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Nov 22 2008

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Big Three Bailouts

BIG THREE BAILOUTS
11/22/08

I can understand the need for the bail out of the American auto industry, but there must be a restructuring of their business models or a complete consolidation of the three auto makers.. Detroit auto makers have been building virtually the same cars for that last 100 years. The Model T Ford got better gas mileage than the latest Ford SUVs with fewer carbon emissions and a better suspension . Ford Motor was the first industry to pay its employees the highest weekly wage of any industry. All this without a union. By the 1990″s Ford Motor Company had become the laughing stock of the auto industry, noted by consumers as the poorest built automobile in America, on par with the YUGO. Ford had to spend billions of marketing dollars during the 1990’s to change their motto to “Quality is Job One.” What a joke. These same Quality Ford Vehicles were notorious for either catching fire, like the Ford Pinto or rolling over on the highway , like the Ford SUV the ESCAPE. Chrysler had to be bought out. It’s only successful product was the JEEP. which hadn’t been redesigned since the Second World War. The greatest auto industry farce was Ford Mercury buying Jaguar, then selling it to an Indian company. Who in their right mind would buy a Jaguar made in India? Maybe a wealthy Indian who has an outsourced American job. Since the early days of the auto industry virtually nothing regarding the model of the combustion engine an basic four wheel design have come from the big three auto makers or any other car maker. However Saturn,Honda, Toyota and others are still selling cars, and showing profits.
 

It is time for a real change in the auto industry and in the way Americans view these companies. For too long we have been sold on the idea that bigger is better, more is better, but now as we look at the prospects of buying a new car that costs 20-30 thousand dollars, and has an expected life span and warranty of 100,000 miles or less, we are not only sticker shocked but greatly disappointed by the lack of innovations or change in car models from 3-5 years prior, when we bought our last car.. I have an old Volvo that I bought second hand from a dealer friend of mine. It now has 280,000 miles , no rust, and less than 400 per year in total maintenance costs. and averages 25 miles per gallon. The car was made in 1985. Drives great and looks great, and this year I paid less than 10 dollars in property taxes on the car. Some independent car experts state that the Volvo 1985 750 was the best car ever made. I have to admit it is a very good dependable car. .
 

1985 was a good year for car makers. That year I bought new an Oldsmobile Delta 98. It was a cherry red sedan with a red valour interior, That car got 35 miles per gallon between city and highway. Oldsmobile never made a better engine again. It turned out to be a fluke because that year make and model had an experimental carburetor and a Cadillac Coup De Ville body. It cost $25,000 new. A new Caddy or Olds today are 40-50,000 thousand dollars and get less than thirty miles to the gallon with a much smaller frame and far less status. Caddy and Olds have become high priced jokes in the car industry , just as most of the other big three assembly line products..
 

American car buyers have been greatly dis served by the Detroit auto makers. Planned obsolescence, and outdated technology and designs have created a Frankenstein industry of old parts and poor engineering. Congressional leaders were right to expect more from the American auto industry than we have experienced from them in the past. The industry’s lack of insight and ability to evolve with the demands of their customers has created this widening gap between American and International auto technology and consumer appeal.
 

A bailout may be necessary to preserve millions of jobs , however Americans can not allow this bail out without a definite understanding of where and how the big three auto makers intend to address their company’s future and create and market quality automobiles , with the best engineering and company vision that will sustain its success throughout the 21 century and beyond. .I believe a complete consolidation of the big three auto makers into one viable company is warranted, as well as a total revamping of the American auto industry. By doing this the American taxpayer and consumer would be best served.
L.A STEEL

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