There is still a US steel industry, it's just much smaller than it used to be. Check out http://www.nucor.com/index.aspx
A lot of the steel used in US cars comes from overseas. 
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Nov. 13, 2008 6:36 a.m. Jensenman SuperDork
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Nov. 13, 2008 8:13 a.m. racerfink New Reader
I can't remember where I read it before, maybe Car and Driver, but the general gist of the article was that GM payed somewhere in the neighborhood of $2500 to RETIRED employee benefits for every car that rolled down the assembly line. I think the UAW has more to do with bringing the big three to it's knees than anything else, and would love to see them get the heave-ho.
On another forum I frequent, somebody posted this gem...
Funny story about UAW.
My wife’s cousin works at a GM plant just outside St. Louis. They build mostly full-size vans there. For a little over 2 years, his job on the assembly line was to install the rear, drivers’ side glass window. Now, keep in mind, 8 out of 10 vans there are commercial vans, so he doesn’t have to install anything as they have solid sheet metal on that side
So, he joked with us for a long time and explained that he got paid over $40 an hour (28 years tenure) to sit on his arse and work on 1 out of every 5 cars. As the “other” 4 cars went by, he would sit in a chair and read the newspaper, drinking coffee.
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Nov. 13, 2008 8:43 a.m. Jensenman SuperDork
When the last gen Riviera came out, we got a BUNCH of them which had antifreeze in the oil, washer jug etc at PDI. We found out later that the Orion plant had hired a couple of college kids (at something like $18/hr) to do nothing but put the fluids at the correct level as the cars were ready to roll out of the plant. They had those bulk dispensers for oil, water, tranny fluid, brake fluid, etc but these idiots just grabbed the first one and used it to fill every reservoir that was low and the first one happened to be antifreeze. My Buick rep said they did not lose their jobs, either.
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Nov. 13, 2008 10:30 a.m. foxtrapper SuperDork
SVreX wrote:
You forgot one industry- steel.
We were once the world leader in steel. Now there is NO US steel industry.
Yes there is. I've been working on some of their permits.
What didn't survive was massive bloated individual corporations. Beth Steel died. The facilities were picked up by smaller companies who brought the steel industry back to profitabilty with a greater number of smaller companies.
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Nov. 13, 2008 10:52 a.m. DrBoost Reader
foxtrapper wrote:
The facilities were picked up by smaller companies who brought the steel industry back to profitabilty with a greater number of smaller companies.
Hmmmmmmmm........... ;)
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Nov. 13, 2008 12:33 p.m. Jensenman SuperDork
Dang if that doesn't sound like something else posted on this thread.
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Nov. 13, 2008 4:31 p.m. SVreX SuperDork
foxtrapper wrote:
SVreX wrote:
You forgot one industry- steel.
We were once the world leader in steel. Now there is NO US steel industry.
Yes there is. I've been working on some of their permits.
What didn't survive was massive bloated individual corporations. Beth Steel died. The facilities were picked up by smaller companies who brought the steel industry back to profitabilty with a greater number of smaller companies.
Which is EXACTLY what should happen to the big automakers.
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Nov. 13, 2008 4:45 p.m. foxtrapper SuperDork
Jensenman wrote:
Dang if that doesn't sound like something else posted on this thread.
I swear, I didn't see your reply when I posted.
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Nov. 13, 2008 5:30 p.m. belteshazzar Dork
Dinosaurs were too big. They failed.
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Nov. 13, 2008 5:54 p.m. MitchellC Reader
Jensenman wrote:
There is still a US steel industry, it's just much smaller than it used to be. Check out http://www.nucor.com/index.aspx
A lot of the steel used in US cars comes from overseas.
I have been to one of the Nucor plants (Holly Hill, SC around Charleston). It looked like it was a really well-run operation.
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Nov. 13, 2008 10:03 p.m. triumph7 New Reader
belteshazzar wrote:
Dinosaurs were too big. They failed.
Only because the government wasn't there to save them!
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Nov. 14, 2008 6:07 a.m. JmfnB SuperDork
Not true, from what I understand the Dinosaurs RULED way back then!
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Nov. 14, 2008 10:37 p.m. belteshazzar Dork
not the mama!
