Why does US auto industry have so much trouble competing?

What we REALLY need is Michael Keaton to revamp our antiquated factories and get the union folks on board for a commitment to quality and excellence....GUNG HO!

 

just jokes pirc1...just jokes

 

You are right, the unions have over-played their hand in many respects, however, we can bemoan the plight of the U.S. auto makers because they are building their cars in Mexico--the unions just want to hold on to the US manufacturing jobs that are left.

The factories are more modern and the technology is better, but US auto makers are not comitted to the same degree of perfection that German and Japanese makers are.

I bought a 5-speed, '95 4wd 4Runner with 150,000 miles on it and thought nothing of it--150 thou on a Toyota is barely broke in--they are designed, from top to bottom, to last for 250-300,000 miles.

Compare and contrast, would you buy a 95 Blazer with 150,000 miles on it and not be a tee bit more concerned that it was going to fall apart?

Untill US auto makers copy the Japanese model to a "T" when it comes to engineering products that are reliable, they will continue to loose ground.

 

Toyota, Nissan, and Honda is the way to go from what I told. I remember people used to say not to buy the types because repairs would cost a lot because it's a foriegn model but now I think that's all change due to parts manufacturing over here in the states but I may be wrong.

 

I see you've never owned a volkswagen....

 

You think our auto industry's having trouble right now, wait till cars start arriving from China in a couple years!

 

A good percentage of their cars are built in Mexico and not in Germany. I think the only cars that are built in Germany is the Passat, the Touraeg, and the Phaeton.

I agree with everyone else that says Unions are the cause of inferior American cars. I read in Newsweek one day that over in Japan, one car manufacturer will have one of it's managers go out to the factory and read out loud to EVERY worker there all the mistakes that were made AND who made them. It's a way to call them out and make sure they don't mess up again. It's a pretty cold tactic, but it works.

As for nissan, toyota, and honda, I always thought they put quality into their cars. But now, I think Honda is slipping. Sure an Accord or Civic can last you a bit longer than the general american sedan, but they aren't build as strong as a toyota or a nissan and this is coming from a Honda owner.

Another example of Japanese craftsmanship: my mom drives a 1993 Lexus Ls400 and it has like 183,000 miles on it.

Would I consider buying an American car? Of course. I, being asian, used to have the mentality that American cars suck. But as the ignorance fades and I get older, I wouldn't mind buying American. I think US carmakers have actually increased the quality of their vehicles in the past decade. It's still not as great as a German or Japanese car, but it's better than the 1992 Ford Thunderbird my sister bought.

 

what about Gedde Watanabe?

and think of all the hilarious hijinks those 2 would get themselves into.

 

I don't think it has to do with unions or quality since most popular asian cars are actually made in the US. I think it has to do with designing ugly cars with mediocre performance.

Look at the new chevy malibu. That car is supposed to compete with Camry's, accords, and altimas. The jap cars are boring but the malibu is boring, ugly and unrefined.

Same for the cobalt.

GM and Ford spent too much time and money on SUV's and trucks while neglecting their cars. With rising gas prices, this has bit them in the arse.

 

Precisely. Perhaps 25 years ago, simply stating, "unions must be the problem/japan has better quality" might have carried some weight, even though overly simplistic, however those days are long, long gone. Nowadays, that kind of explanation doesn't make much sense.

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/mar2005/nf20050321_4309_db084.htm

 

Sadly the auto industry is the victim of a fundamentalist ideology that says you should never make laws to regulate anything. In addition you have some oil guys in control who love to sell fossil fuels. Also a corrupt political system that allows the auto makers and big oil to spend big money to elect bozos who keep trying to help the gas guzzlers.

Any moron has known for at least 30 years that the future was in small fuel efficient cars. The government could have helped by sticking to the standards that required the industry to make these cars. We didin't need to get our clocks cleaned by Japanes hybrids. Instead the fundies got in and allowed the SUV's to be called trucks and thus not subject to fleet gas mileage standards.

So now you have them trying to give away the gaz guzzling SUV's, even after the Iraq War and the fact we spend roughly $1 per gallon on unnecessary miitary spending to try to make the US gas guzzlers a little more competitive.

So sad. Only extremists thinks that the world runs best with virtually no government or regulation (Market as God folks), or virtually everything should be owned and or regulated by the government (Communists).

 

unions

 

Rockbox and SamFisher are on target.

I've worked with the Big 3 on a few advisory projects. Unions are a b****, but they hurt the car companies from a profitability and production flexibility standpoint, not a sales/market share standpoint.

The designers and senior management in the car companies are too reactive. They put all their eggs in the SUV basket. It worked for a while and they were making tons of money per car. Now, gas prices are too high and the US companies don't sell any exciting cars. And the ones that they do sell are really novelty cars more than threats to the Accords of the world.

A couple years ago, a very significant portion of their sales were to rental car companies (I wish I could remember the number, but I know it was north of 30%). They don't make cars consumers want. Unions are a problem, but revenues are the big problem now.

 

Ahhhhh....the glory days of Detroit!

Is there any Japanese car that's still covetted once it's more than ten years old? Has anyone ever written a song about a Honda?

Muscle cars Rock!!

....but them days are gone .

 

Old land cruisers and nissan 240Z. Also, the reason you covet the older cars, is because the new ones suck.

Now, here is a question for you. Is there an american car(not truck or SUV) that you would buy that was exactly 10 years old and had over 100K miles on it.

 

there isnt any car id buy thats 10 yrs old w/ 100K on it