Goodbye Hummer...

GM to (likely) kill Hummer brand...

I'm pretty much okay with that. Aside from the look, there are many vehicles that are much better for what they actually do than the Hummers.

Unless you have some sort of a ranch out west with no roads whatsoever and you need to carry combat troops to fight off the armadillos.

Good riddance.

GM destroyed what was a unique brand.

H2 - ugly as shit.
H3 - better than the H2, but not by much.

I agree they should have left it for what it was and not suburbanize it.. :rolleyes:

A Suburban Hummer? Don't you get that from a bored, lonely housewife?

Ba dum bum...

They are closing four more plants.

I think the best thing GM could do for itself is close all facilities in Michigan and get the hell out of that state.

All this means is, the HX is even more likely to appear, with even more economy traits--

--Can't wait !!

-- --JIMBO

It's kind of a bummer that they're closing the Moraine plant - that's in south Dayton (IIRC) near where I went to HS and where my grandparents live. With the past plant closures in that area, WPAFB down-sizing, and everything else that's hit, Dayton's turned into a shithole and this is only going to make it worse. Likely much worse.

But yes, I'd be all for seeing them close all the plants in Michigan and move them to Ohio...

I grew up about a half hour from Dayton. I don't ever recall it NOT being a shit hole.

(I qualify that by saying my hometown was an even bigger shit hole)

Ohio is not a business friendly state.

Why would any manufacturing company open a plant in Ohio?

Mobycat - Springfield? That'd definitely be worse. But I graduated back in the late 80's, so yes - Dayton itself was a shithole, but the suburbs still weren't that bad. Now, it's pretty much all bad.

NYMadmanI'm not sure on the manufacturing part, but is it a tax structure/union thing you're referring to? Just asking as Cbus seems to be home to all sorts of businesses - but it's more of a white-collar HQ mecca than anything.

It's everything combined to make it an unfriendly business environment. Most especially if your business is in a manufacturing capacity. Ohio is very far down the list of potential states where any business executives would chose to set up new plants. Other states are far more attractive for numerous reasons. I'm amazed that any automakers are still in Michigan.

Honda likes it there.

[/b]

Never really spent any time in the suburbs of Dayton (I usually would go down to Cincy). I do remember one time going to Dayton to find WTUE. Downtown was a joke, as I recall. I graduated around the same time - '86 for me.

Ohio, the NE anyway, is the armpit of the country.

Are you so sure about that?

They will stopping all production of motorcycles in Ohio soon and are moving production back to Japan.

Up until the recent GM announcement, you probably would have claimed that GM also liked Ohio.

Been there and I can agree. Cleveland is a shit hole.

I'd venture to guess that the motorcycles aren't that profitable for Honda. (And it's a relatively small plant - 600 workers, as opposed to the auto facilities that employs 10,000+).

None of the workers are losing their jobs. The auto manufacturing is still going strong.

Apparently you've never spent any time in Jersey. Or course, I'd say that NJ is a bit closer to the taint of the country.

Compared to say, BFE in Missouri, I'd say that NE ohio isn't too bad. Not great - but not all that bad.

A LOT of people move here from Ohio. You should see all the tOSU fans during college football season. But this is Gator Country. They need to go back home.

What the fuck, man. Go fuck yourself!

For serious - I've spent a few days in Rich Hill, MO. Spent the nights there in Pappanville. Actually even went to Rich Hill's Homecoming game (uncle in law grew up there, we were out renovating a house so he could put it on the market).

The two simply aren't comparable. I'm not saying St Charles, St Louis, KC, or the like are the armpits, but places like that leave a lot to be desired...

That's assuming they don't stop off in my area first and wind up settling here.

Now what do you have against Michigan? The state's already taken a big enough hit from the automotive industry when it can't compete. What do you think would happen if GM did close all their plants in Michigan?

Once again you've proven that you're just a dumbass. Like there's any real possibility that GM would close all their plants in Michigan. What the hell would they gain by that kind of move? Or did you forget that their HQ is in Detroit?

You are from Michigan, so it's no surprise that you would defend that stain in the toilet bowl.

Michigan is one of the most anti-business states in the nation. You're the dumbass. Who cares how much of a hit Michigan has taken over the years? That is no one's fault except for the people of Michigan. You elect idiots to state government who do nothing to attract business, you have no one to blame but yourselves.

GM would gain much on the bottom line over the long term by moving out of that state. Staying in Michigan harms their ability to compete.

Who the hell cares if their headquarters is there. Times change. Corporations move headquarters. GM should have told Michigan to go to hell years ago. Their tax, labor, and regulatory laws are helping GM go to hell in a handbasket.

GM would be wise to get out of Michigan.

Yep, good riddance!

Ugh, you should see Columbus at that time. It's a nightmare.

Ohhh - Thought this thread was about someone getting married or somethin.

Why? I've really never seen Cbus be a nightmare and I've lived here on and off for many years.

Michigan sucks, Ohio swallows.

Everyone feel better now?

No one has mentioned the quote from the union rep in that article "Canadian Auto Workers President Buzz Hargrove said GM's decision to close its Oshawa truck plant betrays the labor agreement reached two weeks ago. He said the union will consider all options, including a strike."

BWHAHAHAHA. You GO union man, show them who's boss. In another article a different rep said the same thing, saying GM had no right to close the plant.

HEY, union idiot, YOU are partly the cause of the closure. Dont ya think paying huge wages and high benefits to thousands of people who work in those plants might be a factor? That all the money they have to give you inflates the cost of the cars and trucks making GM less competitive and less profitable?

You reap what you sew.

Go Back To Ohio!

In all seriousness, what the fuck is it with folks from Ohio moving here? Ohio may or may not be that bad (never been there), but for chrissakes, SC (especially Charleston) isn't THAT great. It's nice, but it's not the be all end all.

Sorry Liz, been to FL several times and from what I've seen, you guys can't hold a candle to the amount of Ohio people we have.

True, true . . .

:p

Origami Gangsta

This is an odd thing - I'm not actually from Ohio, but I've lived here on and off for a good chunk of my life (I've also lived in Scotland, Italy, and 7-8 or more other states). My wife, however, hadn't and she noticed that frickin' everyone is from Ohio. Just about everyone she knew had some strong connection there. It's like we're breeders here and we send people out everywhere because there isn't enough room here.

Dunno - but it's an oddity, to say the least.

While the Union sentiment isn't that far off from reality, I'd have to disagree with the Michigan Sucks, Ohio Swallows thing. Michigan is our bitch, plain and simple.

To me, it makes no sense that they can't simply retool these plants to make the smaller cars that they say everyone is gravitating towards. Are these plants simply viewed as extra (and unwanted) capacity?

They've got a couple of things against them, from what I'm understanding:

• Ohio's taxation structure might not be all that favorable for manufacturing businesses
• The Unions here are getting a much higher wage rate than they might be able to get elsewhere.
• There're hints and allegations that the Union workers here are very anti-GM and as such, quality and productivity suffers drastically.
• The plants themselves are rather old. It might make more economic sense to actually build new rather than retool just at face value here.

They'll still face the normal start-up quality issues, but it might make financial sense to just start elsewhere with a fresh new workforce.