Interesting Article on the Hybridcars.com website

http://www.hybridcars.com/detroit-jobs-hybrids.html

 

I have no sympathy for the American auto industry. They decided there was no market for hybrids and kept making gas guzzlers. I read somewhere that Toyota initially wanted or offered to work with the US auto industry on hybrids and was turned down so they worked on hybrids on their own.

The Big 3 had to be slugged in the face in order to wake up and smell the coffee that was burning in front of em.

In fact, I recall a post in this forum where a member said he called one of the Big 3 to ask about their progress on hybrids and was told that was 10 years down the road. This was when the 04 Prius was on the market.

 

If I were one of those Senators, I'd have more tough questions directed at the CEO's of the Big 3:

• Why do Ford, GM, Chrysler sell on image, power, and sex appeal, while Toyota and Honda let the product sell themselves? (I realize the Japanese auto makers also do some of that in their ads, but point is they have a good product....)
• Why doesn't Bob Lutz' collections of personal cars not include a single SUV - what he has promoted to the masses?
• Explain to me the GM Saturn hybrid-bashing ad - a car that gets worse fuel economy than even the conventional Japanese sedans?
• Question to the Big 3 CEOs: So you are telling us the government must subsidize 6,000-pound vehicles indefinitely or lose half a million American jobs? The government must continue to embrace vehicles that use dated technology, congest cities, bloat highway budgets, cause more fatalities? And our foreign/energy policy should be oriented towards $2 a gallon gas? There is no way Detroit can build a competive hybrid or sedan?

My dark side: When someone is hopelessly on the losing end of an arguement like this one, I love to sit back and see them make a fool out of themselves trying to justify their actions. I would actually be impressed if one of them had the guts to admit Detroit has mismanaged things badly, and in the comming months take significant actions to correct it.

I just have this thing about people too proud to admit mistakes being put in the public eye so they can commit PR sucide.

 

If this was only GM, I'd say good riddance ..

My state of NM, which is one of the poorest in the country, recently decided to spend most of it's financial reserves to hand out a rebate this year to cover the increased cost of gasoline. There was no argument this was the thing to do; wrangling only occurred over how much. Democrats and republicans together, in a rare display of political agreement that:

1. A band-aid for presumed temporary high gas prices should be bought
2. That no change in consumer behavior should be encouraged in any way, shape, or form.
3. That low gas prices are our way of life

GM buried itself years ago, even though the death is slow. The eulogy is being written already:
Abdication of responsibility from worker to CEO
Denial of change
Conservatism to avoid reality
Party now, ignore the future

If America does not wake up real soon now, and admit and correct many of the same ills, scapegoats in Detroit will not do the trick. Just remember, GM did not exist in a vacumn for the past 25 years.

 

Just thought of how the CEO's and VPs in Detroit should be compensated - company stock and retirement only.


....I know - Enron spoiled this, but you get my drift....

 

Many discussions similar to the one reported on in the article linked above (thanks, very interesting reading!) are depressing because they are so one-sided and single minded in their assessments. Points missed in that discussion (as reported in that article): the costs of low fuel efficiency (including costs to consumers, lost jobs etc..) that are related to pollution (health costst) and climate change, costs that will be related to reduced availability and thus higher prices for the many other petrochemical products (pharmaceutical, plastics...). Other aspects not discussed include reasons why hybrids have taken off that are not directly economical: some people simply care about certain issues and will buy things that are not necessarily the most economical solution.
The bottom line for me is that there are many discussions going on at present that completely miss the point, because they fail to provide a truly comprehensive assessment of all related issues.

 

As far as us jobs. How many us car manufacturers actualy build the cars in the us vs mexico and canada. Also how many Japanese manufacturers build in the US vs Japan?

I wonder if the japanese cars made in america will offset the amout of jobs lost building american cars in america.

Does anyone have the details or where cars are made?

 

Here are a couple of Links from the Honda Website

This one lists the number of Auto's, Motrocycle and Power Products produced by region
http://www.hondanews.com/CatID1013?m...42510&mime=asc

This one lists which Honda cars (models) are produced in North America
http://www.hondanews.com/CatID1008?m...37274&mime=asc

I am sure there is similar information for other manufacturers, but I have not taken the time to locate it !

 

I posted awhile back about how bad it would be if the big 3 take a large hit. This is not something the United States wants. Regardless of how bad of decisions have been made at a corporate level, the working class will be devistated in many locals. Lets not forget, GM, Chrylser, and Ford have some great technology just sitting on the shelf, waiting for the right people in the right positions that have enthusiasm, and business prowess to make a reality.
I personally don't feel they are getting what they deserve. If they got what they deserved, the management team would be severely reprimanded for there poor judgement, and lack of push on research in the last decade. No major business would dare hire them just out of sheer potential embarrassment. GM's great technology is about a decade old.
As for GM selling GMAC, and reducing it's operating overhead through conssions in healthcare, that is a topic for another discussion.

 

Delphi just filed for chapter 11, but they decided they would retain 486 top executives and give them raises from 30% to 250% and increased severance packages at a cost of over $90 million while asking workers to take up to a 50% pay cut, less medical coverage and layoffs. Typical: reward the idiots that got them into the mess while screwing the workers. Expect similar action from GM.

http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/2480