American Automotive Industry One Mans View
Posted: Sunday, February 22, 2009
by Mark Gittelman
certifiedmastertech.com
The challenges of the American automotive industry and why I need them to survive.
Today more than ever the automobile is a basic necessity for me. My horse recently died of old age and the town I live in has no mass transit. Most Americans like me would have a difficult time surviving without their vehicles. Not only do we need our vehicles, but we also need the automotive industry . Each year millions of new cars and light trucks are produced and sold in North America.
Decades ago, the big three automakers , which include General Motors, Ford Motor Co., and the Chrysler Corporation dominated this automotive landscape. Unfortunately, The automotive industry is now a global one with more players entering the field all the time. Carmakers from Japan, Korea, Germany, Sweden and other European and Asian countries compete with the US companies for domestic and foreign sales. And for 2008 the best-selling car in the United States was from a Japanese car company. You may have heard of before "Toyota".
If things weren't competitive enough, they are only going to get worse for America's iconic carmakers. India and China both plan on developing and expanding their US auto sales. The low cost of labor in these countries will not only make them competitive but also almost guarantee their success. And to give credit where credit is due, both India and China offer some unique technologies that make their vehicles More than competitive.
It is true that several foreign manufacturers such as Honda, Toyota and BMW operate assembly plants in the United States and Canada. Larger companies have bought many smaller auto manufacturers from larger global automobile companies. Most often the ownership of a car company is not readily identifiable by its brand name by design.
For example: Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, Jaguar, Volvo, and Mazda along with Aston Martin and Rover are all controlled under the Ford Motor Co. umbrella. On the other hand, the United States carmakers and foreign manufacturers build a number of vehicles jointly. These vehicles are built in North America to be sold here or exported to other countries. An example of this would be the Buick car line that is selling extremely well in China due to its long-time emblem representing status and success in this Asian culture.
This cooperation between manufacturers and the public acceptance of imported vehicles has resulted in an extremely wide selection of vehicles from which customers can choose. This variety has also created new challenges for automotive companies to distinguish themselves from the pack. We are now at a crossroads where it is time to remove the dead wood from the other trees or the entire forest could burn down.
Mark Gittelman is an ASE certified master technician that has worked in the automotive industry for about 25 years. Mark would like to see the American carmakers make it through these tough economic times. You can review his idea on bailing out the big three without using any taxpayer money on his auto repair information blog.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Mark, good job but just an opinion based on experience. Making cars doesn't have anything to do with American auto makers and everything to do with the Global Dream and cheap labor. Americans must learn to take less, way less. These all American giants are the ones with the money and plants there helping them do just what you stated. That point seems to go sailing right past most. Frankly if you have and are making money you don't give a damn about the rest. Just who can copmpete, no one here unless the workers take substantial cuts across the board. Yes and that is the bottom line as they say. Best wishes.Hi Robert: Your opinion is also valid and makes a good point. The good folks that work at the American car making plants make a good 10 bucks an hour more then I do. And I have been a certified master technician working on the products they build for more than 25 years. I think this might be in part to the UAW. But that debate may deserve it's own article! Thanks for your point of view! Most appreciated.
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