Why Ford Motor Company is in trouble

[JustRalph]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21994920


Ford Motor Company likes to blame a bunch of things for why they are in trouble. How about this one.

They produce a vehicle that explodes when involved in a crash. Several police officers have been injured. They are now selling a special repair system to retard the chance of fire in the vehicle they built. It reminds me of the Pinto of years past. Except now they are charging for the fix.

The State of Ohio is going to spend a ton of money to insulate the State Troopers against fire in a vehicle that has design flaws. This is amazing!


~snip~
Union, State Strike Deal To Prevent Trooper Cruiser Fires
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Equipment that would douse fires in the fuel tanks of State Highway Patrol cruisers will be installed sooner and at a lower cost under a deal struck between the troopers' union and the state.

Arizona-based F.I.R.E. Panel LLC has agreed to wrap the fuel tanks of the patrol's Crown Victoria cruisers in a protective cocoon that releases fire suppressants when ruptured. The Ohio Department of Public Safety has asked a legislative panel for authority to buy 1,630 of the systems for $395 per car, or $643,850, less than a fifth the cost troopers negotiated in their contract this summer.

The union pushed for the protection after two troopers - Trooper Joshua P. Risner and Patrol Sgt. Dale R. Holcomb - were killed in a fiery crash near Gallipolis in 2006.

But Ford Motor Co., the cruisers' manufacturer, does not endorse the cheaper technology over the Ford-installed systems first demanded in the union contract.

~more at the link~

[ljb]

Note. It took a Union to force Ford and the State to provide safe vehicles. Like I said "only thing that matters to these corporate sponsored neocons is the bottom line".

[kenwoodallpromos]

Originally Posted by ljb

Note. It took a Union to force Ford and the State to provide safe vehicles. Like I said "only thing that matters to these corporate sponsored neocons is the bottom line".

"June 2007- Bargaining representatives, union leadership, and the governor’s office are very pleased at the successful conclusion of the talks."
Web says current Gov. Strickland is a Democrat who endorses Hillary Clinton. Who are the Ohio Neocons you mentioned?

[kenwoodallpromos]

"Hershel M. Sigall, general counsel for the Ohio State Troopers Association, said the switch from more expensive fire-suppression devices will mean protecting all patrol cars - not just new ones - by early 2008.

"The other way, people might be driving a vehicle two years or 16 months before they are able to avail themselves of this level of protection," he said."
Appearantly Ford just does not do after-market installation. The lower cost systems were to cover the cars now in use and then maybe new cars.
But I did not know the party afiliation of the Ford execs.
"http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/external/pre-election/pacs/C00046474.html?SITE=WIMIL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DE FAULT>
Like many big companies they bribe both parties!

[Tom]

One of the main reason all US auto companies are in decline is the UAW - Useless Auto Workers. Greedly little bastards destroying our economy. Institutionalized laziness and low efficency. And overpaid by at least 500%.

[samyn on the green]

Don't worry about it, they have a solution for this challenge. These high maintaince Americans are out the door. Cheap labor is being imported daily from accross the border. The expensive American working class is no longer needed. Get rich or get on welfare but there is no job for you.

Originally Posted by Tom

One of the main reason all US auto companies are in decline is the UAW - Useless Auto Workers. Greedly little bastards destroying our economy. Institutionalized laziness and low efficency. And overpaid by at least 500%.

[Tom]

Actually, the foreign car companies area building plants here, hiring Americans here, turning out better cards here, without unions. Had Ford and GM acted responisible and not caved in to the ridiculous UAW demands over the years, maybe many of the jobs lost would have stayed here. It is the fault of both sides - uncontrollable greed.

But I think the current situation shows exactly how unions stymie prodcutivity and growth.

[ljb]

Originally Posted by kenwoodallpromos

"June 2007- Bargaining representatives, union leadership, and the governor’s office are very pleased at the successful conclusion of the talks."
Web says current Gov. Strickland is a Democrat who endorses Hillary Clinton. Who are the Ohio Neocons you mentioned?

would have to do some more research but Strickland could be a neocon. Hillary is a moderate Republican and acts like a neocon at times.

[Jeff P]

I don't usually post in off topic. But this thread caught my eye/ire...

Once upon a time I was a kid fresh out of college... with a brand new accounting degree... where in college among other things I learned about how free markets work... how companies that innovate and whose mission statement is to satisfy customer needs excel at generating sales and profits.

