette would move to TN by the 2011 model year.
It wouldn’t take long to understand how such a move would affect the area, especially our own museum. The NCM has become dependent on its Corvette delivery program whose most popular feature is the plant tour. No plant? No tour. And although the program also includes a tour of the NCM and a full orientation of the vehicle, which is worth the price of the option all by itself, the plant tours are by far the biggest hit (and the NCM staff is to be highly commended for that).
We must also point out that the BG plant is a sore spot for GM as it is the only GM plant ANYWHERE that produces cars in just a single shift. Somehow, if the plant was to remain in BG, there had to be another shift added to keep those beancounters at bay.
But a couple of days ago some things transpired that warmed the hearts and settled the worried minds of many here in Bowling Green. We’ve been discussing many questions and remedies for the BG plant for some time now. As of 2012, the BG plant will become known as the GM “Two Seater Capital of the World” when it combines assembly of the Corvette with the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky which are currently being assembled in Wilmington, DE. That move will add shifts and another 1000 or so employees to the existing plant and will finally mean termination of one of the most disappointing production concepts to come to Cadillac since the Allante, the XLR.
Bowling Green is growing quickly and in fact, is the fastest growing city within all of Kentucky. Having moved here some three years ago now, I can honestly say that the people are fantastic and there is nothing better than southern hospitality. The Museum too should reap the rewards as the community grows and more and more tourists make their way in and around the area.
A huge thank you should be in order for all those at GM and the UAW who negotiated what seems like such a huge WIN WIN for everyone. Not just for the UAW, not just for GM, not for the city or state, but also for us, the Corvette enthusiasts. After all, what would it be like if we didn’t know…..”Bowling Green, Home of the Corvette”?
Thanks folks!
Jim Van DornI just watched the sorriest excuse for a race I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, it was the series I once held so dear and competed in so successfully. Fortunately, we had the foresight to leave it when it was respected….
Yes, SCCA’s World Challenge GT series used to be a respected and competitive series. Back in the 1999-2000 seasons there were a number of teams who could win each and every race. There was an Acura NSX (Cunningham), a Viper (Archer), a Porsche (Kitchak & Biscup), the Audi (Galatti), and our Corvettes (Cooper). There was also a BMW thrown in there somewhere. It was a really good field separated by just the type of track we were at as far as any advantage to the competitor. Mitch Wright, SCCA’s top dog, and his capable staff (less one Bob Anderson and Allan Wilson) had to be commended for their management skills.
But in 2001, we found ourselves at the mercy of a nearly corrupt series. As with the previous seasons, the AWD Audi TURBO was in command and unlike the rest of us who found ourselves on the SCCA dyno every so often, they had no provisions for the AWD cars. We upheld our promise to GM management. When we found ourselves incapable of winning, we told them and they pulled out their limited support. That happened in 2001.
Well, once the long awaited arrival of the Speed Channel takeover of Speedvision came, the SCCA series found themselves at the rear of the food line. In fact, today the SCCA Touring and GT series find themselves airing either directly opposite Sunday’s NASCAR time zone, or at 2-3am in between Thighmaster commercials. That’s where the series is today, and that brings me to what an incredible cluster I saw just the other night….
It was Road Atlanta and the series has found itself once again in the midst of a manufacturer’s power struggle. The always prevalent Porsche’s have a series leading contender in their ride and the Cadillac team, backed by millions in factory funds (boy that would have been nice!) are leading for the manufacturer’s title. The race starts, two cars stall on the standing start and the field is splattered all across the front straight. What does SCCA do? They let the race continue for a half a lap of course! Now, with the track completely covered with wrecked cars, broken shards of carbon fiber, tires and wheels, etc., SCCA allows the field to come right down the front straight under the yellow, dodge the carnage, and continue on!! But it gets much better…. or worse.
Finally the field gets the green and immediately they find rain spots on their windshields. World Challenge GT, unlike NASCAR, can run under rain and they in fact have wipers and rain tires just for the occasion. But suddenly the rain comes down in buckets and what’s left of the field finds itself still under green even though the track is under water in many spots!! Finally, the field comes to the S’s and EVERY SINGLE CAR slides off the track. The leader, the next car etc. Cars are hitting each other and the wall and the Speed cameraman is so excited he can’t even hold the camera steady! Why are the Corvettes even there??? Is there some prize in running mid-pack at all these races?
Finally, the yellow flag comes out, with only three green laps since the start and more than half the field is now wrecked and totaled race cars. Now Fellows, a factory car added to ensure more points for the Caddy’s manufacturer’s points, decides to come in and get rain tires under the yellow. All this time mind you, the cars are still lapping the track dodging corner workers and tow trucks who have to actually move to keep from being hit by race cars. Where’s the red flag you might ask? Oh, it’s coming!!
