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pagedesignpro-blog · 7 years

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Japanese and American Automobile Markets Trends

The automobile industry like any other industry is dependent on consumers. In my opinion, the American and Japanese companies have looked at consumers and other stakeholders differently and thus we are in a situation where some companies are doing better than others. But the big question is – Are they doing better or worse based on the demand that exists in the market.

American cars have always made a statement, they are symbolic of what America and its people represent. They are big, shiny and beautiful. They are distinct, powerful and representative of a culture and way of life.

Our country has always been known for the cars we make, and our cars are branded as ‘So American’ because that is how we make them – ‘American’.

The car companies had been the drivers of our countries growth in the 20th century, however at the start of the 21st century. Their operations for a change seem too fragile, manpower incompetent and design out of place. In the 20th century, it seems that the big car companies controlled the country and moved mountains, not anymore.

When I say not anymore, it comes from the fact that General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler have always done so well that a blip in their performance makes one feel that all is lost. And actually speaking things are really bleak, the place these companies faltered was in giving away too much in their hay days, CEO after CEO kept giving concessions and privileges that are impairing the performance of the companies now. The companies are under a huge burden of recurring expenses that are more than their profits. But to reflect back on how they were doing, we should look at the bare facts that these companies have continued for nearly a 100 years and spent nearly 50 of those years in the top 10 list of fortune 500 magazines.

Off late, the difference has occurred in the preferences of the consumers and the changes in the environment. The consumers want cars that are easier to drive and economically efficient to maintain with skyrocketing gasoline prices.

Japanese Car Market

For years, the business strategies of the Big Three automakers in Japan have been at odds with U.S. industry and government trade rhetoric. Having disdained re-entering the Japanese market on the grounds that it would never be significant enough to warrant the serious effort, the American companies relied on their enormous domestic market and focused international efforts on building a major position in Europe.

Trapped by their own neglect in the late 1970s, they embraced a range of protectionist measures at home and in the recent past pursued an aggressive agenda of so-called ‘results-oriented’ trade policies designed to pressure Japan to meet highly specific targets for both sales and the number of outlets in the Big Three distribution network in Japan. With the introduction of the first American right-hand drive vehicles in 1994, hopes soared as sales of U.S. cars, Big Three autos companies nearly tripled over the next three years.

But the slowdown in the Japanese economy exposed the weak strategic position of the American manufacturers for all to see. Sales of U.S.-made vehicles dropped nearly 18% and were off even more sharply in the first quarter of 1998. This has once again raised the specter of potentially divisive and economically damaging trade disputes, as U.S. government officials and executives blamed Japan for the decline.

Key Factors influencing American Car Companies in the Japanese Car Market:

o Since the U.S.-Japan auto agreement was reached in June 1995, the Big Three have been engaged in an active process of “churning” franchises, closing and/or opening a total of about 360 showrooms – a number representing more than half of the 600-plus outlets in their Japanese distribution network. Despite this, and contrary to years of complaints about the need for more outlets, the American makers ended 1997 with fewer showrooms than they had three years ago – not the 177 ‘additional’ stores that have been claimed. This level of turnover is quite large for a mature market and clearly unsustainable over the long term.

o Ford Japan has made by far the biggest commitment and investment among the Big Three faces the most severe challenge because of strategic and product shortcomings. The company suffered nearly a 40% drop in sales of its U.S.-built vehicles in 1997, and many of its dealers are openly angry about the lack of appeal of current models, the paucity of financial support from the manufacturer, and the apparent lack of exciting new products in the pipeline.

o Because of these problems, Ford has just recently announced an 180-degree strategy shift in Japan, and its new president has publicly embraced sales and marketing changes.

o Chrysler has substantially increased its investment in the Japanese market, but now faces the critical and daunting task of rebuilding an independent dealer network after terminating a lucrative arrangement with Honda for the distribution of the well-known Jeep models. Chrysler also faces serious questions about future product suitability in a fast-changing sports utility market.

o General Motors continues to play out a conservative and largely uninspired strategy that, if left alone, could drop it into third place behind Chrysler in unit sales of U.S. made vehicles in Japan. Moreover, its Saturn Japan division, launched in April 1997, is off to a very slow start, because of severe limitations in product quality and variety.

o The current import share of the Japanese auto market is 9.6%, not the lower 5.4% reported by the Big Three and the U.S. government. Their calculation divides total import car sales, including gray market imports, by the total number of vehicles sold in Japan, including mini-vehicles, trucks, and buses, which the American manufacturers do not even make for Japan. The rest of the world calculates market share simply and clearly: by dividing imported passenger cars sold by the total number of passenger cars sold.

o Japanese auto dealers are a widely diverse and dynamic group who provide an exceptionally high level of customer service in a fiercely competitive environment. While the internal structure of day-to-day business operations is different in many respects from that of dealers in the U.S., they share a high degree of interest with their American counterparts in testing and pursuing many kinds of new systems and marketing tools. Debates over the effectiveness of ‘one-price’ showrooms are particularly intense and quite similar to trends in America.

