Saturday Car Thread 04/05/14 - [Niedermeyer's Dead Horse & Countrysquire]

Welcome to the short and sweet edition of the Saturday car thread.

Thanks to the Morons and Moronettes who forward along the fine tips which make it possible.

First up this week, the UAW is still squawking about Chattanooga. The charge: Collusion between Gov. Bill Haslam, Sen. Bob Corker and VW to the tune of $300M in incentives if the plant did not unionize. A couple of thoughts here:

1. Such an offer might explain the differences of opinion which arose between Corker's office and VW with regard to discussions of potential plant expansion. Then again, it is not unusual for any state or locality to offer incentives to get, or to keep, a large jobs-creating company or industry. Aren't conditions a normal part of the incentive/negotiations process?

2. The argument that VW colluded with government officials against the UAW seems a little shaky given the preferential treatment that the union received from VW in their attempts to unionize the plant: access to employees and to the plant as well as support for unionization from the big European unions and, even, VW's own management.

3. I am not an attorney nor am I associated with a union, so I welcome the opinions of those who are and can shed light on the situation yet, as far as I can tell, nobody has alleged that the offer of incentives was communicated to the laborers, and it is the laborers who cast the votes. In fact, VW adamantly denied that there had been any discussions of plant or line expansions when Sen. Corker claimed there had been. Unless the laborers themselves were aware of and persuaded by a big corporate incentive to vote against their own best interests, I can't see how such an offer would be deemed as having influenced the vote.

4. Hey UAW and TN Dems, your desperation is unzipped. You've got it hanging out there for all to see. When so many in the nation are not just indifferent to you, but against you, you might have a problem, and PR is the least of it. The longer you cry and whine and point fingers at the big, bad Republicans the whinier and weaker you appear but, go ahead, spend every last dime you have fighting this fight. Empty your coffers now. Please. Money buys influence with the Dems and I'd love nothing so much as to see you rendered powerless re the 2014 and 2016 elections.

The true story of a classic car found hidden away in a Centre Hall, PA, garage. We're always hearing tales of someone who knew someone who knew someone who found a barely used, highly collectible car sitting in an old barn/garage somewhere, and a little old lady who had no idea of it's value. This is not that tale. And it seems that there's no shortage of skeptics eager to try and debunk the find.

What a beauty.

Thanks to all the other commenters who brought it to my attention.

Moronette Anna Puma sent along this neat little piece called 'Unconventional Heroes'. I can't imagine where the artist came up with this idea but the General Lee made me giggle.

This delightful video is courtesy of Peaches and is guaranteed to make you smile.

The beauty of the week:

The first time that I saw the 1929 Stutz Model M Lancefield Coupe, I thought that it must be the work of a high-end hotrod builder like Chip Foose or Troy Trepanier. It looked like the classiest ’32 three window Ford in the world, but somewhat bigger. A chopped top, rows of louvers, no running boards, and a bad ass stance. In other words, all the elements of a traditional hotrod are there. The thing is, this ain’t no hotrodded version of some common car. This is the way it rolled out in 1929. This is the blueprint for every early Ford V8 rod that someone has cobbled together in the last 75 years. Quite an amazing design feat to say the least.

For the Moronettes:

And for the Morons:

Please feel free to send any complaints or commendations to us at Twitter: Nied's Dead Horse and Countrysquire.

posted by Open Blogger at 01:23 PM

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