Turk_Kildare

I worked for the GM Parking Brake Supplier and Shifter Supplier for Corvette this year during the MY2013 Build Out. They ran out of the standard black thread parking brake boots on February 15 (due to not accurately forecasting the build out date) and could not meet the ship date for the next week. Instead of contacting GM and working out a temporary solution; the plant and operations manager of SL TN Chassis went out and purchased $100 worth of permanent markers and had several employees color mystic blue thread as black. It actually looked ok; but, when the leather was moved or stretched; the thread would change position and expose the uncolored blue.

If you get a late numbered 2013; you might want to check your parking break for colored thread. I am sad that I was ordered to be a part of this deception.

Korean Supplier:http://www.sl-america.com/

Eppieguy

Interesting

dvilin

I assume GM was not aware of this and they have not been advised of this action. In any case pretty shoddy of the supplier to pull something like this.
Be nice if the GM rep on this forum responded, but that is not very likely.

R&L's C6

I believe what we have on the forum is a social network monitor hired by GM and not really a GM rep...

R&L's C6

Disgruntled employee????

nous defions

If what he claims is true, it doesn't matter if he's disgruntled, or not. What I care about is, is it true. I'll check mine later, just in case.

Rich Mickol

R&L's C6

True, please let us know what you find out.

Turk_Kildare

I can assure you it happened and there are many employees who did not agree with it or want to participate in the action. However; this company has a controlling and bureaucratic organization behavior that lays off, or curiously terminates anyone who questions these types of actions. Most of the SL TN Management Team are Korean and work on a cycle of employment that coincides with their work visa. The American employees consist mostly of factory line labor and a few in management who adhere to a strict discipline of control from the Korean Management.

What was posted in this topic is true and I guarantee you that if GM inspects these parking brake brake boots from the shipment time-frame of February 18th to March 1 for build-out; they will discover discolored threads in several of the boots. All you have to do is stretch the leather.

I am extremely dismayed that I had to participate in this act and I know of many more deceptions SL America has portrayed on GM and JCI (Tier 1 Supplier). Extremely sad that America lets these companies infiltrate our borders to act as a store front for importing their Korean based sub-components as being American Made.

Keep 'Em Flying

GM quality at its finest

RLK

Mine was built Feb first but I will check anyway.

RLK

Exactly, thats what you get when you have a lowest bidder on parts policy. Lowest bidder usually means lowest quality as well.

michaelinmech

OP subscribes to CF on 9/8/13 specifically to advise us of a terrible deception he is dismayed and sad about. Only the purported deception took place back in February.

If his claim is true and the OP was so dismayed about it, why is he he first sharing 6 months after the fact? Why tell us about the controlling and bureaucratic organizational behavior? Why tell us about the Korean ownership, management and work visas? And why report this to us and not GM or Chevrolet or Team Corvette?

I don't know - but I feel like we're being played . . . . .

Joe B.

An off-color thread?
Seriously, that is so Mickey Mouse, if true.

R&L's C6

If not, I'm sure if he called Bowling Green and asked to speak to a quality control manager, they would probably love to talk to him especially if this company has any parts on the C7.

michaelinmech

^ That would be the right thing for him to do

Rich Mickol

Should have just dyed it. All you late builds, do yourself a favor and don't even look. If it's true, it will probably drive you nuts.

markmott

It's probably true, I'm sure this type thing happens all the time. All big companies work the same JIT shipping, get raws in this morning, make product this afternoon, ship tonight, no warehouse time. This works ok until one small glitch hits the system then everyone is trying to figure a way out, usually not in the consumers best interest.

AORoads

we will see, eh?

Turk_Kildare

Being played? Well, do you think GM is going to let it's customers know about this sort of thing? I guarantee you this is the truth and you will see evidence if called upon to prove it.

The reason I posted this weekend; was that I informed the SL TN President about the use of incorrect resin for a shifter base and I was subsequently laid off the next week with the excuse "due to lack of work". They were using 35% resin in substitute for 33% polymer resin because they did not pay their bill with a resin manufacturer called Radici' (http://www.radicigroup.com/chemicals...ctsSearch.aspx. They were on credit hold and substituted the resin with the incorrect material to mold shifter bases for other GM vehicles. I am sure someone could contact Radici' and see if SL TN America was on credit hold this month to verify some of this information.

Ask yourself; what is my motivation...? Well; it is to speak out and get these issues resolved. I do not want anything; I do think GM should give a few surprise visits to this facility and bring engineers to check the specifications on the production line. The GM supplier representative that is currently assigned to the supplier rarely spends time in the factory and usually spends most trips playing some golf up on the Cumberland Plateau in TN. The operations manager actually told the SL Employees last week in an open factory production meeting with a microphone that we need to button down some of our loose ends because SL is getting a new GM Supplier Quality Rep. Meanwhile, VW and Hyundai Kia show up at random and review every aspect of their product line all the way down to the corrugate packaging.

Sad thing is they are scrambling with quality issues for the Y1XX and sending junk down line.

I tried submitting several online contact messages to GM and I have never heard from anyone. Seriously, search GM Bowling Green's Website and see how easy it is to contact them. Not very easy and you never know if anyone actually got the web form that is available for web users to contact them.

Then; go to GM's main website. See if you can figure out who to contact and feel that you are going to get an actual response.