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It's time for Americans to take their blinders off
by Rob Loszewski
Sunday, December 7, 2008
©2008 Rob Loszewski, Corvette Action Center
No use without permission
Over the last couple of months, as the U.S. economy has worsened and the fate of the Detroit Big 3 has darkened, I've remained quiet in voicing my own personal views of what should happen to GM, Chrysler and Ford. After listening to the Detroit Big 3's testimony on Capital Hill, and the opinions of friends and family, I'm not sure I can remain silent any longer.
The general consensus of Americans regarding the possible bailout of Detroit is, "let them go bankrupt." Really? Are you serious? Why? The reasons I've heard is because Detroit is old, stagnant, not keeping up with the times, and not building cars the American public wants.
If that's truly the case, then please try and explain to me why so many American families drive Suburbans, Escalades, Denalis, and enormous trucks?
In my opinion, Detroit built exactly what American's wanted. A company isn't in business to build, or provide a product or service that nobody wants. If Detroit has been building products that nobody wants, they would have gone bankrupt MANY years ago.
The next thing I hear is that Detroit's quality sucks. While I'm willing to admit, that some of what has come out of the Detroit in past years has been complete trash, and some cars and platforms to this day, are trash compared to the competition in their market, Detroit has come A LONG way in building fantastic cars with excellent quality.
Think I'm kidding? Spend a little time running some Google searches regarding J.D. Power and Associates Quality Studies and take a look at the cars from Detroit that have won that award.
Let's take a look at what type of car has won the well respected and coveted, "Motor Trend Car of the Year" award:
2008 Cadillac CTS
2007 Toyota Camry
2006 Honda Civic
2005 Chrysler 300
2004 Toyota Prius
2003 Infiniti G35 Coupe / Sedan
2002 Ford Thunderbird
2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser
2000 Lincoln LS
1999 Chrysler 300M
1998 Chevrolet Corvette
1997 Chevrolet Malibu
1996 Dodge Caravan
1995 Chrysler Cirrus
1994 Ford Mustang
1993 Ford Probe GT
1992 Cadillac Seville Touring Sedan
1991 Chevrolet Caprice Classic LTZ
1990 Lincoln Town Car
1989 Ford Thunderbird SC
1988 Pontiac Grand Prix
1987 Ford Thunderbird
1986 Ford Taurus LX
1985 Volkswagen GTI
1984 Chevrolet Corvette
1983 American Motors Renault Alliance
1982 Chevrolet Camaro Z28
1981 Chrysler K-cars, Dodge Aries/Plymouth Reliant
1980 Chevrolet Citation
In Car and Driver's "10 Best Cars of the Year" going back to 2006, Cadillac, Chevrolet Corvette and Chrysler have made the list.
I also found that the Cadillac CTS and the Corvette have been repeat contenders and winners; the Corvette for many more years than the CTS.
There is no doubt, even these cars have room for improvement, but if you really stop and think about it, what car/platform doesn't?
In my opinion, Detroit is in the situation they're in, NOT because of quality, and NOT because they refuse to build cars that people want. They are in the situation they are in because over the last several months, the cost of gasoline had skyrocketed - sometimes over night and the economy took a nosedive causing the credit market to run and hide.
Go do some research on what has happened to the credit market and take a look at how difficult it is to get a loan for just about anything now. If people are not able to get financing to buy a car, guess what....car sales take a nosedive.
All of a sudden, all the Chevy Suburban, Denali and Escalade owners are driving around in their land yachts wondering why it's costing them around $75.00 per fillup instead of $40.00. So the typical American belief is, "well, who's fault is this? It must be Detroit's fault because they continue to build these cars and refuse to build more fuel efficient vehicles." No actually, it's YOUR fault, because YOU bought the land yacht because YOU could afford the gas at the time. Why did you buy the land yacht to begin with? Oh, because you have 3-6 kids that you need to haul around and you couldn't stop at just 1 or 2 kids.
You get the picture....before you point the finger of blame at Detroit, take a cold, hard look at yourself in the mirror.
"Well....why is Detroit the only ones affected by this and why are they the ones asking for help?"
Again, do some research. I think you'll be surprised to find out that the Big 3 in Detroit are NOT the only ones approaching their government and asking for help.
