Evil95GT

Every now and then, I find a thread where I simply *must* chime in. :yup: I did my first stint as a TFT in 2003, under the premise that those "lucky" enough to survive 90 days would be hired. I had no clue what an 89 day wonder was, and the fact that I was one of them. I busted my ass non stop, hoping someone might take notice of the fact that not only did I *want* this job, I also needed it. My second stint was in 2004, and again, I figured I might be one of the lucky. I'll let you guess how that one played out. Third stint was at a different plant in 2005, so by this time, I'm hoping my luck had changed. Didn't happen. Fourth and final was in 2006. Once again, I kept an open mind, and continued to give it my all. And here I am today. I guess the moral of the story is this: I love cars...........they're my hobby. I race them, work on them, show them...........it's a way of life. So naturally, I was always eager to learn as much as I could about how they're built, and was quite surprised at just how much goes into each vehicle. When I completed each job with pride, I did so not only because I feel that my work is a reflection of myself, but also because I could somehow picture the person buying that unit (and I'd rather have them be a satisfied owner than some poor sap stuck with a lemon because of ME). Call me crazy, but I'm not disgruntled, and never have been. From my experience, I walked away knowing alot more about vehicle assembly. I also enjoyed the perks of a job that offered me more than double the pay rate I was accustomed to working for. And the only reason 2006 was the "fourth and final" time as a TFT is because I have realized that I need something secure and stable. I'm currently in school, and when I graduate in 2009, I'll be a Diagnostic Medical Sonographer with a specialty in Cardiovascular. P.S. Just wanted to add that I *never* missed a day, nor was I late. I dunno how it works in other plants, but where WE were, if you miss a day, you're finished. Further, we were NEVER permitted to pick and choose jobs, much less refuse them. Once again, we'd have been booted out those double doors just as fast as we entered them.

Never made sense to me either, but the fact is this: Ford recruits TPTs and TFTs to fill in "empty spaces".........be it folks who don't show up (absenteeism), folks on medical leave, etc. Rarely do they bring these people in with the intent on hiring them full time. I held on to that little pipe dream for 3 years before I got wise to the game.

So you see it too? I'm not sure if it's the same at AAI, but I worked in E-coat scuff @ OHAP. We used DA sanders in the booth to remove bad spots or "mapping". The sandpaper was 320 grit. Seems we're discovering more marks every time we view the car. Because Ohio is a crappy climate, this car went from the dealership straight to the garage, where we pampered and cleaned it. The marks look like lengthy "swirlies"..........just think of what a phone cord looks like if you stretch it out a little bit. The roof is just horrible.............looks like someone actually had the DA up on it's side, digging in and "etching" the area. Weird that it's like that on a GT500 though. I would have almost expected those to be treated as "show jobs".

If anyone is still out there........... I know he's pretty much stuck with the DA marks. But what about the dirt? IIRC, they used 3M Finesse-It as a polishing compound. Any idea what grit wet-sand paper we should use? Thanks in advance.

Thank you to both of you! :happy feet: I had wondered about the mapping, because I've seen some severe cases of it when I worked in the E-coat scuff booth. At the height of the mapping (it was on every other unit), we were told that the doors (which came from another stamping plant) were contaminated with an oil. At the end of the "investigation", we were told that the E-coat itself was contaminated, as was the phosphor bath (sp). Thanks for the input!

My brother in law *finally* bought a Mustang to "celebrate" his divorce. He took delivery almost a week ago. The car looked great...............until we cleaned it up, and clay-barred it. This car has got one of THE worst factory paint jobs I have ever seen in my lifetime. Hell, I thought my '95 was horrendous. There are very evident DA marks on the roof, pillars, and 1/4 panels. Not baby marks..........marks that make me wonder how in the HELL this car escaped the plant. This isn't a bash or anything, so please view this accordingly. I'm a former paint employee (Escape/Econoline), and that's why I'm floored over the amount of defects in this car. I know how picky the inspectors can be (I hated polish line). I'm just wondering if maybe they're having problems with E-coat or something? Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.

My husband has wanted a Wrangler for a long time. I could never justify one, because the rear passenger area seemed so smallish. But now, with the two extra doors, I've kinda ran out of excuses. I think it's more visually appealing, too.

I can tell you this. The net worth of BlueOvalNews pales in comparison to the value of TheLemon.com . Your shit is just *that* good. :hyper:

Way to go! :happy feet: 5 year 60K warranties might not be enough to satisfy the fools falling for the 10 year 100K. However, it's a HUGE step in the right direction! The 3 year 36K just wasn't enough.....not nearly as bad as the 12 month 12K, but still, not enough. This new warranty can only improve customer relations, as well as attract new buyers.

As irritated and disgusted as I get with Ford Motor, I damn sure won't be trading my precious cars in. I'm in love with my cars, they inspire me, and they give me a hobby that keeps my ass out of trouble for the most part. Furthermore, why in the hell would I want to harm the few employees that Ford has remaining? No matter what, I wouldn't buy a foreign car if my life depended on it. I'd rather ride a bicycle or walk.

