Loaded, Loaded!! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Leno chooses his top 10 Mustangs

He may be a few months late to the party, but in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Ford Mustang, Jay Leno has delivered a short video in which he runs down which of the Blue Oval's pony cars from the past 50 years are his favorites.
The list is pretty darn similar to our own, with some of the big names from the Mustang's half century making an appearance, while there are three or four cars here that we think you'll be pretty surprised by.
Take a look below for this short video from Jay Leno's Garage.

Fitting Retirement: Grand Marquis last Mercury off the line

The signs have come down and retail production ended back in October of 2010. Now, the very last Mercury model has rolled off the assembly line. This last Mercury somewhat fittingly takes the form of a Grand Marquis reporting for fleet duty. It was built at the St. Thomas plant in Ontario, Canada, which is the same facility that continues to produce the Ford Crown Victoria and Lincoln Town Car for fleet and livery duty.
St. Thomas' days are numbered, however, as the factory is slated to close on August 31. When it goes, the Panther platform is likely to follow. So long, and thanks for all the fish memories.
[Source: Autoweek]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Second-tier UAW workers promoted for first time after Ford hits quota

The United Auto Workers put out a statement on Friday that 55 Ford workers chosen by seniority would be moved from the Tier 2, entry-level pay rate of around $19 per hour to the Tier 1, non-entry-level rate of about $28 per hour. One of the stipulations in the 2011 UAW-Ford agreement was that only 20-percent of the total hourly workforce could be paid the Tier 2 wages agreed upon in 2007; after that, those workers had to be moved to Tier 1. Even so, the new Tier 1 status makes them less expensive to Ford than veteran Tier 1 workers because they receive fewer benefits. However, Automotive News had reported that same day that Ford was 69 workers shy of the limit, and when AN asked Ford about the situation Ford said it had "some room" on the entry-level roster. If workers do move to the higher pay grade, it will be the first time that's happened since the two-tier system was agreed. But it sounds like there's going to be some haggling between the UAW and Ford before that happens. Ford is the only one of the Detroit 3 automakers to have to work with a cap, since it didn't go through bankruptcy proceedings during The Great Recession; General Motors and Chrysler jettisoned the cap in 2009. GM is said to have 16 percent of its hourly workers at Tier 2 while Chrysler has 42 percent, but Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has long been opposed to the two-wage system. The UAW is preparing for its 2015 negotiations with the US automakers. It wants to eliminate the difference in pay by going to the higher scale, if there is a consensus among automakers it seems to be that they also want a single wage, but less than the higher scale, with the addition of profit-based bonuses. The recent statement from the labor union is below. UAW President Dennis Williams and UAW-Ford Vice President Jimmy Settles announced today that the union is delivering on its promise to convert workers DETROIT, Jan. 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- UAW President Dennis Williams and UAW-Ford Vice President Jimmy Settles announced today that the union is delivering on its promise to convert workers making entry-level wages to traditional employees. "The 2011 UAW-Ford agreement allows for a contractual limit of entry-level employees. Once that threshold is surpassed, entry-level employees convert by seniority to 'regular, non-entry level employment.' At this time, fifty-five UAW-Ford workers will receive the wage increases, which put them in the category of non entry-level employment.