Here's an interesting article I ran across published on April 16, 2008:
I believe that you'll also find in your research that UK and Chinese car manufacturers have gone to their respectives governments and asked for help.
Folks, this is NOT a Detroit problem. This is a GLOBAL ECONOMIC PROBLEM. Why? Because the economy, just like everything else in this world, is subject to the laws of physics. What goes up, must come down. For as long as Man has walked this earth, we've seen it time and time again. We have seen it repeatedly in many facets of the American society for decades as seen in the automobile industry, the housing market, credit market, stock market, and overall health of the economy.
The difference between now and many decades ago, is that the economy is no longer affected by what goes on within the borders of the United States. It is a GLOBAL ECONOMY that is affected by situations that occur across the sea - something which the majority of Americans are still incapable of seeing. We're getting better, but boy do we have a long way to go.
So now that it's quite clear to see that Detroit is really a victim of a global economy that other car manufacturers have fallen victim too, do you still feel that Detroit should be allowed to go bankrupt?
Let's take a look at some numbers for a minute. In this thread:
http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com...9948-auto-workers-per-state-dec-3-2008-a.html
...I posted a breakdown of automotive related jobs per state as of Dec. 3, 2008.
The total number of jobs for all states: 2,201,955. That number encompasses auto parts, assembly and sales jobs. Nearly two and a quarter million jobs - gone. Don't think you'll be affected because you don't work in the automotive industry? Think again.
Take a look at what happened to the coast of baby food in the grocery stores when the diesel fuel went through the roof just a short time ago and that increased fuel cost trickled down to the cost of groceries. In fact, it trickled down to almost everything we buy.
Just imagine what will happen when the Detroit 3 collapses and that collapse hits parts manufacturing companies and they collapse. Then auto parts suppliers such as VIP auto or NAPA auto parts goes bankrupt because they are no longer able to get the parts they need to sell. Now, the cars and trucks that are used to deliver goods to market are no longer able to be repaired because - well repair shops are closing up because they aren't able to get the parts required to conduct repairs because the parts manufacturers went bankrupt because Detroit - their bread and butter - collapsed.
Before you know it, the cost of everything goes through the roof and we are no longer in a Recession - but we're seeing Depression rear it's ugly head on the horizon.
A pretty scary scenario and one that might not be 100% accurate, but I hate to say it, it's not out of the realm of possibility.
Over the last few decades we've seen American jobs leave this country and go overseas? Why? Because of corporate greed in my opinion. This country has gone from a manufacturing nation to a nation of consumption. Detroit iron is the last great thing this country continues to manufacture.
Just imagine if Detroit crumbles and gets bought up by European and Asian car companies. Just imagine if the Corvette is no longer a "Chevrolet" but a "Nissan" or "Honda". Or just imagine if the car manufacturer that buys GM decides that the Corvette competes too closely with their one or two of their own products and decides to axe the Corvette platform all together.
Stop and think about the great age of cars and Detroit iron back in the fifties and sixties....hopping in that 1965 Corvette of yours, picking up your girlfriend, and heading down to the local burger joint listening to Wolfman Jack on the radio. Once you get your burger you head to the coast for some slush and sit parked at the beach listening to the baseball game on the Corvette's radio.
Times like that are going by the wayside quick and America is losing her identity at an alarming rate. If Detroit's Big 3 is allowed to go bankrupt, it will be the end of the United States manufacturing anything of significance. American Pride will have gone from pride in building and marketing unique American products to how much money we have in our wallets to buy the products we desire overseas.
The United States will become a country that is owned by all other countries, and American citizens will no longer be able to take pride in products that were built through American blood, sweat and tears. There needs to be a government representative or board that oversees the use of the money and insures that the money is paid back to the government within a set amount of time. Once the money is repaid, the government steps back and the representative or board no longer has a say in what Detroit does.
Detroit needs to be helped and should be extended a bailout. However, that bailout should not come without reservations or restrictions.
That money should be given to Detroit with the complete understanding that it is to be spent HERE on American soil and not overseas in the building of a new assembly plant on foreign land.
