I'll be honest why can't these Big Three Companies just simply be managed by real car people and someone with attention to detail and quality instead of just penny pitching idiot bean counters like Wagoner, I wonder what would GM be like if Lutz was the CEO?

Ford for example, like I've said before why can't they just bring all the wonderful designs and concepts they've been making in Europe bring them here to America, just a comparison of the Euro Focus vs the US Focus , it's no wonder why the Big Three is in trouble.

 

Cost-cutting is not limited to the Big Three by any means. Toyota, Subaru, and VW all show notable signs of cost-cutting and decrease in material quality on some of their latest models too. This is especially noticeable on the Camry, Tundra, Forester, and Passat.

 

Euro Focus is way better than the U.S. Focus, I remember those when I was in Mexico.

 

This is going to end up in the Debate forum pretty soon....


Spoken like a union member.

Would I be willing to work for a company knowing full well today could be last day at work? Short answer, yes.

MOST people live this way. I live in a Right-to-Work state. I don't work for a union. No one I personally know works for a union. We all go to work every day and work hard. And we all know that, if we don't work hard, we can be fired. This is called LIFE.

How do I earn more than minimum wage? I work hard. I work harder than the next guy.

You did a very nice job of making my point; I'm going to use your quote to reinforce it.

We're not talking about highly-skilled labor here. You don't need an MBA with a minor in Electrical Engineering to do the kinds of jobs we're talking about. We're talking about what are basically unskilled labor tasks or jobs that require minimal on-the job training. "If their were no unions, then the big 3 would just hire cheep labor and pay everyone min(imum) wage."

The only people that think it's a good idea to pay someone $40/hour for a doing a minimum wage job are the people that either a) are actually working that job or b) have friends/relatives who work that job.

How can McDonald's sell a hamburger for only $.79? Because they have a cheap labor force.

You don't want to spend your life working a minimum wage job? That wouldn't be "fair"? Then get an education and EARN a high-wage job and work hard at that job to EARN a raise and/or promotion. That's the American way.

This is called "Modernization". It makes for a higher-quality product. I buy products based on their quality; not based on the whether or not the company is trying to make work for "Americans".

Now here's a thought from someone who clearly "doesn't understand anything" (to borrow your phrase).

An "investment" is defined as "the investing of money or capital in order to gain profitable returns, as interest, income, or appreciation in value."

How many people on here bought a new car that's now worth more than they paid for it?

A car is an "expense". It's going to cost you money to own and operate. It's always going to lose money (for this argument, we're NOT talking about a Ferarri 288 GTO...we're talking about the everyday cars we drive). A good car will depreciate LESS than a crappy car but, that certainly doesn't make it an "investment".

 

Good write up Sick..........I'm still divided on the issue somewhat.

 

What blows my mind was that Chrysler was asking for like 7 billion despite their net worth only being 6. lol

 

OK Rick Wagoner, don't you have better time to spend then on the internet? And also, please use a dictionary or spell checker!

IMHO, Americans have moved away from the labor force since early in the decade. Why should the automotive industry be any different? Our strength is in our ingenuity and intellect, not by the force of our backs and arms. Folks who believe that getting a HS diploma, while getting a free job ticket in the union is sufficient in today's aggressive and turbulent times are just fooling themselves. Blue Collar is definitely out and the future of America is in white collar workers. Kill the manufacturing arms of these behemoths and keep the engineering, the real value of the Big 3.

 

Amen! And if you don't like your job go get more qualified for a better one by getting an education!

 

Couldn't have said it better myself...

I have 2 uncles that work for NUMMI in Fremont and they tell stories about all the lazy idiots they see complaining about every little thing. This is the same NUMMI plant that is among the top in North American plants known for productivity.

Just think if they complain about how lazy some people are at a joint GM/Toyota plant, then I'm really worried when it comes to other Union workers are at other plants.

 

Aren't white collar jobs going overseas at a rapid rate, as well? I think you can hire three engineers in India for the price of one engineer in the USA. With telecommunications, it is no big deal. The jobs that are safer appear to be in sales and service - jobs that require either people skills or technical expertise, combined with manual labor.

 

pretty sure ford will be ok, even though i think gm makes better cars. i actually dont know how chrysler still exists today. who keeps buying their crap?

 

I would agree with you that there are many jobs that are being outsourced overseas, but I would disagree that it is entirely a cost saving measure.

In many cases, there are simply not enough qualified "professionals" to fill the needs of an industry. There is another thread on here that specically speaks to the growing shortage of doctors that you will soon be facing. The reality is that medical schools within North America will not be able to keep up with the growing demand.

Architects are another perfect example. The architectural firm that we use has faced the same labor difficulties that most industries are facing. They ended up opening an office in Mumbai, not because it was cheaper, but because they could acquire well educated, English speaking architects.

I cannot speak directly to automotive engineers, but are there enough homegrown ones to fill the needs?

If outsourcing is solely a cost cutting maneuver that could be met locally, then I also disagree with it.

 

Here is the weird thing to me about chrysler, until recently they were held by daimlerbenz, a german car company, so there should have been more european advances, i.e., smaller, fuel efficent cars, but instead they fell in the same trap of GM and Ford, with producing big SUVs, etc. I think GM or Ford would save chrysler if they didn't have thier own problems, so yes I think chrysler is doomed, with maybe only Jeep, Ram and Viper brands surviving in some way.

 

The big three need to get together and break the union. That is what is slowing them down.

CEO corporate structure also need to be restructured.

 

It's not "ironic" that the best Japanese cars are built here--it's just sad. And it just shows why so many people are indifferent to the fall of the Big 3. No one's buying into the BS anymore. The Japanese have shown that a truly excellent car CAN be produced right here in the US.

Sorry--I'm not buying this. You can't compare a Camry CX interior to a Lexus. Compare a Civic's interior to a Dodge Caliber. Or a Camry to a Chrysler Sebring. No comparison.