Bob is right on the money. I work for a supplier as well. The Big 3 speak "quality" in their supply chain but won't pay for it. They want you to provide all kinds of "free" support (engineering, program management, quality, launch assistance, training, service, etc) for products that they have hammered you on price down to the point that your profits are razor thin. They BS you with stuff that as a "preferred" supplier, you are a partner but when they can get it cheaper somewhere else they forget all about you. They take discounts willy-nilly, sometimes on stuff that is already built and shipped. When you holler about it, they say take-it-or leave it and they'll cut you off from future work. They treat you like crap.
I've had UAW people at Ford plants scream at me about driving a Chevy into their parking lots. Doing some non-automotive and aerospace work now. As Bob said, whole different attitude there.
That being said, if GM does go under, it will make the financial crisis look like a bad $5 bet at the roulette table. It will take Ford and Chrysler with it, just from the sheer mass of the implosion. Companies that supply to all 3 will go under in a matter of weeks. 1 in 10 jobs in this country is tied to the auto industry. I think the Big 3 need an overhaul top to bottom in the way they operate their companies. They basically all operate the same which is much different from the way the transplants (Honda, Toyota, etc) operate.
This didn't just happen overnight, but the perfect storm of recession, high gas prices, credit crunch hitting at the same time has shown how weak the Big 3's business model really is.
I drive a Pontiac, Chevy, Saturn. Had a Jeep and Ford until recently.
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Today's Featured Article - Third Brush Generators - by Chris Pratt. While I love straightening sheet metal, cleaning, and painting old tractors, I use every excuse to avoid working on the on the electrics. I find the whole process sheer mystery. I have picked up and attempted to read every auto and farm electrics book with no improvement in the situation. They all seem to start with a chapter entitled "Theory of Electricity". After a few paragraphs I usually close the book and go back to banging out dents. A good friend and I were recently discussing our tractor electrical systems when he stated "I figure it all comes back to applying Ohms Law". At this point
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