Personally I think this is a really interesting discussion. I am an engineer at Honda R&D near Columbus, OH. At my location, there are over a thousand white collar workers, mostly technical. Within a hundred mile radius of me, there are a 4 Honda assembly plants, employing around 10,000 people. At other sites in the US and Canada, there are probably another 15,000 workers. Each of these plants is turning out thousands of new Hondas per day. Nearly every Honda/Acura sold in the US (by volume) is made in the US. The engines, transmissions, every major component. Furthermore, Honda actually *exports* cars from the US, something that the Big 3 can barely talk about. Sure, there are niche cars like the S2000 roadster that are 100% Japanese, but that is a tiny part of our market. I think these are pretty impressive numbers, especially if you consider that Honda is only something like the 7th largest market share in the US. Its been here since 1979, I'd wager that in those 27 years Honda has contributed significantly to Americans and their way of life. There are a lot of secure $25/hr plus full benefits jobs available in Ohio because of Honda. The US auto industry lost their way in the oil crises. They haven't been able to turn it around since then. They concentrate too much on short-sighted markets like giant fuel-guzzling SUVs. Its not that the Big 3 makes bad cars, its that they make cars that aren't in demand. Compare a Focus to a Civic. A Taurus to an Accord. Sure, those Fords might last 200k miles, but I'd much rather spend that time in a nice Accord than a hard plastic Taurus. I would rather support the thousands of American workers who build Hondas than support a few suits in Detroit and drive a Mexican Dodge. That said, my garage: 1980 Lawn Boy 7229 1996 Stihl trimmer 1997 Honda Accord (shocking, right?) 2002 Triumph Speed Triple (mc) 1976 Honda CB400F (mc) 1976 Suzuki GT550 2-stroke (mc) 1948 Johnson Sea Horse (outboard) 1949 Evinrude Zephyr (outboard)

it's me again, the 50% off dude providing you guys my test results from my three new snow blowers purchased last week. my area which is nassau county, long island,ny got between 8-15" this past 2/11/06. i got to test out my honda hs520(w/electric start) vs. my two stage ariens 926le. hands down i preferred to use the ariens. for the first 3minutes of blowing snow with the hs520, i realized that it should be easier than this, i should not be struggling to push the snow. i decided to gas up the new never before used ariens and baby it was a dream to use. talk about effortless!!!! it was so easy and powerful that i decided to go over 6 other properties next to mine; i felt like i was doing my holy deed for the day. help thy neighbors out. the comparison between the 1stage and 2 stage is that of going on an outdoor road trip on a honda civic vs a nissan titan; both will get you there but the bigger and more powerful ariens got did the job easier and in style. a positive note about the hs520 it that i was able to carry it by myself, load it into my honda pilot and transport it to my sisters house to help them clear their snow. being lightweight is the 1 stage's main advantage. because i got these units at 50% off 4 days prior to the snow storm, the difference in their price was only $125. i bought a toro power hand held snowblower($65) too but did not have enough time to test it maybe nextime.

Hi Again. Here in the aftermarket many of the Hybrid vehicles are just now starting to show up for regular servicing now that many have had their warranties expire. First I have sold NO HV Battery assemblies. If the battery, the inverter, and especially the Prius transaxle has failed people simply trade the car in. I'm still the only shop in the county that has had formal training on these cars, and has invested in the factory scan tools to service them, as well as the rest of each manufactures fleet. Your lost key fob? I could have handled that, but otherwise you would have a 20+ mile one way trip to the nearest dealer. http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2006/10/prius_mileage_1.html Just google "real prius" and you will quickly see a google drop down list that suggests gas mileage. That link above was the first one that came up. Compare that number he quotes to the fact that my 2007 Mustang GT Convertible California Special consistently gets 29mpg with the top down on the highway. Next week I'll be out of town instructing a basic Hybrid class for a well know franchise based chain store. Most of those shops don't allow their techs to get involved with anything more than tires, alignments (one of the special things I have to teach with these cars) and basic fluid services. Anything else and the cars typically require the O.E. scan tool and only the dealers *(mandatory for them), and top shops like mine have stepped up and made the investment in those. Come back in about two years and we will see just how big of an impact these cars are having when the inevitable repairs start multiplying.

Are you saying that GM should bust the union ? I can hear the caterwalling and cry for a boycott already, Boxer and Kennedy screaming in outrage. You are under estimating the pension problem. Unions were necessary, but now the pendulum has swung too far their way. You don't see any brick chimney's around here anymore as their unions have priced them right out of a career, chimney's are framed in wood now. I'll bet the packages for foreign car makers in the U.S. are nothing like UAW gives. I probably should state that I have never belonged to a union -- in fact, for 'most any job I ever held, union membership wasn't even an option. Similarly, the only person who ever fights for my job and compels companies to pay what they pay me is -- me. With that out of the way.... Bust the union? No. But GM could have stood a lengthy strike to make the point that benefits were getting "out of hand." The time to do that was years ago, when GM was strong and the UAW was just starting to build on their great benefits. Now all GM needs is one more solid punch and they're down. I still don't understand the "liberal" characterization unless you're using the sloppy meaning in which "liberal" is used to mean "not-pro-business-at-the-expense-of-workers". Didja ever notice that Southwest Airlines is about the only airline out there making money now? While American/Delta/Northwest/United/USAir/etc. are trying to force their employees to work for cheap, SWA keeps right on going. Funny thing is, they're as unionized as the bankrupt carriers. But they've figured out that working with the necessary unions is a better way to go than constantly being at each other's throats. Detroit never learned that lesson, so in addition to some stupid short-term thinking, they have an enemy in the UAW. Brilliant. Motor vehicles is not the only business facing huge pension liabilities. So are airlines. So are city, county, and state governments, because accounting practices let them defer the real cost of paying pensions and now those pensions are coming due. Speaking as someone who has never had anyone guarantee my pension, I think current and future retirees are in for some nasty surprises. What was promised (either by the business or their union) is just not sustainable. Especially if SSI will be handed out indiscriminately and especially for a generation or two that has seen the biggest increase in personal wealth in the history of the U.S. There will be a lot of caterwauling as people realize either they get stiffed a little bit now or they get stiffed a lot later when whoever is providing the pension and health care goes bust. FWIW, my next-door neighbor retired from one of the Big Three about four years ago. He was a line worker and was making in the mid-50s when he left after his 30 years. Including full health coverage for his family. Minus UAW dues. Not too bad for a guy who has no degrees and no certifications. He's d@mn good at what he does, but people in fields requiring far more education and certification are making far less than that even today. Not a bad deal at all.