Detroit: Not 100% Bad
Auto Extremist is not a lap dog for the car companies so his views are worth listening to. BTW he has actual facts, something none of us have
For the record, there are around 14,000 domestic-oriented dealers in the U.S. employing approximately 740,000 people with a payroll of around $35 billion – that's billion with a "B." But that's just the dealer side of the equation. When you add in the suppliers and all of the associated businesses that either directly or indirectly depend on Detroit for their livelihoods, we're talking almost three million people who would be out of work in a matter of just a few months, adding up to a $150 billion loss in personal income.Peter De Lorenzo, a main stream balls out critic of Detroit adds this describing a single factory in California.
That's just one factory. Now multiply that by the staggering totals involved if GM - which has 22 stamping plants and 26 powertrain plants in North America on top of its assembly facilities - and the rest of the domestic automobile industry is allowed to fail. The tentacles of this kind of cataclysmic disaster would spread throughout the nation like a virus that could not be contained.All of us need to think this thing through. Yes the UAW is near total shit, yes the auto execs showed themselves not ready for network TV, and the press is piling on. Fact: Detroit has caught up with Japan Inc. so far as initial quality is concerned, they have exciting new product in the pipeline, and the car bashing that is going on is incorrect.
3 comments:
Total balls. GM's not going to disappear; they'll just undergo Chap 11 restructuring. So all that "disappearing jobs" stuff is just fearmongering.
Howard,
I have a different perspective. My company, an oilfield equipment manufacturer, has been actively recruiting laid off, retired, or job bank auto workers for 4 years. We need machinists, fabricators and assemblers.
Unfortunately they don't like our pay and our non union shops. The ones we do recruit are gone in 6 months for lack of performance. We've given up even trying as we can hire high school kids with a bit of snap and worth ethic and train them.
As the price of oil rose over the past three years, the demand for our products skyrocketed and we quickly reached capacity. We looked to outsource machining and assembly work to keep up with demand. The second and third tier auto suppliers tried hard for our business. Their prices were higher than our sell prices. Needless to say, we didn't utilize any of them. And we're a domestic manufacturer.
If you're coming to see me about sourcing machining and fabrication business, showing up with a diamond bezel gold Rolex is not going to impress me. The bottom line will. They just don't get it.
MC
DuToit: problem with Chapter 11 with a monster like GM is that they will automatically have to stiff their suppliers as a part of re-organization. Some of their suppliers depend only on GM, are quite large, and will fold without money.
There is no "perfect" solution to this thousand pound gorilla in our room. I don't have an answer.
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