So Fellows drops to the rear of the field, having performed a legal but time consuming pit stop for wet tires, and then finally, with only 3 laps of green but nearing the hour of time allotted for an entire race, SCCA decides to bring the field into the pits for a red flag. You remember what a red flag is right? It’s where you are stopped somewhere safe on the track and parked, engine off, AND NOT ABLE TO PERFORM ANY WORK OR REPAIRS ON YOUR RACE CAR WHATSOEVER. Ahh…not so with SCCA on this day. They decide to let EVERYONE not only change their tires, but MAKE ANY ADJUSTMENTS THEY WANT TO ALSO!!! But there’s more….
Randy Pobst, the series leading driver who had been in first place all day, pits for tires, but his pit is back midway down pit lane. The cars pass him, and line up behind the pace car at pit end. When Pobst decides he’s ready to return to the field, THEY ALLOW HIM TO GO TO THE FRONT OF THE FIELD!!???????
Now you should have been there at 3:45am watching me laugh out loud as this was all going on. Watching Scotty B walking around his wrecked Viper I was always thinking how good he said he was in the rain. Lou Gilliotti’s Vette was destroyed in the first 10 seconds of the race when he hit the parked no-starter, Gaples car was about 2 feet shorter because the rear was backed into a wall somewhere along the way.
SCCA has a long and proven history of manipulating not only a race or two, but an entire series as well. Several times we were allowed to do things that were strictly FORBIDDEN by the rules, but told ahead of time we would not be checked after the race. This was one of the issues which caused the death of their Trans Am series. No credibility? No TV? No series!
Now remember, SCCA handicaps each and every brand of car in the series in order to make them “equal” on the track. That’s at least what they say. They do this in a variety of ways including tire size, weight, air restrictors. In reality, they continually handicap competitors throughout the year based on their performance. IN other words, they handicap the competitor for being good, having best prepared, having the best strategy, etc. The best teams get penalized not rewarded for their efforts. One more time, why are the Corvettes there again???
Now the announcers, Creamer and Schroeder are announcing this so-called race but in reality, they tape their shows long afterwards and that way they can correct all their mistakes. They too seem to be dumbfounded by each segment of SCCA’s decision making process….or lack thereof. They continue to make their own observations and continue to ask each other why, how these things are allowed to happen. You and everyone else guys….
BUT HERE COMES THE BEST PART OF THE ENTIRE SHOW!Creamer announces a break and I sat dumbfounded as the TV screen switches to A DIET INFOMMERCIAL!!! Yes folks, right in the middle of the biggest joke of a racing series ever to hold a race, here comes a woman selling some diet pill with a host of the ugliest people I’ve ever seen in one place attesting to its effectiveness. OK, you’re saying why is he being so critical, right? I’M NOT KIDDING is the sad part. They were ugly….and so was this race.
SCCA World Challenge racing has lost all credibility with its current management as far as racing goes, but they do put on one heck of a sitcom!
Back to the fiasco (after the minutes of diet pill commercials), the race is finally given the go ahead again, this time by adding 10 minutes of race time. Why ten minutes? Who knows. The race criteria is clearly stated in the rule book to be either the completion of so many laps (called a distance race) or by so many minutes, 60 minutes max (called a timed race). So where did the 10 minutes come from? Maybe it was the cotton candy guy….next to the clown's tent....
In any case, Fellows, who had brilliantly come in legally for wet tires, now has been passed in the pits by everyone who are given a free (illegal) pass to swap tires under red, and remain in their incoming track position. But being the driver he is, the green is waved once again and he comes through the field (all 6 or 7 who were left) and ends up behind Pobst. Pobst lengthened his lead to several seconds when all of the sudden, for reasons unknown, Fellows seems to close dramatically. Then, the other Cadillac comes rushing up behind Fellows and its not long before they both pass Pobst, who has much fresher tires, and they leave him behind. It struck me as strange that all of the sudden, within just one portion of one lap, the Caddies got so fast. But in any case, Fellows took the lead, followed by his teammate (Alchenbach?) and like any good teammate, Fellows let him by because he is a fill in driver and not in the points standings. A great day for Cadillac but a very sorry day for SCCA and what’s left of the World Challenge series.
I feel for the competitors who must trust SCCA management officials and a Race Steward (head umpire) to run a safe and legal race according to their published rules but at Road Atlanta in 2007, they were let down. They were put in harm’s way, along with the volunteers, cleanup personnel, and track officials who do terrific job with what they have to work with. Their equipment was allowed to be demolished, once again the Porsche was given every opportunity to win no matter what, and with only a couple of weeks in between to repair and regroup, the series travels clear across the country to compete in a series managed by incompetence, governed by dishonest handicapping, and a seeming inability to read or comprehend the existing rule book.
As announcer Greg Creamer said at the end of the fiasco: “This one will go straight from the track to the courtroom.”
