Chrysler-Fiat , Project Genesis

Welcome Back avid blog readers,

A many already know, Chrysler has filed for bankruptcy and just recently terminated close to 800 of their Dealerships across the USA. Here is a link of all of the Chrysler Dodge Jeep Dealers that were rejected…

List of Closed Chrysler Dealers

The actions to slash hundreds of dealers would eliminate 25% of Chrysler’s dealerships across the country and cut 14% of the company’s sales volume. These cuts will also allow Chrysler to consolidate their three brands Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep at many of the remaining dealerships. Currently, all three brands are sold at 62% of the dealerships. Once the consolidation is complete all three brands will be available at 84% of the dealerships.

In assessing Chrysler’s viability, the Treasury Department found the automaker could not survive as a stand-alone company. Chrysler had already been in discussions with Fiat about a partnership. The current plan calls for Fiat to assist Chrysler by providing engineering for small and midsized cars.

Chrysler said in its filing that dealers are not competitive enough with foreign brands. Chrysler sold an average of 303 vehicles per dealer in 2008, according to its filing. By contrast, Honda Motor Co. sold about 1,200 vehicles per dealer, while Toyota Motor Corp. sold nearly 1,300 per dealer.

Chrysler Reconstructing Plan FAQ’s

From a personal point of view, coming from a Parts Advisor in what is now called a “Tri-Branded” Dealership… Even though the Dealership I work in was safe from being terminated, we all still have a 90 day window before another closing announcement is made. By we, I mean all of those Dealers that breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday. This was just “Round 1″ of the elimination process.

The way I see it, Chrysler has said that they want all 3 brands under 1 roof as to eliminate competition amongst themselves. So how is it, there are still 5 Dealerships standing in an 8 mile radius. The franchise I work for owns 3 of the 5 in the area. I happen to work in the only Dodge Chrysler Jeep store, while the other 2 are Chrysler/Jeep. The remaining 2 Dealerships just have Dodge under their roof. Even though it looks like Western Massachusetts lucked out in “Round 1″, I have a feeling that we’ll see at least 2 more stores closing in the near future.

I remain optimistic with the Chrysler- Fiat partnership, also known as Project Genesis. Click here to see what Chrysler has in store for 2010/2011. The New Chrysler

It’s not the “END” for Chrysler, it’s just time for something NEW!

April 27th- May 4th

Welcome Back,

The last week for me has been a busy one. I made the drive up to Canada last Sunday to spend the night with James and we drove back down on Monday. Finally after 2 years I was able to spend his birthday with him! With that said I wanted to do my best to make it as memorable as possible. Luckily the Circus was going to be in town the weekend after his birthday… Knowing that James has never been to the Circus, I didn’t waste any time buying 2 tickets online.

Yesterday was the last day and we attended the last showing at 4:30pm. There were plenty of clowns including Bello Knock, who was just delightful to watch. There were many great family “acts” who put on a great performance as well. Of course the Circus experience is never complete unless you wait in the long line for 2 foot long hot dogs and 1 soda. Which really was a treat for James, as we were working our way through the crowd during the intermission, the Tigers were being brought in and he’s never been that close or seen a tiger before… With that said he was happy to go back through the crowd and exchange our soda… We asked for Sprite and got Club soda instead. That gave him a chance to walk passed the Tigers again and he even brought back 2 boxes of popcorn :) All in all we had a great time, all the better knowing James enjoyed his first Circus experience!

On another note… referring back to my last blog entry. I just called Persels and canceled my plan with them. of course they tried to sweet talk me into a “different” plan that would pay my creditors each month, but I declined. The lady I spoke with said that the plan would be canceled as of today and that the payment scheduled for the 17th would NOT be taken out. In fact the $33.20 held in “my account” would be returned to me with in 2 weeks and she waived the $150.00 termination fee!

From this point on, I guess I’ll be handling my debts and paying them what I can afford each month… I should probably call my bank and make sure nothing shady happens and let them know that Persels is NOT to take any money out.

Moving right along…

I also called the doctor today and scheduled my Immigration Medical Exam… A part of me is excited while the other part of me is dreading the whole thing…

After talking with James last night, we may try to make a weekend get away out of it… The last time we went to Boston and came across a hotel that had a restaurant inside. Let me tell you, OMG! they served the BEST burgers we have ever had… So now it’s a must! Anytime we go to Boston, we have to stop in and experience that delicious sirloin burger. Now comes the task of figuring out where the doctor’s office is, and how far from the Science Museum is (as the Best burger ever is just around the corner).

