General Motors spends almost $3,000 :::
 

General Motors spends almost $3,000 per car they sell paying employee health expenses.

Wow, krazy shit!!!

you didn't know that?

This article says it adds $1525 to each car.
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/20...orm/?mobile=nc

yes that money should be spent on bombing and imprisoning people instead. fucking morons.

Yes it does...but that story is three and a half years old. Probably more than that now :thumbsup

the dealership does the same thing once it gets there. even more so on used cars.

And they spend a few BILLION each year on retirement benefits too.

It's the reason that cars now cost as much as houses. When I was a kid, a brand new car was $1500 to $5000 (I'm talking chevy's and ford's...not Rolls Royces)
But the unsustainable union contracts these car companies have signed over the years has raised the price of vehicles so high that the average person HAS to finance a vehicle because only the top incomes in the country can really afford to just walk in and pay cash.

But boy..when you do pay cash it is SO sweet! During the 2000's I financed my Prowler, corvette, 2 harley trucks, and a Hummer. And of course it was stacks and stacks of paperwork and the tense negotiations in the Finance office a the dealership.

But I bought my 4 door Jeep Wrangler with cash. I practically named my price, wrote them a check and drove off. Now THAT was cool. I even have video screens, custom wheels, custom sound, etc. But the average person can't just write a $27,000 check

It's just insane.

besidse the union contract. the cars are a little bit more advanced now, so is the dollar.

You think it's doubled in three years? I don't know. Especially now that they've changed their health benefits dramatically just in the past year or two. I'm usually skeptical of vegetarians who try to push their lifestyle on everyone else. I'd still like to know the source of the quote, and what other breakdowns go into the cost of a vehicle.

Since they are likely self-funded, this is more a commentary on spiraling health care costs.

Since the price of GM cars are in line with other makers, does that mean the other makers are realizing a larger profit?

It's funny how so many people on this board argue for outsized profits for shareholders when they are nothing but middle class at best themselves. Focus on your reality, not where you dream you will one day be.

This country was number one when workers were well taken care of. Look at where focusing on profits got us. We're broken and they want to break us more and the people who think they are going to win the lottery or build a billion dollar company are enablers.

Newsflash: with the exception of maybe two people that post here, you are the enemy, not one of them.

I have a book by Lee Iacocca that is stunning, talking about how Ford ran it's business in the late 1960s and then later on his time at Chrysler. These fuckers had private restaurants on the top of their buildings with white gloved waiters serving food flown in from other countries on private jets... The couldn't spend money fast enough then.

that figure likely covers the healthcare for all employees past and present. The auto makers have a ton of people who are now retired, but get full benefits so the cost of their pensions and benefits gets added to the cars the workers are making today.

No, it should be given to the people to lazy to work, come on!

Another factor in the prices going up so much is the ease of financing. When I was a kid a car loan was normally 12-24 months. Now 60 and 72 month loans are very common. Back when you had a shorter loan period the average person bought the average car so they made a ton of them and were competitive with the price. In the last 15 or so year the average person became able to have the same size car payment, but buy a car that was twice as expensive because of the longer contracts. The car manufacturers started focusing on those cars and all but forgot the lower priced cars.

When I was a kid the only people you saw driving new trucks or big SUV type vehicles were people who made a good living, needed the truck for work or had a ton of kids (and likely made a good living). No you drive into the suburbs and a $40K SUV is almost standard issue.

It should also be said that as he became a rockstar for "turning around Chrysler" and his gargantuan ego started taking over, he also headed down that same path, causing their demise again. I mean, he didn't just buy another corporate jet, he bought Lear.

my neighbour retired under some formula they had a few years ago, 35 and out, or something. He got full pension, drug plan etc. Yet he feels hard done by, because they downsized some of his drug plan and he can only go to the dentist once a year.He's in his early 50's :2 cents:

It's why Detroit is a ghost-town.

It's called inflation, you know that. 5k in 1970 would have the same buying power as about 25k today. Plenty of Chevys and Fords you can buy for 25k.

bullshit.

fact is people today want cars with all the features and comforts, which costs more. At least once a year I see dealers selling new cars with manual transmission, no power windows or locks, etc for under 10k

next someone will be bitching about back in the day you could buy a house cheaper than you could today, or a loaf of bread cheaper too.

we are a nation who think we have to live well beyond our means in order to have the most expensive shit

The retirees refer to GM as "Generous Motors".

it's just the blame game. If GM was some how able to cut that down to 1k, that doesn't mean that you would see a 2k savings on a new car. They would come up with some kind of excuse(fees) and still charge you the same price.
like when there's to much oil and the gas prices remain or increase, they say they have to pass the storage fees for that oil onto you

As building things becomes more expensive... the cost is passed on to the consumer. Minimum wage rises...prices rise. It's like an endless circle of stupidity. 100 years from now everybody will be millionaires and a loaf of bread will be $10,000 lol