Just be glad it’s not the hospital….
Diet pills anyone? Jim Van DornIt seems like so long ago. Arriving at work at 4:30am, jumping into the pilot’s seat behind my desk….so much going on it was hard figuring out where to start. A quick call to Jerry Watts at the Corvette Plant and I’m off!! That’s it, BLAST OFF!! And the day was started….
It was hectic but interesting back in the 90’s. Early 90’s the new ZR-1 Club was launching, I took over our local Corvette Club, plans for west coast events were being made….not to mention kids, wife, business, friends….not necessarily in that order. They came to me asking me to be the president of out Corvette club, something far from top on my list. But their persistence paid off, I took the reins in 91 or so. First was the weeding out of things. Hidden charges, bills being paid by the club for the benefit of the old regime. Next was housecleaning, we had some 40 members on the roster but showed only 17 that had actually paid their dues. To say the least, it was a “cleansing” experience. I couldn’t help but notice our newsletter looked more like an elementary school cafeteria menu than anything of substance. I offered to help our Editor who had been in place forever. In fact, I looked at our club expenses and found the majority of our payables were to the Editor and his newsletter. The other bills were for storage of the club’s “stuff”. With computers being pretty new at the time, I went to a new place called Egghead Software and found a graphics program called Corel Draw. I bought it. Never seeming to have enough time to do the things I had to do, I did the obvious…..and volunteered to help do the newsletter. How else would I force myself to learn this new program? After all….I don’t even type for real…
The first year turned into two and I found our club was prospering both in numbers and in funds as well. A little fiscal management went a long way especially now that all members were paying their dues, happily so, with an active club and things to do. In 1992, we helped Chevrolet roll out the 40th Anniversary Edition in Palm Springs. I asked the event coordinator if we could sell our “club” t-shirts. He said “sure. I immediately designed a really neat copy of the Chevy 40th logo and incorporated that into a new Palm Springs Corvette Club shirt. It was a huge hit…so big that the event apparel guy who had the “official” shirt, found himself lonely and the lines at our booth 10 deep at times. We sold out of our shirts, and I left the club to the capable (I thought) VP for the following year….with over $6,000 in the bank.
I continued learning this new graphics software now in upgraded versions, with all else I had to do, and in 1995, found myself back at the helm of our local club….that was again broke and in disarray. I had the Legend Lives event, a trip to LeMans, founding the new Grand Sport Registry, and a helpful trip to the NCM (National Corvette Museum), the unveiling of a new Corvette, and of course local club duties….and it was time for a break. Again, I left our club to the board at election time…..and never went back. Yep, for whatever reason, I never went to another meeting, not one event….nothing. I don’t know why really…
So when two guys came over from the plant and told me they were from the new Assembly Plant Corvette club, I nearly ran away and hid. But there was something about these guys….one so quiet, the other pretty funny and the opposite. You know, sorta like Mutt & Jeff….the Odd Couple…..:-)))) They were looking for a sponsor. Oh great, here I was barely able to pay the bills after being open for only a couple of months, moving expenses, set up costs, new furniture, not to mention the Beagle’s food bill… But then again, I moved here to be close to the place I had come to love…the place where hospitality was like I’d never experienced before, a place where a handshake is far more common than a contract. Yep, I had chosen Bowling Green for my second life so what was I waiting for? “Ok guys but I don’t have a lot of money” I said. “We only need a banner” said the quiet one.
I believe it’s the first time in Corvette’s history that the Corvette Assembly plant has had a Corvette club. You have to understand, these folks work hard for their money and a Corvette isn’t exactly a practical vehicle. Yet lately, a welcome trend has started here in Bowling Green and more and more employees are going out and buying what they build each and every day. And it doesn’t have to be a new one, they’re buying all years. Why? Who cares but I truly believe they are beginning to experience what all of us Corvette geeks have known for some time. One magazine got it right when they called it “Corvette Fever”. Imagine how well these cars are being built when the ones that build them, may also own one. Maybe that’s why their motto is “We Build Your Dream, In Bowling Green.”
So I find myself and the new Auto Masters as their founding sponsor….and I’m having a big time! These folks are terrific and I can’t believe their involvement. It really makes things much more fun and easier to accomplish when so many jump in and help. That’s the way it was this past weekend. The club’s first event, a little show and shine car show, organized so the local club could meet the other local clubs and enthusiasts as well. In my opinion, it was a smashing success. The club made a few much needed bucks, it was a great turnout, but most of all, we all had perfect weather and a great day of fun.
I want to personally thank the many sponsors who donated their products and support that made this event so successful. You will be receiving a little something from the club in a short time. Thanks again, from all of us.
