OPINION: Stop arm-chair quarterbacking the auto industry
We'll be hearing more about the Detroit 3 in the mainstream media this week as their homework entitled "What I Would Do With My Share of $25 Billion in Government Loans" gets turned in to Congress. While Detroit deserves much of the ribbing that's on the way, it irks our ears every time we read an op-ed piece from folks who flat-out do not know what the Hell they're talking about. Take Karen Wagner, whose opinion letter was published by the Chicago Tribune in which she claims that Ford should cancel launching the 2010 Mustang in order to receive federal loans. There are not enough appendages on the human body to count the reasons why that is a stupid idea, let alone an entirely unrealistic one. In her reasoning, she seems to believe that selling fuel efficient vehicles would equal a healthy, profitable automaker and therefore save millions of jobs, while not realizing that the Mustang has done infinitely more to help Ford's bottom line than the Escape Hybrid.Then there's entrepreneur extraordinaire Michael Arrington, co-editor of Tech Crunch, who claims in a recent op-ed piece that what works for the tech industry will work for autos, too. His idea is that auto companies should outsource all production of their vehicles to third-party companies just like Apple does with the iPod. He also criticizes the auto industry for its business model of vertical integration, questioning why there isn't an Intel of engine manufacturers that sells to all the automakers. Well, guess what Mike, the Apple model doesn't work for everybody (it didn't work for Apple in the early '90s) and there are a tens of thousands more parts in a car than an iPod that might make outsourcing their production to the lowest bidder a logistical nightmare.
While it's easy to dog on the domestics for the sorry shape in which they find themselves, don't listen to every Karen and Michael out there who voice their ill-informed opinions on how things ought to be. There are such a myriad of factors that have contributed to the current state of the Detroit 3, some of which is their fault and some (like bad mortgages ruining the credit market) which aren't, that there just is no silver bullet fix beyond continuing to lower costs and building better products.
[Source: Chicago Tribune, Tech Crunch]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Ben 3:38PM (12/02/2008)
Good point!
It's like building hybrids to mitigate waste of fuel instead of driving more conscientiously.
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devonblue4u 6:16PM (12/02/2008)
Agreed! The guys on the hill can't manage their own finances, and they're giving the automakers advice? Kill the Mustang?
..the situation is desparate, not hopeless, folks!
A quote from DetNews
"Later today, Ford will unveil its two-mode hybrid versions of the Fusion and Milan. They will correctly claim that Ford is the first American company to build a true hybrid car. (General Motors Corp. offers a "hybrid" Saturn Aura and Chevrolet Malibu, but they do not ever drive by electric-only power. Start/stop technology is not a hybrid in my book.)
Ford executives rightly will tout the hybrids' high mileage, with first estimates pointing to this pair hitting 38 miles per gallon in city driving, besting the Camry hybrid by 5 mpg.
Give Ford some credit. The automaker has roughly 200 pending patents on this new hybrid system it developed. This is not a rehashed or borrowed system from Toyota as so many other people seem to think. It's true red, white and blue American ingenuity."
With stuff like this rolling down the pike, I say give these guys a chance!
Chase 6:49PM (12/02/2008)
Thank you Neff! You're the shit.
I'm a software manager, and the Tech Crunch guy obviously doesn't even know enough about his own industry. The reason why IT works well via outsourcing is because its form is abstract, unlike a car, which has a physical form. Abstract parts can link together easily because they only need to fit together at interfaces. Mechanical parts have to work together with each other on 100% of their form -- not just the interfaces. Thus, mechanical engineering needs to be designed holistically because changing a single part can affect the entire product. That makes a vertical company model be the only sane answer.
Judy Zik 1:01AM (12/03/2008)
What idiots.
Ever notice that your iPod doesn't come with a 7 year warranty? Too bad since they are made in China and tend to break and we have seen what Chinese cars look like. Oh and forget fixing it. You can't even change the battery yourself. Apple pretty much forces you to buy a new one every couple of years. Yeah that's a model we want the Big 3 to follow.
As for canceling the new Mustang why don't they just cancel Christmas too while they are at it.
As for outsourcing the auto industry does lots of it. Look at how many independent parts manufacturers there are. Parts suppliers are often in on the design of the parts they make as well. Magna were the ones who created Stow'n Go for Chrysler. Magna has even produced entire vehicles for BMW. People should research things before forming opinions.
ronnie schreiber 6:06AM (12/03/2008)
Of Apples and Automobiles
http://www.motorobilia.com/2008/11/of-apples-and-automobiles.html
By the standards on which people judge American cars, Apple is a failure.
