Ford Thinks Japanese Companies Might Be Related

[Mulboyne]

[homesweethome]

It Finally dawned on them?

What idiots.

[Big Booger]

Faced with the need to ramp up production of its hybrid lineup amid soaring gas prices, Ford says it may now began looking into domestic firms with the capabilities of supplying the crucial hybrid components.

Why in the hell haven't they been doing this from the beginning? And people wonder why there are no jobs in the United States...

[emperor]

Cnn a little late with this story:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/AUTOS/09/20/bc.autos.summit.ford.hybrids.reut/index.html

[Greji]

It Finally dawned on them?

What idiots.

Weren't those some of the same brilliant thinkers from the foreign sales department who at one time stated "you mean they drive on the left side of the road over there?

[Charles]

I guess Ford/Mazda/Volvo/Jaguar/Land Rover/Aston-Martin hasn't quite figured out this keiretsu thing.

[Mulboyne]

Cincinnati Post: Don't blame Japan

On Nov. 22 after a speech at the National Press Club, Ford Motor Co. Chairman Bill Ford told the media, with apparent earnestness, that his company "can compete with Toyota, but we can't compete with Japan." This is an old myth. Ford's competitive problem, according to its chief executive, is driven by the unfair advantages that the Japanese government allegedly bestows on its auto companies - government-funded health care for workers, government support for the pension system and subsidies to develop the batteries needed for hybrid vehicles. What makes this claim so extraordinary is that Japanese companies, led by Toyota Motor Corp., are thrashing Ford by building vehicles in North American factories with North American-made parts and North American workers, who receive American-style wages and health benefits. About 65 percent of the vehicles Toyota sells in North America it assembles in North America, and it would assemble a much higher proportion here if it could only keep up with its rapid sales growth...more...

[Catoneinutica]

The shaken system is certainly an "advantage that the Japanese government bestows on its auto companies," and there's nothing alleged about it. A massive subsidy of the J-auto industry, financed by the long-suffering J-consumer.

[American Oyaji]

I was just thinking about that yesterday as I was driving.

I was thinking that you would almost NEVER see a 15 year old car on the road in Japan.

HOWEVER Catone, it IS a global economy and I'd bet that Japanese companies sell most of their vehicles OUTSIDE of Japan.

Problem is American carmakers are not near as innovative as their Japanese counterparts.

[Catoneinutica]

I was just thinking about that yesterday as I was driving.

I was thinking that you would almost NEVER see a 15 year old car on the road in Japan.

HOWEVER Catone, it IS a global economy and I'd bet that Japanese companies sell most of their vehicles OUTSIDE of Japan.

Problem is American carmakers are not near as innovative as their Japanese counterparts.

Agreed, AO. Speaking as a person who's bought only Hondas, I'd be the last to defend the US auto industry. Still, the J-auto industry is impressively cartelized, and the big boys keep their suppliers on pretty damn short leases. I mean, we're talking choke-chains. And second-tier manufacturers in Japan have labor standards that are roughly equal to Cambodia, if not slightly lower.

[Ketou]

And second-tier manufacturers in Japan have labor standards that are roughly equal to Cambodia, if not slightly lower.

From what I've seen labor standards are not that bad, certainly not to be compared with Cambodia. Japanese companies also have a higher retention rate than the US.
In some ways we have America to thank for labor standards here. They did after all do away with the right to strike and the right for public sector workers to bargain.