  Tponetom Member Username: Tponetom Post Number: 30 Registered: 06-2007 |
The rush back to normalcy was bedazzling after Japan's surrender. Automotive producers were stumbling over themselves to get their products out on the road. Cigarettes were openly displayed in the stores. Butcher shops had any variety of meat you might want, and gasoline still sold for less than 30 cents. I do not know how many G.I.'s came back to Detroit, but the number had to be in the tens or hundreds of thousands. Some went back to their old jobs. Some began college. A lot of them got married and some of them joined the "52/20 Club." That was twenty dollars a week for 52 weeks and a Thank You to Uncle Sam. The auto dealers had a headlock on anyone who wanted or needed a new car. My Dad had a 1940 Dodge in immaculate condition. He could have sold it for $ 600.00 to any number of people. He desperately needed a new Pick-up truck. The dealers he went to told him the same story. It would take six to nine months to get a new one, if he did not have a trade-in. The dealers gave them the gobbaly goop about 'keeping' a balanced inventory of new and used cars on hand. Finally Dad traded in the Dodge and got his Pick-up truck in 3 days. It seems that an "unassigned" truck just came in and the dealer delivered it forthwith. He gave my father $ 50.00 for the Dodge. Perfectly legit! Since that time, 60 years ago, I have carried a chip on either shoulder when I go shopping for a car. Especially when they try to slip in the "Document Charge." In new and used car parlance, we called it a D.E.P. (Dealers Extra Profit.) I have some experience in used car sales. I sold used cars for the Hanson Chevrolet Co. on Mack Ave. for eight months. The used car lot was on E. Warren near Alter Road. I was waiting to get into the Plumbers Union and I was admonished not to work for a non-union company. Bill Hanson was a fair and decent man. The other salesmen I worked with, and especially the 'buyer' taught be all the tricks of the trade. Both ethical,,,and the other kind. It was a great experience. | ||
Bulletmagnet Member Username: Bulletmagnet Post Number: 763 Registered: 01-2007 |
Tponetom, at the end of the War, there were any number of car companies to choose from, and nary an import. As you well know, only a few of these survive today, and many of the parts are made out of this country. Who would have thought at that time Japan would be the number one seller of cars in the US one day? Did you get into your plumbers trade, like Dad? What was the Union like then? Bullet | ||
Tponetom Member Username: Tponetom Post Number: 38 Registered: 06-2007 |
Bullet: Re: Japan and cars. Perhaps it is taking a little too long for the country to absorb the philosophy of , "Buy America." Yes, I got into the union in 1957 and am still a dues paying member. I officially retired in 1987. I have been drawing my pension, full hospitalization insurance, a flexible spending account that gives me, annually $ 1,400.00 for dental, optical or any other medical expense not covered under my regular insurance, for the past 20 years. When I get into a discussion with a union naysayer, I tell them how sorry I am that I did not work for Enron or World Com or any of those other sleazeball companies. Laid off Detroit auto workers, who lost their 30 to 40 dollar wage package can work anywhere in the country for the new minimum wage. Certainly, many unions are corrupt. But I will always take my chances with them instead of the available alternatives. | ||
Thnk2mch Member Username: Thnk2mch Post Number: 963 Registered: 02-2006 |
Pardon my ignorance, but what is with the  at the beginning of the posts? | ||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 2546 Registered: 12-2005 |
Its technical definition can be found here: Space (punctuation) and here:Byte-order mark. (Message edited by Jimaz on July 06, 2007) | ||
Caldogven Member Username: Caldogven Post Number: 70 Registered: 05-2006 |
And what does that mean? | ||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 2549 Registered: 12-2005 |
If you have to ask, you won't want to know. Better to just ignore the  thingy. Endian is the worst thing since sliced bread. It has to do with which end of the loaf is toasted first. It has nothing to do with the much more interesting subject of this thread. (Message edited by Jimaz on July 06, 2007) | ||
Thnk2mch Member Username: Thnk2mch Post Number: 964 Registered: 02-2006 |
Tponetom's posts are great - please keep it up. (sorry to interrupt) Is it typed in, or showing up automatically from transferring data or something? | ||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 2551 Registered: 12-2005 |
I'd guess it's an artifact of copying & pasting. No matter. The early days of selling cars in Detroit must have been similar to selling PCs in Silicon Valley during its startup. Have I got a deal for you!  (Message edited by Jimaz on July 06, 2007) | ||
Mercman Member Username: Mercman Post Number: 38 Registered: 10-2006 |
My Grandpa was from the Detroit area stationed at Normandy,France as a Medic in WWII. He found/met my Grandma in Paris during Liberation Day when my Great-Grandma basically grabbed him and said "here is my daughter, what do you think?" Grandma didn't speak English, and Grandpa didn't speak French, but they both spoke Polish. They married shortly thereafter at a church in Paris, because Great-Grandma would not have her daughter going overseas un-married. They eventually moved into a house in Hamtramck that they shared with Grandpa's older brother and his wife before finding their own piece of property on Steel St. in Detroit. Good times. They eventually moved to Canton, MI in 1974, 7 houses down the street from my parent's new house...and the fun began...lol... Grandma is still with us...and yes, she still lives--- 7 houses down the street from my parents. |
