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Close Topic OptionsAuto Manufacturer Bailout - Page 8 of 8
If we really only want fuel efficient cars - Page 8 - Culture, Family, Travel, Consumer Reviews - Posted: 21st May, 2009 - 1:18am
Posts: 59 - Views: 3677
Auto Manufacturer Bailout - Page 8
Actually I will disagree as we do not need long running cars but in fact if we took the opposite directions and make a car with a 7 year shelf life but make them cheap so you can afford to buy new ever 7 years. Long life span vehicles are already here problem is most people are to lazy to do the maintenance required to get them there.
Yes 40 or 60 plus MPG is very possible but the oil companies just do not like it. The president did push this a bit this week with a mandatory 8 mpg increase on all models. Joke is they are letting the companies charge more for that so in the end guess what we are no further ahead.
All they do is program the chips in the car with new offsets it costs nothing to do. Its a sham I tells ya!
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Coming from the automotive industry, I can tell you, without any reservations, that your list is impossible with current technology.
Well, let me qualify that. If you want to drive a tin can at 20 MPH for the rest of your life, perhaps you could do it.
A Honda 750 doesn't even get 60 MPG.
As for the government forcing them to do these things...
All of these government interferences have accomplished great things - for Russia, China, and India.
I agree that there should not have been any bailouts. But the government could have, and should have, gotten the UAW under control. Instead, they forced all sorts of concessions by the auto makers, and their creditors and suppliers. But gave the union everything it asked for. So, the people who invested their money in the companies that are/were creditors have to accept $.29 per $1.00 in credit extended.
Rick Wagoner was forced to resign. Ron Gettelfinger, president of the UAW still has his job, yet Mr. Wagoner made great strides in improving GM over the years, while Mr. Gettelfinger made great strides in destroying it.
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If we really only want fuel efficient cars now (the public at large), this technology has been around for a long time. Check out the Honda Civic MPG throughout the years:
Source 4
In 1984, the Civic HB was cranking out 67MPG. I think many would give up the horsepower today to get that kind of fuel efficiency and it wasnt even a hybrid...it was a normal 4 cylinder car...albeit a small one. You cannot even find this option today. Today, we have people getting really excited about Hybrids that get over 30 MPG. I know that they are more powerful and come with more options and weigh more, but some company should see the niche (think K Car) for a stripped down, fuel efficient, civic type option.
I actually quite enjoyed a editorial on the situation from Mitt Romney. At the time, I was thinking go ahead and bail them out (the governmemnt is going to pay one way or another), but recently...I had a change of heart when answering a thread on this board.
| QUOTE |
| First, their huge disadvantage in costs relative to foreign brands must be eliminated. That means new labor agreements to align pay and benefits to match those of workers at competitors like BMW, Honda, Nissan and Toyota. Furthermore, retiree benefits must be reduced so that the total burden per auto for domestic makers is not higher than that of foreign producers. That extra burden is estimated to be more than $2,000 per car. Think what that means: Ford, for example, needs to cut $2,000 worth of features and quality out of its Taurus to compete with Toyota's Avalon. Of course the Avalon feels like a better product - it has $2,000 more put into it. Considering this disadvantage, Detroit has done a remarkable job of designing and engineering its cars. But if this cost penalty persists, any bailout will only delay the inevitable. |
This really does hit the heart of the problem. Most of us are savy shoppers and can feel $2K worth of additional luxury. So if you are going to drop the money on the car arent you going to go for the most car you can get for it? I would. Now in this environment even the Japanese manufactureres are having problems, but this is about the long term. In the long term, US manufacturers cannot continue to basically tack on that kind of a kicker to each car. It is just a model for failure because you know it will go nowhere but up with the current structure. A few more dollars (couple of hundred) and we are probably within the range where the price difference is not significant to the purchaser, but $2k...no chance.
I also agree that there needs to be radical new thinking in the automotive industry. There needs to be a Iococca to rise to the top or some from an entirely different industry with a fresh eye.
| QUOTE |
| Second, management as is must go. New faces should be recruited from unrelated industries - from companies widely respected for excellence in marketing, innovation, creativity and labor relations. The new management must work with labor leaders to see that the enmity between labor and management comes to an end. This division is a holdover from the early years of the last century, when unions brought workers job security and better wages and benefits. But as Walter Reuther, the former head of the United Automobile Workers, said to my father, "Getting more and more pay for less and less work is a dead-end street." |
As I said, I agree with a change in management needed. My only issue is that I really dont think the "regime change" should be fostered from our government. That was not the intent of the formation of our government, but I guess I have to ask...if not them...then who? I am very uncomfortable with our government displacing CEO's and hacking advertising budgets, they really havent done a great job with their own house keeping, so why do I think they are fit to choose the next leader or craft a business sales strategy.
Source 9
It is a good synopsis on the subject in my opinion. I really like the ending, but it seems that he didnt think of one more senario...
| QUOTE |
| The American auto industry is vital to our national interest as an employer and as a hub for manufacturing. A managed bankruptcy may be the only path to the fundamental restructuring the industry needs. It would permit the companies to shed excess labor, pension and real estate costs. The federal government should provide guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing and assure car buyers that their warranties are not at risk. In a managed bankruptcy, the federal government would propel newly competitive and viable automakers, rather than seal their fate with a bailout check. |
Looks like they got a bailout and a bankruptcy coming...I hope he is right on the future after the bankruptcy!
Honestly, I liked Romney's vision so much that if there are bankruptcies...I want him to be hired to lead the restructuring.
Edited: Vincenzo on 21st May, 2009 - 1:22am TOPIC: Auto Manufacturer Bailout