the american economy is going down...and for good reason

Originally posted by a1exThe Secret of the Japanese is that every Year they focus on improving their overall
quality. If the Quality of a product was 95% in 2005 then they WILL make sure
that by 2006 that number is 95.5 or 96%!

This is the man who is responsible for the rise of the Japanese automakers in the 80's. W. Edwards Deming. He brought Statistical Process Controls (SPC) to the Japanese after the US automakers showed him the door and we've been playing catch up ever since.

Someone is going to argue with me on this because when cars are involved, they always do.

I don't feel that the foreign competition is better, they are better at makign themselves look better. They are better at brilliiant advertising.They have managed to almost create a brainwashed mindset that their cars are better and there is nothing wrong with them.

I have witnessed this with my own eyes. Someone has a ford, they need to replace a computer chip. Oh that car is a piece of junk. Someone has a honda. same chip goes up. Oh I just got to have it serviced. I love my car!

Then there are those who are not happy no matter what. Not understanding the amount of work that a car does, the abuse it takes, the thousands of moving parts.
They have the car for ten thousand miles and a chip needs to be replaced and they are furious.

To me, it is absolutely amazing how they dont' fail more. Cars these days have more computer power then the first lunar lander. I think the new bmws have over 225 computers in them.
If my PC could only work so well!

My husband is a mechanic. He is not even a mechanic, when I call him he is uploading, downloading, removing or installing chips,running diagnostics, or figuring out where a glitch is.
When he went to school the people who didn't know computers flunked.
He is thrilled when he actually gets to tear something apart for a change.

car sales taken into the equation, the foreign companies have just as many repairs, if not more then the domestic automakers.

But these days parts are so mixed up that there are few cars that truley belong to an automaker. I really think all these makers can benefit by collaborating instead of competing.

Just like sealy has made you think they are the only mattress, though there are dozens of better brands.when you think burgers you think McDonalds. When you need a water bottle you think wal-mart.It is strategic and brilliant.

The biggest difference between the Japanese and American business ideology is that the Japanese business model stresses progressive re-investment (keep striving for better efficiency and technological advancement) whereas in America the goal has generally been to maintain the status quo technologically and dole out profits to stockholders and management.

I donated a 1988 Toyota Corolla with 274K miles on its original, factory installed engine several years ago - and it was still purring like a kitten. You will rarely find an American made engine from the "Big 3" that lasts anywhere near that long. I've got a 2001 Honda Prelude (5-speed also) with 45K miles that's flawless. Honda engines have been rated the best in the world and that V-TEC engine that they use is rated for atleast 400K miles with regular, scheduled oil changes and tune-ups.

If The "Big 3" had not neglected R&D for the last quarter century they would still be the world leaders (atleast GM would be). Shame on executive management, their boards of directors, and shareholders of their stocks for allowing those companies to do what they've done. Most people buy a product because they feel that they're getting their money's worth and that's why they choose foreign cars (especially Japanese) over American. No to mention that the "Big 3", along with the oil industry, has lobbied successfully for many years to keep low gas efficiency standards in the U.S. and build boats on wheels.

As for the rest of American industry the story isn't much different. The "big profit for today (for management) and screw what happens tomorrow (for the company, the workers, and the country)" has been the motto for corporate misleadership for several decades. Now were all going to pay the price and I think it's going to be much worse than what most people think - and wishful thinking never solved any problems.

I guess this is all pretty obvious to some of us.
Oh yea, NO BAILOUTS FOR ANYONE, PERIOD, especially the SOB banksters!