now that we have entered the great demise of all things built in america, have we really accepted the fact or notion that we should just be a service nation or an nation of entertainers? great for the hollywood types and sports stars, but sucks to be the rest of us.
upon the cusp of world war two, it was said america was a sleeping giant; turns out they were right; once we commited our industrial might into tools of war, there was no stopping the american spirit. what of that same spirit now? if we have to tool up for a huge war effort, what would we do? mobile all the walmart greeters to stop any enemy at the door? would the starbucks deny them their latte before they make their big push on the capital? could we use telemarketers to annoy them to death and send their families and children to disney world to see a big, white world and corrupt their values? sorry, i am afraid that won't work. becoming a nation of users has put us in a bad way, a way unlike great britain, a major nation of consumers with no real industry other than elton john and a few others like him.
we really need to expand our horizions, we need a goal again; onward to the stars, i say; when we mobilized behind a great national cause, the trickle down technology, as well as the manufacturing base, made america a great proud nation. we need to be self reliant again; sending aall of our technology and brains abroad as well as the manufacturing base, soon will bite us in the worse way, and with the chinese not only owning all our debt and making most of our products, soon may be here before we know it.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
westward winds
seems a cusp of a dawning of a new automotive world is upon us. yes, in less than a year, with all the economic choas around us, a new pecking order and outlook as a whole is nigh.
general motors, who did battle with exxon and walmart as the world's largest companies, now as the "new" GM, has a net value less than the "GAP" clothes stores. chrysler, was simply just "given" away, to the italians, as if any one else, short of the chinese, wanted them. Ford, poor hapless Ford, struggles along, pretending all is well, but in truth, the death pool is patiently awaiting its demise.
granted, even the mighty germans and japanese, in hindsight, never expected this much termoil, some took risks, some played it safe, but all fell into the same sinkhole as did our own companies. suppliers, already hanging by a thread, failed and their suppliers did like wise. no one, was safe from the virus. all said in done, 1 in 3 jobs were affected in this country, due to the automotive fallout following the economy's demise.
now, all of us, are all ready aware of these plights, but we are focusing on the new; mergers on mega scales, downsizing on the mega scale as well; how, after, most of the OEM's come back from summer change overs, will be ready and able to supply what is left of the industry is a bigger guess. many of the 2nd and third tier suppliers are already aftermarket suppliers and have hedged theirselves against further mayhem; but with what is already called government motors, a socialist experiment ala communism, is at hand. Henry Ford would be proud, any color as long as it's black..with so few choices available, and even fewer credit worthy buyers, a interesting time is ahead. and lets look at the start ups; Tesla, got government money to push ahead their electric cars; the greening of america, is here, kicking and screaming we may, shoddy first production cars, with shaky mechanicals, makes a buyer wary of any of these ideals. sure many here in america, sheep that we are, would love to drive a "green" car. maybe the time is right for much of this, but after going to the S.A.S.E. show here in Detroit, a show that is for all the engineers of the automotive industry, looking at the suggestions and samples provided by even the largest of OEM's , i am scared to say, the offerings are lean and offer little to make me feel we have mastered the technology required to market such creations, let alone, stand behind them for any lenght of time; just like when the first computers came out; they were better left to the egg heads that created them; but as technology gained fruitation, the concept became viable and worth selling to the general public.
it is my greatest fear, that not only will all this push to become "green" and struggle thru these economic times as well, the buying public is the one with the greatest risks of all. let the soup come to boil, and finish simmering, when it is ready, let the people eat, not sooner
general motors, who did battle with exxon and walmart as the world's largest companies, now as the "new" GM, has a net value less than the "GAP" clothes stores. chrysler, was simply just "given" away, to the italians, as if any one else, short of the chinese, wanted them. Ford, poor hapless Ford, struggles along, pretending all is well, but in truth, the death pool is patiently awaiting its demise.
granted, even the mighty germans and japanese, in hindsight, never expected this much termoil, some took risks, some played it safe, but all fell into the same sinkhole as did our own companies. suppliers, already hanging by a thread, failed and their suppliers did like wise. no one, was safe from the virus. all said in done, 1 in 3 jobs were affected in this country, due to the automotive fallout following the economy's demise.
now, all of us, are all ready aware of these plights, but we are focusing on the new; mergers on mega scales, downsizing on the mega scale as well; how, after, most of the OEM's come back from summer change overs, will be ready and able to supply what is left of the industry is a bigger guess. many of the 2nd and third tier suppliers are already aftermarket suppliers and have hedged theirselves against further mayhem; but with what is already called government motors, a socialist experiment ala communism, is at hand. Henry Ford would be proud, any color as long as it's black..with so few choices available, and even fewer credit worthy buyers, a interesting time is ahead. and lets look at the start ups; Tesla, got government money to push ahead their electric cars; the greening of america, is here, kicking and screaming we may, shoddy first production cars, with shaky mechanicals, makes a buyer wary of any of these ideals. sure many here in america, sheep that we are, would love to drive a "green" car. maybe the time is right for much of this, but after going to the S.A.S.E. show here in Detroit, a show that is for all the engineers of the automotive industry, looking at the suggestions and samples provided by even the largest of OEM's , i am scared to say, the offerings are lean and offer little to make me feel we have mastered the technology required to market such creations, let alone, stand behind them for any lenght of time; just like when the first computers came out; they were better left to the egg heads that created them; but as technology gained fruitation, the concept became viable and worth selling to the general public.
it is my greatest fear, that not only will all this push to become "green" and struggle thru these economic times as well, the buying public is the one with the greatest risks of all. let the soup come to boil, and finish simmering, when it is ready, let the people eat, not sooner
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