Things are not so rosy for the Japanese manufacturers either, just today Isuzu released its numbers and the shrinkage of Isuzu underscores how increased competition is forcing smaller competitors by the wayside. Automakers will launch 197 models this year through 2009, a 53% increase over the number of vehicle introductions from 1987 to 2005, Merrill Lynch said in a report last year.

The competition will only grow more fierce. The South Korean brands have become competitive enough to pinch Japanese and domestic automakers. Chinese makers might be next to wash ashore.

Isuzu presents a classic example of what can happen to an automaker that fails to invest in its market. They are fighting their battle in an overcrowded market with models that aren’t being supported. While Isuzu used to be a low-price brand, The Koreans now are offering a competitive product at a cheaper price.It has just pushed them out of the marketplace.

With vehicles that differ little from their GM cousins, Isuzu tries to appeal to buyers by selling them for less. The base Ascender lists for $26,644, about $300 less than the Chevrolet TrailBlazer built on the same production line, reports Edmunds.com, a car buyer research website. But buyers are finding TrailBlazer cheaper because of sales incentives.

Isuzu also tries to gain an edge with a better warranty. Instead of three years or 36,000 miles, Isuzu’s warranty is 50,000 miles. The drivetrain’s warranty is for 75,000 miles or seven years.

GM’s involvement with Isuzu is not coincidental. Starting in the early 1970s, GM took a 37.5% share of Isuzu, which it later increased to 49%. For years, Isuzu thrived.

In 1984, Isuzu introduced one of the earliest and most successful compact SUVs, the Trooper. It came to market ahead of what would later become the domestic makers’ best-known SUVs. And the Trooper developed a reputation for toughness and quality. Isuzu followed up with the smaller Rodeo and a little sports vehicle, the Amigo.

Isuzu was a brash competitor. It’s cheeky approach came through in its popular television ads featuring “Joe Isuzu,” a car salesman whose outlandish claims were contradicted by a sober scroll running across the bottom of the screen.

Its success was reflected in its sales, which peaked at 127,630 in 1986 and stayed strong into the late 1990s. Then, little by little, the market withered away. Trooper disappeared in 2002, Rodeo, in 2004. A proposal to bring in a Thai-built SUV a couple of years ago fizzled. The company restructured two years ago. GM has reduced its stake to about 8%.

It might help if Ascender, a name which means nothing to customers, were redubbed Trooper, which still resonates with buyers. Or if Isuzu could bring some of its vaunted diesel engine technology, still important to GM’s midsize Duramax truck line, to the light-vehicle line.

With all the bad news coming out of Detroit these days, many have a disarmingly simple suggestion: Ford and General Motors should simply build better cars.

Quality Perception

A perception of poor quality certainly isn’t the only reason Ford and GM cars can have trouble in today’s market. But it is one of the most important factors.

I looked at J.D. Power and Associates Long-term Dependability Surveys to get a sense of where American cars rank in terms of reliability and how much they’ve improved. That survey measures the number of problems vehicle owners have after 3 years of ownership.

The survey shows that all the big three are doing pretty good but the problem is that ‘pretty good’ has become ‘not quite good enough’ in a world where quality standards have been raised significantly. The bad experiences of customers with American cars still lingers in their memories.

Reliability by the numbers

If you believe J.D. Power’s surveys, the story for American luxury brands Lincoln, Cadillac, and Buick is particularly striking. Of the above three brands, Lincoln performed best in the 2005 survey ranking third of all brands behind Porsche & Lexus.

Lincoln, Cadillac, and Buick all out-scored Toyota’s Toyota-branded and Honda’s Honda-branded vehicles in the same 2005 J.D. Powers survey.

Another view

But the people at Consumer Reports don’t have quite as good a view of Ford and GM products as J.D. Powers’ survey.