Lemmiwinks 4:04PM (12/03/2008)
*It's like building hybrids to mitigate waste of fuel instead of driving more conscientiously.*
Which is like relying on abstinence programs to stop the spread of STDs.
catgirlshyla 6:45PM (12/03/2008)
"Take Karen Wagner, whose opinion letter was published by the Chicago Tribune in which she claims that Ford should cancel launching the 2010 Mustang in order to receive federal loans."
Wow, i'm against Mustangs, but this is too much. I think Ford needs to go back to the drawing board, not entirely scrap it. I think Ford could've done better than ripping off the 60's.
What she should've pointed out is that why didn't Ford go and grab their Euro-Spec stuff and adapt it here? Or at least have contingency plans just in case SUV's/Trucks became bust?
The Other Bob 3:39PM (12/02/2008)
I agree fully with this opinion piece. Thanks for posting.
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Fatima 10:13PM (12/02/2008)
Are you kidding me, Mustang is a fugly car just like most of the line up of all these companies. Chevy has some decent ones with the Camero and Malibu.
But they have a looong way to go.
They should skip the hybrids and go straight to hydrogen that will make them be no.1 again. BMW already has a Combustion Hydrogen engine so you still retain the feeling of a normal car. Instead of the volt which will be like driving a R/C car.
But the styling of the VOLT is amazing so that is def a good direction Chevy is going.
carcomptoy 3:39PM (12/02/2008)
I'm glad someone finally said it. Thank you very much, Autoblog!
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AZZO45b 4:51PM (12/02/2008)
Agreed.
Reading these op eds (from the likes of Karin Wagner, Michael Arrington, & Tom Friedman) remind me of an ex coworker of mine.
She displayed a small poster, illustrated in the style of the WWII war bonds posters... it featured a smiling soldier wearing his combat helmet, hoisting a cup of coffee & below the "sales pitch" I would direct to these know-it-all columnists...
... it read: "How about a nice cup of SHUT the F*CK UP???" I wish AB allowed us to post images!
AZZO45b 5:01PM (12/02/2008)
Here is the image of the poster... its on a T-shirt & I'm not selling them I swear!!!
http://www.printfection.com/shop/nice/Women's+Fitted+Baby+Rib+Long+Sleeve+Tee/product.2126292/show_sideid.4082340
BrianW 9:47PM (12/02/2008)
Amen
blckstrm 9:31AM (12/04/2008)
Man, Neff, you missed a good chance to take a shot at Tom "I hate cars and Detroit but I write about cars for the NYT and get PAID for it and people actually believe the tripe I write" Friedman.
That's just inexcusable. That's like having your wife or GF wink at you and ask if you want to go to bed a little early tonight, and saying, "No thanks, I'm good. I'm just gonna keep watching this infomercial."
DOH!
nmt 3:41PM (12/02/2008)
Three cheers for this post! I completely agree!
"Green" cars does not equal profitable automakers, and if anyone is in doubt, look at how many Prius' Toyota sells in a year compared to how many full size cars, trucks, and SUV's they sell. Enough said.
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casey 3:43PM (12/02/2008)
i totally agree. i'm sick of every single op-ed writer i've read in the past few weeks with the exception of Peter De Lorenzo of autoextremist.com and Warren Brown at the washington post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/21/AR2008112101348.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns
i just can't believe how uninformed and how righteous Congress and all of the TV pundits are.
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Lar 5:03PM (12/02/2008)
Casey, while your sentiment doesn't escape me, I am surprised that you would compare Warren Brown to Peter DeLorenzo. Brown's writing is cringe-inducingly bad. Truly, and without ill feeling, he writes with the tone and style of a teenager assigned the motor beat on the high-school newspaper. (Yeah I don't know why a high-school newspaper would have a car column but never mind.) When you finish reading his column, you will have learned that the product he's reviewing offers good quality and value, and that the target market should like it. I'm not bitter or anything. Still, +0.5 for you! :)
Lar 5:16PM (12/02/2008)
Mea culpa, Casey et. al., now that I've pulled my head out of my butt and actually read the Brown column you linked, I see that he is - unusually - spot-on. I'm sorry.
happy_penguin 6:35PM (12/02/2008)
Wow. I just read that too and I hardly expected it. Generally, what I see is nothing but bashing of the American automobile industry in the media but that article tells it like it is.
cFoo 3:42PM (12/02/2008)
We should stop building cars altogether. Why continue to do something when you "were" good at? It's like a pro-athlete. It's time to retire. This nation is awesome at a million other things. It's clear that building car is no longer our forte.
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