Why The U.S. Auto Industry Can't Compete

[tucsonlib]

This video is several months old, but I saw it today for the first time. Guaranteed to blow your mind. Quality, vision, innovation, corporate and civic responsibility......


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd5WGLWNllA


Why Dresden? Why not Detroit?



:shrug:

[givemebackmycountry]

1. Right out of the box, someone felt compelled to unrec you.

I evened you up.

[tucsonlib]

2. Thank You

oh, well.................

I don't understand. As my mother used to say, "What's not to like?".

[Hannah Bell]

3. The Porsche and Piëch clans pillage Volkswagen

16 September 2009
The publication of the agreement makes clear the significance of the recent takeover of Porsche by German automaker Volkswagen (VW). The billionaire Porsche and Piëch families are to be fully bailed out—relieved of the gigantic losses arising from their disastrous speculation with VW shares, and instead rewarded with control of the largest portion of Volkswagen shares.

The most spectacular takeover coup in postwar German history has ended with the fantastic enrichment of a tiny family clan—all with the tacit support of the trade unions and the political establishment.

In its September edition, Managermagazin reports that Volkswagen will pay nearly €16 billion for the takeover of Porsche: €7 billion for the takeover, €5 billion to cover its debts, and €3.55 billion for Salzburg-based Porsche Holding. In return, the Porsche and Piëch families are to receive 35 to 40 percent of the shares in the Volkswagen company.

Although the resolution of the takeover did not correspond entirely to the two families’ plans, in the end they fulfilled their ambitions: securing a majority stake in Volkswagen, while plundering the company’s net worth, valued at €12 billion.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/sep2009/volk-s16.shtml


Germany: Power struggle at Volkswagen

20 September 2008

On Friday, September 12, 40,000 workers at the central Volkswagen auto plant in Wolfsburg demonstrated against the company’s largest shareholder—the Porsche group. The Porsche group is working together with the European Commission to abolish social gains won by autoworkers in the 1960s within the framework of the so-called Volkswagen law.

The demonstration, called by the industrial trade union IG Metall to coincide with a meeting of the company’s supervisory board, was the largest in the company’s history.

IG Metall leader Bertold Huber told the demonstration that should the VW law be toppled, the way would be free for Porsche to dominate the VW supervisory board, and the management of VW would be reduced to “puppets” in the hands of the Porsche executive committee. “Not with us, is my response,” Huber declared and continued: “The VW law is a beacon of employer-employee cooperation.”

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/sep2008/volk-s20.shtml

[DainBramaged]

4. (sigh) more smearing of the American auto worker

I guess you've never been inside of an auto assembly plant, except of course, on your Tee Vee?

Did you know that GM started to convert all of their plants to zero landfill way back in 2003? Yeah, that little thing Subaru is so proud of.


And one last thing, if VW is so wonderful, why aren't they in the top 20 selling vehicles in this country, and why do they have such a horrible consumer ratings (average to worse in the JD Power ratings) because of their shitty quality?

VW, we can't stop making shitty cars.....

http://vwgazette.blogspot.com/2008/06/volkswagen-moves-up-in-quality-survey.html

Volkswagen moves up in quality survey; still below industry average





Does Volkswagen quality and service create long-term brand damage?

http://www.dr4ward.com/dr4ward/2009/08/despite-clever-ads-is-volkswagen-a-lemon-.html

[4lbs]

5. Wow, Saturn is near the bottom in terms of quality. (n/t)

.

[tucsonlib]

6. Oh, Puleeze!

You accuse me of "smearing" American auto workers? Where? When? How?

The O/P wasn't intended to smear anyone, and certainly not American workers.

Has everyone at DU lost their minds?

[DainBramaged]

8. Why Dresden? Why not Detroit?

Your little attempt at giving us the VW pep talk......

[tucsonlib]

10. Re: "Why Dresden? Why not Detroit?"

This you consider evidence of a "smear" against U.S. auto workers? This you take personally? This your mind interprets as a "VW pep talk"?

So far, only comment #7 has addressed the O/P with intelligence and objectivity.

[DainBramaged]

11. Your entire OP is a smear against the UAW and the Domestic Auto Industry

Volkswagen is crap. Have been for decades. GM hasn't had a sludge recall for an entire generation of engines in it's existance.

Volkswagen Passat owners who did not get help from Volkswagen with repairs to sludge-damaged engines should try again, says Len Hunt, the vice president in charge of Volkswagen in the United States.

Hunt said dealers have been told they can be more lenient about helping consumers who were not grossly negligent when it comes to oil changes.

"I think we were a little Teutonic in our rules," he said. "If people feel bad about what happened, let's have a look at it. I am really keen to sweep them up and say, 'We still love you.' "

Last August Volkswagen said the turbocharged, 1.8-liter four-cylinder 1998-2004 Passats would have an eight-year warranty from the time the vehicle was new. There would be no limit on mileage, and secondhand owners would be covered.

Volkswagen said it was acting because some owners have complained about the engines being destroyed by sludge, a thickening of the oil caused by moisture and contaminants. The resulting gel may reduce the flow of oil and cause excess wear or damage.

http://www.autosafety.org/volkswagen-will-budge-complaints-about-sludge

FACT: About one in one thousand VWs and Audis are certified for lemon claims. VW sold 338,000 vehicles in the US in 2002. Odds are, 338 of them will end up in a lemon claim.

