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The Future of the Automobile
Aug. 15th, 2008 08:20 amHundreds of Chrysler workers protest decision to shut down minivan plant.
For some reason, of all of the US car manufacturers, I think Chrysler/Dodge will be the one that might not make it through. I see Chevy putting a lot of effort into fuel efficient and electric cars and I see Ford adding some very progressive and unique vehicles to its line-up. And then I see Chrysler with the most fuel inefficient vehicles on the road continuing with their trend of bigger, tougher vehicles.
But then I read the above snippet and it sounds more like the upper management of Chrysler are what's dragging them down. There's too much spunk in the workforce. I think if the upper management presented the opportunity to the workforce, they could pull out of this.
It reminds me a little about the Ford plant in St. Paul. They were going to close it down and a bunch of the employees came up with an idea of developing a new kind of engine (I think it was going to be hydrogen powered) for the pickups that they built there so that it wouldn't shut down. Ford made the decision to close it anyway. That is, until the most recent turn in the automobile market. Because that plant builds the smaller, more fuel efficient pickup trucks, Ford has decided to keep it open for now.
On a side note, I still don't understand why there has to be 50 different models of 4 door sedans out on the market along with 50 different models of every other kind of vehicle. Every car company is competing with itself and then wondering why they can't stay afloat. I know that it can be very risky to just pick the one thing you are good at and do that thing, but it would seem to solve some of these problems...
The Detroit Free Press (8/14, Higgins) reported, "More than 450 UAW (United Auto Workers union) members from St. Louis (Mo.) protested outside Chrysler LLC's Auburn Hills headquarters" Thursday morning against "the automaker's decision to shut down the minivan plant in that community." Joe Shields, president of UAW Local 110, which "represents workers at the St. Louis minivan plant," said, "We're an American car company, but they're taking all of our work outside the company." Jeff Hagler, president of UAW Local 412 told the Free Press, "We must send a strong message that enough is enough. We at Local 412 have made it perfectly clear to the company that we know that we can be a world-class workforce at a competitive cost." Hagler "encouraged his metro Detroit members to turn out to help support the protest." Mary Beth Halprin, a Chrysler spokeswoman, who "said the company worked with UAW organizers to ensure a safe demonstration," added, "We are committed to treating those affected by the manufacturing actions in a socially responsible manner."
For some reason, of all of the US car manufacturers, I think Chrysler/Dodge will be the one that might not make it through. I see Chevy putting a lot of effort into fuel efficient and electric cars and I see Ford adding some very progressive and unique vehicles to its line-up. And then I see Chrysler with the most fuel inefficient vehicles on the road continuing with their trend of bigger, tougher vehicles.
But then I read the above snippet and it sounds more like the upper management of Chrysler are what's dragging them down. There's too much spunk in the workforce. I think if the upper management presented the opportunity to the workforce, they could pull out of this.
It reminds me a little about the Ford plant in St. Paul. They were going to close it down and a bunch of the employees came up with an idea of developing a new kind of engine (I think it was going to be hydrogen powered) for the pickups that they built there so that it wouldn't shut down. Ford made the decision to close it anyway. That is, until the most recent turn in the automobile market. Because that plant builds the smaller, more fuel efficient pickup trucks, Ford has decided to keep it open for now.
On a side note, I still don't understand why there has to be 50 different models of 4 door sedans out on the market along with 50 different models of every other kind of vehicle. Every car company is competing with itself and then wondering why they can't stay afloat. I know that it can be very risky to just pick the one thing you are good at and do that thing, but it would seem to solve some of these problems...