So what does the sponsor of the world’s only Corvette Plant Corvette Club you might ask? Well, for one thing, you get to listen a lot. Yep, it’s their club and they’re doing a very fine job getting started, now with over 150 members! The other thing we get to do is save money. After all, money saved is better than money spent. So, when the club needed nametags, we got estimates up to $9 each. Now being a racer, you learn how to improvise. So, when Tim Reilly (former NCM Facility Manager) mentioned he had an engraving machine…well, I couldn’t help it. I remembered all those times when Chevy would send those little lapel pins they had made for various things, the one millionth, the 40th, the C5, everything. So….I found out the email address of the head of Chevy marketing and WHALAH!! We soon found a large bag of new lapel pins in the mail. Thanks again Mr. Charles.
So, with the help of Mike, Kathy, Lou, Mary, Jim Jr, Tim, and others, we are about done with the first BGACC name tags. Cost? Under $2 each and I think they’re beautiful. Look for yours soon. Oh, and if you spot a little abnormality on yours, just remember, these are ONE OF A KIND, HANDMADE, CUSTOM ORIGINALS, NO TWO ARE ALIKE, etc., etc., etc :-))) In other words, we learned a lot on these and if yours isn’t as perfect as you’d like, please just let us know and we’ll be happy to make you another one.
You don’t have to be a Corvette employee to join the club. They have an Honorary membership aimed at Corvette enthusiasts all over the world. In fact, one of the club’s goals is to have a member from each state, and as many from countries all over the world as possible. After all, Corvette IS a “world class sports car”. For an application, please click on the link below and download the pdf. You’ll receive the official plant newsletter email full of updates and inside info, email and other contacts for employees, and of course, a southern welcome any time you are coming to Bowling Green. Heck, they’ve even been known to host a private or group tour or two around the place!! You'll also wear the club's very unique and American made T-shirt, "We Build Your Dream, In Bowling Green!"
Don’t miss the next issue (Winter) of Corvette Quarterly magazine where Plant Manger Wil Cooksey receives his club shirt and certificate.
Ahhh….it’s great to be back folks. It really is…..
Join the Corvette Assembly Plant’s New Club!!Well Gang,
It’s almost that time again. You know, that dreary, cold, miserable time of year when you have to put the Z away and suffer for another winter waiting months to hear those 32 valves sing once again in the Spring. But you may want to re-think this winter!
For only the second time, Auto Masters is offering their “Winter Special” for your Corvette. What do we do? Well…just about anything you need or want for your car.
What we are offering is a chance to enjoy substantial savings on a variety of services we offer, over the winter, and we store your pride and joy at our climate controlled facility right next door until you are ready for pick up next Spring. We are discounting our entire line of winter services 10% including major repairs which can equate to substantial savings.
We offer complete LT5 engine service including complete overhauls, our 480hp Street Skinner top end porting package, valve job and valve seal installation for the 90 models, full OEM and custom colored powder coating, and about anything else you might be thinking about for your LT5 engine. (One winter we performed 4 concurrent Street Skinner conversions)
In addition, we also perform all routine maintenance and repairs from gear changes, clutch replacements, trim and weatherstrip replacements, tune ups and suspension upgrades. Our FX3 shock upgrade changes your early FX3 system to the much improved 95 MY system. Combine that with our lowering procedure where we do not cut anything so the car can be put back to stock at any time, and your car is ready for the street or track with much improved performance. Our lowering technique lowers the front and rear approx 2 inches without sacrificing ride comfort.
Our cars are getting on with age and maybe it’s time for some attention?? We have had cars shipped in with their laundry lists from all over the country already from Oregon to Florida. We are now centrally located on I-65 (Exit 28) in Kentucky right next to the Corvette Assembly Plant and National Corvette Museum. Why not ship your car to us and then enjoy a real treat when you arrive here later for pick up. We are only 60 minutes from Nashville (BNA) airport and of course we offer to pick you up, personally. We then offer a private tour of both the Museum and the Assembly Plant. Other area attractions include Opryland Hotel, the Grand ‘Ol Opry Theater, the famous Wild Horse Saloon and the Elvis Presley estate at Graceland. From the feedback we’ve received, these trips to Bowling Green have been memorable to say the least.
We’re not one of the new guys on the block either. We’ve been involved with the service and enhancements to the ZR-1 and LT5 engines since their introduction. Our trustworthy and competent reputation has been earned over some 18 years of servicing the ZR-1. We use only the best and still use members of the original LT5 Gang at MerCruiser for some of our services. Their cylinder head machining and porting are the best in the business and every part of your induction system is checked thoroughly on their state-of-the-art flow bench.
Why not turn your winter down time into productive time for your Corvette? Give us a call to discuss your needs. If you know someone who might be interested, please forward this to them so that they might take advantage of our Winter special.
We are very centrally located to the mid-west and east coast. We’re just 500 miles from Detroit and 750 from central Florida. We have a transport company who we trust and use frequently and in fact, our own trailers have a delivery schedule which might fit a pickup in your area. Call us for coordination.