Several state government post exhaustive reports on their web sites about lemon law claims. I have read 2001 annual reports for New York, Hawaii and Texas and a 10 year report for New Jersey (1989-1999)

Here are some real numbers

In New Jersey, from 1989-1998 one in every 993 VWs/Audis registered had a comlaint serious to be heard as a lemon case.
This compares to one in every 1,037 Fords, one in 1,406 for GM.
Toyota/Lexus (oh aren't they wonderful!) had a ten year lemon rate of 1 per 4,911, while Chrysler sucked big time at 1 in 392 registrations.

With 2.7% of the market, VW/Audi has 3% of the lemons

Turning just to 2001, things are a bit different:

In Texas in 2001 VWs held 1.3% of the total vehicle market (cars, trucks, Winnebagos, etc). Yet they produced 2.97% of all lemon complaints and resulted in 6% of all buy backs or vehicle replacements.

In New York state VWs/Audis represented just 1% of lemon cases, or 3 of 298, and 1.6% of all buybacks and replacements since 1987. Similar figures apply in Florida & Hawaii.

http://www.myvwlemon.com/ubb/Forum13/HTML/000150.html

Now what was that about the vaunted VW nameplate?

[DainBramaged]

12. One last chart

http://www.jdpower.com/autos/ratings/dependability-ratings-by-brand

VW OVERALL dependability, 2 out of 5.


Who can't compete???

The top ten

Buick <----NUMBER ONE BABY
Jaguar
Lexus
Toyota
Mercury
Infiniti
Acura
Lincoln
Cadillac
Honda

The study, which measures problems experienced by original owners of three-year-old (2006 model year) vehicles, has been redesigned to include 202 different problem symptoms across all areas of the vehicle. Overall dependability is determined by the level of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100), with a lower score reflecting higher quality. The study is used extensively by vehicle manufacturers worldwide to help design and build better vehicles—which typically retain higher resale values—and by consumers to help them make more-informed choices for both new and used vehicles.



I see FOUR Domestic brands, I don't see VW.

[tucsonlib]

14. Re: Your entire OP is a smear against the UAW and the Domestic Auto Industry

I'm sorry you interpret it that way. I just thought it was a pretty impressive creation - that factory. If it had been built in America, I'm sure you would be showing it off with pride. So would I. And rightfully so. If anything, and at worst, the O/P was a lament.

You are misdirecting your rage. You have misinterpreted my O/P, my motives and my very character. It's not healthy, and I say that with all good intent.

[DainBramaged]

16. Fast Lane Daily visits GM at the Wilmington, DE Assembly ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zn8QWRqSIY

People build great cars,not robots.


Goodnight

[FarCenter]

20. Not any more -- GM Wilmington has been closed

There are no domestic auto assembly plants on the east coast.

BMW is in South Carolina.

[freethought]

7. Can't compete? OR[b] won't[/b] compete?

And don't get them started on innovation. Can't have that? Lord knows innovation costs money, so why do it at all? They would actually have to pay engineers for their effort!!

It is my opinion that U.S. auto manufacturers still don't realize that the muscle-car era is over.
At some point I tend to think the auto buyers don't realize it either.

My late father was a UAW member and a one time employee for GM. Not once did he buy a foreign car. But more than once he would say that Detroit only had itself to blame. He never really explained what he meant.

True innovation does not come easy and it usually does not come cheap. It also may require patience, something the U.S. in general does not have a great deal of. Also the financial returns on a particular type of innovation may not show themselves for some time. How long did Toyota work on the Prius before it came to market? And how long after that did it take the Prius to really take off in terms of demand and sales. I am willing to bet is was more than the 4 years that most American businesses would like.

[Trajan]

18. The problem in the auto industry has nothing to do with 'innovation'

I make decent money, but I cannot afford to buy a new car ....

It doesnt matter WHICH brand - I dont have the moolah to safely lay out every month to buy ANY car, let alone one that is 'innovative' ...

I would also point out that auto workers also make decent money, better than I do, and they CAN afford to buy those cars ... innovative or classic .. It doesnt matter which ...

THEY can .... WE cannot ..... Why ? ... because THEY have a union, and THEY have pay that has kept up with inflation ...

How bout other non union workers : Have they kept pace with inflation ? ....

Not in any way ....

This nonsense about innovation is lame .... innovative cars arent selling well either ... ALL manufacturers are in a down market ...

This thread ? ... pure fucking malarkey ....

[FreakinDJ]

9. Tariffs you idiot

[pampango]

21. Where? n/t

[me b zola]

13. Are the few blue collar workers that they employed payed a middle class wage?

Am I supposed to cheer robots taking the jobs of men & women? Yeah, yeah, I know, they can all go get a job at Micky-Ds.

[Touchdown]

15. Corporate paid healthcare is reason #1

IIRC: GM's cost for healthcare was $1400 per car. They said it. Why they don't push for single payer, as well as other big corps is beyond me.

[anonymous171]

17. I wonder what kind of subsidies and tarrifs they benefit from.

Anyone know?

[madokie]

19. Too cool

I've read about this plant before but I hadn't seen a video of it.
+1

[Taitertots]

22. One big PR stunt

That "Factory" is an assembly plant, not a fabrication plant. They shuffle in all the Chinese parts and whip together a POS. It is just to convince stupid people that they are technologically advanced