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View Full Version : American Auto Industry- What will it take?



TuxedoPk
03-25-2006, 06:23 PM
I didn't want to hijack Randy's thread so I started this one to pose the question of what you believe it will take to repair/rebuild a strong US automotive industry. As an industry outsider I'd be really interested in hearing more about people's solutions rather than just a list of what's wrong.

dfunde01
03-25-2006, 06:54 PM
Article in USA Today this week. GM is cutting a deal with the UAW to offer lump sum buy outs of retirement benefits, pensions, etc. GM's loaded cost per hour worked, including all benefit payments to retirees and laid off employees, was $75.00 of which on $25 was salary. The buy out offer was around $125,000.00. This is a big step in the right direction.

Dave

Carl C
03-25-2006, 07:17 PM
Yes, they must reduce their pension and health care expenses. In my opinion the product is there although a few new models would be good. They also need to close some plants like they are doing. The Wixom plant was only being used at 10% capacity so it is no big loss. Just closing that huge unused plant will save a bundle.:starfish:

tiger lily
03-25-2006, 09:39 PM
if they wouldnt outsource so much **** oversea's, it would help the auto industry alot here.

Pismo
03-26-2006, 08:54 AM
Trim the incredible amount of fat, ie union demands, pensions, excess capacity, thin out management and the decision process, for examle the formation of Acura and Saturn was announced the same time but Acura was on it's third generation of cars before the first Saturn rolled off the line. Why? thick, slow, bureaucratic, corporate style at GM. Then get some design inspiration, easier said than done.......... Fortunately American car quality and innovation has improved dramatically over the last 10-15yrs thanks to competitive pressures from the foreign manufacturers. This is happening in trucks now. Too bad America did not do it first rather than keeping up, now hopefully they are out front. So much, could go on and on. Unions are killers, mgmt style/corporate culture, and product innovation/competitiveness. What's going to save the airline industry.....

dr
03-26-2006, 10:37 AM
In my opinion American OEM’s have seen this coming for over 25 years; not suspected, not a potential, but known that the way the Japanese designed, built and brought their product to market was far superior to ours yet in that time have done far too little to change.

roadtrip se
03-26-2006, 01:17 PM
1) Design and build cars and trucks that appeal to people who actually like to drive something other than a transportation appliance. The 300, Mustang, Solstice/Sky, H2/H3, Yukon, Fusion, Corvette, and the F-Series are all examples of this thinking.

2) Forget about trying to be everything to everybody and ending up being a watered down nothing to anybody.

3) Whittle down your dealership counts to those who actually sell and service vehicles in an effective and caring manner. This is an achilles heel for multitudes of import stores now.

4) PR and marketing. Tell people where your value is, make your ads relevant to what sells, not emotion, use the web, and defend against mis-information in the media.

5) Engineer more vehicles that take advantage of alternative fuel technology and deliver real world results. If you are going to pursue hybrids, build something that doesn't just appeal to the greenies, but really delivers against its promise in all drivng conditions. Diesel, ethanol, hydrogen, and anything else that makes us more energy independent should be looked at it and tried.

6) Safety sells.

7) Deliver more options and content with quality. Little things in the interior like seating surfaces, dash, and carpets make the driving experience nicer and more memorable, building loyalty.

8) Step up to recalls and defects with vigor.

9) Share platforms and below the skin components that the driver doesn't see or care about. In this vein, don't completely re-design every attribute of a platform, but carry forward good design that works. Both of these areas will speed up time to delivery and help keep a vehicle fresher in the eyes of the driver.

10) Source commodity parts over seas and focus on American suppliers where it makes the most sense to add true value to your product.

11) Get control of your unions. Quit choking the golden goose and work together, or die together. Truly reward and support employees for innovation and creative thinking.

12) Get your message out driectly to the public about what a truly global marketplace means. Healthcare, retirement, and currency subvention are unacceptable. Forget about Washington.

13) Profits come with volume. Invest now, people will buy it, and profits will come. Nobody ever expensed themselves into a profit for very long.

Baker's Dozen!

FISHIN SUCKS
03-28-2006, 12:24 PM
Well put, Todd. I agree with all of the above mentioned comments.

I have never really been a mopar man. But I will tell you from my standpoint, they have really put some excitement into the design and performance of their vehicles! Consumer Reports said that the visibilty was not very good in the new 300. Who gives a s#!t, it looks cool and you can still see out of the thing. You want visibility, buy a convertible! Otherwise, be cooped up in your toyota coroda. Cadillac is another fine example of implementing skunkwerks to draw a younger crowd instead catering to the 'couch on wheels' crowd. It worked, I bought my wife a new escalade in December and she loves it! Corvette is in a class all its own just like Mustang.

But whenever I talk to my friends who have American vehicles and have to call GM or Ford for their warranty situation, that's when the 'I'll never buy american again' talk starts coming and tarnishes the image. One of my colleagues was talking to GM last fall on his GMC Duramax, and they told him that the transmission is not a part of the drivetrain!?!...therefore, not covered. What the hell is that all about?

I sell plastic to the Dump Truck industry (OEM's, fleets, distributors) and am a direct employee of the manufacturer. If there is a warranty issue, I handle those as well (fortunately not too many, we make good stuff). When a problem comes up, get it handled and now! Put yourself in the customers position, how would you feel of the deal being offered to you? Unfortunately, I don't think this happens to often. Don't get me wrong, my friends have been known to be in the wrong as well as the public idiot, but some things are just obvious. You ever met that special someone that would bitch even if they were hung with a new rope? Guess what, that person's got relatives everywhere!

FlatRacer, aka BarrelBack
03-28-2006, 12:58 PM
Let me preface this story by saying that I was up until recently a third generation lifelong General Motors man.

My '88 Chevy Wagon was getting a little hard to keep running when it was cold (it took an educated right foot to keep it from stalling until it warmed up), and with 230,000 miles on the clock, it was getting a bit long in the tooth.
We had a '98 Chevy Lumina drop into our laps at a giveaway price; it was 10 years newer, had a third of the mileage of the wagon, and with its smaller size, fuel injection etc., was easier for my wife to deal with around town, so... off to the recycle yard with the wagon, and hello Lumina.
Poking around the Lumina I found interior trim pieces which in years past would have been attached with metal screws, are now affixed in place with velcro. The clips that hold the sun visors in place are plastic, and fall out of their mounting holes when you try to unclip the visor from them. The other day I noticed both rear door window lift switches had fallen into their holes, due to broken plastic clips.
The car seems to run okay, but it's literally falling apart before my eyes. I'm starting to miss my old wagon! I'm severely dissapointed in the build quality of this car as compared to the product from the same manufacturer only ten years earlier. Consequently, I seriously doubt there will be another GM product in MY future.

My point is this: Somewhere along the line some poor engineer was tasked by some bean counter accountant with finding a cheaper alternative to metal screws. Plastic clips fit the bill in the short term (never mind that plastic becomes brittle with age and will fail, because hey, most likely it'll hold up until the warranty runs out, right?), but in the long term are a dismal blunder.

Q: Are the pennies they saved by replacing metal screws with plastic clips and velcro worth losing a lifelong loyal GM buyer?

A: No.

Eric