My horse(s). Yes, it is fast. No, you can't drive it.
Posted on 02/22/2009 1:38:20 PM PST by Libloather
Go to wikipedia and do a search for chevy aveo and see what you get.
Dont have to, I already know how the Aveo looks like.
Its the american version of the Opel Corsa.
so what?
No. THe opel is the german version of the korean daewoo.
According to this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Daewoo#List_of_Daewoo_models
only the Winstorm MaXX model is actually rebranded as an Opel model.
OK :o)
Now they get it?!
For years their government was subsidizing, had state owned industries, played protectionist games with their TUV, tax code, etc.......
Essentially, what we are doing is what they did for years, and we're not even nearly as discriminatory and purposely creating import barriers as they did. Try to get US beef in Germany.
Do I agree with it? Of course not, it's completely upside down. But a German complaining about this? A country where “BY LAW” you could not bring in a foreign made phone years past because that might compete with the state monopoly Deutsche Telecom? The country where the ship industry is alive because of unlawful subsidies (Vulkan Werke)? Where whole consortium's are borne from state mandates with massive capital investments from a government as with EADS/Airbus???????? Now they are complaining because this appears a little unfair when we are doing what they have done over decades?
I'm not rationalizing nationalization. I'm not supporting the big government approach of our administration. It's the complete opposite of what I believe in because it is a dangerous game where to much power is amassed in a central government, but also highly inefficient, lends itself to GREATER corruption, and is unresponsive to the real wants and needs of consumers. Nonetheless, I can't get over the irony.
No kidding...I just asked the same thing to my husband!!!
A friend have one in the early 80’s...we called it the Hopeless....
Get of your German Autostolz horse.
My horse(s). Yes, it is fast. No, you can't drive it.
Like BMW or Mercedes now in the US, long term if you're an auto maker and plan to stay in that market with a large representation, it's the best to set up shop there because of currency issues, cost in logistics, risk considerations (supply chains), market fluctuations, political considerations etc. There have been several times where Opel was doing well, while GM was sucking, or vice versa, and because they are a global firm, many of these market fluctuations that are often regional get somewhat leveled out.
Because the US is a mature market, affluent society, and has a powerful taste for large and high end vehicles for various reasons, many of the SUV lines from firms like Toyota, Mercedes, Honda, etc. are in the US (It's not just US auto makers). If you buy a big Toyota pickup, it's made in the US, to include that 5.6 liter V-8.
Look, I don't like rubbing elbows with guys or smelling some other dudes breath because his face is in my homophobic space. I'm not into go-carts and driving slowly by the Starbucks checking out the “scenery.” Not my thing, know what I mean?
Sure. But I get to quickly pass those pig, cow or chicken haulin' trailers before the smell hits. Know what I mean?
I’m sure that big exhaust pipe makes you go a lot faster than the speed limit.
“GM saved Opel several times and has owned them since before WWII. They must have been screwing up for a long time.
Get of your German Autostolz horse.”
How i love such senseless comments *lol*
One of the big advantages a global firm like GM is that not all their eggs are in one basket even when it comes to geographic markets. On no less than two occasions I know of, the parent company GM floated Opel in the past. But the opposite is true too. Because GM is in Israel, Korea, China, Australia, South Africa, Germany, Great Britain, Mexico etc., when the market in place “X” turns on its head they tend to weather it out fairly well.
This is how “free trade” works.
The “free trader” government used our tax dollars to fund American companies to become transnational. The “free trader” government used our tax dollars to guarantee the formerly American companies profits overseas with special insurance programs, and ‘foreign aid’ to the target countries (i.e. bribes to their politicians) to grant favorable access to their country’s economies to the formerly American companies.
Now that the formerly American companies can no longer be called American companies, and who can no longer expand globally because of the ‘credit crunch’, the “free trader” government is using our tax dollars to ‘bail (read bribe) the formerly American companies to keep their losing business propositions offshore.
They figured out long ago that the American taxpayer would foot the bill for globalization, through theft of our tax dollars, loss of our domestic economy and loss of sovereignty.
They will not give up until America is completely destroyed, and all those countries who despise freedom and American propserity will laugh all the way to the bank.
If GM were an American company they would divest themselves of their foreign factories and subsidiaries and use the money to keep their core business functioning in the US. But instead, they will steal more from the American people so that foreign governments can prosper.
This is globalization, this is “free trade”.
There’s noone left to fund anything and there’s no Car market in the USA today.
There hasn’t been realy for the least years because all they ‘sold’ was sold on debt.
If GM and Ford make it then it’s due to solvent markets like Brasil or some european markets (e.g. Germany) where states money is used to prop up new car sales (the reason why GM/Opel sold more cars in germany then the last 5 years) the reason why Opel Rüsselsheim is in the sh*** now is beause they suffer from the GM junk bond rating (captial costs) and the abhorrent money drain to Tricky Rick.
It’s german tax money on it’s way to the US nowadays and that’s why our politicians will not allow Rick to close a productive plant over here.
I wouldn’t buy a thing from Rick at the moment - he’s trying to smile his way out of this horror show he initiated by keeping sales rates in the US up high by financing cars for every fool and his dog.
“Markets in foreign countries exist, by your statement, due to socialist propping up of the market.”
That was not the statement - it’s more due to a rescue package for capitalism. Wich I think is more then reasonable thing to have.
Also in germany the buyers pay more cash then buy on debt so the market is much richer - prices are higher etc... even the euro/dollar ratio is in favour of the german car market, but there’s a big question mark behind that for the future.
And it’s not the entire future that GM wishes to put on germany - but to exist further there has to be a base in europe and in latin america and in asia - otherwise there’s no balancing out local recessions (ok - this time there’s no hiding from recession) and certainly there’s synergies in that - we all want to drive innovative and cheap cars, don’t we ?
Then there’s cost per unit: As a result of union demands there’s a lot less automatization in the US car industrie - costs per unit are much higher - so germany is very lean also tax wise - corporate taxes are lower over here then in the US.
I hear a lot of nonsense about german personal costs - they WHERE a structural problem in the last decade but the last (social!!!) government lowered taxes and reduced the influence of unions.
Last but not least GM took huge profit out of germanies excellent personal market - engineering is a german speciality - don’t get me wrong - I know there’s engineering in the US and a lot of that - but that equation works as an addition not as an ‘either the one OR the other’ function - the developer of the chevy volt as an example:
His name is Frank Weber.
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