End of an Era?

[Joker]

Hi all, I usually refrain from jumping on a soap box but this is quite a different situation..

In case you dont know, i work for Ford motor company. A few weeks ago I was in North Carolina and was shocked to see that I could barely find any American cars on the road.. Everyone was driving toyotas and hondas.

Now im sure they have their own stories and own reasons for this. But this is in a state that lost the textile industry to asia many many years ago. It devastated the region, ms jokers mom and dad both lost their jobs..

Not forgeting to mention our electronics industry etc,etc... Our country is in dire trouble..

Well, here we go again but this time its the auto industry. An industry thats been around for over 100 years.

Some people will say, well American cars arent american anymore as most parts and some cars are made in Mexico. There are economic reasons why the parts and some cars are made in Mexico and i dont like that anymore than you do but until we can compete with the toyotas this must be..

But one thing I can tell you is, most of these cars and trucks that are built in the US are designed and built by 3rd and 4th generation Americans. Its not just a job its a way of life for many people.

Also, we reinvest our profits into American unlike the Asian countries that send alot of the money home. I cant begin to tell you how much money Ford puts into the communities and other non profit organizations.

People will say and I agree, why is it when the car companies are doing bad their CEO's are getting huge bonuses.?. I dont understand this anymore than you and I for one wanted to put my bonus this year back into the company. This has to and will change..

With all that being said, this industry is dieing and dieing fast with the cost of steel and the gas prices rising.. These are unfortunate times for everyone but I feel we must dig deep now and show our American pride..

This will not just affect car industry jobs but everything from the restaurants, shopping etc etc.. People in the car industry are well paid and they spend their money too.. If these jobs are gone, a domino effect will insue... and thats not just in Michigan. It will effect the whole country so be ready..

As of last week we (Ford) passed Toyota and Honda in over quality on 4 of our vehicles. This is important as in the past we have lost alot of confidance with YOU and we hope its not to late to rectify this problem.

Our gas mileage in our cars is up to par with the foreign businesses as well.

Another problem with endure in a global market is that the US government doesnt charge tariffs to sell cars and trucks in our country now that they build them here. If Ford wants to sell cars in Korea we are hit with a 1000% tariff. This is not fair and is adding to our decline in over all market share.

China is in an industrial revolution and most of the worlds steel is going there so the prices has gone up 500% in the last decade. We are trying to build a car market in China but we all feel when they chinese are ready, they will take our technologies and kindly ask us to leave their country.

This is not just happening in our industry but many others and will effect everyone of you..

Im sorry for rambling and I hope some of you will read this and take heed..

I know for sure their are many Nascar fans and other racing fans here..

Imagine for a second watching Nascar one sunday afternoon and there are no American cars on the track.. All you see are toyotas, hondas and hyundais!!

Just take a second to think about that the next time you consider buying a car or truck..

They got our clothes
They got our electronics

and now they are after our Cars... Lets not let History repeat itself..

Too many great Americans have worked very hard to invent things and make this country the great country it is...


Joker

['E']

You make several good points, I had a Mitsubishi Eclipse for 10 years & loved it, I always said I'd NEVER own an American car, I like the sporty cars & American cars are ugly, I'd rather drive a car that looked good & only got 25 miles to the gl vs. driving an ugly car that got 35 miles to the gl, well 2 months ago I had to trade in the Eclipse, it had seen it's day & sadly I had to part with it, I wanted another Eclipse but couldn't find one in my price range so I did get an American car, I am happy with it, looks wise & gas mileage too, I can't promise when I trade this one in that I'll get another American car but I've got one for now.

[Capt.B]

I've only owned American made vehicles and will be buying another new truck later this year. The economy seems to be getting worse every day and with these record high gas prices it will drive the cost of everything up. It don't look like it will get any better anytime soon.

[warsawdaddy]

American cars? I'm one of the ones that said I would never buy a foreign car.I just bought a '09 Toyota Corolla.38.7mpg.I had several Marques that got 27mpg.Wonderful cars.No more.Everything American is downsized and as 'E' says,ughly.If the Big Three would bring back styling,as in the '50's so you could tell one car from another,mileage wouldn't matter as much.But if I'm going to drive something that looks just like everything else,then I'm going for the cost effectiveness and reliability.I have had over 450 cars in my lifetime so far and this is the first foreign.Sorry,end of era I guess,that happens when you build cheap and sell high.

