Union shops don’t promote employees based on performance like a normal business would do. A crappy performer gets paid the same as a high performer and the only thing unions reward is seniority. In that type of work environment its no wonder why they’ve had quality issues and to be honest even with this handicap I’ve been seeing a lot more problems coming out of the imports as of the last 7 years.

In a global economy the lowest overhead highest profit competitors will win. This precludes the big three.

With all that said I hope you’re right….

It’s true the current situation is unfair, but GM and the other two did not let things slide because they HAD to, they did so because they CHOSE to. Unions, taxes, and the like can do a lot of things, but they do not mandate that many American cars were notorious for shoddy build quality and service problems.

It’s a misconception that no matter what happens, the Big Three will fail due to unfair competition. All they have to do is recommit themselves, and be so much better that they take back the market EVEN while suffering due to an unlevel playing field. To be the best even when the odds are against them…that’s the American way.

Leveling the playingfield is a nice thought, but it’s not very likely to happen, which is why the Big Three have to focus on regaining the market by exceeding standards first. Having a level playing field simply makes it easier for the Three to do so.

I think you’re missing my point which is that regardless what the big three try to do in improvements to their vehicles unless the playing field is leveled they will eventually fail and along with it a big chunk of our economy will fail as well. You say they need to improve and that they shouldn’t “cut corners”. I ask, with what money? When a third of your cost is overhead on top of overhead how can you afford to improve?

What magic pixy dust can they sprinkle? This is economics at its best. Low overhead, high profit wins and in this case all Americans lose BIG. Think stock market CRASH.

You also mention that competition is a good thing in all cases. Then why doesn’t China, Japan, and Germany decrease their tariffs on our imports to 2.5 percent like we have to thiers? Competition is only good if its your product in a foreign country that’s winning. If it was always good Japan would have abandoned its protectionist policies long ago–they know better.

Like I said, automakers are forced to deal with the behemoth that is competition, which is a good thing, even if circumstances seem otherwise. GM, Ford, and Chrysler felt like they could cut corners on some things, and they payed for it.

The same thing happened with Harley Davidson a while ago. A Harley used to be the best of the best, no questions asked. Then they started producing bikes to lower and lower standards, thinking they could afford to. Honda, Suzuki, and the like then swept in, making tiny, whining little machines that seemed pathetic but never broke down. Harley finally woke up, belted down and once again became one of the best.

The Big Three are slow learners, for common sense is most commonly blinded by profit, but if they are to survive, they have gotta back their ass back on the right track. If they do, Motown’s gonna come roaring back. If they don’t, adios to the American automobile.

Thank you to all the politicians that have supported every country but the U.S. and lastly thank you to all us Americans that refuse to buy American and allow the politicians to do as they see fit for their pocket books.

Think about it this way. Every foreign product you buy might be cheaper, but you devalue our dollar and bring up the foreign currency. Pretty simple concept. Who loses here?

Frankly, how GM ever managed to be the top dog is amazing to me. Foreign companies have a breeze importing their cars into the states, while the Big Three have to claw their way through policies, regulations, all the typical bureaucratic B.S. to get a model over seas. Not to mention the difficulties you pointed out that afflict domestic companies and not foreign ones. So I completely agree, the playing field damn well should be leveled. But since that’s not likely to happen, the Big Three have to compensate by being so much better than the foreign companies.

Also, I think you may have misread what I said. Toyota, Honda, ect. made better cars than the Big Three for AWHILE, until the Three had to raise the bar to survive. GM and Ford are trotting out a whole bunch of nice cars now (but Chrysler’s kinda DIW). I think that they are kinda equal now, and in time, that will force the Japanese to up their game to keep up with the Americans. And that’s a good thing, for competition is the lifeblood of the industry.

Many folks seem to think a few blue collar jobs makes up for the millions of dollars if not billions in Toyota’s case that leave the U.S. to go home to corporate headquarters in Japan. Not only do we miss out on the high paying white collar jobs mostly comprised of in the home country of the corporate HQ; we also miss out on the millions of dollars of tax revenue associated with having corporate HQ in the U.S.. Import taxes and blue collar wage taxes are NOTHING in comparison. Oh, and I almost forgot, if we consumed more domestic vehicles there’s a high chance we would have MORE domestic jobs!! This is why lots of companies put their HQ’s on Cayman Islands and than don’t worry about the import taxes. Last I checked the tariff’s were set at 2.5 percent for any nation that signed the GATT agreement–a far cry from what a corporation based in the U.S. would pay for taxes and an even further cry from what a U.S. based corporation would have to pay to import to Japan or Germany.

Lastly, even in the U.S. toyota and honda don’t deal with unions and the associated wage problems they have created for the detroit three. If you want american cars to be cometitive we need to level the playing field; no unions burden and lets charge import taxes on each country as they do to us–how is this not fair and how would this not benefit the u.s.?

By the way, if you think that Toys and Honda’s are just “the best” here’s some info to the contrary. They have problems just like anyone else and in this lawsuit much worse than any I’ve seen in the last 10 years with the big three.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com.....ement.html

or what about this one

http://www.autospies.com/news/.....ons-21942/

My second point is about the issue over American vs. Foreign cars. Now, the reason Toyota is the world’s top car company, and the reason the Camry is the best-selling car in America is because from the public’s viewpoint, they are essentially better cars. We car enthusiats don’t necessarily think so, but it is basically true. Like egon said, people don’t always think about looks, they care about the “feel” of the car and depreciation. Now it’s all about mpg, and the Japanese have got that segment bagged.

Now, however, we are seeing a lot of better cars coming out of GM (mostly), simply because Toyota FORCED them to be better. Toyota saw the long-term investment in fuel efficiency and better warranties, while GM and Ford kept on selling gas-guzzling SUVs and trucks. American car companies realized that to stay competent, they had to match the Japanese companies, move for move. Which is why there are more and more (though still not enough) American hybrids, and better American warranties. This is the nature of competition, and in the automotive world, that’s a very good thing, because it means that there can only be better cars (meaning the cars that we, the consumers, want).

You have got to be really retarded to think that this looks like the R8 or the Murcielago, which you obviously are.

Randy, I can’t even put into words how stupid I think you are. I try not to be a hater but it’s hard with all these retards around.

Oh, and Jacob? No one gives a damn anymore about the McLaren F1. And if this car was slated for production, I’m willing to bet that it could give the F1 a run for its money.

THIS CAR IS AWESOME!!!!!