Fresh out of college (May, 1984) I took a job as an Office Manager at a Ford Dealership in the White Mountains of AZ. At the time I could have gone to work for any accounting firm in any city in the US. But I chose to go to work THERE for reasons that extended beyond the job itself... I was minutes away from skiing, kayaking, fly fishing, backpacking in a (then) pristine forested environment. The fact that the company I went to work for stood for the same ideals about creating customer loyalty that they had taught me in school didn't hurt matters either.

Being the new guy on the management team one of my daily jobs was to open and sort incoming mail. About a month into the job I discovered that Ford had a "program" for curtailing Japanese imports. This "program" went something like this:

Dealership owner/management personnel were invited to start a letter writing campaign to congressmen, senators, and President Reagan asking for higher tariffs on Japanese imports... specifically Toyota, Datsun (now Nissan), and Honda. In exchange for writing letters and making phone calls Ford Motor Co had enclosed three $500.00 bank drafts in their program package to each dealership. Writing a letter on dealership letterhead to each of your state's congressmen? That was worth one of the $500.00 bank drafts. Write two more letters - one to each of your state's Senators? That was worth another $500.00. Write another letter to Ronald Reagan? You guessed it... you then had the right to deposit that third $500.00 bank draft into the dealership's checking account. My job as Office Manager as relates to this "program" was to do the letter writing and get photocopies as supporting documentation... all program activity was subject to Factory audit and chargeback if a photocopy couldn't be found at the time of the audit.

As a kid fresh out of college I had questions about "programs" like this. At the time I remember there being something like almost 3,500 Ford dealerships across the US participating in this program. At $1500 per dealership that meant that Ford had a budget of about $5 million for this program.

This seemed contrary to the ideals that I was taught in college. In a nutshell, rather than determine what type of cars Americans wanted - and then just build and offer cars that satisfied the needs that people wanted - you know... cheap, reliable, fuel efficient... Ford had elected to spend $5 million dollars a year to get people to write letters complaining to the government about companies who ACTUALLY WERE building cars that people wanted... you know... affordable, reliable, fuel efficient.

Which brings me to the point of this post...

Ford's own troubles - and that of GM and Chrysler too - can be directly tied to the failure of corporate management to build the cars that people want to buy... affordable, reliable, fuel efficient.

That's all they've ever had to do. And that's the one thing over the years they've REFUSED to do. It comes from the top. They've created their own problems. And I have absolutely no sympathy for them.

-jp

.

[Tom]

Agree Jeff. When I said they were as greedy as the UAW, I menat that as long as they could keep raking it in, they didn't really stand up for good business practices. Now that they are saddled with the healthcare of retirees, the healthcare of current employees,and cannot complete with leaner foreign companies, they are hurting. Good. Let the maket place work and stupid companies go out of business. The same will apply to the UAW - as transplants make better cars faster, cheaper, and more in tune with demand, they will grow here and the UAW will find itself extinct as well. Both sides deserve what they get.

[ljb]

Last time I checked the Japanese companies were union shops. However they do have different management. As Lefty would say hmmmm.
Having said that i will add, both management and the unions failed to see what was going on and allowed the foreign mfgs. to eat their lunch. They BOTH got greedy and are now paying for their past misdeeds. However I do not hope for their failure, I hope they can get their heads on straight and come out of this as a strong competing American business with American employees.

[chickenhead]

Originally Posted by ljb

Last time I checked the Japanese companies were union shops.

And when was that? Toyota, Honda, Nissan: Non-union.

[Robert Goren]

I owned a ford once. Never again. What a peice of junk. Build a decent car and somebody might buy one more than once.

[ljb]

I was referring to the Japanese plants in Japan. There are continuing efforts to organize in the U.S. Divide and conquer will not last forever.

[chickenhead]

Originally Posted by ljb

I was referring to the Japanese plants in Japan. There are continuing efforts to organize in the U.S. Divide and conquer will not last forever.

Divide and conquer? You know why the unions haven't been able to gain a foothold in those plants? Because they pay good wages and have good benefits. I can find you quotes from the UAW president saying that very thing. And they build quality products that people like, and their company is prosperous. I'd imagine that feels pretty good to work there at the end of the day.

Can you imagine how depressing it must be to work at a Ford plant? To have people hate the product you put out, to maybe know the only reason you have a job is not because you're needed, but because it's impossible for anyone to fire you? That sounds great.