A Commentary on the GM slide to second

The former Big Three shot themselves in both feet by ignoring the changing auto market and their treatment of their customers. The former Big Three have to change, and change *now*, for the old ways are gone forever-they will never return. If they don't adapt to the real world right now they will surely fade into history.

And while Toyota (and Honda) were building sparkling new factories in regions of the country free of the crushing costs associated with union labor contracts, GM and the other Detroit automakers were collectively crafting the most egregiously overinflated and overwrought labor contracts in history with the United Auto Workers union -- which ultimately led the domestic automakers to the brink of oblivion in just 20 years.

Let's hear it for the motto that got US undustry/labor where it is today;

F*** Y** I Got Mine !

If you read the article, there were several factors that got GM into trouble, not just the work contracts. The contracts are bad enough, and they are fighting with UAW now trying to get some slack.

The previously called "Big Three" got themselves into the chile over a period of years wherein the buying public were perhaps too tolerant. It is hard to win back people when you have been crapping on them for years, but it CAN be done.

I suspect if one actually looked at the vehicles, brought to market by ALL of the Japanese import brands, over the past ten years, larger minivans, larger cars with more HP, larger SUVs, bigger trucks, luxury models, V6s and V8s rather than 4cy engines etc, it is the IMPORT brands that have been ADAPTING their vehicles to what US consumers want to buy. LOL

mike

If it is the UAW is the problem, why is it Toyotas and Hondas, coming for overseas and from non union factories that cost so much less to build, cost so much more to buy? LOL

mike

What do you mean by, 'crapping on them for years?' When was the last time you bought a new domestic brand car?

mike

Bottom line Mikey is that, through their own stupidity, GM is #2 and the former Big Three are on thin ice.

Could it be -GASP- that they are worth more? The American public thinks so.

You forgot to say, in my opinion ;)

mike

The fact that buyers will pay 20% to 30% more to buy a vehicles the same size with the same equipment that cost less to build, simply because they think it is 'worth more' says a lot about the reasoning ability of the person doing the buying, than the car they are buying.

I don't understand what you mean by 'The American public thinks so?' Americans buy more cars and trucks from GM than from Toyota or Honda. The American public must think vehicles from GM are 'worth more' than they paid LOL

mike

Of course they did. Just like the American manufacturers put out s*it that American customers don't want. Which brings us to today.

Do you enjoy consistently pointing out the obvious?

nate

Mike Hunter wrote:

He didn't forget. It's evident to anyone with a clue, including hopefully the management of the Big Three.

nate

Mike Hunter wrote:

I agree.... both Labor and Management treated the company like a golden goose..... and GM bet the farm on "bigger-fatter" vehicles..... ( more profit per unit )

????

When was the last time you bought a new car or truck and from whom?

mike

The Japanese have been very clever about penetration of markets. The Brits prided themselves on their motorcycle industry, which the Japanese targeted very successfully. Not many Brit bikes left now, huh?

They also challenged the consumer electronics industry in the USA and Germany. Now, I believe not a single manufacturer of TVs is active in the USA. Asia owns stereo and TV now, for all practical purposes.

They took on Germany for cameras and optics. Germany didnt die out, but clearly the Japs have taken a strong position in cameras. How many of us buy Leica or Hasselblad?

Sometimes, even if you make a quality product, a competitor like Japan will try to 'do you one better'.

Try perhaps but not always succeed. Nobody has yet to make lenses to compare to those available from Leica, in dept of the focal field.

mike

nate

Absolutely true. Don't forget about the British automotive industry, either - sure, a Triumph TR-6 is probably faster than a Miata, but Mazda was the first to produce a real sports car that could be regularly driven for daily transportation by a non-mechanic...

nate

enough said, I guess ;)

mike