In Consumer Reports predicted reliability ratings, brands like Toyota, Subaru and even Suzuki rank higher than Pontiac, which has average predicted reliability in Consumer Reports’ estimation. Lincoln, the top-ranked American brand in the J.D. Power survey, is seen as having below average predicted reliability by Consumer Reports.

Still, agreed Michael Quincy automotive content specialist for Consumer Reports, the quality of Ford and GM cars has improved greatly in recent years.

Some Ford cars are actually “above average” in reliability, according to Consumer Reports own surveys, Quincy said. The Ford Escape Hybrid SUV is “better than average, for example, and the closely-related Mercury Mariner SUV is much better than average in reliability.

GM brands, according to Consumer Reports, have mostly average predicted reliability. Hummer and Saturn are seen as below average.

Why are we so sure they’re bad?

Given J.D. Power survey results, and even the “not bad” showings in Consumer Reports data, why do Americans seem so sure that American cars are dross?

Three possible reasons:

Reputation: Toyota has, by now, had a lifetime to cement its reputation among American consumers for nearly fool-proof quality. GM and Ford spent nearly as long honing a reputation for not caring much about quality. Things may have improved, but it takes a long time for that to sink in.

Recalls: GM, in particular, has had a problem with headline-making recalls. It’s a big company, it sells a lot of vehicles and they share a lot of components. When one of those parts goes wrong, eye-popping numbers of vehicles can be affected. That doesn’t mean the vehicles are unreliable. Recalls are a different sort of problem. But it does cause concerns.

Reviews: GM and Ford’s vehicles haven’t always exuded the quality that may have been hiding in there somewhere. Cheap-feeling interior materials, raspy-sounding engines, and gap-filled construction didn’t give potential buyers the feeling of confidence that even lesser Japanese brands manage to carry off.

GM and Ford deserve credit for what they’ve done so far. But American consumers have shown they still need lot more proof. There are problems with Ford and General Motors.

On paper, Ford appears to have it much easier. Despite losing $1.6 billion in North America last year, Ford Motor remains profitable. It has more cash and less debt than GM, its credit rating is higher, and its legacy costs are lower because it has shrunk less (and thus has fewer retirees to support).

Yet Ford Motor hasn’t been running all that smoothly since Bill Ford took over as CEO in 2001. Strategic direction looks like a lot of zigs and zags. Ford Division has dumped its overly conservative design and will pursue more eye-catching ones from now on. The Taurus, Ford’s bestselling car in 2005, is being discontinued in 2006 (it hopes the Fusion will fill the vacuum). Lincoln has gotten yet another facelift, while Mercury is still seeking a personality after decades of searching.To get his company up to speed again, Bill Ford has produced the second turnaround plan of his tenure, called ‘Way Forward’.

The plan promises cost cuts, improved quality, and increased productivity. Those are all essential in an industry that gets more competitive by the day, But the statement has no plans for events which are beyond Bill Ford’s control could make his job even trickier. Some analysts think a GM bankruptcy would force Ford to follow suit.

The truth is that GM is essentially indentured to the UAW because of the union’s power to strike. GM’s hourly and salaried employees, present and the past, essentially own the company, a fact I like to prove by describing some bank accounts.

At the end of 2004, the latest date for which figures are available, GM’s pension funds (both inside the U.S. and out) had $100 billion in assets, which is wealth belonging to GM’s employees, retirees, and dependents. To that, you can add $19 billion that GM has put in a dedicated account for retiree health benefits. That makes $119 billion that GM has banked for its employees. In contrast, the shareholders of GM recently owned they’re grubby $13 billion in market value. That is a bizarre, Alice-in-Autoland result from 98 years in which capitalism supposedly reigned.

The likes of Toyota and all have not committed that mistake. They give limited insurance and their new plants are being set up in Canada because Canada has a better healthcare system, which means the company does not have to pay costly healthcare insurance to its employees.

The good news is that within the American borders, General Motors is still the king with around 40 percent market share and Toyota has 15 percent. The big ball game is that there is a huge market outside America and the big problem is we are repetitively failing to penetrate those new growth centers in the world.

Changing World

Companies like Nissan is driven by visionary CEO Ghosn has been making some of the best cars off late. They are listening to the consumers while the American companies are not. Ghosn entered the tough world of the Japanese business and managed to close factories and retire people when it is almost impossible to do something like that in Japan. People need to make some very tough decision and he has been able to do it. No wonder that now he is also the CEO of Renault the French company and combined Nissan and Renault are in the top 5 manufacturers worldwide and have a 9.6% market share.