I applaud your attempt, and I've said my piece. However, I wouldn't expect any decision to be reversed. The big brass doesn't give two shits about their employees, let alone the poor saps who actually WANT to buy their cars.

Not trying to stir the pot here, but........... What if Kzinti was doing these VIN checks on his lunch break? As I recall, you're NOT on company time during lunch. As much as they'd like to *think* they own you for that 30 minutes, they don't. If you wanna get in your car and leave, you're permitted to do so. If you fancy sitting in a bathroom stall and reading People magazine, it's YOUR time. That being said, if they stopped him from doing this at work, I'm sure they stopped him from doing it at home as well. I feel they screwed up in a BIG way. Kzinti offered a public service that couldn't be had anywhere else. In keeping with the theme of "tell them how you REALLY feel", here's my post regarding Kzinti from another site: Perhaps they fail to realize how much of an asset Kzinti is? Or maybe they're aware, and they're perturbed that he has broken the silence, and found a way to communicate with customers in a way that Ford Motor refuses to? In any case, it's a sad day. Kzinti is, was, and will always be a wealth of knowledge. What Ford *should* do is get rid of the assholes they have at the helm right now, and let Kzinti take over. The guy is just that good Honestly, do they not have BETTER things to do? Ford is failing right now in too many areas to count, and they're coming down on someone who keeps their customers happy and maintains stability? :rolleyes: How typical.

Thanks for the kind words, Mike! It's so nice talking to someone who can relate. :beerchug: There were some jobs that ironically enough I grew to *love*. Over time, I found that the busy jobs actually made my days go better because time just flew by. On the days when I'd actually have time to think, or stare into space, one hour would feel like 10. I loved the fascia (front and rear) job. The weatherstripping job that caused those massive blisters ended up being another one of my faves. Perhaps my favorite job was prime spray, except for the day something malfunctioned in the downdraft booth. I thought the blue coveralls were fashionably cute, and I always wanted to learn how to spray, so I was instantly in love. I'll always have something against the exhaust job. I loved it at first, but then one day as I attached the flange, a piece of metal fell in my eye. I'm a freak when it comes to anyone touching my eye, so I went a little nuts when they started picking at it with some sort of a wooden stick. Congrats on that attendance, BTW. While my time there was short, I made absolutely certain I was never late or absent. I was scared to death they'd tell me to take a hike and just call the next person in line. Some days, I literally had to drag myself there (I had the damn flu SO bad once), but it wasn't anything a few Excedrins wouldn't temporarily fix. As far as that 10 hour shift, I'll bet my arms that not ONE of the whiners could take it. Not for an hour, let alone 10.

I'm going to add my $.02, and stay as acurate as possible. I *never* at any point in my life thought that autoworkers were lazy. Having a stepfather and a bio father that BOTH worked at Ford plants, I always knew it was rough. I didn't actually know HOW rough until I got called in as a TFT in July 2003. I realized that speed was definitely a key factor. However, I never dreamed in a million years that one job could contain so many elements. After the first three hours, I was ready to say 'screw this" and hit the door. My hair, which I took the time to make look PERFECT that morning, was soaked with sweat that dripped off my forehead at a near steady pace. My eyeliner made me look like a roadkill raccoon. I had blisters on each thumb the size of dimes. When I got that first break, I actually wondered to myself how many people wanted to leave. But being the persistant littl freak that I am, I saw leaving as a sign of failure. I refused to let that job (or any other) break me. I started viewing the job as a fight that I'd win. For about 10 days, I'd come home in extreme pain. 75% of that can be attributed to the fact that I was used to lounging around the house, taking walks around the block for exercise, or chasing after the kids. I stunk like Ben Gay constantly, but in my eyes, it was worth it. I knew there was no chance for advancement, but it was more money than I could earn in any of these little crap assed jobs around this area (I was a nursing assistant at that time making $9.73/hr). I stuck it out in 2003. And 2004. And 2005. I'm ready for round 4 to start here in a few weeks. While I feel every job has its fair share of lazy folks, autoworkers aren't lazy. I've seen people who milk the system, and I've seen folks who try to get by on as little work as possible. However, I'd seen 100x that amount of people who bust their asses day in and day out to get a job done, and get it done right. While I'll jump at the chance to do a cylinder head swap or a cam install on any one of my Mustangs, that shit is small potatoes compared to line work. I've had "friends" try to light the fire under my ass by saying "Ford workers are underworked and overpaid". It gets me going every time, and I challenge any one of their lazy asses to walk in a lineworkers shoes for one 10 hour shift.

I think with Camaro/Firebird twins on the same platform, hitting the 100K mark wouldn;t be a problem at all, if you combine the sales from the base V6, Z28, Formula, and/or SS and WS6. Granted, the Mustang always outsold the F-body twins, at times by more than a 2:1 margin. That being said, I feel that ALOT of people were sad to see the demise of the F-bodies. There are so many people out there who have wished (since 2002) that they *could* own another Camaro or Firebird. Now is the prime time for GM to get their asses into the game.