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The American automobile business meets Change
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Last November many Americans voted for “Change!” In regards to the automobile business in America, change is almost too mild a word for what we are seeing. Revolution may be more appropriate. Who would have thought a year ago that Chrysler would be Italian owned and Ford would be about to pass GM in sales? Or a Chinese company would own Hummer and Opel would no longer be part of GM’s worldwide grip on the marketplace? Is this the Change we were looking for?
Many say that the failed automakers got what they deserved, they weren’t making cars people wanted, they were paying to much for labor, management was too bloated and slow moving, they were out of touch with the market.
Problem is, this view, in a large part encouraged by major media, is just plain wrong. It may have been true in the 1980’s and maybe even into the early 90’s, but Ford and then GM both started on plans to fix what was wrong with Detroit, we just had this pesky “financial crisis” that ruined their best laid plans. Ford is ahead of the game now because they started sooner, Chrysler is in the worst shape because of foreign ownership during this critical time. (most forget that Daimler of Germany owned Chrysler from 1998-2007) When we look at the facts, they tell a different story. Over the next couple of articles we will look to recent history and see what brought us here. Stay tuned.
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