Nissan had an operating profit of 249 billion yen in the first three months of 2005, according to Bloomberg calculations, which was the fourth quarter of Nissan’s fiscal 2005 year. That translated into a 10 percent operating margin.

Nissan on Feb. 2 maintained its April 2005 forecast for net income to rise 0.9 percent to 517 billion yen, while sales will rise 4.9 percent to 9 trillion yen. The company plans to increase global vehicle sales in the year ended March 31 by 6.8 percent to a record 3.62 million units.

However, the markets are unrelenting but the American manufacturers are going to suffer more. If I want to buy a car, I will buy the best car available and an American manufacturer does not make that best car according to customers’ needs. The tragedy of the American automobile/car industry is that we are not listening to the consumers and have the terrible reputation of making bad cars. The Japanese, on the other hand, realized that Japan is a much smaller country which cannot absorb all the cars they can make and choose to sell their cars to the American market.

Here is the list of the Fortune 500, top 10. there are a few car companies, 3 are American (assuming the combined share of Daimler Chrysler) and 1 Japanese. Toyota makes more money than all 3 combined.

The rank is followed by the name, revenue and then the profit of the that company.

1. Wal-Mart Stores 287,989.0 10,267.0

2 BP 285,059.0 15,371.0

3 Exxon Mobil 270,772.0 25,330.0

4 Royal Dutch/Shell Group 268,690.0 18,183.0

5 General Motors 193,517.0 2,805.0

6 DaimlerChrysler 176,687.5 3,067.1

7 Toyota Motor 172,616.3 10,898.2

8 Ford Motor 172,233.0 3,487.0

9 General Electric 152,866.0 16,819.0

10 Total 152,609.5 11,955.0

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myupdatesystems-blog · 7 years

Text

Japanese and American Automobile Markets Trends

New Post has been published on https://myupdatesystems.com/japanese-and-american-automobile-markets-trends/

Japanese and American Automobile Markets Trends

Our country has always been known for the cars we make, and our cars are branded as ‘So American’ because that is how we make them – ‘American’.

The car companies had been the drivers of our countries growth in the 20th century, however at the start of the 21st century. Their operations for a change seem to fragile, manpower incompetent and design out of place. In the 20th century, it seems that the big car companies controlled the country and moved mountains, not anymore.

When I say not anymore, it comes from the fact that General Motors, Ford and Chrysler have always done so well that a blip in their performance makes one feel that all is lost. And actually speaking things are really bleak, the place these companies faltered was in giving away too much in their hay days, CEO after CEO kept giving concessions and privileges that are impairing the performance of the companies now. The companies are under a huge burden of recurring expenses that are more than their profits. But to reflect back on how they were doing, we should look at the bare facts that these companies have continued for nearly a 100 years and spent nearly 50 of those years in the top 10 list of fortune 500 magazine.

Off late the difference has occurred in the preferences of the consumers and the changes in the environment. The consumers want cars that are easier to drive and economically efficient to maintain with sky rocketing gasoline prices.

Japanese Car Market

For years, the business strategies of the Big Three auto makers in Japan have been at odds with U.S. industry and government trade rhetoric. Having disdained re-entering the Japanese market on the grounds that it would never be significant enough to warrant serious effort, the American companies relied on their enormous domestic market and focused international efforts on building a major position in Europe.

Key Factors influencing American Car Companies in the Japanese Car Market:

o Because of these problems, Ford has just recently announced a 180-degree strategy shift in Japan, and its new president has publicly embraced sales and marketing changes.

o The current import share of the Japanese auto market is 9.6%, not the lower 5.4% reported by the Big Three and the U.S. government. Their calculation divides total import car sales, including grey market imports, by the total number of vehicles sold in Japan, including mini-vehicles, trucks and buses, which the American manufacturers do not even make for Japan. The rest of the world calculates market share simply and cleanly: by dividing imported passenger cars sold by the total number of passenger cars sold.

Competition will only grow more fierce. The South Korean brands have become competitive enough to pinch Japanese and domestic automakers. Chinese makers might be next to wash ashore.

Isuzu also tries to gain an edge with a better warranty. Instead of three years or 36,000 miles, Isuzu’s warranty is 50,000 miles. The drivetrain’s warranty is for 75,000 miles or seven years.

