Carmakers Made in America – No
Over the years, the significance of "Made in America" has gone down. The "Made in America" brand name was made famous by the car giants like General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. Alas, today Michigan is almost on the brink of getting wiped off the car manufacturing map after the huge losses of the Big-Three American car making companies. Over the last couple of decades, the American brand value has slowly and steadily lost its sheen. The likes of GM, Ford and Chrysler who were once the leading lights of the industry are no longer so.
Japanese car makers like Honda, Nissan and Toyota have slowly and steadily eaten away at the market share of the American cars by producing smaller and efficient cars which were more sturdy than those from the American car makers. Buyers have received more value from Japanese cars than those from the Detroit brigade. These cars have scored on all front - mileage, efficiency, power, value for money. Is it any wonder that people are willing to buy efficient cars even though they may be less fancied. Even though Toyota and Honda manufacture cars in America plants they are not considered "Made in America", as the technology is Japanese.
Who is to blame for this? Sadly, it is the American carmakers themselves. When they had time on their side, they did not invest in development and continued to produce inefficient and big cars which was no longer sought by buyers. People moved away from them but still they refused to mend their ways. Instead they lobbied with the government and got regulations framed to their advantage. They refused to read the writing on the wall. Instead they left no stones unturned to ensure that America does not have an efficient public transport network. This ensured that people were dependent on their cars for long journeys or while travelling across cities.
The economic downturn has turned out to be the last nail in the coffin of the American car makers. However, just like every dark cloud has a silver lining so also this is an opportunity for Detroit majors to mend their ways. It is surprising to know that the average wages paid by American car makers is twice that of those paid by the Japanese car makers. Does this not indicate who runs business efficiently?
Another question, Name the car models produced by American carmakers? There are endless number of models. Now ask the same question about the Japanese cars and you will only find a handful of models from each manufacturer. Isn't there a lesson in this? One needs to work hard and also smart.
Clearly for the "Made in America" label to mean something for cars, requires a lot of hard work and efficiency. They should compete against competition by producing more efficient cars rather than using regulations to fight a proxy war.
