Valentine’s Day Massacre and auto-extremist
Peter DeLorenzo summed up most of our feelings:
http://www.autoextremist.com/page6.shtml
Then we have to add:
Daimler-Benz acquired Chrysler Corporation in 1998; Chrysler at that time was one of the world’s most profitable automakers, with a popular, critically acclaimed product line of cars, minivans, and trucks. Since acquiring Chrysler, Daimler-Benz has cut over 40,000 jobs; eliminated the company’s entry-level car; removed Chrysler Financial from Chrysler Group’s books; dropped the Plymouth division; chose several local CEOs who lasted only a brief time; boasted that they had lied about the acquisition being a merger; delayed the introduction of numerous vehicles; and saw the former company’s market share plummet.
And we quote “SportFury:”
When I read about the contributions of W P Chrysler and his company to this nation, I stand up and salute a great man and a great company with tears in my eyes for a company that it’s own nation would stand by and let a company based on foreign and once hostile soils come in and rape and pillage a company CG] and its people [employes] and carry the ‘booty’ home to Germany or any other counrty called home. People that sit at a desk and crunch impersonal numbers looking for the next gold star on their resume’ and the next job offer it brings them cannot see beyond their impersonal numbers to the consquenses of their “expert” decisions. Stuart, I wouldn’t know you from Adam’s housecat and I don’t know what lies behind your thinking as expressed by your comments. You appear to be Pro M-B and nationalistic with the German superiority complex as your mantra, to which I say HOGWASH! Could the world exist without M-B and Diemler? NO DOUBT!
I know the theories of ‘free trade’ and I acknowledge some of the benefits, but if our leaders don’t wake up to security issues that are looming just ahead and limit and control foreign investments we are in trouble. Chrysler Corp is just the tip of the iceberg.
What pisses me off is watching 13,000 more manufacturing jobs being lost and then reading in the Detroit News that Wall Street is cheering this news
JTC, remember what I said about number crunchers and foreign investors. I do not have concrete facts, but, it is my understanding that prior to the bombing of the twin towers on 9/11/01 many middle east heavy investors in airlines etc, dumpted their investments before other investors took heavy losses as a result of the action of their M.E. countrymen. HELLO, doesn’t this raise a red flag for anyone.
It is long past time for our elected officals to wake up, HELLO, H-E-L-L-O anyone awake and sober in our nations capitol. Americas industry and the people that elected you need HELP. It is time that Americans in general and Mopar faithful took a stand. What aboutkicking the doors down in D.C. and demanding that this rape and pillage be stopped and things be restored to DCX.
I think it’s terrible the way things are going for the best engineerd and the Best Damned Auto corporation on God’s green earth. I own Three Chrysler
Prods. ,A 92 Dodge Stealth tt/t , a 2005 Chrysler T & C limited mini van , a 2007 Dodge Caliber R/T. I’m very satisfied with both the t&c and my little caliber. I’ve had Chrysler products ALL my life . Don’t forget THEY are the ones that developed the worlds best TANK, the Abrahms . It tears my heart out to think My corporation is going through all of this again. I wish we could do like Harley Davidison did, Get Chrysler Back into the hands of people that Really care .God, Guts , and Mopar forever, Henry Joseph Mack
I think it’s a disgrace, yet typical action that the Newark, Del. plant is closing. There is a mindset to preserve operations in Michigan. The farther you are from Pontiac Township (”Auburn Hills”), the less likely they are going to keep you. Why didn’t they close Sterling Heights or Warren or Jefferson ? They want us “coastal” people to buy their products, yet they don’t want to employ us. Why should I buy a “Detroit” car and subsidize the Michigan economy when buying a Toyota or a Honda has the same impact on my local economy and I get better quality. They say that these plants are too far from their midwestern suppliers, but tell me, when did it start making sense to ship expensive finished goods all around the country instead of cheaper raw materials ? Everyone talks about the impact to the “rust belt”, well, what about closed assembly plants in Framingham, Tarrytown, Mahwah, Linden, Edison, Wilmington, Baltimore, and now Newark, not to mention Los Angeles, Van Nuys and Fremont? What about all the parts plants ? Let Michigan develop an economy around pharma and financial services, like they forced the rest of the country.
A number of years ago I read and passed around a very exceptional business book on the automotive industry
Everyone who read this book , in sharing the book and passing it around , told others “you must read this book”
The automotive industry manufacturers sponsored a multi-disciplinary group to do a complete study of the industry
As such they were allowed relatively free rein into the factories and access to workers
Lean manufacturing , Japanese started it, American companies were picking it up – Chrysler for example
G.M. worst of the old model. Each employee level down the company feeding chain hated the one below it . Ultimately they hated the customer who at the dealer level got a car that he or she did not like , foisted on them by the saleperson / employee of the car dealership.
Interstingly of all the companies Mercedes got the lowest marks , even with all of its prestige.
Their procedures and practices predated Henry Ford and factory assembly line procedures
When the new car gets to the end of the assembly line they are torn apart by craftsmen to fix repairs
Its a very old style , inefficient use of worker’s time
Better to devote teh worker’s energies finding the source of the defect in the assembly line process
Ins
I could not have said it better
Where are we going with all this “globalization”
Walmart central ?
We have inexpensive goods to buy at Walmart
But will our grandchildren have any income at all to buy anything ?
Some future we will leave them out of our greed and foolishness
You are correct – it is only the tip of the iceberg or the thin edge of the wedge