http://disqus.com/by/oldbowser/enThu, 13 Nov 2008 09:06:08 -0000http://wallstreetpit.com/ford-gm-%e2%80%a6-who%e2%80%99s-next/#comment-3738600<p>You're right, but you neglected to point out that the Japanese car industry was ushered into the US market by Congress, which decided to give them access on the cheap to existing car dealerships which had been developed and nurtured by Detroit. You also neglected to point out that the Japanese government froze Detroit out of the Japanese market, a condition which still basically exists. And you didn't mention the competitive success enjoyed by the big three in foreign markets other than Japan, where they have competed on an equal footing with Toyota and Honda. You also seem to think that Detroit is responsible for the dominance of gas guzzlers in the domestic market over these last many years. Excuse me? How did Detroit create that overwhelming demand by the nation's hockey moms? And as far as innovation is concerned, the big three pioneered captive finance, which enabled the broad market to purchase expensive automobiles - a minor something you also neglected to point out.</p><p>Yes, the big three succumbed to the socialist economic dictum that capitalism will never innovate or change unless forced to do so by obsolescence, and like Ma Bell, they sat on many innovations rather than incur the expense of bringing them to market. That's what the Commies said we would do. But we did better - we propped up the foreign automakers with right to work laws that truly beggared Detroit with its evolutionary enhancement of worker life. That never happened in Russia, as we well know. So I suggest that the old wives maxim that you can't teach an old dog new tricks be placed in abeyance while we allow GM Ford and Chrysler to regroup with a new generation of workers and managers, and preserve the best of the past by not throwing it out with the you know what. It's never too late to mend, eh?</p><p>And by the way, how many vehicles do you own and what do you drive? Do you load the kids up in a smart car?</p>oldbowserThu, 13 Nov 2008 09:06:08 -0000