Posted on 11/21/2008 11:05:08 AM PST by thetru
However, even with all of the onerous regulations in place, some of which should probably be repealed or re-examined, foreign car companies not only profit but also hire US workers to build their products right here in this country.
Clearly, the US government is not responsible for "killing the auto industry."
They wouldn’t be in business at all if no one bought their hyper-expensive, gas-guzling SUV’s.
Globalization.
what killed the auto industry was the feeling that they could do whatever they want knowing that the govt would always be there to bail them out since they were too important to fail.
Aren’t we talking about cars made in Michigan? I understand car factories in the south are doing well.
“Who killed the U.S. auto industry?”
The auto industry is not killed as those outside of the UAW run Detroit are making money and selling cars.
Who killed Detroit is the question and the answer is the UAW and the Government approximately 75% and 25%.
michigan is not a right to work state. That’s the problem.
We don’t want any subsidies or bailouts at all.
What the foreign auto makers have for huge advantage is the fact that most of their profits go back into their own country's economy, making it easier to produce good auto relatively cheaply. Not so with American autos makers, who have been dealing with massively unfair trade, tax, and expense/profit practices for decades. I drive a 2001 Buick LeSabre, smooth, strong, quiet, comfortable, and it gets over 30 mpg highway, and about 20 mpg overall. Good or better than any Toyota. Our stuff is just about as good as the imports now, and has been for awhile. BTW, the foreign brands do not have to deal with the same "government" garbage as the US auto makers, that's just plain wrong.
the Big 3 is like another freddie mac. Privatized profits and socialized risks just doesn’t work.
Dissent is patriotic.
Umm, last I checked the (Formerly) Big Three were getting their asses kicked by automobiles manufactured in the United States.
After ten years and $5 billion:
The new urine processor assembly aboard the international space station, a key component in a water recycling system needed to convert urine and condensate into drinking water, was re-activated early today after problems Thursday. The processor operated for about two hours and then shut itself down again. Engineers are troubleshooting error messages
www.spaceflightnow.com
Congress had a hand in this.
I will be keeping my 4WD shortbox Republican Victory Red Chevy V8 Pick Up truck. Its paid for, and can haul a$$ anywhere on the continent.
The rest of the socialist A$$ Hats can GTH.
All hat and no cattle.Soon they will be hiring civil servats to wipe their sorry derrieres as well.
My son, was talking about a new energy policy , he lives in Japan, where they have one, 30% nuclear, 30% oil, 30% coal. 10% hydro. The country runs like a clock.
I told my son," What makes you think we will have an energy policy in the USA? Its all ideology thats driving no decisions.The Dems have controlled congress for two years and haven't implimented an energy policy. That keeps the lobbyists paying.... Thats our energy policy."
We have no leadership in our nation today. Cowards all.
It's a combination of the UAW stranglehold and government policies. It costs the Big 3 $2000 more per vehicle to build it than the foreign makers. This means they had to build bigger, more expensive vehicles (trucks, SUVs) in order to make any sort of profit. The government then places CAFE burdens on them FORCING them to devote resources to build smaller fleets of vehicles (which they cannot make money on due to their labor obligations). Their specialty is thus Trucks,SUVs because that's where they made their money. Fuel prices skyrocket, causing consumers to buy smaller vehicles and stop buying trucks and ergo, they have money problems.
It's really simple...the UAW and government policies...both in bed with Democrats...caused the Big 3 to fail. Of course, Republicans get the blame because Bush is the President...just like the mortgage crisis and Fannie/Freddie. The Democratic Party is a cancer on this nation.
Who kills or destroys most everything? GOVERNMENT!
The same CAFE standards also apply to foreign car companies and because of their better management they are not in the same state that the Big 3 currently find themselves. As you've shown, the Big 3 have no one to blame but themselves.
Pat does a good job ticking off the bullet-points. The Net Effect is that Auto Execs do not control, nor can they reasonably forsee many of the factors that affect the profitability (future) of their business. And with every new government mandate that level of control drops incrementally.
One US Auto exec lamented in a congressional hearing that “if I knew the price of gasoline in 5 years time, my job would be so much easier.” That is just ONE factor that is largely out of their control, but 5 years is roughly the time it takes to move a car design from concept to production.
It’s only going to get worse with the government will start exercising direct influence over managerial decisions at the Big 3.
The same CAFE standards, but they don't have the $2000+ burden per car that the Big 3 have. The Big 3 would make a profit, too, if they didn't have that albatross on their necks. Without CAFE, the Big 3 could've been banking cash in the 1990s and 2000s by focusing on vehicles people wanted, rather than building a special fleet of small cars (which they lost money on) just to meet those standards. You can't really blame current management, these labor agreements go back decades.
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