Someone lost their mind on this one!!

Topic: Someone lost their mind on this one!! (Read 6621 times) previous topic - next topic

Someone lost their mind on this one!!

Reply #45 – September 09, 2012, 11:06:34 PM

Caterpillar Inc. is entering a strategic alliance with Navistar International and will exit the on-road engine business. The two companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to pursue global on-highway truck business opportunities and cooperate on a variety of engine platforms. The two companies intend to focus on global truck opportunities, including North American severe service construction trucks, as well as technology development for engines worldwide.

Through this alliance, Caterpillar plans to target a 2010 introduction of a North American Cat branded heavy-duty truck. Concurrent with this new strategic direction, Caterpillar has determined independently that it will not supply EPA 2010 compliant engines to truck and other on-highway original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Someone lost their mind on this one!!

Reply #46 – September 10, 2012, 04:25:48 AM

Ethonal is the equivilent of watering down gas. Even if it does burn hotter, you have to use the equivilent of twice as much for the same amount of energy. It also like much higher compression to burn as efficiently as gas. The average car is going to get worse gas mileage and use more gas.

Also, every car I have ever had had cats put in, even after hollowing them out when they got clogged, I did replace them, even if it wasn't right away.

The cafe is just a tax that is going to be passed on to those of us that choose to drive newer cars. Instead of putting the blame on the manufacturers, it will be passed onto us. Then those of us that drive older cars will be forced to pay even more for gas because the oil companies will raise the price to keep there profits the same.

Your screwed either way. This is why "local" gas stations are forced out of business. If one gas station lower s the price of gas, then there will no longer be a monopoly on gas prices. Signing a no-compete clause and standardiing the price of gas has forced us into the $4 a gallon range, and it will only keep going up.

It only took one country to drop out of opec for several weeks to bring it down into the sub $3 a gallon range. Goverment protects the rich, as does the legal system. Competetors are either bought out, or ran out like walmart and all of our now defunt mom and pop shops.

Its just another way to control the flow of money, and keep the rich rich, and the poor poor.

Someone lost their mind on this one!!

Reply #47 – September 10, 2012, 10:58:33 AM

Its called business, not welfare. Companies MUST make a profit to stay in business and for the record, Gasoline prices are derived by the cost of oil on the open market, which is something that oil companies do NOT control. Mom & Pop's have been forced out of business by giants like walmart through competition, just like it supposed to work. Any business that cannot compete with its competitors, SHOULD go out of business. Change and adapt or die, this is nothing new. What stopped the mom and pops from expanding thier businesses before walmart became the behemoth that it did? Are there lessons to be learned from that scenario, as a mom & pop business, you betcha... and if they are incapable of learning, then they deserve their fate. Eventually, some other competitor is going to take walmarts place at the top of the heap and the cycle will continue. Don't believe me, have a look at Sears & Robuck, Macy's or Gimball's.

Someone lost their mind on this one!!

Reply #48 – September 10, 2012, 12:37:18 PM

Quote from: Crazy88;397909

Its called business, not welfare. Companies MUST make a profit to stay in business

Unless you're GM, or Chrysler, or big banking.

Quote

Mom & Pop's have been forced out of business by giants like walmart through competition, just like it supposed to work. Any business that cannot compete with its competitors, SHOULD go out of business.

Business without ethics. Capitalism works on a leval playing field. Unfortunately it isn't one.

Quote

Change and adapt or die, this is nothing new. What stopped the mom and pops from expanding thier businesses before walmart became the behemoth that it did? Are there lessons to be learned from that scenario, as a mom & pop business, you betcha... and if they are incapable of learning, then they deserve their fate.

The internet, cheap overseas labor and the selfish American who wants everything for nothing.

It's business without ethics. UPR is a perfect example.

Someone lost their mind on this one!!

Reply #49 – September 10, 2012, 12:44:30 PM

Quote from: TOM Renzo;397799

NOT TRUE SHAME!!! They already took care of that with PHASE 4 DIESEL EMISSIONS. Cat is no longer building over the road engines along with others. You see they ran out of emission points 3 years ago. NO ENGINES NO TRUCKS!!!! And most towns and states are implementing clean diesel technology for off road and construction equipment when signing contracts. Either you have PHASE 4 clean diesel equipment and trucks or you do not get to bid the contract. This is well in place in many states already. And it will get worse as time goes on. So be it as it may the BS is already happening. So when someone claims they will build around the laws they are fooling themselves. SIMPLE you cant drive without license plates!!! Or INSURANCE!!! The TRUCKERS are steamed over high Diesel prices and now add in the cost of UREA. Come NOV better think hard and wise !!!

