Tuesday, February 17, 2009
GM and Chrysler submit restructuring plans
I've seen a couple articles about the restructuring plans that GM and Chrysler submitted to the government, but leave it to Fox News to post links to where you can find the actual plans online.
Chrysler LLC Restructuring Plan
General Motors Corporation Restructuring Plan
Naturally, both of them read like corporate propaganda pieces. For example, "GM’s Plan emphasizes the Company’s continued focus on great products" makes me immediately wonder, "Wasn't this the same company that rolled out the Aztec, and only killed off the long outdated Cavalier a few years ago?" On the other hand, I suppose you can't actually say, "We are now making a commitment to stop building outdated clunkers!" in a document like this.
Still, there are a couple things in there that do look like good choices rather than just a puff piece. For example, GM seems to have gotten that they don't need eight divisions and giving each of them copies of cars from the other division. Chrysler, I'm not so sure about, unfortunately. (You may notice that a lot of people who like vintage Chrysler products aren't exactly loyal to the modern Chrysler Corporation...) I'll have to wait until later to post more detailed reaction.
Chrysler LLC Restructuring Plan
General Motors Corporation Restructuring Plan
Naturally, both of them read like corporate propaganda pieces. For example, "GM’s Plan emphasizes the Company’s continued focus on great products" makes me immediately wonder, "Wasn't this the same company that rolled out the Aztec, and only killed off the long outdated Cavalier a few years ago?" On the other hand, I suppose you can't actually say, "We are now making a commitment to stop building outdated clunkers!" in a document like this.
Still, there are a couple things in there that do look like good choices rather than just a puff piece. For example, GM seems to have gotten that they don't need eight divisions and giving each of them copies of cars from the other division. Chrysler, I'm not so sure about, unfortunately. (You may notice that a lot of people who like vintage Chrysler products aren't exactly loyal to the modern Chrysler Corporation...) I'll have to wait until later to post more detailed reaction.
Labels: The Automotive Industry
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
The blower fabrication wizard from Finland
Found some interesting pictures on a thread on For A Bodies Only. The guy who kicked off the thread was talking about how hard it can be to get supercharger intakes for Chrysler W-2 cylinder heads. Well, it seems that in Finland, it's not too easy to get off the shelf supercharged intakes for any small block Chrysler, especially not if you are going with something other than the traditional 6-71 supercharger. A Finn who goes by the rather apt screen name of "Dartblower" stepped up and filled the thread with lots of photos of how he converts all kinds of intake manifolds to accept superchargers. Many of them were reworked for fuel injection or nitrous at the same time. Very impressive. This is what hot rodding is all about: Not accepting the limits of what you've got.