GM’s involvement with Isuzu is not coincidental. Starting in the early 1970s, GM took a 37.5% share of Isuzu, which it later increased to 49%. For years, Isuzu thrived.

Isuzu was a brash competitor. Its cheeky approach came through in its popular television ads featuring “Joe Isuzu,” a car salesman whose outlandish claims were contradicted by a sober scroll running across the bottom of the screen.

With all the bad news coming out of Detroit these days, many have a disarmingly simple suggestion: Ford and General Motors should simply build better cars.

Quality Perception

A perception of poor quality certainly isn’t the only reason Ford and GM cars can have trouble in today’s market. But it is one of the most important factor.

Reliability by the numbers

If you believe J.D. Power’s surveys, the story for American luxury brands Lincoln, Cadillac and Buick is particularly striking. Of the above three brands, Lincoln performed best in the 2005 survey ranking third of all brands behind Porsche & Lexus.

Lincoln, Cadillac and Buick all out-scored Toyota’s Toyota-branded and Honda’s Honda-branded vehicles in the same 2005 J.D. Powers survey.

Another view

But the people at Consumer Reports don’t have quite as good a view of Ford and GM products as J.D. Powers’ survey.

Still, agreed Michael Quincy automotive content specialist for Consumer Reports, the quality of Ford and GM cars has improved greatly in recent years.

GM brands, according to Consumer Reports, have mostly average predicted reliability. Hummer and Saturn are seen as below average.

Why are we so sure they’re bad?

Given J.D. Power survey results, and even the “not bad” showings in Consumer Reports data, why do Americans seem so sure that American cars are dross?

Three possible reasons:

Reviews: GM and Ford vehicles haven’t always exuded quality that may have been hiding in there somewhere. Cheap-feeling interior materials, raspy-sounding engines and gap-filled construction didn’t give potential buyers the feeling of confidence that even lesser Japanese brands manage to carry off.

GM and Ford deserve credit for what they’ve done so far. But American consumers have shown they still need lot more proof. There are problems with Ford and General Motors.

On paper Ford appears to have it much easier. Despite losing $1.6 billion in North America last year, Ford Motor remains profitable. It has more cash and less debt than GM, its credit rating is higher, and its legacy costs are lower because it has shrunk less (and thus has fewer retirees to support).

Yet Ford Motor hasn’t been running all that smoothly since Bill Ford took over as CEO in 2001. Strategic direction looks like a lot of zigs and zags. Ford Division has dumped its overtly conservative design and will pursue more eye-catching ones from now on. The Taurus, Ford’s bestselling car in 2005, is being discontinued in 2006 (it hopes the Fusion will fill the vacuum). Lincoln has gotten yet another facelift, while Mercury is still seeking a personality after decades of searching.

To get his company up to speed again, Bill Ford has produced the second turnaround plan of his tenure, called ‘Way Forward’.

The plan promises cost cuts, improved quality, and increased productivity. Those are all essential in an industry that gets more competitive by the day,But the statement has no plans for events which are beyond Bill Ford’s control could make his job even trickier. Some analysts think a GM bankruptcy would force Ford to follow suit.

The truth is that GM is essentially indentured to the UAW because of the union’s power to strike. GM’s hourly and salaried employees, present and past, essentially own the company, a fact I like to prove by describing some bank accounts.

At the end of 2004, the latest date for which figures are available, GM’s pension funds (both inside the U.S. and out) had $100 billion in assets, which is wealth belonging to GM’s employees, retirees, and dependents. To that you can add $19 billion that GM has put in a dedicated account for retiree health benefits. That makes $119 billion that GM has banked for its employees. In contrast, the shareholders of GM recently owned their grubby $13 billion in market value. That is a bizarre, Alice-in-Autoland result from 98 years in which capitalism supposedly reigned.

Changing World

Companies like Nissan driven by visionary CEO Ghosn has been making some of the best cars off late. They are listening to the consumers while the American companies are not. Ghosn entered the tough world of the Japanese business and managed to close factories and retire people when it is almost impossible to do something like that in Japan. People need to make some very tough decision and he has been able to do it. No wonder that now he is also the CEO of Renault the French company and combined Nissan and Renault are in the top 5 manufacturers worldwide and have a 9.6% market share.

