The 2009 Detroit Auto Show is upon us and all I have to say is BULL SHIT!
I've had a beef with the "Big Three" for about a decade. Their trucks, SUV's, CUV's all kept getting bigger and more elaborate while small & mid-sized cars kept getting less & less enticing. I got on my soapbox about GM caring more about their short-term shareholder profit than they cared about quality vehicles that consumers really wanted to buy. If they had a long-term vision for fuel economy, practicality & fun cars to drive, we might not be in this mess.
The argument against these points is two fold. One, American consumers demanded bigger. Two, nobody could have foreseen the meltdown. I find both points inexcusable. American consumers took what they gave us. Had the Big Three actively pursued quality, budget-friendly vehicles for American consumers, we would have bought them. Sure, we'd also be driving our F-150's, but there would be a better mix of options from Detroit on the road.
The writing has been on the wall that the Big Three business models were behind the times for years. But has there been any real efforts to produce revolutionary products? Has anyone been to a car show & been wowed by something that's fresh & practical? No. Well, from Toyota & Honda, sure. But what has Chevy given us? The "holy grail" named Volt? They've been advertising that shit for years and it's projected price tag will be $30-40k. How's that practical?
So, they whined for a bail-out. Under the circumstances, I even support giving them the money. (Mostly because it's a pitance compared to that miserable TRAP effort.) $15-Billion could save the industry & jobs. If it doesn't, it was "only" $15-Billion.
But, I digress...
The Auto Show is now upon us. What do we see? Hybrids & practicality. Where were they hiding these cars? Some are existing European products. Some they pulled out of their asses. Thus lending credence to my belief that they could have easily given us better a long time ago.
I saw a picture of a UAW worker protesting outside of the Auto Show. He had a sign that warned us to buy American or the next job lost could be ours. Yes, the scare tactic. That works well on me.
Somewhere along the lines we got fat & happy. Complacency set in. Innovation stopped happening in Detroit.
When it's time to get our next car replacement, I hope to have honest, value-added options. I'm looking for small, but comfortable. I'll be searching for a vehicle that finds that right balance between fuel economy & performance. A hybrid would be nice. Right now, there are zero American cars in production that interest me. I really hope that changes.
Stop trying to "advertising campaign" your way out of this. Build & innovate. Better yet...
Evolve or die.
3 comments:
Finally a post about business and/or politics that I can't disagree with you.
It only took a couple years.
Thanks.
I haven't bought an "American" car in years, although ironically the two "Japanese" cars in my driveway were both entirely manufactured here in the good old USA. (Good luck finding a GM car that wasn't partly or entirely made south of the border somewhere.)
I too support the auto bailout, but not to reward crappy business decisions. I'm more concerned about the ripple effect. Like it or not, a tremendous amount of the American workforce is tied to the Big Three. Consider local mechanics, parts dealers, dealerships, truckers, and so on that will be in a pinch if the Three go down.
Not a pretty sight.
Hopefully, the real scare has taken hold of the Big Three's management and this auto show, however late its trends are, is a sign of the future.
And how is GM caring about short-term shareholder profit any different than most companies in this country. That is a generalization, but US companies have lost the will for innovation and only care about short-term gains. The idea of a future vision and stability is non-existent. Another reason we are where we are.
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