Comments on: Valentine’s Day Massacre and auto-extremist

By: Winnipeg

Winnipeg — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:24:42 +0000

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

By: A Faithful Employee

A Faithful Employee — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:35:55 +0000

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

_{»crosslinked«}

By: R.P. Brower, Jr.

R.P. Brower, Jr. — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 03:29:23 +0000

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.