However, the markets are unrelenting but the American manufacturers are going to suffer more. If I want to buy a car, I will buy the best car available and an American manufacturer does not make that best car according to customers’ needs. The tragedy of the American automobile/car industry is that we are not listening to the consumers and have the terrible reputation of making bad cars. The Japanese on the other hand realized that Japan is a much smaller country which cannot absorb all the cars they can make and choose to sell their cars to the American market.

Here is the list of the Fortune 500, top 10. there are a few car companies, 3 are American (assuming the combined share of Diamler Chrysler) and 1 japanese. Toyota makes more money than all 3 combined.

The rank is followed by the name, revenue and then the profit of the that company.

1. Wal-Mart Stores 287,989.0 10,267.0

2 BP 285,059.0 15,371.0

3 Exxon Mobil 270,772.0 25,330.0

4 Royal Dutch/Shell Group 268,690.0 18,183.0

5 General Motors 193,517.0 2,805.0

6 DaimlerChrysler 176,687.5 3,067.1

7 Toyota Motor 172,616.3 10,898.2

8 Ford Motor 172,233.0 3,487.0

9 General Electric 152,866.0 16,819.0

10 Total 152,609.5 11,955.0

0 notes

beingmad2017-blog · 7 years

Text

Japanese and American Automobile Markets Trends

New Post has been published on https://beingmad.org/japanese-and-american-automobile/

Japanese and American Automobile Markets Trends

Our country has always been known for the cars we make, and our cars are branded as ‘So American’ because that is how we make them – ‘American’.

Japanese Car Market

Key Factors influencing American Car Companies in the Japanese Car Market:

o Because of these problems, Ford has just recently announced an 180-degree strategy shift in Japan, and its new president has publicly embraced sales and marketing changes.

The competition will only grow more fierce. The South Korean brands have become competitive enough to pinch Japanese and domestic automakers. Chinese makers might be next to wash ashore.

Isuzu also tries to gain an edge with a better warranty. Instead of three years or 36,000 miles, Isuzu’s warranty is 50,000 miles. The drivetrain’s warranty is for 75,000 miles or seven years.

GM’s involvement with Isuzu is not coincidental. Starting in the early 1970s, GM took a 37.5% share of Isuzu, which it later increased to 49%. For years, Isuzu thrived.

With all the bad news coming out of Detroit these days, many have a disarmingly simple suggestion: Ford and General Motors should simply build better cars.

Quality Perception

A perception of poor quality certainly isn’t the only reason Ford and GM cars can have trouble in today’s market. But it is one of the most important factors.

Reliability by the numbers

Lincoln, Cadillac, and Buick all out-scored Toyota’s Toyota-branded and Honda’s Honda-branded vehicles in the same 2005 J.D. Powers survey.

Another view

But the people at Consumer Reports don’t have quite as good a view of Ford and GM products as J.D. Powers’ survey.

Still, agreed Michael Quincy automotive content specialist for Consumer Reports, the quality of Ford and GM cars has improved greatly in recent years.

GM brands, according to Consumer Reports, have mostly average predicted reliability. Hummer and Saturn are seen as below average.

Why are we so sure they’re bad?

Given J.D. Power survey results, and even the “not bad” showings in Consumer Reports data, why do Americans seem so sure that American cars are dross?

Three possible reasons:

GM and Ford deserve credit for what they’ve done so far. But American consumers have shown they still need lot more proof. There are problems with Ford and General Motors.

Changing World

The rank is followed by the name, revenue and then the profit of the that company.

1. Wal-Mart Stores 287,989.0 10,267.0

2 BP 285,059.0 15,371.0

3 Exxon Mobil 270,772.0 25,330.0

4 Royal Dutch/Shell Group 268,690.0 18,183.0

5 General Motors 193,517.0 2,805.0

6 DaimlerChrysler 176,687.5 3,067.1

7 Toyota Motor 172,616.3 10,898.2

8 Ford Motor 172,233.0 3,487.0

9 General Electric 152,866.0 16,819.0

10 Total 152,609.5 11,955.0

0 notes

chadnevett · 7 years

Text

Random Thoughts (March 18, 2017)

* It's been a week... Michelle and Ryan are out of town, so I've been taking the bus to and from work, which, given that we decided to buy a house on the complete other side of town has not been tons of fun. Plus, we've been short at work, so I've been working extra, both at the office and at home. Just... tired. Not trying to complain, because the week actually went much better than I had anticipated coming into it. Lots of things broke my way. Just saying that I'm tired and, as much as I miss my wife and son, the fact that they're not back until tomorrow night is lovely. Some time to rest up and relax. For now, that means just typing out these random thoughts...

