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JusticePete · 06-14-2012, 12:24 AM

World's Largest Car Markets

#1 China
#2 USA
#3 Japan

GM is a global company. We know that GM and ALL USA based auto manufacturers failed to gain any share of substance in Japan. GM is doing GREAT in China. China is profitable business for GM. We should be cheering them on for their strategy and success. The USA is the 2nd largest car market. GM is highly profitable in North America. We should be cheering them on. GM loses money in Europe. Why? Bad deals with the unions. The labor cost is too high. They need to cut labor costs in Europe.

This is business in a global economy. GM didn't create this mess. The United States Government, with our votes for elected officials created this mess. Together WE created a disaster for the working man. You can thank our Federal tax and trade policies along with the Sates. It started in Kentucky with huge tax subsidies for the first USA Toyota plant. Kentucky is not a big union state and the new Toyota employees would be paid half of what the UAW members earned and the cost of benefits to Toyota was a fraction of what the Big Three were paying. They had no legacy health care or retirement costs. The theory was there would be unlimited growth in the US auto markets so the Toyota jobs in Kentucky would be a net gain. It didn't work out that way...

No worries we will sell cars in Japan. A six cylinder Chevy Camaro retails for $45,325 USD in Japan. A Camry is $24,000 in the USA. Is there a problem here with tax and trade? Our markets are open to the world and the world markets are not as open to products from the USA. When we allow imports into the USA we are not importing low cost goods. We are importing third world wages.

Ford was lucky to have mortgaged their future just before the xxit hit the fan. They did it because they looked at the books and knew that in another year they could not get access to funds at any acceptable interest rate. They were on the way to going broke. The huge loan was a Hail Mary Pass. GM and Chrysler were more financially sound. As long as they could move iron they would be fine. No one saw the economic collapse that was coming.

This is a mess that was created by the US Government with idiotic tax and trade policies. Couple that with out of control union contracts that only made sense when Chevrolet had over 50% of the US market and you are looking at a crippled company. We can blame quality or management or numerous other factors but government policies and union contracts with features like jobs banks put GM in an impossible situation.

I am a hard core business man. If you win life is good and you make big bucks. If you lose you lose big bucks. Success and failure are why we love to play the game. In theory I am 100% against the bailouts across the board, BUT when the government creates the majority of a company's problems the government owes that business. That is and was the case with GM.

The solution is simple. The USA should apply the same tax and trade policies we are subject too with foreign countries. We would do this country by country. I am not talking about being protectionist. I am talking about being FAIR. The base price for a 2012 Camaro is $23K in the USA yet it cost $45K in Japan. If the US treated a Camry the same way it would carry a $45K price tag. The Impala has a base price of $23K in the USA. Toyota Camry $45K vs Impala $23K. How many cars would Toyota sell in the USA? GM would have 50% of the market...

My numbers may not be dead nuts on, but you get the idea. As an electorate, we do not tell our elected officials to fix the real problems we face. Tax and trade should be the number one item on our list in this election year because it has the greatest impact on USA jobs, especially union jobs. We all know this election is about the state of the economy and the lack good wage new jobs being created. Stop nit picking GM and start demanding your elected officials address the tax and trade issues that have gutted the American manufacturing sector.

My grand father was born in 1895. He was a union organizer in the early 1900s in South Chicago. He and the rest of the working men needed union protection. They were under paid and working in unsafe conditions. His oldest son went to work as a union employee at US Steel in South Chicago. When he retired in the 1970s he was retired for almost two years and he was receiving his full pay for sick days and vacation days he didn't use. His vacation time was up to 13 weeks a year because of his tenure

My grandfather the union organizer would shake his head and wonder how the South Chicago Steel Mills could stay in business. They didn't.

This

became this

High labor cost. HUGE legacy employee cost. US Tax Policy makes it more profitable to shut down plants than to reinvest in plants. Low cost steel imported from low wage countries is allowed in by the US Government. The steel industry in South Chicago disappears. Retirement and health care benefits are cut through bankruptcy because of the way the laws are written. This was in the 1970s. Fast forward to GM in 2008 or the airlines or... The problem is NOT GM. It is not partisan. It is the last 50 years of terrible Tax and Trade Policies.

Here is an excerpt from the Automotive News.

DETROIT 2012 -- Honda Motor CFO Fumihiko Ike has acknowledged the automaker is losing money on its exports of vehicles from Japan to the United States.

“Our export business doesn’t make any profit” on vehicles shipped to the United States, Ike told Automotive News Asia Editor Hans Greimel in Tokyo...

So is Honda dumping? Are other Japanese automakers?

Whenever the issue of dumping arises, I recall an interview I did in 1977, back when U.S.-Japan trade disputes were a staple of reporting from Japan.

The head of Japan’s industrial fastener association was incensed at the United States, which was preparing to impose anti-dumping duties on nuts, bolts and other fasteners from Japan. I was interviewing him in his offices across the street from Tokyo Tower.

“We’re not dumping!” he insisted. “Because of the yen’s strength against the dollar, we may have to sell below cost for a while to maintain our market share, but we’re not dumping.”

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/2012...#ixzz1xjp6iIFe

Funny how we see the same problems for the 50 years and our government, yet the people of the USA do nothing to correct it.