Another example of the little guy paying the price.

It's regretful to see a company like CAT pull back. The government has already cost them millions due to the health care nonsense. Like I said, the trucking network is pretty darn important component of the fragile economy.

Someone lost their mind on this one!!

Reply #50 – September 10, 2012, 01:00:14 PM

Quote from: shame302;397910

Unless you're GM, or Chrysler, or big banking.

I could not agree with you more strongly. Every one of those companies SHOULD have gone out of business. Would doing so have hurt those employees caught with their pants down, without a doubt, but it would have been a lesson in life that they would not soon forget. In the future, they would have found ways to cut out the things they wanted and do the best they could with the limited resources at their disposal. Those that lived through the "great depression" learned that same lesson, but somehow failed to pass those lessons on to their children and grandchildren and..... here we are.

Quote from: shame302;397910

Business without ethics. Capitalism works on a leval playing field. Unfortunately it isn't one.

Capitalism depends upon the playing field being unlevel. You build a better product, sell for a cheaper price, provide better service, etc. None of those things unethical business practices. Graft, kickbacks and corruption are all unethical, but can you cite a single instance of that with regard to walmart? Yes they undercut the prices of those mom & Pop stores using cheap merchandise made in China, but they could not do so if Americans were not so hellbent on buying the cheapest stuff, now could they. I will admit that things have changed within walmart since ol' Sam died, a man I knew personally...and his huntin' dogs. Back when he was alive, walmart grew because he sold American merchandise at a cheaper price by buying in bulk or buying lots of stuff that distributors had left over, much as he had done when he operated his Ben Franklin discount franchise... but that is not unethical behavior.

Quote from: shame302;397910

The internet, cheap overseas labor and the selfish American who wants everything for nothing.

Walmart became a major force in the retail market long before the advent of the internet, cheap overseas labor... but he did capitalize on the last attribute you mentioned...but that is simply human nature and has been around for thousands of years. Everyone wants to obtain what they need or want at the cheapest prices, including those that that can most afford to ignore the price tag.

Quote from: shame302;397910

UPR is a perfect example.

I have no experience with that company, but you obviously have. Tell me about your experience... I will be happy to listen and maybe even learn something.

Someone lost their mind on this one!!

Reply #51 – September 10, 2012, 02:08:15 PM

Quote from: shame302;397911

Another example of the little guy paying the price.

It's regretful to see a company like CAT pull back. The government has already cost them millions due to the health care nonsense. Like I said, the trucking network is pretty darn important component of the fragile economy.

you'll know when the economy is back when you are back to complaining about all those darn trucks on the highway. its spooky to remember 10 years ago going down the interstate at 2am and see nothing but the once in a while passanger car surrounded by big rigs.

now its the other way around, i regret complaining now because without truckers moving stuff, that must mean that stuff must not be moving.

Someone lost their mind on this one!!

Reply #52 – September 10, 2012, 02:13:41 PM

Quote from: Crazy88;397912

a man I knew personally...and his huntin' dogs. .

wow, you actually knew him,,, thats very neat.
Do you think he would agree with the way Wal-Mart is handled today?

Someone lost their mind on this one!!

Reply #53 – September 10, 2012, 02:29:14 PM

Quote from: jcassity;397919

Do you think he would agree with the way Wal-Mart is handled today?

My guess would be no, not because they have been aggressive competitors, but because walmart sells mostly made in China, Mexico and other low labor cost countries. But again, walmart could not do that, if... if Americans didn't demand cheap plentiful products.

Someone lost their mind on this one!!

Reply #54 – September 10, 2012, 06:25:11 PM

Quote from: Crazy88;397912

I have no experience with that company, but you obviously have. Tell me about your experience... I will be happy to listen and maybe even learn something.

Google search them. People don't call them "Unauthorized Product Reproduction" for no reason.

This company is notorious of buying products on the market (mainly Mustang and car related) literally reverse engineering/cloning them and bringing them to market as their own. Part of the problem is that people do not know about their practices, and others just don't care. This company is out of Florida btw. They have many adds in the magazines and web forums.

Quote

Capitalism depends upon the playing field being unlevel. You build a better product, sell for a cheaper price, provide better service, etc. None of those things unethical business practices.

Yes and no. If both are American start ups, is it technically unethical if one lays of it's workers and ships manufacturing to China? Technically, probably not but It's a shiznitty thing to do. I'm not sure if theirs any way to control that either. These people, will end up working a line in walmart, scanning products they used to make for customers who want to save a buck. That is, if they aren't paying with an EBT card but that's a horse of a different color.