As for today, well I have a few things I have to tend too… Such as getting my finger prints done AGAIN! Yes again, as I received the FBI package the other day and their computer could not read my finger prints. At least they waived the processing fee and also sent 2 more cards. I also have to get laundry done and stop at the grocery store for the usual touch up shopping… Things are coming together… Not as fast as I would like, but at least they are moving forward.

Getting the medical exam and those finger prints are the last things we really need to get out of the way before turning in our paperwork. Once that’s done and the paperwork is in…. We wait for an answer and hope that there are no more hoops to jump through.

Seems I’ve rambled on long enough… It’s already 11am and I should get started on my day…

I owe, I owe

I am feeling the need to vent after a frustrating phone call.

I seriously think that credit card companies are only around to keep us in debt!

I’m sure many of you can relate, most of us have/had a credit card or two… Sadly most of us are in debt, some more so than others. But I’ll be honest as I have nothing to hide… Just in credit card debt, I’m close to $9,000.00 with the 4 credit cards I have recently consolidated.

*Going back 12 months*

Like most people, I was making these minimum payments every month and adding a little more when I could afford too. I got to thinking that since I’m paying out so much a month, that I should look into a Debt Consolidation Plan… Just to see if I could still make the payments with out having to spend close to $320.00/ month.

After some research I stumbled upon Care One Credit, and put in all of the info and decided that I would go through them and consolidate my 4 credit card payments into 1 lesser payment. Although the savings wasn’t much, I was able to set it up as on automatic payment straight from my checking account. Care One took out $293.00 on the 20th of each month and split that between the 4 creditors.

Things were going well, until around the holidays and an unforeseen expense popped up, I called Care One and let them know in advanced that I could not make the payment for December. They understood and said it shouldn’t be a problem as long as I could make my payment in January. Keep in mind that each credit card account on this plan is now void. I can no longer use those credit cards to purchase anything. So all I have is what’s in my checking account.

January came and I made that payment as scheduled… February came and I was unable to make that payment, as it was a short month and my rent took priority. Well after calling Care One to let them know I wasn’t going to make another payment, they suggested that I get in touch with Persels & associates and work with them as far as getting me into a better/ more affordable plan.

I did just that, they walked me through a Financial Statement and saw that I clearly was having trouble making the $293.00/month payment. They came up with a plan that was a win/win and they wiped away a good chunk of what I owe! What was around $9,000.00 is now close $6,500.00! Now my payments are $111.60/month for the next 60 months.

You can imagine my excitement after hearing that good news! The only downside to all of this is now the 4 Creditors don’t have to accept this new plan. In my case it seems that 2 have and 2 have not. I was advised from Persels to not discuss my debts with these creditors as they will handle any questions and attempts to collect a payment.

So far Household Bank was the first to rebel and thought they’d call me at least 5 times a day between 10am and 9pm, yes even on Sunday. Finally I answered the phone and told them they need to contact Persels and stop calling me. They agreed to stop calling for a couple of days and then started back up 5 times a day for the next week, never leaving a message… That’s so irritating! But thank god for caller ID

I called Persels to let them know that I was getting 101 phone calls from HSBC and again was advised not to talk to them and a Cease and Desist order was sent to everyone on the plan to stop calling me…. Well it seems that worked, but now I have Capital One calling my cell phone many times a day and never leaving a message.

*Bringing you up to an hour ago*

I was stupid enough to answer their call today, and it was Capital One wanting to confirm my address, which was wrong… they wanted more info from me to make sure they have the right person. I asked the reason for the call before I offered any info, and they wanted to let me know that my account was passed due 75 days and wanted to know what I was going to do about it.

This conversation went around and around and around… them telling me over and over I was passed due and that a payment was not made since January 2009 in the amount of $86.00…. And me telling them that I have automatic payment taken out every month for my credit cards in a consolidation plan, this one being one of them, and it seems to me that no one is updating my account and showing that I’m making a payment. So now my credit score is in the toilet.

I got the same response from both HSBC and Capital One, They want to talk with me and harass me about sending them a payment… I refer them to Persels as they are taking the money out of my account to pay off my debts, and of coarse they don’t want to contact Persels. No No, the creditors would rather tack on late fees and over draft fees onto my account that I no longer have a credit card for, and they refuse to close the account and have no intention of stopping the ridiculous fees and interest, making it impossible to ever get out of debt!

When a credit card debt goes into collection or is part of a consolidation plan, that account should not be able to add to the existing debt. The amount owed should never extend passed the credit limit. That’s why the “DECLINE” feature was added, so that you could not go beyond your credit limit. Yeah I know some of you may not agree and think it’s up to you to know how much is on your credit card… But if that were the case the the mere fact that there is a credit limit wouldn’t exist… You could swipe that card as many times as you wanted and just keep digging yourself in further. The decline feature is put into place to help us NOT over spend.

