Friday, December 12, 2008

The real fear in Detroit. We'll discover we don't need them

Yes, some will say that thought itself it some sort of treasonous and seditious attitude.
But in Alabama, Hyundai is building one of the largest factories in the world.
Nissan, which opened a ginormous customer service center (268k sq ft) in Irving, Texas in 2003 speaks only about less profit, not a loss. They had had to INCREASE output on the the Altima which is in high demand, vehicles of size which GM loses money on every single unit sold. Under current contracts with the UAW, and the grotesque pay of top execs, what incentive could they have to win a market that increases their loss as sales increase?
Toyota...the Prius..any questions?
Toyota's share of the U.S. market has more than doubled since 1990, when it controlled only 7.5 percent of the market
Toyota passed Ford as #2 in 2007
Honda will be introducing a fuel cell car in 2009 for all customer purchases.

Sales of diesel-powered vehicles and gas-electric hybrids are expected to triple their share of the U.S. auto market to a combined 17 percent by 2015, according to a study by J.D. Power and Associates.

The study also predicted that sales of vehicles equipped with four-cylinder engines will outpace sales of more powerful cars and trucks. Last year, 353,000 hybrids were sold in the U.S., accounting for 2.2 percent of the market. They are expected to comprise 7 percent of the market by 2015, while the share of diesel-powered vehicles is expected to rise to 10 percent from 3.2 percent over the same period.
GM: Hybrid cars make no sense
GM executive Lutz argues critically acclaimed hybrid compacts like Toyota Prius are bad business.

Even with the huge drop in fuel prices, the lack of diaposable income amid the deflationary pressures surrounding us will dictate the pruchase of less expensive vehicles, and ones efficient in fuel use. That STILL leaves out Detroit.
Beneath the fear of job loss and depression spreading from Michigan perhaps we have a situation here that will resolve as other companies fill the demand gaps left by the demise of at least GM and Chrysler, and hire or move skilled workers from Michigan to TN, AK, AL and other places the UAW is absent from, and where company execs don't make multiples of many hundreds of line employees. We've heard this emergency bailout now called a jobs bailout, as if WE CREATE AND MAINTAIN JOBS IN ANY OTHER WAY THAN BUYING THEIR VEHICLES.
Perhaps the real naked fear we hear from Michigan execs, union leaders, and congressmen and senators is that they just found out they are manufacturing BUGGY WHIPS, and that in that new factory in Alabama they are making something better.