Jim Van DornHi folks, it’s that time of year again! Wow…how this year has flown by. Let’s get to it. First of all the kids.
Erin is an admissions counselor at St Johns Univ in Queens NY. She graduated law school, passed the bar and landed a job in no time. She gets to travel all over the country doing recruiting stuff and she really enjoys her job.
Kristen is a senior at Boston College this year and is doing wonderfully. She’s an RA and she takes care of her 65 girls in her spare time :-)) Not a word yet about after graduation, nor any boyfriends on her agenda.
Jim Jr is now in Panama City FL with his 5 year significant other Leanne who is studying to get her RN certification. She graduated from UCLA and after finding a huge slowdown in California’s RN programs, she elected to finish her program in FL. They’re about 500 miles from me and Jr comes up periodically to help us with the workload.
All of the kids were able to come to Turkey Day and we also invited a few others from around here who were lonely for the day. True to Kentucky form we deep fried 2 birds, smoked 2 pork roasts, and had a Honey Baked ham on the side. I was able to nurse the leftovers for at least 2 weeks!
The Beagle and I are doing fine. The shop is coming around very nicely and we are very involved with the Corvette Plant and it’s new Corvette Club. The GM employees are very happy to have a nice GM shop in town so we do their fleet as well as their personal cars. In fact, we recently installed a new engine into a Suburban for (soon to retire plant manager) Wil Cooksey.
Kentucky has proven itself to be quite a different place since we’ve settled in. Here a handshake goes a long way and a man’s word really means something. The business climate is totally different than Calif where it’s hostile. I opened the business checking account in about 10 minutes with no hassles whatsoever. It’s about a 1 month process if not more in Calif. No fictitious statements, this or that, just sign up and be done with it. You can walk into the courthouse and take care of most anything in a few minutes as well and believe it or not, the employees actually SMILE!!
Of course there’s the other side of the picture. There’s a lot of guys named “Buck” or “Hunter”, and most of the girls have two names, Bobbi Jo, Mary Alice, etc. The local Sheriff is named “Peanuts” and he’s been the Sheriff for 20 years or more. Other cute names in my growing list of friends include Perky, Dixie, Ethan, Faith and of course, PeeWee.
But there’s also something else going on here that is truly amazing. When you read the paper, the local stuff is the front page. Headlines are about renovating downtown, winners of academic contests and what’s going on in the community. There’s always an article about someone who does for others and has for decades. Police reports and weather are page two. The Iraq war and political circus are near the back of the section. Oh, and when you turn to sports, the front page is all about the local schools. National stuff again goes to the rear. Kinda nice to see such focus on the kids and their achievements. Oh and by the way, Bowling Green was just listed in the top 500 best places to live. The entire state also lowers flags to half mast each time a Kentucky soldier loses his life in the wars. Unfortunately…that’s been happening at an alarming rate this year….
As far as “stuff”, we finally got the ‘ol Corvette here from California. With a few exceptions she came through the nearly 3 years of storage pretty well. Even though 150 or so Corvettes roll off the assembly line each day, the ‘ol ZR-1 still gets a ton of stares. We recently participated in the city’s Christmas Parade. The Corvette Plant had a float and all of us escorted it through downtown. I happened to be in the very back of the line alongside a nice Z06 and some young kid shouted out, “Look Daddy! They put the fastest ones in the back!!” The Christmas parade by the way is a major happening in a town like Bowling Green. There were thousands of folks lining the streets of historic downtown.
We lost a few friends again this year, they will be missed.We hope all of you have a truly good year and before you know it, it’ll be time for another Christmas letter!!
Jim & The BeagleNow that all the hullabaloo is over with the car shows in Detroit and L.A., it’s safe to say the ZR1 was the hit the world was waiting for. Once again the nameplate drew the interest of the world’s media, and one buyer at the Barrett Jackson auction who paid a cool million for ZR1 #001. Proceeds from that auction will go towards a children’s charity in the Detroit area.
The ZR1 evolved from many years of racing, research and development. In fact, few know how GM and Corvette entered the racing world, at least in modern times. It all started back in 1992 when I met a guy named Doug Rippie….
“Rip” had made his way into the motorsports arena through mostly the SCCA ranks. In 1992 when I met him, he was running a two car team of Corvettes in World Challenge with Bill Cooper and R.K. Smith doing the driving. His beautiful Dieline sponsored Corvettes were nearly always running at the top until SCCA handicapped the Corvettes so badly Doug left the series.
As racers would have it, Rippie found himself searching for a new race venue when he was contracted to build a wildly modified Corvette for a customer. The car had lots of carbon fiber, vents and louvers, and a highly modified ZR-1 LT5 powerplant putting 650 hp to the ground. While under construction, Doug received a call from all the way over to France from the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile ) who is the sanctioning body of much of European motorsports including one of the most prestigious races in the world, the 24 Hrs of LeMans.
