On 2015-04-27 1:45 PM, sf wrote:


>> Union shops did such a wonderful job with the American auto industry
>> that it almost went tits up.
>>
>
> Ah - yes, of course, I see the light now. Unions were single handedly
> responsible for the miserable failure of *American* automobile design
> (when the same set of American designers were perfectly capable of
> designing cars for foreign manufacturers that were well engineered and
> looked great), to say nothing of poor quality control.


I sure don't blame the unions for the problems with North American
cars. They didn't design and approve the manufacture of vehicles with
inherent problems. The weren't the ones who developed predatory
warranty problems. The unions weren't responsible for the dealerships
who viewed their franchises as licence to rip people off on repairs.
The unions were expected to take cuts in pay when business was bad, but
the CEO who was making millions per year were earning <?> bonuses.


It was getting screwed by dealerships and screwed on warranty work that
send me away from the Big Three. I had great luck with two Mazda
vehicles and would have bought another one, but Ford had become involved
with Mazda so I didn't want anything to do with them.