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U.S. Auto Industry gets a PR Face Lift
Driving the Future: The New American Auto Industry is a slick brochure extolling the virtues and manufacturing prowess of a reinvented U.S. auto industry. It arrived in the mail last week with a cover letter from Steve Collins, the president of the Automotive Trade Policy Council (ATPC) which is the Washington-based lobbying group for Ford, GM and Chrysler. To give you a flavor of what the ATPC is all about, the lead headline on its web site this morning was “Japanese Yen Subsidy Hurts U.S. Automakers.”
The brochure paints a pretty picture of an ugly automotive landscape. GM last week reported a stunning $15.5 second quarter loss.
Here’s some of the report’s highlights: the Big Three or more accurately, the Shrinking Three spend more than $12 billion on R&D and they are making unprecedented gains in fuel economy, safety, quality and reliability. The 11-page report devotes two full pages to green technologies such as plug-in electrics, hybrids, Flex Fuel and clean diesel. The same amount of space is given to safety. But the thing that jumped out at me were the pages about “America’s Manufacturing Engine” which suggests that without the auto makers, the U.S. would be a third rate country. The auto industry accounts of a quarter of all manufacturing in the U.S., more than 14 million jobs and 12 per cent of our GDP.
Here’s a more startling statistic: the report boasts that the three companies pay pensions to 775,000 retirees and surviving spouses. We all know the balance sheet ball and chain that is THE retiree pension and healthcare burden is something the auto makers are trying to jettison.
Get ready, the PR blitz about all the good things U.S. auto makers are FINALLY doing constitute central themes in their ad campaigns. Oh and by the way, there was nothing in report about why it took them so pathetically long. I was struck by all the gas guzzlers in their Detroit Auto Show exhibit areas (particularly Ford’s) in January. It’s a safe bet that their sprawling 2009 exhibit areas will look markedly different.
Tom Teriffic commented:
American built cars and trucks are some of the best in the world. Why do we have a lack of perceived value? Us! The American consumer,wer'e our own worst enemy. We EXPECT the dealer to not make a profit(make it up on the next guy!). We go into an import store, and pay MSRP and feel like we got a great deal! Oh great I bought this foreign vehicle with no discount so it MUST be a better product.
Tom Teriffic commented:
American built cars and trucks are some of the best in the world. Why do we have a lack of perceived value? Us! The American consumer,wer'e our own worst enemy. We EXPECT the dealer to not make a profit(make it up on the next guy!). We go into an import store, and pay MSRP and feel like we got a great deal! Oh great I bought this foreign vehicle with no discount so it MUST be a better product.
Tom Teriffic commented:
American built cars and trucks are some of the best in the world. Why do we have a lack of perceived value? Us! The American consumer,wer'e our own worst enemy. We EXPECT the dealer to not make a profit(make it up on the next guy!). We go into an import store, and pay MSRP and feel like we got a great deal! Oh great I bought this foreign vehicle with no discount so it MUST be a better product.
Tom Teriffic commented:
American built cars and trucks are some of the best in the world. Why do we have a lack of perceived value? Us! The American consumer,wer'e our own worst enemy. We EXPECT the dealer to not make a profit(make it up on the next guy!). We go into an import store, and pay MSRP and feel like we got a great deal! Oh great I bought this foreign vehicle with no discount so it MUST be a better product.
Tom Teriffic commented:
American built cars and trucks are some of the best in the world. Why do we have a lack of perceived value? Us! The American consumer,wer'e our own worst enemy. We EXPECT the dealer to not make a profit(make it up on the next guy!). We go into an import store, and pay MSRP and feel like we got a great deal! Oh great I bought this foreign vehicle with no discount so it MUST be a better product.
Tom Teriffic commented:
American built cars and trucks are some of the best in the world. Why do we have a lack of perceived value? Us! The American consumer,wer'e our own worst enemy. We EXPECT the dealer to not make a profit(make it up on the next guy!). We go into an import store, and pay MSRP and feel like we got a great deal! Oh great I bought this foreign vehicle with no discount so it MUST be a better product.
Tom Teriffic commented:
American built cars and trucks are some of the best in the world. Why do we have a lack of perceived value? Us! The American consumer,wer'e our own worst enemy. We EXPECT the dealer to not make a profit(make it up on the next guy!). We go into an import store, and pay MSRP and feel like we got a great deal! Oh great I bought this foreign vehicle with no discount so it MUST be a better product.