Once the icon of world class performance, the 24 hrs had lost the interest of most American makes due to its distance and expense to compete. After all, most every performance manufacturer in the world spent millions upon millions on their FIA programs and had been doing so for years. American makes had long ago pulled from the FIA back in the early 60’s when US manufacturers pulled nearly all their support leaving only a few privateers to compete in the highly acclaimed race.
So Rippie began a dialogue with the FIA. He asked for a few variances including a larger engine, bodywork and being excused from the pre-qualifying sessions months earlier before the actual race. This would save a ton of dollars Rippie didn’t have. FIA agreed.
We soon put the word out to the Corvette community that they could join our group, as members for a small cost. Hundreds of memberships were sold and for the race, each and every member had their name across the back of that beautiful car.
Well, the rest of the Rippie venture was told partially in the pages of Corvette Fever magazine who I wrote for at the time. I travelled with the team to France, was Doug’s roommate, and not only covered the Rippie saga in person, but ended up with helping some British guy (Graham Behan) and a gynecologist from Hawaii (Milton Kim) rebuild an engine during the actual race after overheating problems caused major problems during just the first few laps.
During those grueling hours during the race, I realized how much had gone into the program to prepare, but even then, oversights had caused the failure which sidelined the car for nearly the entire race. Why did Rippie do it? Why did he step out with little more than a few small sponsors and a very large credit card and attempt such a feat? It was something I couldn’t get a hold of and put in print in that magazine article. As I would soon learn…racers just race. It’s in their blood. Rippie spent more than I’m allowed to say on that venture to compete against the world’s best but was it all in vain? Hardly….
Back in the states, Rippie called me and asked about what I thought of the LeMans race. I told him I had never seen the likes of it anywhere. There were more dollars spent on most of those garages than our entire effort combined! The Vipers had plush carpeting on their floors of their garages, stereos blaring American music and beautiful posters adorned the walls! There was wine and crackers, French water, giveaways and trinkets that would make even the keenest collector drool. Us? Well, we sat on cases of Redline oil and everybody made a big deal when I brought out a bag of 1,000,000th Corvette lapel pins, left over from ’92, and began handing them to the little kids. They were like pigeons and bread crumbs…
Then the idea came to us. What did all of these beautiful cars and their teams have in common? Dodge was a newcomer to the FIA but their Vipers were loved and admired, and they were winning!! How? They had their manufacturer’s support of course!! Just like Mercedes, Ferrari, BMW and the so many others.
The Vipers were proving to the world that they were a world class automobile…..something GM had not done outside the tracks of NASCAR for many, many years. The Viper was stealing Corvette’s heritage….
….the Viper was becoming “America’s sports car”.It was 1995 and that very idea that blossomed into a proposal to GM from Doug, myself and Jeff Nowicki, a hopeful driver whose father worked at GM. Would GM understand and allow the Viper to become America’s favorite? That’s the question we asked the hierarchy of GM and surprisingly, they granted us a 30 minute interview….
Stay tuned to next segment. Will three diehard Corvette enthusiasts make a difference with the largest automaker in the world??
We titled our proposal “Winning with Chevrolet” and soon after we began to put it together, we received the news that we had been approved for a 30 minute presentation with the Who’s Who of GM Racing….
I had always been the guy with a camera and much to Rippie’s chagrin, I had plenty of file footage from the various rants and experiments we had done across the country. We had done everything from ¼ mile tests to a full blown top out run across the California desert. At one event, I was drivin the Weekndr (Black Widow #8) approaching 180mph while Doug sat over in the passenger seat reading the ECM data….all the while neither of us realized we didn’t even have on a seat belt!! He got even later though with a 165mph run down the freeway during 2pm afternoon traffic….this time he drove….and ended up passing 4 cars on the emergency parking shoulder…:-)
So I went to work on this video presentation and made an outline to handout. When the time finally arrived, the three of us met at a hotel in Detroit and decided to make some last minute changes. I remember it well, it was 10 o’clock the night before our big meeting and we had to go buy a printer for my laptop so we could re-print the newest and juiciest version of our pitch.
The day finally arrived and it was a nice cold November snowy day in Detroit. We found ourselves at the GM Tech Center, the Corvette war room. It had plain paper all over the walls, obviously attempting to cover the secret C5 schematics. We found the meeting room complete with VCR and one by one the participants came in as if on cue. There was Dave Hill (Chief Corvette Engineer), Herb Fishel (head of GM’s Race Shop), Jim Minneker and John Heinricy (GM racers extraordinaire), and Doug Fehan (current C6R Team Mgr) and several others who slip my mind at the moment. In total there were about 14 or 15 of us when they called the meeting to order.
