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Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008 | 2:05 a.m.
My wife and I own two cars, a Nissan and a Honda. U.S. automakers had almost the whole U.S. market at one time. They lost that customer loyalty because they made lousy vehicles for a long period and automakers in Japan and Europe made better cars.
It took years to get to the point where many Americans preferred foreign nameplates to Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. The U.S. automakers now make quality vehicles for the most part but many Americans still prefer foreign brands.
If anyone thinks that $34 billion is going to reverse what happened over many years, especially with foreign automakers fighting tooth and nail to keep their market share, he is dreaming. I don’t know how to fix the U.S. auto industry, but I am confident in saying that even with $100 billion, what happened over 25 years is not going to be reversed in even five years.
The $34 billion is just the beginning. Much more will be requested ... and it will not be long before the additional requests start.
I would like to add my 2 cents worth to Mike's comment. He's Right. I bought my first car in 1962 which was a 1957 Pontiac. For the next 25 years I kept buying American made cars. Starting in the 80s I switched to Toyota and Honda. Frankly I thought the imports were better made and more mechanically reliable. Unfortunately 2 years ago, I started buying American again (Ford and Chevy) -- what a mistake. The body work was OK, but mechanically, they're a piece of junk. Last month, I unloaded the Ford and bought a Hyundai after reading Consumer Reports. Do I feel guilty about buying a foreign nameplate? Take a guess. And he's also right about the bailout/handout --the American carmakers should just go bankrupt and start over again without the onerous union benefits package. That way, the carmakers might be able to compete on the basis of price as they are unable to compete on quality (though they claim that qualify is much improved over the past few years).
Here's a question to ask yourself where do you think all the profits go from your Honda purchases? You only get one guess. I have owned only US cars and have had little problem with them and the problems that I have had have been honored at no cost to me by the USA manufacturers. So much for loyalty to ones country.
At least Honda can show a profit. All GM, Ford and Chrysler can do is throw money down a rat hole. Doesn't it say something when none of the car makers can make a profit -- either the cost of business is too high or the sales price is too low. Guess which one it is.