American made tractors?

[redneckford]

"My GrandFather had a Doctor like that----All he did was dispense medicine---Take a Fifth of this whiskey and call me in a few days!!!!"

Now, that is a doctor i like to have

Now you know why all my "Friends" keep their 8N's around---They tell their wives they are making ethanol to run their tractor---They do alot of taste testing to get it just RIGHT!!! I think they call ethanol Moonshine in WVA???

 

[redneckford]

redneckford - Japan has a current account surplus of 100 billion dollars. S. Korea has a 30 or so billion dollar current account surplus. This seems to be where many CUT imports are built.

How is the USA subsidizing them in anyway?

The CAW union boss I was telling you about earlier was also arguing that the reason for the demise of the big 3 was because Japan's market wasn't sufficiently open enough - presumably because he believes that the Japanese are eager to sell their Toyotas, Nissans and buy Humvees.

I do not argue that the fact that some tarriff barriers still exist distorts the benefits of free trade. However, is is a long long shot away from why manufacturing is shifting away from the USA.

Back in the 80s and early 90s the big three used the argument that the imports built elsewhere where labour was cheaper and people worked 100 hrs a week barefoot. Thats why they were losing market share. Now they are building right here in N.America - paying similar wages and benefits.

The real blame lies with management and the lack of strategic thinking on the part of these companies. Unions and the trade barriers, while they exist, have a much smaller impact.

I do also (slightly) blame the buyer who buys their product knowing that it is inferior simply in order to 'support' the product simply because it is local, and the government that throws business a corporate welfare bone. I understand the buyers sentiment in wanting to support what his friends product. We would not be human if we were not sensitive to the plight of those around us whose jobs were at risk. But ... I cannot forgive the sentiment of the government and the taxpayer when the choose to reward inferior companies. You don't see businesses that are doing well on their own in the corporate welfare line asking for a bailout. The governments job should be to bear the bigger picture in mind.

I do agree with you that a fantastic product - CUT or car can be made in the American and N. America. You can't do it however if mediocrity is rewarded just because it is local.

Didn't Nissan go broke and Renault bought them out????----With all those Government give aways that they got From the STATE of ALABAMA to build their plant there!!!
And How much money did Toyota ask for from the European Union the other day??
Sounds like government subsidies to me!

 

[Builder]

Yes, Nissan got bailed out by Renault about 10 years ago.

 

[Builder]

Just thought I'd add that I saw on the news today that FORD has EIGHT private jets for their coporate officers. GM has FIVE corporate jets and are selling 2 of them.

This kind of nonsense needs to stop if we're supposed to help these guys.

 

[BungeeII]

Does anyone know the role of the government in Japan's rise to popularity in autos and tractors? More to the point, how much tax relief or financial assistance did Toyota receive by their own government over the years? As they began to displace American-made product, how much of that was made possible by a much-reduced tax burden at the point of manufacture? One of the things I wonder most about is just how much American employers pay on various employee income taxes as well as their own corporate taxes in comparison to their foreign counterparts. I'd love to see a side-by-side comparison. It's bad enough when you can't compete with extremely low labor rates, but when you tack on insurances and tax burdens, it's any wonder we make anything anymore.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I fly a corporate jet for a living. Have been doing so since 1999. They have there place and many times its the cheapest way to go. Our company always compares price to the airlines for each trip and takes that in to account. One thing for sure is you do not show up asking for money in one. How dumb are they or like that congress man said, "you just don't get it".

Today I am in Tulsa Ok. To get there for Muncie Indiana requires a drive to Indianapolis, then a flight to Chicago, Dallas, then Tulsa. The same for the return trip and takes all day. We got here in 1:36 minutes. Corporate jets sell time, that's it.

Chris

 

[BungeeII]

Just thought I'd add that I saw on the news today that FORD has EIGHT private jets for their coporate officers. GM has FIVE corporate jets and are selling 2 of them.

This kind of nonsense needs to stop if we're supposed to help these guys.

And Nanci Pelosi complained that hers was too small and wanted the larger one like the VP gets. Point is, who's going to stop them? I'd further ask, is the ease by which they travel really a problem that needs correcting?

 

[Heywood Jannockitov]

There will always be a place for business aircraft where time is money, not to mention added safety and security flying point to point. The company I work for manufactures commercial and business aircraft and also use them as corporate shuttles between plants, bypassing airport terminals completely. Not just for upper-level mgmt. but any employee with a need to travel between facilities.

If we can't use the company shuttle and have to fly commercial, basically an extra day is wasted and hotels, rental cars have to be booked. All these extra incidental costs add up. I can come to work in T.O, fly to Mtl. on company shuttle for meetings, return to T.O. and be home in time for dinner. Otherwise, flying commercial, I am stuck staying overnight.

Companies that feel the need to unload some or all of their own fleet, have other options such as fractional ownership or maybe the burgeoning air-taxi business. I guess this would just be another form of outsourcing. This is very much a global market and sales (hopefully) will remain strong in Asia and the middle east even though NA sales are in the tank.

 

[redneckford]

People do business with people I understand that!! But other ways of communications are available now----it is called the computer and web meetings etc. Why the need for so many face to face meetings if time is money----Is the need to kick the tires and see eye to eye a cultural thing or something that needs to die a quick death like high taxes and insurance cost---If you can not take someones word on the ground at one of your plants you need to fire their --- and get someone that you can trust----I have flew all over the US to all kinds of meetings dealing with tractors and equipment and I have learned many things from the other common Joe's like me that were at the same meetings---very little from the suits in front of the room----They seem to be worried about tee time or depart time and not about the business at hand! Alot of knowledge transfer is now web based whether it is how to fix a lawnmower or what that repo house looks like that you have for collateral----(Do we really need two people to go look at the bad deal or will one e-mail picture do)Why do we need so many plane rides everyday to do business with all this technology available. Just like Congress---I watched as all those folks flew back to Washington to grill the Auto Exec's about their private planes but no one asked how much fuel Congress had wasted this year going back and forth to D.C. (Buy 'em some cots)Some of us are just living too high on the hog---cuts begin at home today. A public servant is not someone with their hand out all the time----It is OUR Fault---Just Look in the Mirror! College Educations by remote control and key board imagine the savings!!!!!

 

[MossRoad]

I fly a corporate jet for a living. Have been doing so since 1999. They have there place and many times its the cheapest way to go. Our company always compares price to the airlines for each trip and takes that in to account. One thing for sure is you do not show up asking for money in one. How dumb are they or like that congress man said, "you just don't get it".

Today I am in Tulsa Ok. To get there for Muncie Indiana requires a drive to Indianapolis, then a flight to Chicago, Dallas, then Tulsa. The same for the return trip and takes all day. We got here in 1:36 minutes. Corporate jets sell time, that's it.

Chris

Taking a $30,000,000.00 + Gulfstream from Detroit to D.C. for one person to beg for money at an estimated cost of $20,000.00 for the flight when a first class ticket could be had for $800.00 round trip is just plain stupid. Period.