Paladin06

From: Gregory Knox, Pres. Knox Machinery Company Franklin, Ohio

Gentlemen:

In response to your request to contact legislators and ask for a bailout for the Big Three automakers please consider the following, and please pass my thoughts on to Troy Clark, President of General Motors North America.

Politicians and Management of the Big 3 are both infected with the same entitlement mentality that has spread like cancerous germs in UAW halls for the last countless decades, and whose plague is now sweeping this nation, awaiting our new "messiah", Pres-elect Obama, to wave his magic wand and make all our problems go away, while at the same time allowing our once great nation to keep "living the dream"… Believe me folks, The dream is over!

This dream where we can ignore the consumer for years while management myopically focuses on its personal rewards packages at the same time that our factories have been filled with the worlds most overpaid, arrogant, ignorant and laziest entitlement minded "laborers" without paying the price for these atrocities…this dream where you still think the masses will line up to buy our products for ever and ever.

Don't even think about telling me I'm wrong. Don't accuse me of not knowing of what I speak. I have called on Ford, GM, Chrysler, TRW, Delphi, Kelsey Hayes, American Axle and countless other automotive OEM's throughout the Midwest during the past 30 years and what I've seen over those years in these shops can only be described as disgusting.

Troy Clarke, President of General Motors North America, states: "There is widespread sentiment throughout this country, and our government, and especially via the news media, that the current crisis is completely the result of bad management which it certainly is not."

You're right Mr. Clarke, it's not JUST management…how about the electricians who walk around the plants like lords in feudal times, making people wait on them for countless hours while they drag ass…so they can come in on the weekend and make double and triple time…for a job they easily could have done within their normal 40 hour work week. How about the line workers who threaten newbies with all kinds of scare tactics…for putting out too many parts on a shift…and for being too productive

(We certainly must not expose those lazy bums who have been getting overpaid for decades for their horrific underproduction, must we?!?)

Do you folks really not know about this stuff?!? How about this great sentiment abridged from Mr. Clarke's sad plea: "over the last few years …we have closed the quality and efficiency gaps with our competitors." What the hell has Detroit been doing for the last 40 years?!? Did we really JUST wake up to the gaps in quality and efficiency between us and them? The K car vs. the Accord? The Pinto vs. the Civic?!? Do I need to go on? What a joke!

We are living through the inevitable outcome of the actions of the United States auto industry for decades. It's time to pay for your sins, Detroit.

I attended an economic summit last week where brilliant economist, Alan Beaulieu, from the Institute of Trend Research, surprised the crowd when he said he would not have given the banks a penny of "bailout money". "Yes, he said, this would cause short term problems," but despite what people like politicians and corporate magnates would have us believe, the sun would in fact rise the next day… and the following very important thing would happen…where there had been greedy and sloppy banks, new efficient ones would pop up…that is how a free market system works…it does work…if we would only let it work…"

But for some nondescript reason we are now deciding that the rest of the world is right and that capitalism doesn't work - that we need the government to step in and "save us"…Save us my ass, Hell - we're nationalizing…and unfortunately too many of our once fine nation's citizens don't even have a clue that this is what is really happening…But, they sure can tell you the stats on their favorite sports teams…yeah - THAT'S really important, isn't it…

Does it ever occur to ANYONE that the "competition" has been producing vehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades in this country?... How can that be??? Let's see… Fuel efficient… Listening to customers… Investing in the proper tooling and automation for the long haul…

Not being too complacent or arrogant to listen to Dr. W. Edwards Deming four decades ago when he taught that by adopting appropriate principles of management, organizations could increase quality and simultaneously reduce costs. Ever increased productivity through quality and intelligent planning… Treating vendors like strategic partners, rather than like "the enemy"… Efficient front and back offices… Non environment…

Again, I could go on and on, but I really wouldn't be telling anyone anything they really don't already know down deep in their hearts.

I have six children, so I am not unfamiliar with the concept of wanting someone to bail you out of a mess that you have gotten yourself into - my children do this on a weekly, if not daily basis, as I did when I was their age. I do for them what my parents did for me (one of their greatest gifts, by the way) - I make them stand on their own two feet and accept the consequences of their actions and work through it. Radical concept, huh… Am I there for them in the wings? Of course - but only until such time as they need to be fully on their own as adults.

I don't want to oversimplify a complex situation, but there certainly are unmistakable parallels here between the proper role of parenting and government. Detroit and the United States need to pay for their sins. Bad news people - it's coming whether we like it or not. The newly elected Messiah really doesn't have a magic wand big enough to "make it all go away." I laughed as I heard Obama "reeling it back in" almost immediately after the final vote count was tallied…"we really might not do it in a year…or in four…" Where the Hell was that kind of talk when he was RUNNING for office.