* Last Sunday, I watched Captain America: Civil War and Star Trek Beyond (I still have Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice for later today). I enjoyed the latter much more than the former. As I said on Twitter, Star Trek Beyond was a dumb movie that didn't try to act like it wasn't; Civil War was a dumb movie that thought it was a smart movie. I mean, fuck, it was incredibly dumb. That's not a bad thing. That's what giant action movie tentpole flicks are. But, it's amazing to me how, over the course of the last few years, they managed to build to Civil War in such a way where the natural sympathies are completely reversed from the comics. I said it after Age of Ultron, but a possible weakness of these movies that no one probably thought about ahead of time is that actually seeing this level of destruction changes the way you view these heroes. They're destroying cities and killing people and, yeah, they didn't mean to, but... Plus, they weren't exactly setting up Cap as sympathetic when his main goal was making sure his old buddy who's a brainwashed killer isn't arrested -- and, then, at the end of the movie, basically locks him away himself... And everyone fights and changes sides and it's all over the dumbest shit. I guess it's a bit more realistic that way, because people are stupid, but it's just dumb to watch. Star Trek Beyond, on the other hand, started with the best premise ever: "Thank god this isn't a TV show anymore, because we're three movies in and already bored!" But, they stop being bored by riding motorcycles, which you can't do in space usually, so, good on them. I also dug how they didn't even bother to give the main villain a plausible story until there were, like, ten minutes left in the movie and, even then, it was just "His ship crashed and he can't war anymore and he's gone crazy."

* On the music front... three new albums for me over the past month or so: Prisoner by Ryan Adams, Solidarity by Bill & Joel Plaskett, and Wild Cat by Danko Jones. Prisoner is tops of that list for me. It probably says nothing good that, for a while there, "Breakdown" by my favourite song. Tough week that week, y'know? It's the sort of album that I need when I want something a bit quieter but with some rock -- whereas Wild Cat is what I need when I want something loud and kinda dumb in places. I mean, the two spots where I tend to sing along are the lines "Come over here, baby, and let me love you like man" (off "Success in Bed") and "Revolution... but then we make love!" (off "Revolution (But Then We Make Love)") I mean, it's Danko Jones... it's dumb cock rock with lyrics that you're sometimes embarrassed to sing along to, but it rocks. The Plaskett album is a collaboration between father (Bill) and son (Joel) and seems to follow a folky sort of root based on blue collar/socialist ideas. I'm a fan of Joel's and wasn't sure what I'd think of this one going into it, but it's rather good. "Blank Cheque" is the track of choice here. Good albums so far this year.

* A week or so ago, I finished reading 4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster. It's a big book, especially for Auster, who usually is more of a 150-300 pages kind of author (with the former being more common than the latter). It's, what 866 pages. It starts with a prologue chapter, of sorts, detailing the grandparents and parents of Archie Ferguson prior to his birth. Then, he's born, and we get four versions of him, depending on which town in the same region in New Jersey his parents pick to live. Every chapter goes through the cycle of each Ferguson in order as we see their differences and similarities and all of that. It's an interesting book that takes a while to really get into a groove with as it takes a while for all of the different details to sink in. You almost need a little chart to remind you which Ferguson is dating Amy, which Ferguson has her as a cousin by marriage, and which has her as a step-sister -- which is autobiographical Ferguson, which is reporter Ferguson, which is prose Ferguson, etc... Auster denies the autobiographical elements, but they're hard to miss. At least in broad ways. The details are no doubt fictional, but the broad experiences of growing up in New Jersey, longing for New York, going to Columbia, being a writer, going to Paris, etc. are all from his life. Even the types of writing the different Fergusons do seems to be the various types Auster has done over his life/career and each one given to one of the Fergusons. It's like he splintered himself to a degree and then added a lot of "What if...?" type stuff to it. Which is what a lot of fiction is anyway. For such a long book, I never really felt like it was a slog. A lot of critics harp on Auster's prose style, but it's such easy-going... writing that encourages you to keep reading. It's a pleasant experience. My only complaint is that I'm not sure any of the Fergusons would have made a strong novel on their own (maybe #3?). Much of the power each narrative has is in comparison/contrast to the others. I mean, that's the gimmick of the book, but I guess I would have liked it if they stood on their own a bit better. But, I could also see me waiting a decade or so and, then, reading each Ferguson narrative on its own to see how it stands up. (I've considered doing something similar with James Ellroy's Underworld USA books... just because...)