GM in particular should undergo a restructuring of it's platforms and assembly processes within a certain time frame in order to make it more competitive in a global economic market that can quickly change on whim.
Detroit has become a pro at product re-badging and it needs to stop NOW. The perfect example is the F-body platform of the late nineties. The Firebird and Camaro looked identical with the exception of the bumpers, some plastic body cladding and some interior components.
Another example is the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky.
What about product ingenuity?
The Chevy HHR - a great car/crossover, but molded after the PT Cruiser. It took GM how long to come to market with that after the general public was getting sick of seeing the PT Cruiser everywhere?
The Chevy SSR - one word: why?
Other than Cadillac and Corvette, GM's styling has become disgustingly bland, boring, stagnant, and unemotional. GM Styling Dept. needs a major fire lit under their ass and they really should take lessons from Chrysler's Styling Dept.
Last but not least, Marketing. In my opinion, GM's marketing arm has completely dropped the ball and become quite pathetic in trying to market the products they're building. GM has fought long and hard to build cars that meet or exceed European quality standards, and yet, where is the marketing? They have cars that have won JD Power and Associates awards, but where are the commercials and advertisements? Maybe I just don't pay much attention, but they only play on JD Power and Associates I've seen recently is in a GM Truck ad on TV. Regardless, if I'm not paying attention to the ads, how much of the American public is?
Support what you build. If you think you're just going to bring a product to market touting it as the latest and greatest, and try to get people to forget about the crap that was built in the seventies and eighties....forget it.
In summary, Detroit should be bailed out, but they should be bailed out with stipulations that the money is used to rebuild and reposition Detroit in being leaders and innovators - not followers trying to play catch up requiring a bailout everytime the global economy suddenly shifts in one direction or the other.
We gave billions of dollars to AIG - the pinnacle of corporate greed and they didn't have to jump through all the hoops that Detroit has been required to go through. And yet, we, the American public are willing to let the last great American manufacturing industry crumble.
Talk about a sad state of affairs due to double standards, corporate greed and short-sightedness.
If you feel that Detroit and GM in particular should be helped, go to: Facts About the Auto Crisis - GM Facts and Fiction and contact your U.S. Senator and Representative. Let them know that you support a bailout, otherwise, continue to stick your head in the sand and watch as America loses its pride and identity it worked so hard to achieve.
by Rob Loszewski
Sunday, December 7, 2008
©2008 Rob Loszewski, Corvette Action Center
No use without permission
The general consensus of Americans regarding the possible bailout of Detroit is, "let them go bankrupt." Really? Are you serious? Why? The reasons I've heard is because Detroit is old, stagnant, not keeping up with the times, and not building cars the American public wants.
If that's truly the case, then please try and explain to me why so many American families drive Suburbans, Escalades, Denalis, and enormous trucks?
In my opinion, Detroit built exactly what American's wanted. A company isn't in business to build, or provide a product or service that nobody wants. If Detroit has been building products that nobody wants, they would have gone bankrupt MANY years ago.
The next thing I hear is that Detroit's quality sucks. While I'm willing to admit, that some of what has come out of the Detroit in past years has been complete trash, and some cars and platforms to this day, are trash compared to the competition in their market, Detroit has come A LONG way in building fantastic cars with excellent quality.
Think I'm kidding? Spend a little time running some Google searches regarding J.D. Power and Associates Quality Studies and take a look at the cars from Detroit that have won that award.
Let's take a look at what type of car has won the well respected and coveted, "Motor Trend Car of the Year" award:
2008 Cadillac CTS
2007 Toyota Camry
2006 Honda Civic
2005 Chrysler 300
2004 Toyota Prius
2003 Infiniti G35 Coupe / Sedan
2002 Ford Thunderbird
2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser
2000 Lincoln LS
1999 Chrysler 300M
1998 Chevrolet Corvette
1997 Chevrolet Malibu
1996 Dodge Caravan
1995 Chrysler Cirrus
1994 Ford Mustang
1993 Ford Probe GT
1992 Cadillac Seville Touring Sedan
1991 Chevrolet Caprice Classic LTZ
1990 Lincoln Town Car
1989 Ford Thunderbird SC
1988 Pontiac Grand Prix
1987 Ford Thunderbird
1986 Ford Taurus LX
1985 Volkswagen GTI
1984 Chevrolet Corvette
1983 American Motors Renault Alliance
1982 Chevrolet Camaro Z28
1981 Chrysler K-cars, Dodge Aries/Plymouth Reliant
1980 Chevrolet Citation
In Car and Driver's "10 Best Cars of the Year" going back to 2006, Cadillac, Chevrolet Corvette and Chrysler have made the list.
