Quote:
Originally Posted by comiskeybum
please. they deserved it. and honestly they deserved to die with those stupid business practices of the early 2000's and late 90's. they built crap ass cars with the exception of the suburban and other suv's. the camaro was a POS during those final 4th gen years and their other cars like the aztek were just a joke.
only reason for justifying to save them was the jobs.
that being said.......did i support the bailout? yes i did. but your damn right it gives me the right to call them government motors for a while longer.
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WHY did they build crap-ass cars?!?? Hmm? Because they were inept? Because they just didn't care about the business anymore?
No. They built crap-ass cars because they were trying desperately to compete with the Japanese who could build average cars for far, far less! And the only way they could do that given the circumstances was to cut corners and "thin out" the product. Why? Because they entered the market at a time when America valued work more than money...when companies were willing to compensate their employees in times of prosperity. This sense of comradery put American business at a disadvantage, since off-shore companies had access to dirt-cheap labor...it choked the life out of American business and manufacturing, and I'm NOT talking about the auto business alone, here.
Did they make mistakes along the way? Heck yeah. We're human, it's what we do...but to try and pin EVERYTHING on poor business practices and shoddy workmanship irritates me to no end because it's only a small part of the story. The larger, and more relevant facet to this "gem" is that of the US's trade policy not properly protecting our businesses...and our society's willingness to complain but do nothing.No one is perfect. But don't pin the blame completely on ONE part of the equation.
WE helped to kill Industry, by being naive and all happy-go-lucky about foreign trade. WE helped to kill Industry by not choosing our products based on origin, rather by the penny we could "save" by buying the cheap crap. THEY (imports) helped kill Industry, by using unfair advantages. The products of the late 80s and 90s was the Auto Industry struggling to survive as all these factors slowly bled them to death.
Now, at the end of this 'revolution', I ask America at large...was the penny you saved worth it?
Finally...It wasn't a bailout like the banks recieved, it was a loan with strings attached...it's being paid back (and will be in full by July if all goes well), and this year the stock will begin to be sold off.
What I find AWFULLY interesting...is that America saved many American companies last year...we finally did what we've been bitching about doing for years (combating the import invasion and helping our own)...and yet still...still we bitch.
It's the ultimate irony I've noticed these past 6 months...our terrible, outrageous drive to contradict.
/Soap Box
....I apologize....but I needed to finally put that down into words.