GM axes performance division

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Roger K Fain

If the American manufacturers want Americans to purchase their vehicles from them, then they need to take the first step and close their assembly plants in Canada, Mexico, and Australia. Just a few of the vehicles assembled by American companies in other countries:
PT Cruiser..Mexico
Pontiac GTO..Australia
Ford EDGE..Ontario, Canada
Buick Lacross.. Canada
Chevrolet Camaro..Canada
" Equinox "
" Impala "
" Silverado "
" Sierra "
GMC Terrain "
There are many more examples from all of the BIG 3. If we are going to "bail" them out, then they need to spend our money in America.

Whoa down there! Like it or not this is a global economy. Likley 80% of the clothes you have on now while reading this are made in Asia or somewhere other than North America. The idea of having car plants in other countries is good for business. The trouble the domestic car companies arre having stem from more than any one specific source.
Just ask the new generation what they want to buy, likley they will tell you Honda,Toyota, Lexus,Mitsubishi,Mercedes. That thinking alone has taken its toll on the domestics.Alot of this thinking comes from the automotive media,they always seem to bash the domestics, even when they are the clear winner in some comparisons.The other part of that thinking is they want to be different than their parents who always had domestics.
Gas prices and insurance costs have not helped either.Try to insure a young male driver in a V8 Mustang or any of the same cars, you need to take out a new mortgage! I am from Canada, I do not work for any of the carmakers but in my business I do work in many of the plants. The quality of the work and the cleanliness of the plants is second to none!
Are there problems with upper management? I do not know for sure, I am not privy to that information. Do i think there is upper management problems? Yes there will be somewhere,any large corporation will have problems in management. All large companies have the "right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing" problems. But blaming where a vehicle is made or assembled is not the answer. Roger, I say this in the interest of good constructive converstaion, not as a personal attack OK.

Todd Melville
Melville Racing
1577 T/STK
1971 Boss 351 Mustang

[GUMP]

Originally Posted by Todd

Whoa down there! Like it or not this is a global economy. Likley 80% of the clothes you have on now while reading this are made in Asia or somewhere other than North America. The idea of having car plants in other countries is good for business.

Todd,

As someone who is involved in the "Global Economy" as it relates to textiles on a day to day basis I can tell you that it is one of the worst things that ever happened to "Main Street America". It is all about the bottom line. I for one would like to see real "Free Trade". What we have now is a joke. For the record, I was working full time in Canada when free trade killed the industry there in the early 1990's.

Daren

[goinbroke2]

A buddy of mine still wears his NAFTA t shirt that depicts an eagle screwing a beaver. Both Canadian and americans think they got the shaft.
I personally think the issue is the fact that every other country has a VAT (Value Added Tax) except the States and Canada on most products.
Example:

It cost $15,000 to build a car in north america and you sell it for $20,000 you make $5,000

In other countries though it only cost $10,000 to build, $1,000 to ship and sell for $15,000 making $4,000 and undercutting the very economy you ship to!

Here's what's worse, cost $15,000 to build in NA, $1,000 to ship to asia/europe and add 25% VAT = $20,000 which doesn't include any profit!! Remember they built for $10,000? That is one reason toyota shipped 1.3 million veh to the US last year and combined the domestic's sold around 400 vehicles in Japan!

Free market is great, however it's not a free market when other countries have "taxes" put on your goods and you don't on theirs.
Immediately, Canada and the US should put a VAT on products which brings the price of a product shipped into the country up to par with what it would cost to produce said product here. THEN it would be a pair of cars/pens/shirts for the same price and people would choose what they wanted. Would YOU choose a shirt from thailand with their quality/durability/materials if it cost the same as one made here?? I certainly wouldn't.
(As an aside, there is a 25% tariff on trucks imported to the US, that's why toyota built the truck plant in texas where they ASSEMBLE trucks not BUILD them)

[GUMP]

Originally Posted by goinbroke2

Immediately, Canada and the US should put a VAT on products which brings the price of a product shipped into the country up to par with what it would cost to produce said product here.

A VAT generally applies to all products sold the same as sales tax. In most countries that have a VAT it is added into the sticker price.

THEN it would be a pair of cars/pens/shirts for the same price and people would choose what they wanted.

In regards to textiles, the imported stuff has been selling for the same price as domestic stuff for years and the public really doesn't seem to care where it comes from. Wonder where the extra profit on that overseas stuff goes?

Would YOU choose a shirt from thailand with their quality/durability/materials if it cost the same as one made here?? I certainly wouldn't.

You probably do it every day and don't even realize it!


The problem with this whole auto industry deal is simple. Nobody is buying cars. Why not? Because they don't have jobs. Why don't they have jobs? Because we have allowed our manufacturing jobs to go overseas. Look around at who actually buys American made cars. It's not the bankers or politicians for the most part. It has traditionally been the same kind of people who support NASCAR and the NHRA. What is happening there these days? Kill NAFTA and CAFTA and prosperity will come back to the USA. Instead it looks like I am fixing to get a 5% tax hike!