I also found that the Cadillac CTS and the Corvette have been repeat contenders and winners; the Corvette for many more years than the CTS.
There is no doubt, even these cars have room for improvement, but if you really stop and think about it, what car/platform doesn't?
In my opinion, Detroit is in the situation they're in, NOT because of quality, and NOT because they refuse to build cars that people want. They are in the situation they are in because over the last several months, the cost of gasoline had skyrocketed - sometimes over night and the economy took a nosedive causing the credit market to run and hide.
Go do some research on what has happened to the credit market and take a look at how difficult it is to get a loan for just about anything now. If people are not able to get financing to buy a car, guess what....car sales take a nosedive.
All of a sudden, all the Chevy Suburban, Denali and Escalade owners are driving around in their land yachts wondering why it's costing them around $75.00 per fillup instead of $40.00. So the typical American belief is, "well, who's fault is this? It must be Detroit's fault because they continue to build these cars and refuse to build more fuel efficient vehicles." No actually, it's YOUR fault, because YOU bought the land yacht because YOU could afford the gas at the time. Why did you buy the land yacht to begin with? Oh, because you have 3-6 kids that you need to haul around and you couldn't stop at just 1 or 2 kids.
You get the picture....before you point the finger of blame at Detroit, take a cold, hard look at yourself in the mirror.
"Well....why is Detroit the only ones affected by this and why are they the ones asking for help?"
Again, do some research. I think you'll be surprised to find out that the Big 3 in Detroit are NOT the only ones approaching their government and asking for help.
Here's an interesting article I ran across published on April 16, 2008:
I believe that you'll also find in your research that UK and Chinese car manufacturers have gone to their respectives governments and asked for help.
Folks, this is NOT a Detroit problem. This is a GLOBAL ECONOMIC PROBLEM. Why? Because the economy, just like everything else in this world, is subject to the laws of physics. What goes up, must come down. For as long as Man has walked this earth, we've seen it time and time again. We have seen it repeatedly in many facets of the American society for decades as seen in the automobile industry, the housing market, credit market, stock market, and overall health of the economy.
The difference between now and many decades ago, is that the economy is no longer affected by what goes on within the borders of the United States. It is a GLOBAL ECONOMY that is affected by situations that occur across the sea - something which the majority of Americans are still incapable of seeing. We're getting better, but boy do we have a long way to go.
So now that it's quite clear to see that Detroit is really a victim of a global economy that other car manufacturers have fallen victim too, do you still feel that Detroit should be allowed to go bankrupt?
Let's take a look at some numbers for a minute. In this thread:
http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com...9948-auto-workers-per-state-dec-3-2008-a.html
...I posted a breakdown of automotive related jobs per state as of Dec. 3, 2008.
The total number of jobs for all states: 2,201,955. That number encompasses auto parts, assembly and sales jobs. Nearly two and a quarter million jobs - gone. Don't think you'll be affected because you don't work in the automotive industry? Think again.
Take a look at what happened to the coast of baby food in the grocery stores when the diesel fuel went through the roof just a short time ago and that increased fuel cost trickled down to the cost of groceries. In fact, it trickled down to almost everything we buy.
Just imagine what will happen when the Detroit 3 collapses and that collapse hits parts manufacturing companies and they collapse. Then auto parts suppliers such as VIP auto or NAPA auto parts goes bankrupt because they are no longer able to get the parts they need to sell. Now, the cars and trucks that are used to deliver goods to market are no longer able to be repaired because - well repair shops are closing up because they aren't able to get the parts required to conduct repairs because the parts manufacturers went bankrupt because Detroit - their bread and butter - collapsed.
Before you know it, the cost of everything goes through the roof and we are no longer in a Recession - but we're seeing Depression rear it's ugly head on the horizon.
