Hemmings - SIA Archive

by HoTWire 4. March 2009 04:21
Sometimes when we are doing the linklog we come across links that are so good they deserve their own post, sometimes they are so good that we get a bit more indepth with the people behind them, sometimes they are so good that we can't really add anything to them by talking about them.  Today is one of those times.




However I will say a few words about this link before I share it with you.  I'd seen a few references and links to the Hemmings website before and I'd often found myself enjoying reading their blog, it is pretty US focussed but in some ways that was even better for me as it was a nice interestingly different perspective.  During the course of reading the blog I became aware of their regular "SIA Flashback".  The flashback digs into the archives of Hemmings : Special Interest Autos (the SIA part) and pulls up some interesting features to read through.  They are invariably very well written and make me wish that all motor journalism could be so good (I am aware of the irony of writing that in a blog),

I'll give you a link to my favourite entry for a while, which is this one, it details Ford's battles with unionised workers and Toyota's somewhat dubious start in life.

So get yourself settled in and head on over to http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/category/hemmings-publications/sia-flashback/, I promise you won't be dissapointed.

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Comments

04/03/2009 10:00:11 #

Some of that was good reading. Ford are and were wankers.

Doireman Ireland

04/03/2009 10:25:10 #

Ford's history is more complicated than "Henry = bad" and "Union = good". If it was that simple, then Ford wouldn't be on the breakers it is today. Actuaries have worked out that Ford-GM-Chrysler have an average cost of 157.00/hour (all costs in to hire UAW labor at current prices), and adds 1600.00/per car above and beyond the cost of non-union Germano-Nippo transplants. You must also remember, Henry's many personal defects and prejudices aside, that he paid his workers a handsome sum in the pre-union phase of the company. I am certain he felt betrayed by the organizers within his ranks, having given them industry-leading wages without collective bargaining. It's complicated.

Team Blitz United States

04/03/2009 10:41:34 #

I was typing up a long argument there, but there's no point really in ruining this blog with an argument. I'll admit socialist bias though, and I would nearly always side against super-corporations with mountains of lobbyists, scandals in which people died, etc.

I was close to not buying my Capri for the fact that I may occasionally have to source parts from Ford. Tong

Doireman Ireland

04/03/2009 10:52:39 #

Thanks, because I wasn't arguing from any particular POV. Merely observing that history is a complex matter, with two, three, four+ sides to every story.

Team Blitz United States

04/03/2009 20:45:43 #

There was a program covering Ford's USA operations in the period we're discussing on Radio 4 last week. It documented how much he did in favour of his workers in the time before the unions...doubling pay and reducing hours in an effort to reduce staff turnover and keep hold of good workers. I'd be a bit fed up if people were complaining after that! I'm no expert though, I merely listened to the end of one program!

rmad United Kingdom

07/07/2010 23:16:24 #

I completely agree with the above remark, the internet is with a doubt growing into the most important medium of communication across the world and its as a result of web sites like this that ideas are spreading so quickly.

Maragret Antonsen Chile

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