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| Domestic Follies. |
| 11.24.05 (9:30 am) [edit] |
|
Well, I just finished more than a year working in the "domestic" car business, in the service department. With the greatest mercy, I fell "victim" of the slashing and burning that is all the rage at GM these days. For those GM diehards out there (if there are any reading my blogs) here is some inside info on GM: It is going tits up in a hurry. The reason is simple: they were not selling enough cars. What they do sell is utter crap. They only time they ever sold cars was when there was a major incentive happening and invariably GM lost money on every unit sold. This is not a good way to do business. Then there is demographics; the vast majority of customers at my GM store were white, working class and had only high school education. They had annual incomes of less than $30,000 a year. More telling is most of them smoked and few had internet connections at home so they did not bother to research their purchase. They could not afford more than a basic car and had trouble getting financing. They did not have the sense to go out and buy a ten year old Honda. Do you realise how much profit a dealer sees from say, an Aveo? About $300,that is how much. At least half were senior citizens who were probably driving their last car. Look at demographics in Canada and the USA; at least 40% of people are non-Caucasian. Do you see minorities buying GM cars? No, you don't. GM has failed to see changes in market conditions and adapt their products likewise. This city is 50% Asian and they drive Hondas and Toyotas, which they correctly see as being better value than GM cars. Ignoring the ethnic Asian market has been a huge mistake for GM and the other domestics, too. Then there is product. GM built the J-car, the Cavalier and Sunfire, basically unchanged since 1981, twenty four years! The bread and butter of the auto industry is building brand loyalty from first time buyers. If they are satisfied with the product and dealer service, they will continue to buy the brand. GM stuck with the same, worn-out designs for far too long causing new generations of buyers to move to other brand they correctly saw as being more innovative and better designed. I do not buy the "we must lobby Ottawa to open foreign markets" BS from Buzz Hargrove one iota. I was working in Japan the last time Ford and GM got big into this, in 1996. I have some news for you: the cars Toyota and Honda sell in North America are not the same as they sell in Japan. Shit, 81% of Honda and Toyotas sold on Canada are made here anyway....but in non-union plants They did market research and built models to suit the local market. What did GM do? They converted the Cavalier to right hand drive and installed the awful 2.4 litre Quad Four in it. Now, what is wrong with this picture? Well, Japan (and most other countries, too, by the way) taxes cars based on engine displacement. A 2.4 litre motor puts you into semi-luxury status in Japan, meaning taxes of about $5000 per year on a Cavalier. Who in Japan is going to pay that kind of money for a poor design with a rough motor? Not many. Ford did even worse with a 3.8 litre Taurus, which is in $10,000 per year taxes. The Japanese pay exactly the same taxes on locally produced cars. If GM actually made a product that a Japanese consumer wanted, they might sell some there. Then there is GM quality, or lack thereof; do you know that every GM 60 degree V-6 made in the last ten years has an intake manifold gasket designed to fail immediately after the warranty expires? It is $1000 to fix it at a GM shop. How about the North Star? Well, it has a two piece block that guarantees oil leaks after three years. How about electrics? All Japanese and Daimler-Chrysler cars have digital electrics. A simple scan can find electrical problems in these cars but not GM; their architecture is at least fifteen years old. Just finding the fault takes time, that after 60,000 km you pay for, assuming a GM mechanic can ever find it. I once had a customer, deeply in debt for an SUV that GM discounted on him a week after he bought it. It was now worth less than the loan on it. GM cars are designed to self destruct at the end of their warranty, which is 36 months or 60,000 km, whatever comes first. At 60,001 the car will start to fall apart. This guy, a construction type stated to me "It is like the thing was designed to fall apart after the warranty expired. I guess I am just unlucky." I could not tell him the truth; he was 100% correct. So there you have it. GM has a tired product line, an aging customer base and poor quality. It has taken its customers for granted for too long and is now paying the price. |
| Where is Marmot? |
| 11.10.05 (7:15 pm) [edit] |
|
Even after being out if Korea almost two years, I still occassionally follow events there, to find that they are still the same as when I left..... However, I do wonder where Marmot has gone. He was one of the most prolific Korea bloggers out there, although he self-censored like crap after he started working at the Chosun Ilbo. Lately, he has let too many other people post on this blog, too. Still, he used to provide some interesting insight on Korea affairs. I wonder what happened to him? Anyone know? ***You Passed the US Citizenship Test*** Congratulations - you got 8 out of 10 correct! Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test? http://www.blogthings.com/couldyoupasstheusciti zenshiptestquiz/" title="http://www.blogthings.com/couldyoupasstheusciti zenshiptestquiz/" target="_blank"http://www.blogthings.com/cou... I wonder how many Americans could pass a Canadian citizenship quiz? 1. Who was Canada's most famous drunk? a. Lyin' Brian Mulroney. b. Jaques Parizeau. c. Sir John A MacDonald. d. All the inhabitants of Duncan BC. 2. How many provinces are there? a. What is a province? b.I don't know, I only read the Sun. c.Ten d. I am too drunk to remember. 3. What is Canada's national food? a. Beer and pizza b. Canadian Bacon. c. Poutine. d. Vomit. 4. When was Confederation? a. When Robert E Lee was born. b. I was a card game I played with Korean kids. c. 1867 d. I am too drunk to think of a number that high. 5. What is the capital of Canada? a. Toronto. b. Montreal. c. Vancouver. d. Molson. 6. Why are all white Canadian women over the age of 40 so fat, ugly and angry? a. Because their Visa cards are maxed out. b. Because the femanazism they learned in university has left the childless, mateless and overweight. c. Because all the nice guys they beat on about being part of the "patriarchy" are now married to hot Asian chicks and have cute kids. d. Because they were born fat, ugly and angry. 7. What are the two official languages of Canada? a. English and French. b. English and Slurring. c. English and Ranting. d. Chinese and Hindi. 8. What is the worst vehicle ever made in Canada? a.The Bricklin. b. The Chevrolet Cavalier. c. The Vega. d. Fat, ugly, angry white women over the age of 40 (which nobody wants to drive either!) 9.What is "Newfoundland?" a. I place where everthing looks, tastes adn smells like fish. b. The biggest welfare case in the world. c. A blighted rock in the Atlantic with come of the nicest people one can ever meet. d. The most fun place to get drunk in the world. 10. When is Canada's (real) Independence Day? a. December 11. b. July 1. c. July 4. d. The last Wednesday of the month. I will post the answers soon as I get some comments with their best guesses! |