The BIG Three

After watching one of the "big three" "big wigs" hem and haw after being asked on Fox News-"Why is Toyota outselling you guys?", I need to vent.

I know there are exceptions to everything I am going to say, but here goes...

I have no doubt that brand new American cars probably look and feel as good as Japanese carts when they are brand new to most people, but the difference is in the details.

I rent cars every week, and my favorite car to rent is actually a Korean car-the Hyundai Sonata.

This is because when I am given an American car in the same price range the ergonomics are not easy for me to adjust to. The Asian car companies pay attention to details that make their cars easier to adjust to immediately.

The biggest difference for me between American and Japanese cars is how they wear. It's like something made out of leather vs. something made out of vinyl. We would all consider buying a leather bag or even shoes that are a few years old. Vinyl does not stand up to the test of time.

American cars interiors fade deteriorate significantly especially after 3-5 years. Their cars are disposable-which is why their resale value is so low. One reason I did not keep my Mazda 6 after 3 years of a lease is because deep down I was afraid that it had too much "Ford" blood. My last Ford, a new 2002 Explorer, felt like it was barely going to make it after 3 years of my hard driving. The other side of that story is that we bought my son a 1998 Ford Escort-because it is mostly a Mazda-that turned out to be a good choice.

I drive a 1996 Lexis right now-which cost me a fortune to get up to snuff because it had some issues, but their is not an American sedan or economy car I would consider buying that is that old.

Old American cars headliners fall down, the interiors fade, and the engines are hopeless.

I doubt that any of the big three executives own old cars, or they might know what I was talking about.

The exceptions would probably be some vintage cars and some cars that people give extra care to like Mustangs, Corvettes, Vipers. etc.

I would bet that the owners of the Japanese pickup trucks are going to never go back to the American versions.

The American workers are not to blame-they can build excellent American or Japanese cars, and our engineers are probably as brilliant as the engineers anywhere else. My suspicion and expectation is that someone on the business side of the car companies is more concerned with cutting costs from a materials perspective to increase the bottom line.

One question for these decision makers:

How is that working out for your company?

It's like the furniture makers from biblical times using wax to fill the joints of furniture rather than making sure the materials were of the best fit and finish. They both look and feel the same on day one, but after a few days you feel the difference when you sit in a "waxed" chair and a well-built chair.

You number crunching decision makers who work for American car companies need to do what the Japanese do:

Get out of the way of the flow of information, innovation back and forth between your prospects, laborers and the engineers, and let the brilliance of the laborers and the engineers shine through by giving them the materials they need to make quality cars.

Quit trying to cut costs by filling in the gaps with wax.

You people in the middle are supposed to facilitate the flow of great ideas so that companies run smoothly and generate quality products and services. You people at the top are supposed to do things that enable companies to succeed long-term.

You board of directors and stockholders need to think past next quarters bottom line.

That's who I blame. Many publically held companies are driven day to day from the top with pressures of short term profits and growth, rather than the needs of their customers. The companies that can focus on their customers and react sufficiently to their needs will succeed in the long run.

I know it's hard to do. You could say it's a sign of our times if you want to, but even Thomas Edison became a lobbyist in his later years. Going so far as to electrocute an elephant on video to show how the newly developed "AC" was not as good as his "DC".

Don't even get me started on the big bonuses the AIG executives are getting today.