How to contact your US Senator, Representative and President http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

06-14-2012, 12:24 AM	#12
JusticePete Drives: Camaro Justice Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Virginia Posts: 20,171	World's Largest Car Markets #1 China #2 USA #3 Japan GM is a global company. We know that GM and ALL USA based auto manufacturers failed to gain any share of substance in Japan. GM is doing GREAT in China. China is profitable business for GM. We should be cheering them on for their strategy and success. The USA is the 2nd largest car market. GM is highly profitable in North America. We should be cheering them on. GM loses money in Europe. Why? Bad deals with the unions. The labor cost is too high. They need to cut labor costs in Europe. This is business in a global economy. GM didn't create this mess. The United States Government, with our votes for elected officials created this mess. Together WE created a disaster for the working man. You can thank our Federal tax and trade policies along with the Sates. It started in Kentucky with huge tax subsidies for the first USA Toyota plant. Kentucky is not a big union state and the new Toyota employees would be paid half of what the UAW members earned and the cost of benefits to Toyota was a fraction of what the Big Three were paying. They had no legacy health care or retirement costs. The theory was there would be unlimited growth in the US auto markets so the Toyota jobs in Kentucky would be a net gain. It didn't work out that way... No worries we will sell cars in Japan. A six cylinder Chevy Camaro retails for $45,325 USD in Japan. A Camry is $24,000 in the USA. Is there a problem here with tax and trade? Our markets are open to the world and the world markets are not as open to products from the USA. When we allow imports into the USA we are not importing low cost goods. We are importing third world wages. Ford was lucky to have mortgaged their future just before the xxit hit the fan. They did it because they looked at the books and knew that in another year they could not get access to funds at any acceptable interest rate. They were on the way to going broke. The huge loan was a Hail Mary Pass. GM and Chrysler were more financially sound. As long as they could move iron they would be fine. No one saw the economic collapse that was coming. This is a mess that was created by the US Government with idiotic tax and trade policies. Couple that with out of control union contracts that only made sense when Chevrolet had over 50% of the US market and you are looking at a crippled company. We can blame quality or management or numerous other factors but government policies and union contracts with features like jobs banks put GM in an impossible situation. I am a hard core business man. If you win life is good and you make big bucks. If you lose you lose big bucks. Success and failure are why we love to play the game. In theory I am 100% against the bailouts across the board, BUT when the government creates the majority of a company's problems the government owes that business. That is and was the case with GM. The solution is simple. The USA should apply the same tax and trade policies we are subject too with foreign countries. We would do this country by country. I am not talking about being protectionist. I am talking about being FAIR. The base price for a 2012 Camaro is $23K in the USA yet it cost $45K in Japan. If the US treated a Camry the same way it would carry a $45K price tag. The Impala has a base price of $23K in the USA. Toyota Camry $45K vs Impala $23K. How many cars would Toyota sell in the USA? GM would have 50% of the market... My numbers may not be dead nuts on, but you get the idea. As an electorate, we do not tell our elected officials to fix the real problems we face. Tax and trade should be the number one item on our list in this election year because it has the greatest impact on USA jobs, especially union jobs. We all know this election is about the state of the economy and the lack good wage new jobs being created. Stop nit picking GM and start demanding your elected officials address the tax and trade issues that have gutted the American manufacturing sector. My grand father was born in 1895. He was a union organizer in the early 1900s in South Chicago. He and the rest of the working men needed union protection. They were under paid and working in unsafe conditions. His oldest son went to work as a union employee at US Steel in South Chicago. When he retired in the 1970s he was retired for almost two years and he was receiving his full pay for sick days and vacation days he didn't use. His vacation time was up to 13 weeks a year because of his tenure My grandfather the union organizer would shake his head and wonder how the South Chicago Steel Mills could stay in business. They didn't. This became this High labor cost. HUGE legacy employee cost. US Tax Policy makes it more profitable to shut down plants than to reinvest in plants. Low cost steel imported from low wage countries is allowed in by the US Government. The steel industry in South Chicago disappears. Retirement and health care benefits are cut through bankruptcy because of the way the laws are written. This was in the 1970s. Fast forward to GM in 2008 or the airlines or... The problem is NOT GM. It is not partisan. It is the last 50 years of terrible Tax and Trade Policies. Here is an excerpt from the Automotive News. DETROIT 2012 -- Honda Motor CFO Fumihiko Ike has acknowledged the automaker is losing money on its exports of vehicles from Japan to the United States. “Our export business doesn’t make any profit” on vehicles shipped to the United States, Ike told Automotive News Asia Editor Hans Greimel in Tokyo... So is Honda dumping? Are other Japanese automakers? Whenever the issue of dumping arises, I recall an interview I did in 1977, back when U.S.-Japan trade disputes were a staple of reporting from Japan. The head of Japan’s industrial fastener association was incensed at the United States, which was preparing to impose anti-dumping duties on nuts, bolts and other fasteners from Japan. I was interviewing him in his offices across the street from Tokyo Tower. “We’re not dumping!” he insisted. “Because of the yen’s strength against the dollar, we may have to sell below cost for a while to maintain our market share, but we’re not dumping.” Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/2012...#ixzz1xjp6iIFe Funny how we see the same problems for the 50 years and our government, yet the people of the USA do nothing to correct it. How to contact your US Senator, Representative and President http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml Last edited by JusticePete; 06-14-2012 at 12:13 PM. Reason: Typos Corrected