Comments on: American Axle Strike to Halt Chevrolet Malibu/Pontiac G6 Production

By: joeaverage

joeaverage — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 19:50:14 +0000

Hmm, cars on short supply – maybe production will finally meet market demands… VBG!

By: NickR

NickR — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 19:11:17 +0000

gawdodirt, I think the point is that the Malibu is tagged as being one of the standardbearers of GMs future, while the G6 is not. Therefore, if it comes down to a choice between making one OR the other, GM should probably build the Malibu.

By: gawdodirt

gawdodirt — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 18:37:08 +0000

“Hopefully GM is smart enough to stop making G6’s and use the parts they have left to make Malibu’s.’

HEY!

Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good comment!!

Sales from Automotive News for Feb. ‘08:

Pont G6 16,901

Chev Malibu 12,460

Chev Impala 25,196

Looks like the G6 has strong sales as well. Or at least they’re movin; however that has to happen.
Impala still seems to be the best GM seller. Even if some go to rental fleets. Americans still want a bigger, efficient car at a great value.

So it seems…

By: guyincognito

guyincognito — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:13:00 +0000

@ Ray H,

You also have to take into account that parts aren’t just made and thrown into a car. There is a significant amount of testing that goes into validating the parts meet their functional requirements and can be produced repeatedly within a known set of limits.

Even if you just move a tool from one place in a building to another, it has to be re-validated. This requires a limited production run and many measurements to be taken and reams of paperwork to be produced and reviewed.

By: thalter

thalter — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:12:12 +0000

Landcrusher:

AA is a GM spinoff (similar to Delphi), so they of course have UAW labor. However, the UAW’s contact with the Big 2.8 has a clause that requires them to give preferential treatment to suppliers that use union labor, effectively requiring their supply chain to use expensive union labor.

RayH:

While any competent machine shop could easily generate the rear knuckles (or just about any other component), the cost to do so would be exorbitant compared to the mass produced cost.

By: Bunter1

Bunter1 — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:08:40 +0000

Ouch.

Bunter

By: shaker

shaker — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 10:42:48 +0000

Looks like AA has given GM a “knuckle sandwich”.

If it halts the Malibu, it might be a “knockout blow”.

By: RayH

RayH — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 09:12:18 +0000

I tried to edit my comment… that 60 minutes went by in 3! I wasn’t meaning to contradict jaje, it just seemed to me out of all the components on a car, a knuckle is very simple.

By: RayH

RayH — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 09:03:17 +0000

Just something that I thought about last night: A rear knuckle really wouldn’t be too hard to manufacture somewhere else on a weeks notice, I”m guessing. I think the average machine shop could copy one down to 1/100th mm within 2 days. There’s probably 1/50th mm margin of error… dont they hold the hub bearing and speed sensor? Attach to the bottom of the strut/rear bar or arm? Sorry if my tolerances guesstimates are way off, college has been awhile ago, but I have busted my knuckles on a knuckle or two lately, one with hub assembly the other with bearings. I DO know machine shops can do some amazing things, I do NOT have any clue how molds are made (I’m guessing the knuckle is cast steel/iron coated with rust proofing agent).

By: CarShark

CarShark — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 03:46:04 +0000

This situation really drives home that this whole auto manufacturing structure is so fragile.

By: RayH

RayH — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 03:37:39 +0000

THREE different rental places I’ve now seen the new body style Malibu at around here… again, not in the numbers of ‘palas or ‘balts, but there really shouldn’t be one there yet. I guess folks can test drive them at the rent-a-car place when the dealerships run out. Hell, they’ve got G6 galore, don’t rental places care about product overlap at all?

By: Landcrusher

Landcrusher — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 03:27:57 +0000

thalter,

You mean to tell me that GM had something to do with AA having an UAW workforce? OMFG! That is toooo much. I would say the whole thing is ironic, but it’s not really unexpected at all, is it?

By: B-Rad

B-Rad — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:46:20 +0000

NickR, I had the same initial reaction, then I realized that a) they’re barely making any right now as it is and b) no one can buy one regardless of whether GM can spit one out. Theoretically, that would change eventually but how long has it been “on sale”?

By: thalter

thalter — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:17:15 +0000

After decades of confrontational relations with their suppliers, forcing them to use UAW labor, and them beating them down on price to the point of bankruptcy, who knew this would come back to bite GM in the ass?

Oh, that’s right, pretty much everyone.

By: SkiD666

SkiD666 — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:38:05 +0000

Hopefully GM is smart enough to stop making G6’s and use the parts they have left to make Malibu’s.

By: NickR

NickR — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:57:35 +0000

How many plants are left?

I can’t imagine they can tolerate the Malibu being out of production for long. It may not be contributing much to the bottom line yet, but what a black eye it will be to have this car unavailable due to strike.

By: AndyR

AndyR — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:43:04 +0000

I think we’ve all been through that ad nauseam regarding the Chrysler-PlasTech dealings.

Ah – I was out of that one… I’ll review and come back. Thanks!

By: 6G74

6G74 — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:22:13 +0000

AndyR :
March 31st, 2008 at 7:00 pm

I’m not an expert on the licensing arrangements between a supplier like Amer. Axle and GM, but doesn’t GM own the designs on the parts? Would it be possible to just farm out construction to somewhere else (even at short-term greater cost)?

Seems like diversifying your suppliers would be a good way to keep someone like AA from gumming up the works…

I think we’ve all been through that ad nauseam regarding the Chrysler-PlasTech dealings.

By: jaje

jaje — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:21:07 +0000

American Axle has the tooling to create the parts – as those can’t be made overnight and are very expensive to make (a huge reason why the implants who make flexible factories [can quickly switch over to build a different model with only a weeks down time and allows them to switch between slow and fast selling models] versus the Big 2.8 who have to trod out dead models just to keep factories running).

By: rtz

rtz — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:14:27 +0000

Phase out all the models that have parts shortages? Redesign the models to use some other part?

By: AndyR

AndyR — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:00:53 +0000

Seems like diversifying your suppliers would be a good way to keep someone like AA from gumming up the works…

By: Sherman Lin

Sherman Lin — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:57:06 +0000

Maybe they did see the bus but they simply are out of cash.