When I see an American car here in California I usually think it's a rental. Noone else seems to care to have one. It seems to be regional though. In the environments that are not as heterogeneous (mid west) I've heard the opposite is true. And American car should be fine for people who do not blast thru mountain ranges weekly. If I did not have to turn I might have considered one myself. But sky is heavy and is missing two doors, solid roof and a decent 5sp tranny. It's amazing that it fares well against MX-5 in reviews. GM could've just killed Cobalt and beaten Mazda to market with Kabura, but for some reason decided to go head to head with Mazda that had 15+ year headway. I'm scratching my head what GM was thinking. They could've been the only ones with a sub $20k rwd compact sedan and probably a lot of people would've bought into that.
The difference is, Toyota does not employ more people than they have to and whatever they could have automated they already did. Do they even have contracts with UAW?
Right. Back to the square one with the cost of labor.
Did they have to bail out Delphi? Aren't there people who are paid to plan for contingencies like that and develop disaster recovery plans? It seems like farming out parts production way back when would've enabled them to build backup parts suppliers in places where you could make decent quality parts because all your money are not spent on labor and you therefore are forced to cut corners on R&D and parts.
Wherever people drive a lot, I mean really long commutes, they tend to buy more imports cause generally they're more reliable.
Why do you say such nonsense, barring a turbo, there is nothing better read more comfortable, than driving a big torquey American pushrod engine through high mountains. I used to do it weekly for several years, traveling the Sierras from Reno to Bay area. Most import engines get buzzy on steep inclines, but old American pushrods really shine in this application managing to stay relaxed and at relatively low rpm's.
DEC does not exist anymore. The fact that HP/Compaq are profitable is not a statement that DEC is alive and well. You missed the whole point.
Correct - and so did GM and so did IBM. The prophets of doom are quickly predicting the total demise of GM and my point was (and remains) that the same things were being said of IBM when DEC was eating IBM's lunch. Well - IBM turned itself around and is hugely profitable today. The fact that DEC made a fortune in its day is completely irrelevant.
There's a conflicting statement. I guess you believe that only PC's are computers. Those mainframes and servers are quite profitable for IBM but more importantly, IBM has become one of the largest forces in the world of Systems Integration. It's all about a company re-making itself.
Again - nice information point but not relevant to my point. My point was that IBM is the classic example of the behemoth falling prey to its own out of touch business practices and re-making itself into a thriving corporation. In fact - IBM still holds the leadership position it had worked so hard to create.
I'm betting GM will re-invent themselves to become something that is in the same genre of a company that they were for decades, but with a new approach to their business. If they do, I'm saying they will continue to be a factor to contend with.
Business is cyclic. Given enough time, the Japanese business machine will fall victim to itself as well. The Japanese are riding on their high right now. At that, they are only approaching the fall of an American giant. Not a spectacular high point in the bigger picture. Let's wait and see how this all unfolds. GM can still bring about their own ultimate demise - it's all about management decisions.
I think most workers in the US for Toyota, Honda, etc., are non-union.
GM had to bail Delphi because it was a spin-off of GM. One of those complicated legal things. A lot of it had to do with pensions that Delphi inherited from GM.
Yeah, they are called bankrupcy lawyers.
The problem with this idea is that parts suppliers are not free. A parts supplier is not going to set up spare capacity for free, just in case. Extra capacity costs money.
Not quite correct. IBM started moving to charge for mainframe support services about 1970 after settling a USA Gov lawsuit on bundling mainframe support services in the rental price. Most users rented IBM computers, but many did buy. Often they bought at a discounted price after they had a computer for a few years. Before the settlement with the USA Gov service income was low, but after it gradually grew until it exceeded the hardware sales. The net affect was an increase in IBM mainframe domination; certainly not the objective. It did result in an increase in independent software consulting services. I was there, both before and after the change in IBM bundling.
You need to look at REAL Mike. The Toyota Camry is the highest volume car in the USA and with the new hybrid model will surely increase faster in volume. Toyota makes a profit as well.
Toyota doesn't pay laid off workers to sit around doing nothing for several yrs yet collect a big regular cheque. Of course growing Toyota seldom lays off workers, they are usually hiring due to growth in their NA production.
You mean the number one selling SINGLE model CAR. More than half the all the vehicles sold in the US for the past five years have been light trucks. GM sells more cars than Toyota but not with the same brand on the hood. When it comes to the number one single brand name vehicles Ford sells that. The number one selling vehicle is the Ford F150 and it has been for 28 years. Ford sell the F150 at annual rate nearly twice that of the Camry. GM sells far more Silverado's than the Camry and Dodge sells more Rams than the Camry as well .
You forgot to mention Toyota pays their workers less, offer them fewer and less desirable health and dental benefits and life insurance. They do not offer them a defined pension plan, only a 401k for which they must pay into. All of that to assemble vehicles of mostly imported parts from low wage countries on vehicles that cost 20% to 30% more to buy, than those of comparable size and equipment, sold by their competitors vehicles. ;)
Because I hate being stuck in my buzzy compact behind people like you crawling on those 2 lane overpasses. I don't mind tooling uphill at 5k rpm. Does not bother me in a least bit. That's what the engines are designed to do: to be in the range between max torque and max hp whenever you need it. What's the point of a V6 if it's coupled with an automatic so I can't access 70% of the power the engine can produce? I'm paying the price in high gas consumption and weight with a 6 cylinder anyway. If you mean 4 cyl compact plus automatic then yes, I agree. That's a crappy combo. Esp so in the mountains.
Do you have evidence or knowledge of this Jeff? Simply because GM spun Delphi off in no way obligated GM to any sort of bail out of Delphi. What was it about the pension funds that causes you to say that a lot had to do with pensions?
No wonder the gas prices are so high. Perhaps those better for the world people who buy the Toyota hybrids will help out those buying such large vehicles.
He's right and GM has more big $$$ commitments to Delphi. Unfortunately Delphi is now producing many parts in foreign locations; they are a big importer.
In any event, it is more than Toyota gives it workers
Wrong, those Toyotas with a '4' as the first number of the VIN have less than 70% but more than 40%. Those with a '5' like the Tundra have les than
40%.
Since Honda, who actually builds cars like the Accord in the US and has a '1' as the first number of the VIN, filed a complaint with the FTC about Toyota claming their cars were made in American when they are only assembled here. Toyota now says in its ads 'Assembled in the US of world sourced parts.' ;)
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