President-Elect Obama made a comment after the first visit by the Detroit Iron boys went to plead for bucks. He asked "What is the plan?" No one seemed to know. It is true that if the big three fold their tent that several million jobs are by the boards. I saw this happen in Lower New York when an inefficient Ford plant closed around 25 years ago. It took 10 years before all the lost jobs were replaced. Every business from mom and pop bodegas to grocery stores to furniture and appliance stores went South.
It is also true that just giving the clueless Detroit boys more money wouldn't solve much except to delay the inevitable.
What we need is a demand from Congress and Obama that a VIABLE business plan be developed just as if they were a new business venture looking for capital. The American people have lost faith in the car makers because they build in obsolescence and quality is second to gimmickry and cost increasing extras. Where is the 1966 Ford pickup that I bought new for $2100 that I sold for $300 when it had 265,000 miles on it? Would anyone in their right mind routinely expect any US made vehicle to last over 150,000 miles? And why not? Where is the basic transportation that we need.
Car makers take note. Trim the bloated overpaid manager overhead, negotiate with the unions to give the workers respect and a say in outcomes the same way they do in Asia and Europe and stop whining about how the unions are driving you out of business. The standards of living in many countries are passing us by so we can't say our workers are treated too well as compared to foreign countries' workers.
Make a car that has minimal defects and ones the public has confidence in. Build them to last more than 150,000 miles and stand behind it when there is trouble. Get rid of dealers that fake repairs and bill you the manufacturer for work not done, or try to push extra cost items onto the cost of the vehicles.
Spend the money on innovation to improve quality and dump gimmicks. Partner with developers of alternative energy, including natural gas powered vehicles that are so prevalent in the OIL PRODUCING countries that are mandated so they can save their oil to sell to us. Engineer a way to bring fuel cells into vehicles instead of building cars that increase our dependency on foreign oil.
In other words, bring the USA some true leadership.
It is also true that just giving the clueless Detroit boys more money wouldn't solve much except to delay the inevitable.
What we need is a demand from Congress and Obama that a VIABLE business plan be developed just as if they were a new business venture looking for capital. The American people have lost faith in the car makers because they build in obsolescence and quality is second to gimmickry and cost increasing extras. Where is the 1966 Ford pickup that I bought new for $2100 that I sold for $300 when it had 265,000 miles on it? Would anyone in their right mind routinely expect any US made vehicle to last over 150,000 miles? And why not? Where is the basic transportation that we need.
Car makers take note. Trim the bloated overpaid manager overhead, negotiate with the unions to give the workers respect and a say in outcomes the same way they do in Asia and Europe and stop whining about how the unions are driving you out of business. The standards of living in many countries are passing us by so we can't say our workers are treated too well as compared to foreign countries' workers.
Make a car that has minimal defects and ones the public has confidence in. Build them to last more than 150,000 miles and stand behind it when there is trouble. Get rid of dealers that fake repairs and bill you the manufacturer for work not done, or try to push extra cost items onto the cost of the vehicles.
Spend the money on innovation to improve quality and dump gimmicks. Partner with developers of alternative energy, including natural gas powered vehicles that are so prevalent in the OIL PRODUCING countries that are mandated so they can save their oil to sell to us. Engineer a way to bring fuel cells into vehicles instead of building cars that increase our dependency on foreign oil.
In other words, bring the USA some true leadership.
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