[Ric-san]

Many points well made. I have a few cars and all except one are American. I drive a Ford Ranger Edge and love it. The window sticker said it would get 22 miles on the highway. In these tough times, I have managed to get 25-26 mpg by changing my driving habits, and I have an almost 90 mile round trip to work daily. Yes I could greatly save some bling(in gas cash) by driving say a Toyota Prius, but the initial investment cant overcome the fact that my truck is payed off. I grew up on American cars as that is all my Dad would buy. His theory was that foreign stuff was junk. There weren't enough horses to drag him to a Toyota or Honda dealership. Guess what, hes retired since 2000 and he drives a Toyota. Said its the best car he ever owned. This from a man who worked on his own cars and could make a square peg fit in a round hole and it worked...! Americans love their cars. Its just that most feel that the American car companies just plain let them down. Remember the GM EV-1? An awesome electric car that in the days of sub $1.50 gas got around 150 miles on one electric charge. They took them all back (they were leased) and crushed them. What sense does that make now...how about bringing them back in this fuel crunch...? The American auto workers are the victims of some pretty bad business decisions made by their executives. Quality may be up to par now, but remember the junk they use to sell...? I sure do. Even Harley Davidsons needed a tarrif to keep them competitive in the 80's. We should place one against countries that aren't fair to our products. Bottom line is that some American believe if we could land a man on the moon, we can build a better (Toyota) Prius or (Honda) Insight and we should. But I have this feeling that the real bottom line for some executives is that they would rather get thier $1,000,000 bonus this year than develop what we truely need...

[legalmumbojumbo]

That is true.

However, GM is putting quite a bit of money into the Chevy Volt. Hopefully they get good sales on it in 2010.

[Georgia girl]

I debated throwing my 2 cents into this one but what the heck its only two cents and its mine! I think the reason that the people of the US are buying more imported cars is that they are more economical to buy and run and in todays world thats what its all about. Unemployment has never been higher, fuel and electricity costs are more than the average family can take, there is a foreclosure on every block, half the country cant afford medical insurance, people with disabilities have to jump through hoops to get a check, by the time this generation gets old enough to draw social security there probably wont be any. Katrina victims are still living in fema trailers all the while the government is spending billions or is it trillions of dollars ( not to mention the lives of the young and brave men and women of this country)on a war that long should have been over. I think the people of this country are tired of the struggling while the government spends money on everything but them. The big US car makers shouldnt blame the people for buying a vehicle with in their means , the car companies should be going after the government to make changes to the system. When the government starts to support its own people, the people will be more apt to support the country. This is not meant to offend anyone its just my opinion. G-girl

PS : mininum wage is not much more then a gallon of gas (isnt that sad)

[Rudy]

In a free economy people will make the choices that meet their preferences. It is up to the corporate market research organizations to determine what the consumer preferences are and where they are headed, and make sure they'll have the products that people will want to buy.

[amie812]

It makes me sad to see that so many of America's business are going under because of foreign made products, and it's not only cars, it's about everything. This is all due to one reason....foreign people will work for less pay than we can afford to, therefore, their junk is cheaper. When it comes to cars, people either go for looks, or they go for price, and gas mileage. Although some of the American cars compete well with the gas mileage, they can not compete price wise. I bought a 2001 Kia Sephia a few years ago. The car was 1 year old with 23,000 miles, and in brand new condition $7,500 is what made me make the decision to buy that car instead of the Ford next to it that had almost the same condition, mileage, and age. But a $14,000 price tag. That's a huge difference. My car is still on the road and in good condition never had to replace a part either. It has almost 148,000 miles on it now. I don't know if many of the American cars could have withstood the abuse that I have put my car trough.

Now that I think of it though, I do have a '92 Ford Tempo that gets dirven about 4 or 5 times a month when my husband has somewhere to go. I have put more parts on that car than it's worth, and something new goes wrong with it every time he drives it.

[Buster]

I guess I will drive my big Ford truck and Harley Davidson till they both drop..My truck is almost paid for and my bike is..Things are not real good at this point in time for the car dealers..they want to make a deal..But who can afford to gas up a big gas tank and drive a SUV..They will be cheap here soon..and that is a shame..They are good vehicles to take on a trip for sure....Long trips will be an issue soon..that and buying gas..The next few years will tell the tale...Buster...