2Wire Gateway Problems

Ugh.

The last few weeks, my 2wire DSL gateway (model 2701) has been behaving very badly. I can run wired all day long, no problem, but if I used 802.11b or 802.11g connections, the gateway actually drops the DSL link at random intervals. Sometimes it will run a few minutes, sometimes it will only run a few seconds.

I have googled until my eyes are dry looking for solutions, but so far, nothing concrete. Lots of people report the same sort of problem, and the only answer I can seem to find is "use a different router".

Anyone out there have the same issue?

If I find something, I'll post it here.

Update


I have determined that the problem is with the 2wire gateway. If I use a Linksys router and turn off the wi-fi on the 2701, I have no problems, and no dropped access. My 2wire box must have an issue with running 802.11b/g and DSL.

I spoke to AT&T (India) which forwarded me to 2Wire (Phillipines). 2Wire indicated that they could not find anything wrong with my gateway. I asked them if they could arrange a replacement, and they said they normally would--but since I bought my unit second hand, the warranty does not transfer.

My solution is to use the DSL modem part of the box only, and use a separate Linksys wireless router for the wi-fi. So far so good.

So be warned, 2wire won't honor their warranties unless it is original installed equipment!

Call The White House

It is not surprising that when presented with a length of rope by the Senate Republicans, the UAW chose not to hang itself.

There isn't much else we can do. I urge everyone to cares about the U.S. auto industry, its suppliers, and the broad economy in general to contact President Bush right away and ask him to save GM and Chrysler, at least until Obama can get into office and take up the task.

Ronald Reagan saved Harley Davidson. I hope Bush isn't remembered as the president that killed GM.

White House telephone: 202-456-1414
White House email: president@whitehouse.gov

A Little Machiavelli?

The situation with the Republicans being ready to trash the domestic auto industry reminded me of something I read when I was in college and a lot smarter than I am now.

From The Prince, Chapter 8 (Project Gutenberg):

Hence it is to be remarked that, in seizing a state, the usurper ought
to examine closely into all those injuries which it is necessary for him
to inflict, and to do them all at one stroke so as not to have to repeat
them daily; and thus by not unsettling men he will be able to reassure
them, and win them to himself by benefits. He who does otherwise, either
from timidity or evil advice, is always compelled to keep the knife
in his hand; neither can he rely on his subjects, nor can they attach
themselves to him, owing to their continued and repeated wrongs. For
injuries ought to be done all at one time, so that, being tasted less,
they offend less; benefits ought to be given little by little, so that
the flavour of them may last longer.

Or, restated somewhat, if you must do something ugly to the people, do it quickly all at once, get it over with, so that you can start rebuilding your reputation over time by doing beneficial things gradually.

So if you are a Republican and you just lost a big election, now is the time to do damage and break things you want broken, because you have a few years before your next chance at power.

Maybe Dead...

Senator Shelby (R-AL) and 4 others have threatened to filibuster the bridge loan bill. There are 49 Republican senators, and 51 Democrat/Independents. But of the 51, 3 are off duty: Biden, Clinton, and Obama. It isn't clear if the Democrats have enough support to get cloture, so there is a good chance that the Southern Republicans will get their wish--Chapter 11 for GM and Chrysler.

Here's the video: CNBC

The Southern Republicans are determined to bust the UAW. Here is the outline of their plan. An excerpt (red text is my emphasis):

What We Should Be Doing: The American Automotive Reorganization and Recovery Plan

Hard Benchmarks:

On December 2, the Big Three presented to Congress their plans for restructuring. While the plans included laudable goals, too few details were provided ...

The Big Three must lock in the restructuring they have promised in a matter of weeks, not months or years. Congress should instead establish firm benchmarks and a tight timeline for restructuring. Such benchmarks will include for example requiring that by March 31, 2009 each company should reach agreement whereby:

•The companies’ creditors agree to a framework to reduce each company’s indebtedness by at least 1/3.

•The UAW holds to concessions already made and further:
o Concedes the elimination of Supplemental Unemployment Benefits;
o Concedes elimination of the Jobs Bank Program;
o Agrees to either reduce company retiree health care obligations or otherwise convert a portion of such obligations into equity; and
o Agrees to reduce wages and benefits to the levels paid by non-Big Three manufacturers.

A Process for Reaching Expedited Agreement, Instead of Nationalizing America’s Auto Companies

Because of the many legal and contractual hurdles to restructuring, the companies are urged to accomplish their restructuring through the use of a pre-packaged bankruptcy or another mechanism to bring all stakeholders to the table for an agreed-upon determination of their future. It is important that these stakeholders reach reasonable compromises amongst themselves. Creating a government bureaucracy or a “car czar” to arbitrarily pass judgment on the thousands of details involved with a restructuring is akin to nationalizing the auto companies.

Interim Financing: Insurance, Rather than a Taxpayer-Funded Bailout

The Big Three may need some form of interim financing as they finalize their restructuring. In normal economic times, if their restructuring plan is considered viable, such financing should be available in the private market. Because of the current credit crisis, limited assistance may be appropriate in the form of insurance, rather than a taxpayer-funded government bailout that replaces private investment. We propose that the government provide insurance, funded by the participants with a modest FDIC-like fee, which would cover up to 50 percent of the losses of new investment in the case of default, helping to unlock immediate private investment (not unlike debtor in possession financing). Such insurance would expire on March 31, 2009. This proposal ensures that taxpayers are protected and provides a powerful incentive for the Big Three to quickly implement their restructuring plans.