Tom Teriffic commented:
American built cars and trucks are some of the best in the world. Why do we have a lack of perceived value? Us! The American consumer,wer'e our own worst enemy. We EXPECT the dealer to not make a profit(make it up on the next guy!). We go into an import store, and pay MSRP and feel like we got a great deal! Oh great I bought this foreign vehicle with no discount so it MUST be a better product.
Tom Teriffic commented:
American built cars and trucks are some of the best in the world. Why do we have a lack of perceived value? Us! The American consumer,wer'e our own worst enemy. We EXPECT the dealer to not make a profit(make it up on the next guy!). We go into an import store, and pay MSRP and feel like we got a great deal! Oh great I bought this foreign vehicle with no discount so it MUST be a better product.
Tom Teriffic commented:
American built cars and trucks are some of the best in the world. Why do we have a lack of perceived value? Us! The American consumer,wer'e our own worst enemy. We EXPECT the dealer to not make a profit(make it up on the next guy!). We go into an import store, and pay MSRP and feel like we got a great deal! Oh great I bought this foreign vehicle with no discount so it MUST be a better product.
Tom Teriffic commented:
American built cars and trucks are some of the best in the world. Why do we have a lack of perceived value? Us! The American consumer,wer'e our own worst enemy. We EXPECT the dealer to not make a profit(make it up on the next guy!). We go into an import store, and pay MSRP and feel like we got a great deal! Oh great I bought this foreign vehicle with no discount so it MUST be a better product.
Tom Teriffic commented:
American built cars and trucks are some of the best in the world. Why do we have a lack of perceived value? Us! The American consumer,wer'e our own worst enemy. We EXPECT the dealer to not make a profit(make it up on the next guy!). We go into an import store, and pay MSRP and feel like we got a great deal! Oh great I bought this foreign vehicle with no discount so it MUST be a better product.
Tom Teriffic commented:
American built cars and trucks are some of the best in the world. Why do we have a lack of perceived value? Us! The American consumer,wer'e our own worst enemy. We EXPECT the dealer to not make a profit(make it up on the next guy!). We go into an import store, and pay MSRP and feel like we got a great deal! Oh great I bought this foreign vehicle with no discount so it MUST be a better product.
Tom Teriffic commented:
American built cars and trucks are some of the best in the world. Why do we have a lack of perceived value? Us! The American consumer,wer'e our own worst enemy. We EXPECT the dealer to not make a profit(make it up on the next guy!). We go into an import store, and pay MSRP and feel like we got a great deal! Oh great I bought this foreign vehicle with no discount so it MUST be a better product.
Tom Teriffic commented:
American built cars and trucks are some of the best in the world. Why do we have a lack of perceived value? Us! The American consumer,wer'e our own worst enemy. We EXPECT the dealer to not make a profit(make it up on the next guy!). We go into an import store, and pay MSRP and feel like we got a great deal! Oh great I bought this foreign vehicle with no discount so it MUST be a better product.
Tom Teriffic commented:
American built cars and trucks are some of the best in the world. Why do we have a lack of perceived value? Us! The American consumer,wer'e our own worst enemy. We EXPECT the dealer to not make a profit(make it up on the next guy!). We go into an import store, and pay MSRP and feel like we got a great deal! Oh great I bought this foreign vehicle with no discount so it MUST be a better product.
Tom Teriffic commented:
American built cars and trucks are some of the best in the world. Why do we have a lack of perceived value? Us! The American consumer,wer'e our own worst enemy. We EXPECT the dealer to not make a profit(make it up on the next guy!). We go into an import store, and pay MSRP and feel like we got a great deal! Oh great I bought this foreign vehicle with no discount so it MUST be a better product.
Tom Teriffic commented:
American built cars and trucks are some of the best in the world. Why do we have a lack of perceived value? Us! The American consumer,wer'e our own worst enemy. We EXPECT the dealer to not make a profit(make it up on the next guy!). We go into an import store, and pay MSRP and feel like we got a great deal! Oh great I bought this foreign vehicle with no discount so it MUST be a better product.
Jim commented:
It's about time that people in this country start realizing that GM, Ford, and Chrysler have are every bit as good as any import. And when you buy an american car the profits from these sales stay in the US, thus helping our economy and not another country's economy. For every job lost at Gm there are 4 other people that will more tham likely lose theirs as well. So the next time you want to complain about our economy, reach out and shake the hand of an import owner.
Jim commented:
It's about time that people in this country start realizing that GM, Ford, and Chrysler have are every bit as good as any import. And when you buy an american car the profits from these sales stay in the US, thus helping our economy and not another country's economy. For every job lost at Gm there are 4 other people that will more tham likely lose theirs as well. So the next time you want to complain about our economy, reach out and shake the hand of an import owner.
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