What a funny old world! Who would have thought George Bush would become a great socialist hero, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Lenin, Marx and Stalin. He’s already nationalised banks and insurance companies and now GM, Ford and Chrysler may be next. General Motors, one-time paragon of American capitalism, may only survive thanks to government aid and growth in China. If I’d suggested that a year ago, Mr Editor McNamara would have had me certified.
I am always wary of the state meddling with car makers, although most car companies – from Toyota to Mercedes – have been aided by governments at some stage, and to some degree, in their histories. But when companies are so clearly flawed – shades of the old British Leyland – maybe it’s better to let them die naturally rather than endure regular resuscitations before the inevitable funeral.
I mean, how many times does Chrysler have to stumble before someone realises it’s a duffer? Instead of having their fingers on the pulse of the great American car buyer, they’ve had their hands down their own trousers, as they’ve kept serving up guzzling SUVs, pick-ups and sedans – testosterone overriding intelligence. GM and Ford in America haven’t been much cleverer.
Ancien regime vs the new powers
Mind you, various pundits suggest that America could get by just fine if the Japanese transplants (Japanese companies making cars in America) blossom to fill the void left by the Tiny Trio (née Big Three). The same is still said about Britain’s car industry, now that the home-owned UK car makers have gone bust or been sold to Indians, Germans, Americans, Malaysians or Arabs. Toyota, Nissan and Honda – all making good quality cars in the Land of UK – are filling the void! Production has grown! Rejoice!
What a load of nonsense. There is a world of difference between a country that makes cars – currently that includes about half of the world’s developed countries and a growing number of developing nations – and a country that conceives, engineers, designs and develops cars (step forward Germany, Japan, the USA, France, Italy, Britain, Sweden, South Korea and that’s about it). The transplants may keep the blue-collar boys in work, and good luck to them. But the head offices, R&D centres and design studios are where the big well-paid jobs are done; the jobs that our children aspire to, the sort of jobs on which modern, well educated societies depend. If America (and the same for Britain) loses the ability to conceive cars, and becomes a mere assembler of cars, then its engineering and manufacturing future is dodgy. When a cheaper car-making alternative is available, the foreign-owned makers will be off to another country. Cheap is never a competitive advantage for long.
In Britain, the only car companies that do a vast amount of automotive engineering are Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan and Ford of Europe. In America, the big engineering players are GM, Ford and Chrysler. For the American car – American in spirit, not just in place of manufacture – to survive, at least one of the ‘Big Three’ needs to prosper. That strikes me as a good reason for Comrade Bush to bail-out at least some part of the benighted US car industry.
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