I am really tired of the lack of civility in American society, particularly when it comes to political discourse. Really, people seem to judge your character today by whether you are a "conservative" or a "liberal." I have people ask me straight up if I am a conservative, perhaps probing my worthiness as an American. Then they will proceed to tell me that they are a "conservative." What does that mean, exactly? If I tell them I am a "liberal", they will look at me like I am some sort of evil person. O.K., well, maybe a conservative is someone who is a "fan" of Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh. And, yes, a strong dislike for President Obama (excuse me, Barrack Hussein Obama), the right to guns, and hatred for abortion is essential!
Some of this has to do with where I live, here in the backwaters of Indiana, the cornfield that time forgot. Indiana is just a few states away from the Deep South...the real Deep South. Consequently, I think a great deal of the present hostility is just disguised racism. The n word is never used any more, but rest assured, it is never far from the surface in any discussion.
But look below the surface and you'll find that the devil is in the details. Barry Goldwater, the Republican candidate for president in 1964 and an acknowledged conservative senator from Arizona, famously stated that the federal government had no business legislating abortion...which he viewed as personal decision. This is a libertarian point of view...which would seem to make sense to the anti-government types that fill the ranks of modern conservatives. This gives conservatives a lot of trouble rationalizing their agenda...they need government to enforce anti-abortion laws!
"Liberal" is just a word for being open-minded, which strikes me as just about right, given that conservatives seem to have closed minds. Listening to Beck and LImbaugh doesn't count, because those types are self-admitted entertainers, and the 20% or so of their audience that laps them up seems to go along for the ride, ignorant of what they're being conned into.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Auto industry
It is certainly sad to see the domestic auto industry struggling. The U.S. auto industry played a valuable role in making the United States an economic powerhouse in the 20th century. There is plenty of blame to go around, but the key reasons are as follows:
1. The U.S. auto industry, in the 1970s and 1980s, chose to build cars that lacked the quality and often the features that consumers wanted. This led to a mass defection of customers to Asian brands.
2. In the 1990s, the industry found salvation with the S.U.V. craze. But this only hid the fundamental problems created above. They should have plowed their profits from S.U.V.s into a broader product range, including smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles.
It is true that domestic automobiles are of very high quality today. But GM, Ford, and Chrysler have lost a generation or two of consumers who would rather buy Toyotas and Hondas.
What ever happened to the large, rear-wheel drive American sedan? Or the intermediate-type Chevelle/Fairlane-type car?
Domestic producers have been criticized for their indulgence in SUVs. But truly, they were only giving customers what they wanted. Cars are a fashion statement, and people wanted to present the image to their neighbors of being rugged and tough. Of course, few of these SUVs ever went off-road, and I would guess that only a small percentage of SUV buyers ever towed anything. Yes, a little bit of innovation into products that were not SUVs would have been very helpful...i.e., DON'T follow the market. When you follow fashion, you are doomed to fickle consumer wants that can change overnight, and that is what is happening now. And it could change tomorrow, as fuel prices crash. Wouldn't that be something, after GM has cancelled its next generation of big SUVs?
Now, high fuel prices have attacked Detroit when it desperately needed breathing room to revise its product mix. The recent credit squeeze has furthered impacted Detroit's ability to provide financing to customers.
Oddly, now is a great time to buy a large SUV or truck. The money saved would more than compensate for poor fuel mileage. And some of the other vehicles produced are simply terrific, like the Cadillac CTS and Ford Flex. The Cadillac CTS is truly a world-class car, better than anything the Asian carmakers can produce. And some great products are in the pipeline, like the Chevy Camaro and Volt.
A merger between Chrysler and GM would not be in the best interests of either company, also. Let's hope things change quickly and such drastic events don't happen. A merger of two weak companies only creates one very large weak company (think Studebaker and Packard in the mid-1950s).
If you visit car shows today, you almost never see Asian "classic cars." That would seem to be an oxymoron. In my opinion, the Asian cars that have been sold for the past 30 years are equivalent to refrigerators....very competent but terrible boring. Go on E-bay, for example, and see how many mid-80s Toyotas and Hondas are for sale. There is a reason for this. Who wants to brag that they own a "classic" 1980 Toyota Corolla? Only domestic cars have provided the style, power, and driving experience that Americans have traditionally wanted in a car. A world with only little Toyotas, Hondas, and Hyundis would be a sad world indeed.
1. The U.S. auto industry, in the 1970s and 1980s, chose to build cars that lacked the quality and often the features that consumers wanted. This led to a mass defection of customers to Asian brands.
2. In the 1990s, the industry found salvation with the S.U.V. craze. But this only hid the fundamental problems created above. They should have plowed their profits from S.U.V.s into a broader product range, including smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles.
It is true that domestic automobiles are of very high quality today. But GM, Ford, and Chrysler have lost a generation or two of consumers who would rather buy Toyotas and Hondas.
What ever happened to the large, rear-wheel drive American sedan? Or the intermediate-type Chevelle/Fairlane-type car?
Domestic producers have been criticized for their indulgence in SUVs. But truly, they were only giving customers what they wanted. Cars are a fashion statement, and people wanted to present the image to their neighbors of being rugged and tough. Of course, few of these SUVs ever went off-road, and I would guess that only a small percentage of SUV buyers ever towed anything. Yes, a little bit of innovation into products that were not SUVs would have been very helpful...i.e., DON'T follow the market. When you follow fashion, you are doomed to fickle consumer wants that can change overnight, and that is what is happening now. And it could change tomorrow, as fuel prices crash. Wouldn't that be something, after GM has cancelled its next generation of big SUVs?
Now, high fuel prices have attacked Detroit when it desperately needed breathing room to revise its product mix. The recent credit squeeze has furthered impacted Detroit's ability to provide financing to customers.
Oddly, now is a great time to buy a large SUV or truck. The money saved would more than compensate for poor fuel mileage. And some of the other vehicles produced are simply terrific, like the Cadillac CTS and Ford Flex. The Cadillac CTS is truly a world-class car, better than anything the Asian carmakers can produce. And some great products are in the pipeline, like the Chevy Camaro and Volt.
A merger between Chrysler and GM would not be in the best interests of either company, also. Let's hope things change quickly and such drastic events don't happen. A merger of two weak companies only creates one very large weak company (think Studebaker and Packard in the mid-1950s).
If you visit car shows today, you almost never see Asian "classic cars." That would seem to be an oxymoron. In my opinion, the Asian cars that have been sold for the past 30 years are equivalent to refrigerators....very competent but terrible boring. Go on E-bay, for example, and see how many mid-80s Toyotas and Hondas are for sale. There is a reason for this. Who wants to brag that they own a "classic" 1980 Toyota Corolla? Only domestic cars have provided the style, power, and driving experience that Americans have traditionally wanted in a car. A world with only little Toyotas, Hondas, and Hyundis would be a sad world indeed.
Monday, October 13, 2008
World Wide Financial Panic - Following the Crowd
If there was any doubt that most humans are followers, the recent events of the stock market sure do show it. At the first sign of fear, people will inevitably bail out. This, of course, is the "fire in a crowded theatre" syndrome. It is the same mentality that causes people to buy the latest fashion, pile on to the hottest sports team, and the like. (Sigh.)
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
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