From my posts on “GM: Buy The IPO, Not The Car“, I explained why I won’t buy a GM even though I have owned some of their vehicles in the past. This also reminds me of a line from the movie Wall Street (1987) where Gordon Gekko “has mixed emotions, like Larry Wildman driving off a cliff in his [GG's] Maserati.”

In addition, in Part 2, Mark Modica explained how the labor union came out on top and bondholders took the hit.

With Government Motors, I mean, General Motors’ S-1 filing this week, I was reading an article on Yahoo about the fears and hopes for the company. (Here’s the article.)

What I read and thought to be interesting is that a big portion of the manufacturing has been moved to places like Mexico, East Europe, Russia and India for cheaper labor.  I remember this topic about a year ago as well, dealing with China.  But, with the UAW sitting on the Board of GM, how does this shift happen?

The locals are being cut out and jobs moved out of the country by their own people? Ownership by the unions and board members, is this a conflict of interest?

Having worked for UPS in a contract year, I got exposure to union members and management during a difficult time. I just wonder how GM’s company picnic and softball game will turnout.  It might be like the Dodgers and the Giants!

Last night I’m watching TV and a Lowe’s commercial airs. I generally like to watch a lot of commercials for various reasons.

However, I’m not necessarily an advertiser’s dream audience participant. In most cases, I’m not buying, rather, I’m picking apart an ad.

To give you an idea, Lowe’s commercial was promoting energy efficient appliances. I’m not looking to waste resources or money so I try to decide what is good and what is hype contained within an advertisement.

Recently, I did purchase a new Samsung washer. (Was it the best on one the market or should I have gone with a Speed Queen? I’m not sure, but I know Maytag is not what it used to be.) When I was told the average load on a top load washing machine uses 40 to 50 gallons per load, this perked my attention. (Actually, I had the Neptune front load washers by Maytag for many years.)

Also, the speed which the spin cycle goes makes a difference too. The faster the spin, the more water is extracted which reduces the drying time. I was told this by the local appliance dealer as well as the main part of my story. Follow along.

Here is where things get a little more interesting as far as the hype goes.

When I asked about the dryer and its efficiency, from a local retailer, I was told the dryer is not rated.

As far as the Lowe’s commercial goes, the savings on a washer might be $90 per year. Big whoopie! That’s less than $8 per month.

The real expense – which makes the meter move and affects my checking account – is the dryer.

Therefore, when we hear about efficiency, green technology, save this or that…there is much more to the story than what we are being told and the label may just look good. Don’t just buy the hype.

Just like the local newspaper read, Texas doesn’t buy hybrids. The headline was hype to me. Sure I looked twice, but I didn’t read the article.

Being green, in my mind, was not what the headline suggested. Sure, being green has to do with efficiency and saving money which is what green is supposed to be about which ultimately entails environmentally friendly attributes. Rather the headline made it appear Texans have oil and don’t care about the environment and would rather drive big gas guzzling trucks.

However, why would I spend more money buying a smaller car, when it cost less to drive a traditional combustion engine when you figure (1) the cost of the hybrid vehicle, (2) the capacity (which determines the number of people, cargo and trips), etc.

What about the trucks coming in from Mexico that do not have to comply the standards we are being forced to adhere too? Where are the green labels and environmental label on these vehicles like the ones plastered on cars on a parking lot. Are these labels to try to encourage and discourage buyers? Sure.

I’m all for efficiency and protecting the environment, I’m just not buying the hype in the process.

When you get through reading Chapter 1, The Business of Hype (which is only a few short pages), click here to read Chapter 2.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Mark

After working through changing my webhost, rebuilding files, learning new coding and processes, I’m finally putting up parts of my book on the website. Check out “The Business of Hype” located under the Lucky Loser tab at the top of the page.

I plan on adding more chapters in the days and weeks to come.

  Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Mark