"Troubled General Motors is seeking an investor to buy a stake in Vauxhall the UK car maker"
www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport...l
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"..."This is all about Opel," said Denis Chick, communications director for GM UK. "It's not Vauxhall. They always refer to us as Opel/Vauxhall, but this is about a stake in Opel being hived off to the German government to get more money into the business."..."
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I can never get over how ignorant some people can be. In a recent conversation at work, our "chief engineer" (By no means a stupid man) came out with the comment; "Oh yes, GM, that is owned by Vauxhall isn't it."
I keep seeing road tests where they write about "Vauxhall designers" (No mention of Opel)
or "Chevrolet engineers" (Daewoo!)
Perhaps they fear loss of advertising if they tell the truth?
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It's just easier to talk about it that way. Whether people actually realise Vauxhall and Opel are just brands of GM Europe doesn't really matter, nor does it matter that for all intents and purposes Vauxhall is just a re-badged Opel.
Especially since any one Vauxhall/Opel/Chevrolet could have design and engineering input from GM Daewoo, Opel, Holden or from the US parent company too.
Witness the Vauxhall Antara with it's GM Daewoo roots but some Opel engines, or a Vauxhall Vectra with the V6 2.8T. Body by Opel, engine by Holden. You certainly can't talk about Opel with the Vauxhall VXR8 - under the skin it's all Holden and no Opel at all!
I guess if you wanted to be strictly accurate then people should refer to GM designers, but I strongly suspect that would simply confuse many folk who still think Vauxhall is British and that GM just make pick-ups in the States!
Edited by TheOilBurner on 19/02/2009 at 17:15
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Virgin should take over Vauxhall.
You would not even have to change the V on the front.
Edited by quizman on 19/02/2009 at 17:23
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see statement by Espada III {P} Thu 19 Feb 09 13:31 :
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=72304&...e
"Vauxhall does not exist. They are rebranded Opels. There would be no change at all if we simply did the Irish thing of buying RHD Opels. "
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I still don't understand why industries which are clearly over-capacitied and over-manned are in the front line with the begging bowls. Most other UK industry has been "let go". That which remains is having to cut it's cloth etc, which I've no doubt the car industry is also doing, but when you see the potential size of public spending (100% of GDP was mentioned today) I'm not sure chucking more good money after bad is really on.
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... I'm not sure chucking more good money after bad is really on.
True, but in the "current climate" Darling and flash Gordon are mainly concerned about saving employees votes for NuLab in Britain with an eye on the next election [as their next priority, having saved the World already].
old fashioned economics and common-sense has gone out of the window. As Gordon Brown puts it ""The old orthodoxies will not serve us well in the future. We've got to think the previously unthinkable, we've got to do what was previously undoable."
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Also, don't forget that the car industry is heavily unionised, as members each donate several pounds a month by proxy of the Union to the NuLabour party.
If these people lose their jobs, they will stop paying union fees, and as such stop propping up the Labour party.
NuLab seem happy to spend millions of pounds of taxpayer's money to secure tens of thousands of pounds worth of party donations.
Edited by Hamsafar on 19/02/2009 at 20:36
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Also don't forget that the car industry is heavily unionised as members each donate several pounds a month by proxy of the Union to the NuLabour party. If these people lose their jobs they will stop paying union fees and as such stop propping up the Labour party.
Before I retired I was a life-long union member, but I never made any subscription to a political party. Subscription to a political party was optional, and I would imagine it still is optional. It's seven years since I retired so please correct me if I'm wrong about the terms of current union subscriptions.
Edited by L'escargot on 20/02/2009 at 03:39
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>Before I retired I was a life-long union member, but I never made any >subscription to a political party. Subscription to a political party was >optional, and I would imagine it still is optional. It's seven years since I >retired so please correct me if I'm wrong about the terms of current union >subscriptions.
Around one third (depending on union) goes to a 'Political Fund', most of that goes to the Labour party, some to Socialist worker, some to Anti-facist Alliance, some to very small groups such as general rabble-rousers. You can opt-out, but they usually make you jump through hoops with forms that repeatedly get lost etc...
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I still don't understand why industries which are clearly over-capacitied and over-manned are in the front line with the begging bowls. Most other UK industry has been "let go".
It's probably because the industries which are getting assistance make domestic consumer products, and the government wants to increase the public's spending to revitalise the economy. It would be much more difficult to assess the effect on the economy of ailing manufacturing companies which make products for other manufacturers.
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Yes, but Irish Opels are assembled in Ellesmere Port, as are lhd Opels, and not forgetting rhd Holdens. Astra Hatch of course.
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