I'm Miffed at General Motors

I'm really upset with General Motors.  I'm mad a Ford too (I would be made at Chrysler, but it's no longer an American company).  Why am I mad?  Because I want to buy an American-made car!  But I'm not going to settle for inferior quality, frequent breakdowns, and a price that's as high as any other brand.  Hence, our garage is filled with a Toyota and a Subaru.  These cars replaced our Honda and our Nissan after 13 years and 10 years of great use respectively.

Why can't America build a better car?  Why can't we be the best at something we invented?  There are a lot of reasons, but one really jumped out at me while I was reading the July issue of Smart Money magazine.  In an article titled "What Went Wrong at GM?", it said (I'm putting chart numbers into words here):

"In 1977, hourly wages without benefits were $9.64 and with benefits they were $12.56.  In 2004, hourly wages without benefits were $36.96 and with benefits they were $73.73."

Let's do a little math here:

40 hours per week x 52 weeks per year = 2,080 hours per year

2,080 hours per year x $36.96 = $76,877 (This is what the average GM worker makes without benefits.  Not bad.  Not bad at all.  It's a lot more than I would have imagined for factory work, but it's not outrageous.  Yet.)

2,080 hours per week x $73.73 = $153,358 (This is what the average GM worker makes with benefits.)

Holy baloney, Batman!  Are you kidding me????!!!!! 

Do you think this is a bit over-the-top?  Do you think Mr. and Mrs. Average American will have any sympathy for American car companies and their workers when this is going on?  Do Japanese auto workers make this much?  Probably not.  They likely spend their money on useless things like engineering, advanced technology, and safety features.

Now I'm REALLY mad!!!!

Comments

[Eric]

haha im with you on this one. Ive only driven Japanese my whole life. Can't beat em

[savvy saver]

I don't know what you are griping about... my Honda was made in the USA, and my fiance's Chevy was made in Mexico. Buy a Honda and you are buying an American-made vehicle.

[Greg]

What benefits do GM workers receive that makes their payout so large?

[~Dawn]

Where is Saturn made? Isn't that an American car?

[JJ]

I don't see the connection. If I read the post correctly, you are saying that American car manufacturers (ACM) make a poor quality product because they pay their workers too much. I don't see a connection between the two.

Also, how does that compare with the Japanese car makers?

I don't have the answer to your posted question: Why can't America build a better car? I can, however, offer some observations. First, the ACMs don't seem to understand what consumers want. Let me use advertising as an example. The ACMs spend small fortunes to tell us how our lives will be better and our lifestyles more adventurous if we drive their largest SUV (I seldom see US small car commercials). By contrast, the Japanese car manufacturers focus on the more ordinary -- grocery store trips replace driving up mtns. While I don't blame advertising for the poor quality cars, I think it demonstrates a lack of addressing the desires of consumers.

I also have the impression that the ACMs spend most of their time fighting changes (eg, regulations, changing consumer attitudes, market forces) while the Japanese and Korean car manufacturers focus on adapting their operations to these changes. Perhaps that's just a function of size.

[Amanda]

I agree partially, but I don't think the companies have much choice. The labor unions have been getting out of hand lately and the car companies have to pay their workers pensions, health care, and other benifits. Other countries don't have to worry about paying their workers all those benifits. If the car companies don't want their workers to go on strike, they have no choice but to pay them that much.

it isn't GM that wants to pay exorbant healthcare costs... its the UAW that thinks they "deserve" those benifits, and they are "deserving" themselvs right out of a job... as for the "american made" honda.. its not where the car is assembled, its where the components are made, for every assembly job there is in a japaneese (or korean) assembly plant there are 40 jobs overseas making those parts... and guess what, by assembling here honda and toyota avoid paying tariffs on importing cars.. so they can make more money... so dont be fooled, that money your spending on an "american maqde" honda goes overseas.... (they gotta pay for the 40 people making the component that the one american bolts on somehow..

NOW as for quality, do some reasearch... its no longer the 80's earily 90's... american companys have come a long way and in many respects have HIGHER quality than ther japanese rivals.. its the public perception that is slow to change...
for example- toyota has had 3 major recalls on its new trucks (tailgats folding up due to poor design, camshafts breaking in half due to poor manufacturing (in japan I might add) and transmission issues that seem to be an engineering issue as well.. do a search on google if you dont want to take my word for it)