I just love my new state of Virginia. Here in Virginia, because they are relatively inexpensive, there are a lot of "vanity" plates and I saw one on a Cadillac in my neighborhood that said, "Y BUY 4N". That makes me smile as I spent over twenty years working for an American automaker.
Recently, Ford and GM have been in the papers a lot. Motor Trend magazine editor said that for his entire adult life the American automobile makers have been trying to go out of business and he believes that they have the determination and stamina to make good on that quest.
Most people are unlikely to fully appreciate the complexity of the automotive industry but are usually pretty opinionated on exactly what a company like Ford or GM needs to do to get better. Likely, it's because most of us believe we have invested a small fortune in our vehicles from small little sport cars to fancy SUV's, and it give us at least an informed opinion on what it would take to be a good automobile company.
Roger Simmermaker is the editor of a website that shares the same sentiments as my neighbor who drives the Caddy with the vanity plate. Roger's website is http://www.howtobuyamerican.com/ and is full of information for those people that want to buy American. While I fully appreciate his sentiment, I'm not a fanatic as I'm neither a globalist nor a protectionist. However, I do like to be fully informed of product quality, value and opportunity and often feel I'm a little misinformed.
Roger wrote an article on Ford and GM that attempts to clear up some of the misperceptions that people have regarding the two remaining US automobile makers and I've given the link at the top of this blog for those that are interested in the article. It's a pretty good read.
Roger comments that while Ford and GM have been beating Toyota in quality in study after study, few Americans would be aware of the fact. Nevertheless, JD power & Associates rated both the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan higher than both the Camry and the Honda Accord this past year.
One of the other misperceptions is the greater investment that both Ford and GM have been making in existing US factories, usually with little or no tax breaks. Typically we hear of new Japanese and German investment in America and American companies creating US layoffs. Too bad because it just adds to the confusion and misperception of the investment that the US automakers continue to make in this economy.
The article states that American automotive employees involved in R&D are also much more likely to be working for either Ford or GM. Japanese companies, reports Roger, employ 3,600 American workers in R&D vs. 65,000 similarly skilled employees at Ford and GM.
His closing remarks regarding quality were the best. The recent 2006 J.D. Power 2006 dependability study identified the top five quality brands which were (in order): Lexus, Mercury, Buick, Cadillac and then Toyota. Lincoln and Ford brands were also in the top half of the quality mix, above many foreign brands that have the reputation for quality that may be not totally deserved.
Ford and GM have some work to do on their financial picture and if they follow the same path that got them to some relative success in their strive for quality, they'll make it.