A pretty scary scenario and one that might not be 100% accurate, but I hate to say it, it's not out of the realm of possibility.
Over the last few decades we've seen American jobs leave this country and go overseas? Why? Because of corporate greed in my opinion. This country has gone from a manufacturing nation to a nation of consumption. Detroit iron is the last great thing this country continues to manufacture.
Just imagine if Detroit crumbles and gets bought up by European and Asian car companies. Just imagine if the Corvette is no longer a "Chevrolet" but a "Nissan" or "Honda". Or just imagine if the car manufacturer that buys GM decides that the Corvette competes too closely with their one or two of their own products and decides to axe the Corvette platform all together.
Stop and think about the great age of cars and Detroit iron back in the fifties and sixties....hopping in that 1965 Corvette of yours, picking up your girlfriend, and heading down to the local burger joint listening to Wolfman Jack on the radio. Once you get your burger you head to the coast for some slush and sit parked at the beach listening to the baseball game on the Corvette's radio.
Times like that are going by the wayside quick and America is losing her identity at an alarming rate. If Detroit's Big 3 is allowed to go bankrupt, it will be the end of the United States manufacturing anything of significance. American Pride will have gone from pride in building and marketing unique American products to how much money we have in our wallets to buy the products we desire overseas.
The United States will become a country that is owned by all other countries, and American citizens will no longer be able to take pride in products that were built through American blood, sweat and tears. There needs to be a government representative or board that oversees the use of the money and insures that the money is paid back to the government within a set amount of time. Once the money is repaid, the government steps back and the representative or board no longer has a say in what Detroit does.
Detroit needs to be helped and should be extended a bailout. However, that bailout should not come without reservations or restrictions.
That money should be given to Detroit with the complete understanding that it is to be spent HERE on American soil and not overseas in the building of a new assembly plant on foreign land.
GM in particular should undergo a restructuring of it's platforms and assembly processes within a certain time frame in order to make it more competitive in a global economic market that can quickly change on whim.
Detroit has become a pro at product re-badging and it needs to stop NOW. The perfect example is the F-body platform of the late nineties. The Firebird and Camaro looked identical with the exception of the bumpers, some plastic body cladding and some interior components.
Another example is the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky.
What about product ingenuity?
The Chevy HHR - a great car/crossover, but molded after the PT Cruiser. It took GM how long to come to market with that after the general public was getting sick of seeing the PT Cruiser everywhere?
The Chevy SSR - one word: why?
Other than Cadillac and Corvette, GM's styling has become disgustingly bland, boring, stagnant, and unemotional. GM Styling Dept. needs a major fire lit under their ass and they really should take lessons from Chrysler's Styling Dept.
Last but not least, Marketing. In my opinion, GM's marketing arm has completely dropped the ball and become quite pathetic in trying to market the products they're building. GM has fought long and hard to build cars that meet or exceed European quality standards, and yet, where is the marketing? They have cars that have won JD Power and Associates awards, but where are the commercials and advertisements? Maybe I just don't pay much attention, but they only play on JD Power and Associates I've seen recently is in a GM Truck ad on TV. Regardless, if I'm not paying attention to the ads, how much of the American public is?
Support what you build. If you think you're just going to bring a product to market touting it as the latest and greatest, and try to get people to forget about the crap that was built in the seventies and eighties....forget it.
In summary, Detroit should be bailed out, but they should be bailed out with stipulations that the money is used to rebuild and reposition Detroit in being leaders and innovators - not followers trying to play catch up requiring a bailout everytime the global economy suddenly shifts in one direction or the other.
We gave billions of dollars to AIG - the pinnacle of corporate greed and they didn't have to jump through all the hoops that Detroit has been required to go through. And yet, we, the American public are willing to let the last great American manufacturing industry crumble.
Talk about a sad state of affairs due to double standards, corporate greed and short-sightedness.
If you feel that Detroit and GM in particular should be helped, go to: Facts About the Auto Crisis - GM Facts and Fiction and contact your U.S. Senator and Representative. Let them know that you support a bailout, otherwise, continue to stick your head in the sand and watch as America loses its pride and identity it worked so hard to achieve.
Jane Ann
hnoes
></o
4LT GS Roadster
