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In the beginning of television tragedy there was the "Edge of Night." A little old lady down the street from where
I grew up watched that soap every day. She loved it.
Years went by. I grew up, physically anyway, and went away to college. By then the little old lady with white hair at
the end of the street had died and the whole world - excuse the expression - turned to "All My Children." A fraternity
brother who went by the name "Ben-Bob" actually used to watch that program and laugh. He called it "All My
Johnsons, a television tragedy."
The recent layoffs and factory closings in the troubled American automobile industry could also be considered tragic.
But there's a difference between what happens in the made up worlds watched by little old ladies - and, may I add, closeted
soap audiences of the opposite gender - and the world of General Motors. Layoffs, after all, are real American tragedies,
those seen on television ... only make believe.
By necessity, the classical definition of the word tragedy requires a flawed character. In the case of General Motors,
the character flaw is neither that of the assembly-line worker nor that of the union to which he or she belongs. And, for
whatever it's worth, the flaw is also unrelated to whether or not GM produces a "sexy" product. The flaw, in this
case, goes right back to the company's management and engineers.
In the event your local GM dealer hasn't told you - the one I called, twice, wasn't exactly straight forward about it
- then allow me to do so. The intake manifold gaskets on many GM products have major problems. Rather than design vehicles
with high torque gaskets, like they did the quality '60 Chevy, General Motors is manufacturing their 3.1 and 3.4 liter vehicles
with low torque gaskets, meaning that your gasket will last, if you're lucky, a little longer than your warranty. And, if
the gasket leaks or blows Dex-cool solution in your engine, the result is engine damage, a major repair.
The garage that services my car - a small-town high quality shop here in the sauth - told me they've repaired about ten
GM automobiles with this specific problem, all within the past year or so. They didn't volunteer the information because they
have an axe to grind with GM. They told me about it because they're honest. They told me about it because I found it strange
for my relatively new out-of-warranty Malibu, which I still owe $8,000 on, to be running low on radiator fluid only after
having filled it up two months ago.
"Don't worry," said the owner of the garage, "GM knows all about it. As a matter of fact, we've done the
same repair on their products with as little as 20-30,000 miles on them. The problem afflicts GM's 3100 and 3400 series engines
- Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Chevy - possibly going back to 1998."
So, if General Motors already knew about the problem, why haven't they done anything about it? Before you tax yourself
for an answer on this question, ask yourself how often the average American buys a new car? Every two to three years? In this
case, the management of GM sees no need to build a product that lasts. Us old farts who buy cars with the same notion one
used to have when they got married - until death do us part - are being cuckold. And beyond this, since the life span of a
low torque gasket is just over the warranty period, GM management probably feels they are legally "in the clear,"
considering the costs to pursue a class action suit under these circumstances are relatively high.
Aside from the recent drop in demand for SUVs, if GM Chairman and CEO Richard Wagoner wants to stay in business, he'd
better stop cutting corners and address what GM can do to build a better product. Simply allowing low torque gaskets to blow
- nationwide - and leaving it to the vehicle owner to pick up the repair does not provide a satisfactory solution to the problem.
The Japanese don't need to close factories and lay off workers to maintain longevity. Their customers know they build
a quality product, and when it's time to buy a new vehicle, their customers remember it.
I hope Mr. Wagoner remembers it, too.
Copyright (c) 2006 John Rhodes
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