In regards to walmart, I agree with you. Like I said, people want everything as cheap as possible. These days quality seems to not matter as much. I don't blame walmart for using cheap parts made by cheap, likely unethical labor. I blame China for that. Companies and workers on our soil simply can not compete with that. That's why as a nation that used to take pride in making stuff, hardly makes anything. Manufacturing has all been moved to mexico, china etc. We did it to ourselves and it's a shame. While everybody wants so much for their dollar, they want high pay for entry level jobs. On the other side we have companies like GM that allow their unions to become too powerful, vastly overpaying for line work, no undoubtedly part of the reasons for GMs continued failure. When I speak of a level playing field,capitalism should have played out here without government intervention. Would people have lost jobs? Yes. Would the market have corrected itself? Yes. The unemployment would have been far less than the billions bestowed upon them.

When I speak of unethical capitalism, I speak of these jobs being taken out of the hands of Americans and shipped overseas. I believe in capitalism, I do. When I say level playing field, I mean within our borders. Outside of these borders, is an entirely different set of rules. No EPA, pennies on the dollar labor, little or no regard to safety and regulations etc... This is why "apple" has a high turnover and suicide rate within overseas manufacturing. Perhapse that's why an I-phone isn't $1500 either. Maybe that's the wrong idea and capitalism should run completely free internationally. I dunno. All look at all the factories closing or moving out of the country only to leave workers with nothing. We used to have a thriving furniture making community here locally. They are all gone. It's a shame.

Quote from: Crazy88;397923

My guess would be no, not because they have been aggressive competitors, but because walmart sells mostly made in China, Mexico and other low labor cost countries. But again, walmart could not do that, if... if Americans didn't demand cheap plentiful products.

No doubt. Everybody is guilty of it.

Someone lost their mind on this one!!

Reply #55 – September 10, 2012, 08:03:34 PM

Now you got it SHAME 302 They do not give a F%^& who they hurt and they prove it every day with BS like this. The Cat engines were the flag ship engine of over the road rigs. Now they are GONE FOREVER. What a crime. Very very disturbing at best.

Someone lost their mind on this one!!

Reply #56 – September 10, 2012, 08:20:50 PM

Tom, I can assure you Cat is alive and well. Want pics of my dad's truck with the hood up?

Someone lost their mind on this one!!

Reply #57 – September 10, 2012, 08:25:07 PM

Well, I just called my dad, he informed me that his truck does NOT have a Cat, but rather a cummins. (His 2010 Peterbilt had the Cat).
But...I did wikipedia and google Caterpillar, they ARE in business and making engines, just not for OTR trucks. So we're both...right, in a way.

Someone lost their mind on this one!!

Reply #58 – September 10, 2012, 09:07:51 PM

The real problem with large companies and monopolies are where the money goes. There are large local "mom and pop" shops here, and many have been very sucessful. To make an honest buck with out 8 year old chinese labor is a lot more work then with it. Then you have to do stupid things like pay health insurance, minimum wage and mantain acceptable working conditions.

The people that employ local, americans, pump money into our economy and spread the wealth from the ground level. The people that employ overseas pocket the profit, and generally do not pass the savings on. They target specific companies and products one at a time until the americans lose their job, then put it into their pocket.

There was a gas station here called gas saver for about 50 years. Just a couple or years ago, they started regulating the underground tank storages with rediculous requirements. First it had to be within 50 feet of the gas pump, then it had to be 100 feet away from the building. Then when the gas station bought out a vcant lot next door, they changed the thickness of the tank.

They just passed laws and spesifications and required them to constantly replace their tanks, rebuild their building, more their location, until they ran out of money. Then when they gave up, a chevron bought it out and knocked down the building and rebuilt an almost identical floor plan and tanks to the origional cash saver. After it went out of business, so did the laws. Now gas is 40 cents a gallon higher for about 2 square miles.

Someone lost their mind on this one!!

Reply #59 – September 11, 2012, 01:12:35 AM

We and our immediate predecessors are the ones who started this capitalist-till-we're-dead shiznit, now we pay 3 bucks and more a gallon for gas. And bitch and moan. And nothing changes. And nothing ever will. Obama, Romney, or some hash-slinger 24 years from now, the economy is FUBAR, and no one person has the magic pill that will save America. One of the reasons GM (and Chrysler) were bailed out? To keep Americans in jobs, and to support the economy. Sure, let GM fall. Not like there's already too many unemployed because of ignorant, fat cat businessmen who make 5 mil a year and couldn't care any less what people like me, making 30K a year and less say, think, or do.

But here's the kicker...middle class America is the biggest percentage of the population. Why are we not in control?