Stop trying to put off the inevitable folks … That house in Florida really isn't worth $750,000… People who jump across a border really don't deserve free health care benefits… That job driving that forklift for the Big 3 really isn't worth $85,000 a year… We really shouldn't allow Wal-Mart to stock their shelves with products acquired from a country that unfairly manipulates their currency and has the most atrocious human rights infractions on the face of the globe…

That couple whose combined income is less than $50,000 really shouldn't be living in that $485,000 home… Let the market correct itself folks - it will. Yes it will be painful, but it's gonna' be painful either way, and the bright side of my proposal is that on the other side of it all, is a nation that appreciates what it has…and doesn't live beyond its means…and gets back to basics…and redevelops the patriotic work ethic that made it the greatest nation in the history of the world…and probably turns back to God.

Sorry - don't cut my head off, I'm just the messenger sharing with you the "bad news". I hope you take it to heart.


Gregory J. Knox, President Knox Machinery, Inc. Franklin, Ohio 45005


PS: Let the foreign governments bail you out, you have moved more factories to their countries and are still moving them and making them more automated.

mopar2ya

Amen brother Paladin! Additionally, putting off the inevitible really only deepens the consequences... IMHO...

Thor77

I agree 99%. Very good points about the free market, the delusions under which some in this country are laboring, and the proper role of Government.

2 quibbles:

1) The "competition" ie Japan, has been working hand in glove with their government for years to protect itself from foreign competitors, and hold the value of the Yen down keeping their prices low. See http://www.freep.com/article/2008120...ON02/812020330 for a nice summary, as well as some points about the role of investment markets that are in line with the opinions of the original post.

2) Not allowing wal-mart to stock products from China seems to run counter to the whole free-market theme of the post. Perhaps Mr. Knox is endorsing a trade embargo with China on moral grounds, not just telling wal-mart to buy American? That would be more logically consistent, though the practicality is debatable.

brentmannrt09

I hate to agree but it seems inevitable that something drastic has to change and the arrogance for so long has cause this issue to come to a head. I would really hate to see any US company fail but as they say only the strong (and smart) will survive. Seems Ford has been making better moves than that of GM and Chrysler. At least the Bailout money seems to go to a tangible product whereas the bank bailout money has thus far been "invisible" and unaccounted for!

rickerda

Great letter, it's nice to know there are still some people out there that can think.

captainsteve57

Yes indeed.

lear4406

Alas... someone who can say what I have been trying to. My sentiments exactly. If we are capatalist, then lets be that. Its always painful at first, but where does the lesson lie that will bring about change? We have to live within our means and we must expect fair pay for what we do. If we are honest then lets be honest, even if it hurts. Go back to keeping it simple and within our means, even if we have to wait or save up. I'm still waiting on the Challenger even though I could pull the trigger on it now. Still looking for what I think is a good deal. You would think the dealers would be trying to sell these cars but I talk to them and they still have them over priced. $ 38,000 for a 6-speed R/T with options I don't want. They say I'll have to wait until April to get an ordered one with what I want. By then the deal will be to pick up a used 2009 and get what deal I'm looking for. So I am patiently waiting and hope car fever does not get worse

RLSH700

Although I don't approve of some of the language used in here, there is a lot of truth in that article. I frankly am tired of this attitude that we must always go to the Government "our savior" anytime something goes wrong. The fact of the matter is they more often than not have a hand in what caused the whole problem. Increasing regulations in fuel economy, safety, emissions, etc. hasn't helped the situation either. There are a few things that I disagree with.

The K-cars were good for their day and I fail to see how the K-car was so inferior to the Accord DURING the same time period. The Pinto I will agree on; however, the Big Three have produced plenty of quality cars during since from the 80s until now. The problem is they have messed up on quite a few that has failed to confirm the quality improvements, or they let elements besides reliability slide. The good looking Tauruses had quality problems with the transmissions and the 3.8L Essex engine. The ugly catfish styled Taurus pretty much fixed the quality problems, the problem was it was so darn ugly inside and out, uncomfortable, and got lousy fuel mileage. The Escort was a reliable model all in all, but its only real advantage was fuel economy as the interior was bland, the comfort was bad, and it was unrefined. The Focus had quality issues initially but they got on track though it is ugly. The Neon had everything going for it, except reliability. The Cavalier was a complete mistake. The Cobalt has been as well. The Contour was a huge failure in quality compared to the bland Tempo. The GM A-body and N-body cars had lots of problems. The W-body cars in the earlier years had more quality issues, the later years have been quite reliable as the Regal at one point out did the Camry and I believe the Accord for reliability. The earlier 2.7L V6 Chrysler models had oil sludge problems. Most of everything else has been reasonably okay, but these mistakes have left their marks.

I know this is probably a controversial view, but I believe that EVERYONE associated with the Big Three deserve a pay cut, including the retirees (I don't believe in cutting them off entirely but somewhere around a 1/3 to a 1/2 cut as they arguably created a lot of this problem by not resolving the issue back in their days). We need to understand that we are all in this together and the only way we are going to get through this is if we are all willing to make the sacrifices to keep them together, if we do not, we will all fail and loose everything divided.