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I just received my Sept. '07 OFF-ROAD and read the editorial by Editor-in-Chief Phil Howell. As the saying goes, every coin has two sides. Mr. Howell chastises all who think ill of the Detroit automakers just because they "for generations have lied, cheated, performed shoddy work in service departments, and sold parts at prices that would be called highway robbery in any other industry." He goes on to say that we "need to think what would happen if GM, Ford, and Chrysler went away."
Well, here's the other side of the coin: Maybe GM, Ford, and Chrysler should have thought, generations ago, of what was going to happen when the American public got tired of being lied to, cheated, having shoddy work done on their trucks and autos, and charged outrageous prices for parts and service. If I did this in my business, I could see the handwriting on the wall pretty clearly.
As for the United States economy, I think the U.S. responded well after World War II when millions of Americans were out of work literally overnight when the war ended and the need for tanks, guns, ammunition, Jeeps, ships, and all other military goods came to a screeching halt. As well as thousands of American military personnel that came back into the labor force. Sure, it would be devastating for a time, but our American economy has a way of taking a hit and recovering. I'm not wishing bad for the Big Three - just saying that they made their bed and now they must lie in it. I don't think that it's too late for them to remake their beds, but they had better hurry.George, Littleton, Colorado
George, I wasn't chastising those who think ill of Detroit. The quote you used was about many dealerships and pointed out some reasons why I think people might not like American automakers.
Your letter's insightful. Thanks for writing.- Phil
I'd like to comment on Phil Howell's editorial about foreign and American vehicles by letting you read this:
A Japanese company and an American company decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race. On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile. The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A senior management team was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action. Their conclusion was the Japanese had eight people rowing and one person steering, while the American team had eight people steering and one person rowing.
Feeling a deeper study was in order, American management hired consultants and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion. They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing. Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to four steering supervisors, three area steering superintendents, and one assistant superintendent steering manager. They also implemented a new performance system that would give the one person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder with rewards like free pens and movie tickets. There was some discussion of getting new paddles, canoes, and other equipment.
The next year the Japanese won by 2 miles. Humiliated, the American management team laid off the rower for poor performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles, and canceled all expenditures for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the senior executives as bonuses, and the next year's racing team was outsourced to India. The end.
Here's something else to think about: Ford has spent the last 30 years moving its factories out of the U.S., claiming it can't make money paying American wages. Toyota has spent the last 30 years building more than a dozen plants inside the U.S. The last quarter's results: Toyota made 4 billion in profits, while Ford took 9 billion in losses. Ford folks are still scratching their heads.Anonymous, via e-mail