But the way these credit card companies are today, Not declining your purchases after you’ve reached the maximum limit, holding onto your payment a few extra days so they can tack on a “Late Fee”, and charging you fees after your account has gone into collection. How do these people sleep at night?

I know that my credit score has taken a big hit, Even though I’m not entirely to blame (those of you that have gone through a divorce know exactly what I mean), I will pick myself back up and dig myself back out of the hole I’m in. It’s all I can do as there is nobody offering to do it for me

Welfare & Health Care

Welcome back,

Earlier this week I was sent an email from my sister in law. It was something that was forwarded to her, then sent my way… After reading this email, I had to agree with the person who wrote it, as he makes a very good point..

I’ll share it with you…

Urine Test — This guy has a point! This was written by a construction worker in Fort McMurray . Read on . . .

I work, they pay me. I pay my taxes, and the government distributes my taxes as it sees fit. In order to earn that pay check, I work on a rig site for a Fort McMurray construction project. At any time I am required to pass a random urine test, with which I have no problem. HOWEVER, what I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to people who don’t have to pass a urine test. Shouldn’t one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check because I have to pass one to earn it for them? Understand - I have no problem with helping people get back on their feet. I do on the other hand have a problem with helping someone sit on their arse, drinking and smoking dope. Could you imagine how much money this country would save if people had to pass a urine test to get a public assistance check? If you agree, please pass this along, or simply delete if you don’t. Hope you will pass it along though, because something has to change in this country.

Again, I have to agree! I think random drug testing should be done for all of those on Welfare just to make sure that we are not paying out our hard earned money just to have those collecting waste it on drugs.

While we are on the subject, I’d like to know why it’s up to the working class to pay for Medicare? In this state, it is mandatory that EVERYONE has health insurance!

Every week $36.34 is taken out of my paycheck for MY health insurance, and yet there is another $6.35 taken every week for Medicare. So not only am I paying for my self, but I’m helping to pay for those on Medicare!

How is that fair?

Shouldn’t the government pick up the tab on those in need of “government assistance” ? As much as $6.35/week doesn’t sound like much, I’m still irritated with how our health care system works.

I don’t see why we can’t adopt a Universal Health care system and tweek it just a bit.

For example, A universal health care system that allows:

* 1 Physical and 1 check up each year….FREE

* 1 Prescription per person each year…FREE

* 1 Eye exam per person each year… FREE

* 1 OB-GYN exam for the ladies each year… FREE

* Free childhood vaccinations until the age of 18

And we can still incorporate health insurance, but as an Ala’ Cart menu..

So it’s a choice, not mandatory and let it be our choice to pick and choose the coverage we want/need.

For example:

I’m a fairly healthy person, non smoker, I wear glasses for near sightedness, and take ZERO prescriptions… So I would opt in to pay a small fee for a second Eye Exam and a pair of glasses or contact lenses, as opposed to paying full price for the second exam and full price for glasses.

For a family of 5, well they may want to opt in and pay a small fee for unlimited prescriptions, especially if the father has to take meds for high cholesterol and the youngest has asthma.

The same goes for the person who is diabetic, they will want to opt in for unlimited prescriptions and pay a small fee to see a specialist.

After all, there are millions of Americans that depend on prescriptions just to live another day… the Health Insurance companies could still make money.

We should be able to pick and chose the coverage we want/need and not have it shoved down our throats.

As it is now, I have been paying about $35.00/week for the last 3 years and I have only gone to the doctor once and needed a 3 day prescription. Roughly that comes out to $5460.00 and I still paid a $20 co-pay and $3.00 for the medication… Something is seriously wrong with that picture!

There is no reason why we can’t adopt such a system… It’s a Win/Win situation!

Americans will be able to get the health care we deserve and have health insurance plans customized to our needs at an AFFORDABLE rate! That’s all we are asking for.

We don’t mind paying for what we use especially when we know we ARE going to use it! It’s the paying for something we don’t use and being told to PAY OR ELSE!

Anyhoo, just my thoughts on the subject…..

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Immigration Update...

Welcome Back Avid Blog Readers,

Things are getting done, at a snails pace... but at least things are moving forward.

During the last week I managed to finally get those finger prints done. I went down to a different Police Station and had them done for FREE Even though the lady behind the counter said she thought there was a $10.00 fee... And that statement alone wasn't all that convincing.
I waited about 10 minutes and a detective came out to the lobby, walked me through the station and into the finger printing room.