Suddenly the speakerphone came to life with the voice of Chevrolet’s Brand Manager, Dick Almond. Dick was the guy with the money. Without him, no one went anywhere…
I turned on the video which took about 4 minutes. I used those precious moments to gather my nerve and composure. What in the heck was I doing here? A guy from the middle of the desert sitting with the very top in all of GM racing??? The video did its job, it caught their attention and interest. Dave Hill sat there next to that phone with a legal yellow pad in front of him taking notes like nobody’s business. The video ended and everyone looked at me. Well….here’s another fine mess Rippie’s got me into….and so it began.
I don’t remember the exact wording but it’s safe to say that I drilled home the part about everybody racing EXCEPT for Corvette. How could Corvette continue to claim it was “America’s sports car” when the Viper was ruling the world’s race tracks? How could Corvette continue to claim itself a world class performer when it never even came out to challenge it’s own domestic competition let alone the world’s best?
Now as I became fully engulfed with patriotism, somewhere along the way I had set my outline down on the table and was going full blown ad lib and getting braver and braver. I challenged them, “Do you know how embarrassing it is that GM hasn’t put a Corvette on the track for nearly 30 years, and even then it was out the back door?” And so on until ever so slight head nods led me to believe that there was truly some interest in our plan. Especially since we had been in there well over double our time allotment already. I asked if there were any questions and the room fell silent. I looked directly at Hill and said, “Well Mr Hill, you’ve got several pages of notes there, why don’t we start with you?”
Soon there were conversations going on all around the room, when, how, who, etc. We offered camouflaged testing of new C5’s, maybe in C4 bodies, race track testing and all the while Rippie was busy talking the nuts and bolts of LeMans where we had just competed. Nearly an hour past our time limit, all of the sudden Fishel stood up and made the announcement that he was ready to offer “resources” to this new program. Almond began talking budgets and so on until finally someone remembered we “outsiders” were in the room. They thanked us and gave us the ‘ol “don’t call us, we’ll call you” routine. We got into the hallway and Rippie have me a big sloppy farmboy hug.
It was several months later when Rippie called me with the news that GM had decided to go racing….just not with us. They went to their buddies over at Pratt & Miller and laid a huge sum of money on them to get things started. At Sebring in 1998 they debuted the very first C5R’s that would bring Corvette back to world class status around the world. In retrospect, I guess they made the right decision especially since they’ve won everything in sight since.
Well, there it is, the whole story as I remember it. Ready for those darts to be thrown at it. Shoot, I would too….after all, who would think just a couple of wannabe racers could help steer the largest automaker in the world to jump out and field factory teams from Chevrolet, Pontiac and Cadillac in venues all over the world. Just who woulda thunk it?Or is it all just a nice fairy tail….:-))
As for Rippie and myself? Well, when a group of us “enthusiasts” decided we might again try our hand at racing, Rippie wouldn’t be left behind. We used his shop as our headquarters and began building yet another project….this time from the very archives of GM...it's just that they didn't know it. Somehow we had found one of the very first prototype ZR-1’s known to exist. And it was available…sort of....
Stay tuned for part 3- If GM won’t go with us, we’ll go by ourselves!
Jim & The BeagleLots going on here in Corvette land folks. Wil Cooksey is officially retired and replaced with Paul Graham whom I met personally during Sunday dinner. Paul seems very nice and in fact, personally introduced himself to everyone in our group. We’re looking forward to a long positive relationship with Paul even though GM’s new policy seems to dictate a plant manager’s tenure to be 3-5 years, rather than the longer terms previous.
The new “427” version of the Z07 has hit the line and is being produced at several a day. Nicknamed the “Wil Cooksey Edition”, Wil will sign each and every one of them under the console cover, starting with number 002. Wil received #001 and has no thoughts of getting rid of it! I asked around and no one seems to know exactly how many cars Wil has but it’s a lot!
Construction of the NCM expansion is coming right along with sewer lines in and more grading to be done. I sure think the NCM missed one heck of a chance to have a terrific ground breaking last winter when construction started, but what the heck do I know?
Indy 500 Pace cars were all decaled up and sent off a couple weeks ago. We watched at least 2 complete truckfulls heading north. There are no more two tone paints coming from Bowling Green so all the silver on the pace cars is decal. Better grab those spares while you can guys!!
C5/C6 Bash is coming to town and once again the Auto Masters BBQ will be open for a night of food and fun. Last year we served 100 or so and this year will be slightly more. Get your tickets from the C5/C6 Registry and enjoy live music and some of the best Kentucky cooking in the south. Band will be a group of local law enforcement personnel, of course with a name that fits: “The Blue Light Special”. Rumor has it there might even be a heavy breathing surprise appearance from the plant after the sun goes down of course….
