[SeanPlunk]

Pretty interesting article. It's sad to see some of the crap that Detroit was churning out over the last 30 years

[Vettezuki]

I think this sums it up:

"When even the junkyard won't take a car, that's trouble. "

[TimAT]

Simple thing. Anyone remember the Japanese maker Datsun? The guys that changed the name to Nissan after the flood of Datsun cars that would literally rust while you watched? Datsun didn't go away, they just changed the name.

The biggest problem I see is the government ALLOWING the foreign car makers to undercut the big 3. All in the name of competition. How many GM cars do you see in other countries? Not very many. It's too expensive to import them and then too expensive to maintain. IF they will cut them a deal to pass their emissions or fuel requirements.

[Vettezuki]

Originally Posted by TimAT

Simple thing. Anyone remember the Japanese maker Datsun? The guys that changed the name to Nissan after the flood of Datsun cars that would literally rust while you watched? Datsun didn't go away, they just changed the name.

The biggest problem I see is the government ALLOWING the foreign car makers to undercut the big 3. All in the name of competition. How many GM cars do you see in other countries? Not very many. It's too expensive to import them and then too expensive to maintain. IF they will cut them a deal to pass their emissions or fuel requirements.

Datsun was a name intentionally used by Nissan to distance themselves in the event of market failure. Datsun was a market success on the whole and that's why they returned to the name of the mothership.

GM and Ford are pretty successful in foreign markets under their own names (especially Ford in the UK, and Buick in China) and under brands they own, Minaro, Vauxhall, Holden, Volvo, et. al. It's here in the States they've been continually struggling. BTW, the product produced over seas is in some cases, absolutely superior to what the same makers make here. Again particularly Ford in the UK with things like their Ralley based Focus, and Buick in China, which has been far more refined than domestic offerings.

The undercutting that happens in the US has nothing to do with undercutting quality and everything to do with legacy costs. The foreign makers, who make their cars in the US are based in right to work states, they are not shackled with the albatross that is the UAW. In fact, they pay the same, sometimes more per hour to equivalent positions of their line workers. They just don't have crazy and totally unsustainable defined benefit plans from the ancient times. I don't remember the exact numbers, but it cost Ford something like $4,500 to build an F-150 in the States. It costs Toyota something like $1,500 to build an equivalent Tundra in the States. The difference in cost is not related to materials, technology and or anything related to fundamental quality but almost entirely to legacy costs.