I brought along 2 hard copies of the finger print cards, straight off of the FBI website, as I was asked again, "Do you have your cards"? Seems the regular 8.5x11 sized paper was a bit too large and wouldn't clamp into the contraption... So the detective sifted through a few piles of other finger print cards and found a few that were labeled Applicant, and he took 2 sets just in case.
After that was all said and done, the grand total was......... $0.00

During the coarse of the week I made a few trips to the post office... I sent out the request for my police record from the state of Massachusetts along with a money order for $25.00... A request for my police record for the state of Florida along with a money order for $24.00 and a request that the FBI look into my criminal record along with finger prints and a money order for $18.00.

For those of you keeping track... that's $67.00 not including the postage and fees to have the money orders printed out... Just to have 3 replies that say NO RECORD... Seriously a phone call would have saved a ton of aggravation

So now I'm waiting for those 3 replies in the mail. Within the next few days I'll be doing a little more research as far as getting a list of a few "Approved" doctors and calling around to see just how consistent the Fees really are.
After all, I'm having to drive 2 hours out of my way to see either doctor in this state.. I may as well check out my options in Connecticut, New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Hell, I may even look into seeing a doctor in Canada... I could make a weekend trip to see James

But once the replies come back, and the exam is done, we will then be able to send in all of the paperwork and all of the fees to finally get this process moving along.

You know I'll come back with an update with my results But until then...

Happy Easter


http://vixiexpress.com

Passion

Another voice unheard, the cries for help go unanswered.

The love that you once shared has withered and is no longer there.

Each day you feel trapped and smothered, Your every move is being watched.

The control that you’ve been under will push you into the arms of another.

You’ve considered traveling across the state line to feel the passion you haven’t felt in a long time.

Afraid to escape, but you wish you were free. If only for one night, All you can do is dream about what a night of passion would be.

Immigration Aggrivation

Welcome back,

The last few days I've been a busy little bee trying to put together my end of the paperwork I need to send into Immigration.

The downside to all of this is that everything that is required is not posted under one section. Much of the information is out dated and there has been a lot of research involved to make sure I have everything that is required.

In some cases the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing...Like for example:
I recently found out that I will require a Police Certificate from every State I lived in for 6 months or more since I was 18 years old... And with that I also need to get a full set of finger prints done... Seems simple enough..

I did my share of the research this morning and called the local Police Dept, they said I could come down and get fingerprints done anytime... but I could not get a Police Certificate from them.. OK fair enough..

I did more searching and found the web address for the part of the government that handles the Police Certificates... I call and was referred to the site I was already on.. BONUS!... I look and look and look and can't seem to find the right link to print up the request form I need... So I call back and was walked through it and was able to find the form and printed it out.

I get dressed, and drove to the local Police Dept and let them know I need to get my fingerprints taken... I was asked why, I let the officer know that it was for immigration purposes and was told to get the fingerprint card from immigration.... But I could come back anytime after I get that card. Fabulous!

*sigh*... So I hop back on the Canadian Visa website and read through other similar posts to find that a few people were able to go to their local Police Station and have their fingerprints done, no problem... Another person said that they went to their local court house and got the FBI approved card and took that to their Police Dept.

All I could think to do was post yet another "help me" question on the Canadian visa forum and hope for the best.


The more that I think I'm finally getting close to the end, there are another 5 hoops to jump through...

As it sits now, the Application fees alone are just over $1,200.00 USD... The Passport $130.00 USD which I had to sent it out to have my new last name updated that was $75.00... The medical Exam which has to be done will cost me $400.00 USD and I'll have to drive 2 hours to get there, but that covers the exam the blood test/ urine test and x-ray and for them to mail out the results... which even though "Their" doctor and I are both using the same health insurance, my health insurance doesn't cover it. Just makes my point again about this State having mandatory Health Insurance and the times I do actually need it, it's useless... More money wasted...

The Police certificate that used to be Free now cost $25.00 USD... The passport photos for the exam cost $12.00 USD... and god knows what else I'm forgetting or have yet to stumble upon.

So we already down close to $1850.00 for doing all of the leg work.... I wonder what it is exactly that the employees at the Immigration offices do all day... We have called them a few times and have yet to get the same answer twice... Seems they are just paper pushers and have no idea how things really work... I don't know This is all very frustrating...

Once this whole thing is behind me, I will make a list of everything I needed, the fees involved and a timeline of things to do and when they expire.... As a list of this nature doesn't exist and sure would be helpful for the next person trying to go through the same process....

Thanks again for listening/reading... I'll do my best not to yank the hair out of my head before the next blog entry... no promises.