* Watched all three Major League movies this week, because baseball is coming. Conceptually, there's a lot that I like in all three. I could see a remake being done of the first one where it's not an owner tanking to move the team, but a front office tanking as part of the rebuild process -- and how the players react to that concept. The sequel looking at the effects of success and budding stardom on players was interesting. The part that really stuck out to me was when Willie Mays Hayes comes back form the offseason bulked up a bit and looking to be a power hitter instead of the leadoff guy and the manager just berates him about knowing his role and not deviating from it. We're supposed to side with the manager, but I found myself siding with Willie. Find another leadoff guy -- if a dude can hit for power, you don't hold that back. Especially because he later showed that he still had speed. That sounds like a guy who just added another dimension to his game.

* For reasons that only make sense to me, I'm in the middle of rewatching everything Randy Orton did in 2009 that I have on DVD. I will write about it. Shit, I should go watch some of that, because I haven't all week. With the extra time on the bus and working and being TIRED, I haven't wanted to do this... I think I left off with Ortin beating Triple H in the awful Three Stages of Hell match at the Bash. Onto the next night on Raw for a Gauntlet match against Evan Bourne, Jack Swagger, and Mark Henry...

#books #music #ryan adams #danko jones #joel plaskett #paul auster #movies #wrestling #randy orton #baseball #random thoughts

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netmaddy-blog · 7 years

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Japanese and American Automobile Markets Trends

New Post has been published on https://netmaddy.com/japanese-and-american-automobile-markets-trends/

Japanese and American Automobile Markets Trends

Our country has always been known for the cars we make, and our cars are branded as ‘So American’ because that is how we make them – ‘American’.

Japanese Car Market

Key Factors influencing American Car Companies in the Japanese Car Market:

o Because of these problems, Ford has just recently announced an 180-degree strategy shift in Japan, and its new president has publicly embraced sales and marketing changes.

The competition will only grow more fierce. The South Korean brands have become competitive enough to pinch Japanese and domestic automakers. Chinese makers might be next to wash ashore.

Isuzu also tries to gain an edge with a better warranty. Instead of three years or 36,000 miles, Isuzu’s warranty is 50,000 miles. The drivetrain’s warranty is for 75,000 miles or seven years.

GM’s involvement with Isuzu is not coincidental. Starting in the early 1970s, GM took a 37.5% share of Isuzu, which it later increased to 49%. For years, Isuzu thrived.

With all the bad news coming out of Detroit these days, many have a disarmingly simple suggestion: Ford and General Motors should simply build better cars.

Quality Perception

A perception of poor quality certainly isn’t the only reason Ford and GM cars can have trouble in today’s market. But it is one of the most important factors.

Reliability by the numbers

Lincoln, Cadillac, and Buick all out-scored Toyota’s Toyota-branded and Honda’s Honda-branded vehicles in the same 2005 J.D. Powers survey.

Another view

But the people at Consumer Reports don’t have quite as good a view of Ford and GM products as J.D. Powers’ survey.

Still, agreed Michael Quincy automotive content specialist for Consumer Reports, the quality of Ford and GM cars has improved greatly in recent years.

GM brands, according to Consumer Reports, have mostly average predicted reliability. Hummer and Saturn are seen as below average.

Why are we so sure they’re bad?

Given J.D. Power survey results, and even the “not bad” showings in Consumer Reports data, why do Americans seem so sure that American cars are dross?

Three possible reasons:

GM and Ford deserve credit for what they’ve done so far. But American consumers have shown they still need lot more proof. There are problems with Ford and General Motors.

To get his company up to speed again, Bill Ford has produced the second turnaround plan of his tenure, called ‘Way Forward’.

At the end of 2004, the latest date for which figures are available, GM’s pension funds (both inside the U.S. and out) had $100 billion in assets, which is wealth belonging to GM’s employees, retirees, and dependents. To that, you can add $19 billion that GM has put in a dedicated account for retiree health benefits. That makes $119 billion that GM has banked for its employees. In contrast, the shareholders of GM recently owned they are grubby $13 billion in market value. That is a bizarre, Alice-in-Autoland result from 98 years in which capitalism supposedly reigned.

Changing World

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