It Ain't About The Cars Options

[Critter]

There is a lot of intrigue and drama associated with the automobile industry. But the least intriguing thing about the automobile industry is cars.

I worked for the automobile industry. And while it was exciting to see that first snap shot of some hot new car design in Crain's Automotive News, we all knew that that hot new car design was probably just some shinny new skin slapped on top of age old technology.

The Automobile manufacturers in the United States are kick ass business men. The Automobile Manufacturers know how the game is played in the United States, hell they ARE the game. And the idea that some Japanese company will put Ford Motor Company out of business has to be the biggest joke anyone could ever conceive. Most of the American Automobile Manufacturers OWN or are investors in a Japanese company. As I said, American Automobile Manufacturers KNOW how the game is played in the United States, they ARE the game.

Years before the IT industry caught on to the fact that jobs and services were being outsourced off shore, the United Autoworkers were demanding job security in their employment contracts, demanding that there be a limit to how many of their jobs could be lost to automation and outsourcing off shore.

Walking around the Detroit Metro Area, you can't possibly get an accurate picture of exactly how much money there is in the Automobile industry and exactly how well paid auto workers (all auto workers) are.

I can remember working for Ford Motor Company in Detroit in the 80's when (according to what was appearing in the newspapers) it was a "given" that the American automobile industry was dead and that autoworkers would never ever be employed again. I saw some poor unemployed suffering auto workers get five and ten thousand dollar unemployment checks on top of the 75% of their income that they were being paid by their unions and on top of the special unemployment checks they were getting from the federal government under the Trade Readjustment Act. I saw these poor unfortunate autoworkers run out of the unemployment office and buy (what else?) new cars.

The recognized source for news on all things automotive is Automotive News