Johnny Cash – One Piece At A Time (GM/Chrysler Merger)
Still busy with my Rockabilly nightgown. I also made homemade chocolate pudding, from the 1948 “Better Homes and Gardens” cookbook recipe. But as always, I am going to keep my promise of posting Rockabilly After Midnite. I saw this article, “that makes me wanna hang my head and cry”, regarding a possible merger between General Motors and Chrysler.
Report: GM talking merger with Chrysler
by The Flint Journal
Saturday October 11, 2008, 12:21 AMGeneral Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC have held preliminary talks about a merger or an acquisition of Chrysler by GM, according to multiple reports.
The New York Times is reporting that General Motors is in preliminary talks about a possible merger with Chrysler, a deal that could drastically remake the landscape of the auto industry by reducing the Big Three of Detroit automakers to the Big Two.
The talks between GM and Cerberus Capital Management, the private equity firm that owns Chrysler, began more than a month ago, and the negotiations are not certain to produce a deal. Two people close to the process said the chances of a merger were “50-50″ as of Friday and most likely would still take weeks to work out.
A merger would be a historic event, with two of the most iconic names in American industry coming together to survive in an increasingly difficult environment.
Flint is the birthplace of General Motors, founded 100 years ago in a building now preserved as a historic place on Water Street by William C. “Billy” Durant.
Genesee County remains home to nine plants with about 7,000 hourly workers.
News of merger talks came as a shock to current and recent GM workers.
“No way,” said Heath Hoffman, 31, of Flint.
“That is unreal.”
Hoffman, who works at GM’s Lake Orion plant, said the merging two of the Big Three may be a good thing.
“It might make us more competitive and secure,” he said.
When I first read this, I thought about the old Johnny Cash song “One Piece at a Time.” I found the vid with the “Psychobilly Caddy.” Perhaps this is what a “GenChrys” will look like. Hey, maybe the newly merged company will let you lease your new car, “one piece at a time.” I’m looking forward to being the new owner of a CorvProwCruisImpaRam. “You’ll know it’s me when I come through your town. Gonna ride around in style. Gonna drive eveyone wild. Cause it’ll be the only one around…It will be an 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15…. automobile.”
As I have said, my grandfather came up from Arkansas to work in the shops in Flint. In fact, in useless info category, my great grandma and Johnny Cash’s mother were friends. It is rather sad what is happening to the Michigan/American car culture. Johnny Cash’s song is reminiscent of the stories I have heard about the shop rats, growing up. “They never considered themselves a thief. Hey, GM never missed the pieces.” They just passed on the cost to you. “One piece at a time…” the GM history and culture in Flint and Detroit is slowly eroding.
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