quote=Rt.66]The Japanese Gov. funded a large part of Toyota’s Prius development.
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[quote=dbapig][And good for them. [/quote]
Your right, it is good for them and smart too.
[quote]I believe you are trying to portray how Toyota (and presumably Korean/European car companies) has unfair advantage due to subsidies from the Japanese govt. Toyota/Japanese govt had the wisdom to think long term. I don’t know if you can use that (govt ‘subsidizing’ Toyota) to place blame on Japan/Korea/Europe for the troubles the Big 2 are experiencing now. [/quote]
No actually I’m making a case against all the people who scream in anger demanding our Gov. NOT help OUR industry. From time to time it’s essential to help huge economy critical companies survive tough times so you can have jobs and tax revenue in the good times.
The previous Chrysler bailout saw the Gov. get all its money back plus interest, early. Plus… I believe our Gov. made something like $8 million on a Chrysler stock trade afterwards. Add in all the taxes our Gov. collected from Chrysler since then and income taxes from its well paid employees, and it shows that a little help sometimes can really pay off big in the long term.
Briefly, the unfair part is two pronged. On the Japanese side, they cheat. They manipulate their currency so their products are cheaper in America.
On our side our own Gov. refuses to create a level playing field. Healthcare alone creates a situation where in their own country, our manufacturers find it VERY difficult to compete in small (lower profit) vehicles against foreign makers (who enjoy national healthcare). Not cool. Read previous posts on this thread, legacy costs should be viewed as a badge of honor. We should give the Big 3 medals for 100 years of service, good jobs and lasting benefits; not a distinct trade disadvantage on their own soil.
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Weren’t GM/Ford criticized for focusing just on large cars because they were more profitable? I don’t think there was any ban placed on the Big 2 from making small/efficient cars. [/quote]
See above.
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Remember GM’s EV1? Celebrities actually protested on the street for FREE to keep the EV1 on the road but GM didn’t listen. Is that the fault of Japan/Korea/Europe car companies? [/quote]
Battery technology and the need to make a profit killed it right? Making prototype electric vehicles is one thing, making them affordable with existing technology (at the time) is another. I guess this goes back to your first point, perhaps if our Gov. had gotten behind it like Japan got behind the Prius we may have subsidized GM for losses for a time but also be much farther ahead with the tech now and be enjoying a market leading advantage.
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Japanese govt spends public funding in a sensible way (probably a drop in the bucket) to help develop a car that’s pretty much revolutionary. Meanwhile, because the management at Big 2 didn’t think long term, US govt spends boat load of $ (in panic) just to keep Big 2 afloat. That’s not the fault of anyone but the heads of Big 2. [/quote]
I agree wholeheartedly (to the first part), the Japanese Gov,. gets it. Jobs, trade surplus, tax revenue are all things a Gov. should defend at all costs. How do you know the big three did not think long term? Building the only vehicles your Gov’s trade policies dictate you can build at a profit sounds pretty much like survival and as long term as you can hope for, rolled up into one. The many, many stellar models they have now show some pretty forward thinking.
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All we can and should do is demand better products from the Big 2. No amount of ‘Buy America’ slogan will really make a big difference, imho. It’s great that the Big 2 are making improvements in the quality. Hopefully it will get better in time.[/quote]
They are building some of the best vehicles on the planet right now. A big part of this is support. In Europe and Asian countries they demand their Gov’s keep the auto industry jobs.. PERIOD! They send that message to their Govs. Their Gov knows the key to its survival is working to keep the jobs and keep the populace happy.
Here we start fax campaigns to demand NO bailout loans to the Big 3. We demand they go BK and our Gov. responds to our demands (on a level). So Obama’s plan is to force Chrysler to sell to Fiat, cut up GM, close domestic maker dealerships so foreign makers gain market share and send tons more jobs to China and NAFTA countries. That’s how WE handle a threat to our manufacturing base and jobs.
Other countries would be shutting foreign dealerships, never their own dealerships, in their own country. The American worker is just ignorant or just does not give a crap. So I guess it’s actually we, the American worker, who are stuck in immediate gratification mode and can’t see and plan for our own future tax base, deficits and jobs needs.