So they are basically saying, 1) break the UAW, and 2) soak the creditors, while offering a 50% insurance policy against default to try to attract private investment.

It's the "private investment" part that worries me.

Not. Dead. Yet.

Thousands of people in the metro Detroit area are breathing a cautious sigh of relief this weekend, after news broke that Congress and the Bush Administration are negotiating a compromise measure to give a loan to GM and Chrysler to keep operating until the Obama administration is seated.

The whole mass has been a fascinating, and depressing political show. I listened to a few hours of the hearings over the last few days, and pompous arrogance of some of the members of Congress was infuriating. Even the sympathetic members, such as Chris Dodd (D-CT) offered ridiculous and unhelpful advice, such as suggesting with a straight face that maybe the Detroit 3 could retool their plants to build mass transit products such as busses and rail cars. "The truck and SUV plants you are closing... these have pretty long wheel bases, don't they?" said Dodd, who apparently acquired a manufacturing engineering degree somewhere, secretly.

Then came the spectacle of Maxine Waters (D-CA) complaining that dealers, specifically small dealers, specifically, minority dealers, were being hurt by all the cuts, and inquiring what the Detroit 3 were planning to do to protect the dealers. This at a time when many commentators, and many other members of Congress correctly realize that having too many dealers their hurts profitability, and reduces the efficiency of the service and distribution divisions.

But the most delicious part of the political battle, for me, was the brawl between Bush and the Democrats on where to take the loan money from. Bush said from the beginning that the financial bailout money ($350 Billion now, $350 Billion later, maybe) was for protecting the financial system, and that Congress should rewrite the Advanced Technology Manufacturer Vehicle Assistance Program (aka "section 136") law to allow that money to be used for bridge loans. The Democrats wanted Bush to use money from the financial bailout money, and to save the ATVM loan program for fuel economy retooling.

Bush stuck to his guns (he is very good at it) and forced the Democrats to make a painful choice: do nothing, and throw the UAW under the bus, or cave, and anger the Greenies. From the Detroit Free Press:

A breakthrough on the long-stalled rescue came when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yielded to President George W. Bush on a key point: allowing the aid to be drawn from a fund set aside for the production of environmentally friendlier cars.

And, at the 11th hour, the Democrats wisely decided it was the Greens who should be thrown under the bus.

May it always be so.

The Mighty Lincoln Towncar!

I was reading Autoblog's nice summary (here) of the November sales results, and I noticed that Lincoln did surprisingly well compared to the other luxury brands. Lincoln's sales declined only 8%. By comparison, Lexus lost 35%. The only brand to have a smaller decline was Subaru.

So I went and looked at Ford's sales number details for Lincoln, on Ford's media web site.

(Click for full size image)

Lincoln did well because of two models: MKS and, of all things, Towncar. MKS came out of the gate strong, becoming Linoln's best selling vehicle, better even than the cheaper MKZ. And somehow, Ford managed to sell 200% more Towncars than a year ago. In fact, if Towncar had sold the same as last year, Lincoln's sales numbers would be down 20% instead of 8%!

Towncar had better year-over-year results than Subaru Forester (+63%) or BMW's Mini (+43%). I didn't take the time to dig through the other car maker's sales numbers, but I am willing to bet that no single model had a better year-over-year result than Towncar.

I wonder what Ford did to sell them like that... BOGO?

The Demise of Pontiac and Saturn

Update: I have a more recent post on this subject here.

The pundits were predicting that GM would have no choice but to plan to cut brands, and so it wasn't a surprise that they announced, effectively, the end of Pontiac and Saturn. We don't know what a "niche brand" Pontiac will look like, but it might be limited to roadsters and Australian transplants.

Saturn is probably just dead, because there isn't much there to sell. When Saturns were assembled at their own plant, it may have worked, but now that they are variants of other GM models, built in shared plants with shared parts, it doesn't seem like there is much to sell. "Strategic options" seems to me like it means that Saturn will be put down like Oldsmobile.

I wrote 3 years ago that GM should kill Pontiac and keep Buick, you can read the earlier post here. And GM did some things to improve Pontiac, by bringing out the audacious Solstice, and the G8, and the upcoming Sport Truck. But they also shot themselves in the foot with such decidedly unexciting vehicles as the G3, G5, and Torrent. The G6 is a handsome car that just needs some sportier tuning, in my opinion. The Vibe has the same problem--it is a decent car, very practical, but not very exciting to drive.

Saturn is unfortunate, because GM worked very hard to give them a sharp, well defined character and fresh products. The Aura won NA Car of the Year with its sharp looks and much improved interior. The Astra, a Euro transplant, is also a sharp car with good handling. But somehow, the brand just couldn't take off.

I hope GM recycle's the Saturn dealer network, because they are what gave Saturn half a chance to begin with. I shopped for one once, and I liked how I was treated.