Okay I know I may lose some of my audience.. Sorry guys,
but hear me out.. I'm using some ballpark financial/market analysis
thinking here, but I don't assume any authority over what is
going on, I can't give professional advice or come before congress
and such.. This is just one guys view..
Summed up.. When you hear billions, distribute the cost per American (~250 million) and what is it 4 dollars per person per billion dollars.. 55 billion = 220 dollars per man, woman, child, etc.. A family of four gets hit for 880 dollars. The banking industry bailout? 750 billion / 250 million = 3000 dollars per person, that is 12000 dollars for a family of four.. Now you know why people are reluctant to buy cars, other than that they are gas guzzlers, other than they can't get a loan, and so on.. 12880 dollars altogether..
The banking industry makes sense, the American auto manufacturers don't.. It may be the end, but I'm willing to bet somebody else, like Boeing, may buy up their bad debt and take them over. I think the CEO's don't want bankruptcy to happen on their watch, they are concerned for their resume, their stock, etc.. The one dollar wage is a public relations stunt.. The Google founders did the same thing I guess to say that they would make Google great and raise the stock value, but I think in this case it is just a publicity stunt, like coming to Washington in a hybrid car.. Me I'd rather see them walking.. Ha..
I wonder if some of the news programs are painting an extra dismal picture because some of their ad revenue for their TV stations come from auto ads? So yeah it's tainting everything, that's what happens.. But it isn't the 10% of the industry that they want to paint it as.. That's extrapolated, and there is still a parts industry for other cars, even used cars.. How many people are still driving Oldsmobiles? Is there a parts industry for Oldsmobiles?
Well, I guess I care less because I've driven foreign cars.. The American auto industry has been dieing off for some time.. Reason? Electrical problems, for a lot of the cars, go look at your consumer reports, the cars fail after two years.. And then you have the gas guzzling suv's.. Also you have tons of recalls.. And if that wasn't enough you then have the cost of all the extras like say 1000 dollars for a durable bumper, or 3000 dollars for in-car dvd movies, or things like that..
This all started back with Lee Iacocca in the 60s/70s/80s, turning trucks into cars.. And then you have the tax credits to people driving big vehicles in businesses and so on.. I may be totally wrong on these things, but do some research..
I go by the consumer reports when I buy a car because it's such a huge expense for me. The last car I had was a Honda Prelude, one car, lasted me a decade, and when I bought it, it was a decade old.. So GM and Ford hasn't made a dime on me.. I bought a Infiniti G20, I haven't taken it to the dealership because the reason the Infiniti's go down in price is the parts cost an arm and a leg, well inside the car, Infiniti G20's use similar parts to the Nissan Sentras, because, they are essentially just that.. So I get a luxury Nissan, for 5000 dollars (yep, this is also what I paid for the Honda Prelude), and both are on the good in the consumer reports reviews, and both were new a decade before I bought them, both were already ten years old.. My Infiniti is one of those that when you drive it, you forget about the car, about the interface.. Everything is where it should be, it's well thought.. And then you look at American cars, how many errors can you point out?
Now why get an American car? Ummmmm.. It's American? It's been a long time coming people.. It's not the end of the world, it's just reality setting in. There is no reason that the American auto industry had to go on making sucky cars for two, three decades.. Poor design, prolonged..
Now it's not to say that there will be auto manufacturers to take their place, even American ones, a million people lost their jobs, I say they'll dissipate into other areas, like making hybrids, golf carts, green plants, solar panels, etc.. GM, Chrysler, Ford didn't make really good use of those people's talents, maybe some people will starve, but we've got marketable skills, even a potential to create new industries.. How many of the Americans now losing jobs have College degrees? I'm willing to bet it outnumbers those in the 70s and 30's.. My eldest Uncle on my father's side was the first to go to college, and he was born in the 20's.. That's the reason the 50's was a success for the Auto industry, other than the war, people were educated.. And education then was a fraction of what it is now because there was less know at the time, but there was a willingness to change the world..
And that's what this is.. Change..
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