Spring is coming and the shop is full of a full spectrum of Corvettes. From ’77 to present were getting them ready for a summer of fun. If you’ve got a laundry list or just want a few service items tended to, just give us a call and we’ll have you ready to rock and roll this season. Now back to oujr regularly scheduled race program….
The NCM event season has kicked off with a bang when the annual C5/C6 Birthday Bash came to town April 24th. For the second consecutive year, these terrific folks have kicked off their fun filled weekend beginning with a party at Auto Master’s BBQ house. Home cooked smoked pork, BBQ chicken, steamed potatoes and salad help quench the appetites of these weary travelers, while several kegs of ale kept the whistles wet for any sing-a-long activities. Even Bowling Green’s own brewery was well represented with a gift of BG Brewing Company’s newest Brown Ale.
On the entertainment side were some of Bowling Green’s finest law enforcement types who have appropriately named their group “The Blue Light Special”. These guys are awesome and offered up some of the all time greatest tunes causing the dance floor to quickly become a favorite. All in all, these folks really know how to party and their event was very well organized for the entire weekend.
Recently, the ZR-1 and C4 folks made their annual trek and once again threw some meat on the grill here at the shop. While some chowed down, others made last minute adjustments to their chariots before the much anticipated trip to Beech Bend Dragstrip and though the weather wasn’t the best, most managed at least a couple of runs down the ¼ mile for bragging rights.
Later, dinner at the NCM was a very pleasant affair with catered chow and an auction of "one of a kind" items. Kudos to the NCM staff for a very nice evening.
On the shop scene, the shop has been operating at near capacity with a variety of vehicles. One, a 1986 Buick Grand National, had been stored for years in a barn after a death in the family. We gained a ton of knowledge finding out that radiator, brake booster and many other parts have been discontinued much like the ZR-1 is experiencing. Fortunately, some parts were found and obtained after several weeks of waiting. As you read on in my next blog, it seems GM has gone more and more “offshore” for parts sourcing, an alarming sign of times to come.
So, the summer season has officially begun though fuel costs will no doubt be a contributing factor on summer attendance here in Bowling Green. In the meantime, we are working in conjunction with the Bowling Green Assembly Corvette Club on our second annual “Drive and Shine” car and bike show. While last year was organized as a small invitation only show (approx 60 vehicles attended) so we could work out any bugs on a smaller basis, this year’s event will be open to the public and we will be looking to fill the show area with up to 300 vehicles. The event is scheduled to include a car show, raffle drawings and an auction for very nice items (last year’s items included a complete Corsa exhaust system, complete shocks upgrades and other very unique and valuable items). New this year being considered is a “Funkhana”. You might remember when autocrossing was termed “gymkhana”? Well, we add another dimension to that where drivers and passenger’s alike participate in a variety of fun tasks for a timed score using their car (or bike). Tennis ball tosses, water balloon carries, and precision parking techniques with everyone watching and shouting encouragement, make for a tremendously amusing change to the usually quiet and subdued setting of a car show. This year’s event is also scheduled to benefit several local charities and non-profits including our own NCM and the local chapter of the Humane Society. Why not maximize your investment potential and use your gas dollars for a maximum amount of fun return. Add the date of September 27th to your calendar for sure and please email us with any questions or suggestions. We look forward to seeing you here!
Jim & The BeagleRecently, we have been receiving our GM and AC Delco parts from our suppliers and many/most are now stamped “Made in China”, “Made in Brazil”, “Made in Canada” and of course “Made in Mexico”. Now we at Auto Masters pride ourselves in buying American whenever possible, but where is American production today???
Folks, Corporate America has sold us out. Your lawmakers, most all of them, have sold you out. Ever since Nixon made China a “favored trading partner” it’s been going downhill ever since. And don’t blame just the Republicans, our good ‘ol Bill Clinton signed NAFTA into place without so much as a blue dress in mind. NAFTA opened a ONE WAY boulevard from Mexico and Canada INTO the US, but return commerce is highly scrutinized.
I often wonder how the boards and top level execs can be so blind when the writing is on the wall. Enron did it, the mortgage companies do it, the savings and loans did it, and they all knew it was wrong when they did it! They sold us out folks; they sold us a bad barrel of apples. We buy GM and AC Delco parts which clearly state foreign production. Can someone please tell me where “Slovenia” is?? Whatever happened to “Made in USA”???
My brother in-law recently went to purchase a Chevy truck only to find out he had no choice of an American made unit. It’s true. Ever so quietly GM has slipped its production across the borders. Seems Chevy only builds ½ ton Crew cabs in Mexico….and Canada. Along with Avalanches, Escalades and a host of other models.
Well folks, there’s no magic in seeing the future, even I can do it. In 1985 GM employed over 800,000. As of 2004 stats (Business Week/Compustat), GM employed 324,000, a drop of -60%. During the same timeframe, Toyota’s employment rose by