Posted on 06/11/2005 6:46:30 AM PDT by voletti
Korean cars gave Detroit fits in the late '90s by undercutting domestic small cars on price and outdoing them on quality -- then moving up into other segments. Autos from China could provide more lower-cost competition for the Big Three at a time when GM and Ford Motor Co. (F ) are already reeling. That could cost them, along with Chrysler (DCX ), more market share and prod them to move more of their own production offshore.
How fast can the Chinese gear up? The way things are going, it won't take 20 years to match Toyota Motor Corp. (TM ) quality levels, as it did for the Koreans. And with Chinese auto assembly workers earning $2 an hour -- vs. $22 in Korea and nearly $60 in the U.S. for wages and benefits -- it may not be long before China has the wherewithal to start selling competitively priced cars overseas. "The Chinese are probably five or six years away from being able to sell a competent low-end car," says auto analyst Maryann N. Keller.
The Chinese government is putting its heft behind the export push -- subsidizing the export drive of such local players as Chery and giving the likes of Honda big incentives. Beijing also is nudging foreign auto makers to divert investment into export production so local partners can become familiar with managing foreign-exchange risk and global supply chains. It's also pushing domestic companies such as Chery, Geely Auto, Brilliance China Automotive (CBA ), and Shanghai Automotive Industry to develop their own brands overseas.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessweek.com ...
You should take note that Kia is wholly owned by Hyundai. Hyundai has just opened a plant in Alabama, and Kia is entering Europe. A few of thier models are built on the same platform. Don't shug off the Hyundai/Kia brands because they're growing.
Actually if I were to buy a new puddle jumper for commuting, Kia is the first and last place I would go to. Good cars, great warranty.
I don't think you understand what they are saying.
No one makes $60 an hour to put the cars together.
$60/hr is the aggregate per person cost of building the cars. It includes the benefits and the costs associated with paying people who don't have to work (i.e. the jobs bank, etc.).
I'd bet the average wage for those guys is between $25 and $35 dollars/hour. It's still a great wage, but not near the $60 total cost that the American auto companies have to pay to get the job done.
Sorry pick another GM car to bash. This particular model was an excellent auto with a great history. I have a '96 model with 132,000 and no problems what-so-ever.
I work with a lot of Chinese. I asked some of them about the low prices and how the workers are treated. Without going into depth, they said they are happy to have a job. The cost of living is a lot cheaper over there too.
Shrug it off. Whether it's GM, Ford, Wal-Mart or Microsoft, people here love to bash American companies and then piss and moan when they leave. The amount of scorn heaped on a company is apparently directly proportional to the number of Americans they provide paychecks for.
Do you think human nature has changed? There is still a place for unions in this country...once they go look out for your own economic health.
Yes, perhaps, but when I was over there a while back I saw cars that looked nothing like any I've seen here or in Europe.
I absolutely agree with you. Politicians are making a fortune on the so call globalization (Repubs and Dems) on the backs of American workers.
why is it an unacceptable idea to tariff goods from countries that are not democratic, do not recognize basic human rights, and do not recognize intellectual property rights.
by accepting goods from those types of countries w/o heavy restrictions and tariffs we are shooting ourselves in the foot (or head).
And with their labor costs, they'll murder General Motors and Ford.
And then where will the auto unions do? They have priced themselves out of the world and local markets.
Your anecdotal experience doesn't match reality. If you look up reliability ratings for the Cavalier, you'd see it is one of the worst. If you are happy with it, you should avoid toyota, or you might actually die of bliss. ;)
You know I have heard this argument before...Still GM is located in this country. The money comes back home. GM has been forced by unfair globalization policies to locate plants outside of this country. Our workers can't compete with the low wage workers in third world countries. Also, the enviromental policies are much more favorable in developing countries. If you buy Japanese, the money goes to Japan. Car are assembled here for Japan-auto parts are not manufactured here (much more labor intensive). Ultimately, the money goes back to Japan-not the US. If you think that America can remain prosperous with out a manufacturing base, you are wrong. It was our well paid manufacturing jobs that helped make America great-lead to the middle class who bought the products being manufactured. This new economy will not benefit American workers.
They deserve to be bashed. Any company that produces ugly garbage -- such as the "Pontiac Aztec" -- deserves what it gets.
Either way, the unions and their workers eventually lose.
http://intl.autos.yahoo.com/consumerreports/buy_car_again.html
http://www.autooninfo.net/ReliabilityPercentranksChevrolet.htm
No use if you don't tell us the name of the store.
Just on principle I will never buy a china made car. But then again, I would never buy a US made land whale SUV that gets crappy milage and costs 25 to 35k just to go to Safeway for groceries.
I think that's the point. Communism is the end goal.
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