Controversial filmmaker Michael Moore spoke out last night about the auto industry on CNN’s Larry King Live.
“I’m of mixed mind with this bail out,” Moore said, who doesn’t want to see hundreds of thousands of autoworkers suffer at the hands of these auto makers, but at the same time,“I don’t think that these companies, with these management people, should be given a dime because that’s just money going up in smoke or off to other country.”
Moore sites GM’s building of a $300 million company in St. Petersburg Russia right now to build SUVs. “That’s where your money’s going to go.”Moore’s sees the problem lying with GM’s attitude of, what’ good for General Motors is good for the country– we’ll tell you what to buy and you’ll buy it! Moore believes that auto companies are using as the excuse that the problem isn’t the cars they are building but the current financial situation, which he sees ringing false. “The problem IS the cars that they are building. They never listened to the consumer. They just gone about it their own wrong way,” Moore said. Even though people have concerns with gas mileage, the Big 3 keep building the wrong cars, thus consumers have started to buy from other companies such as Honda.
Moore suggests the solution to the auto industry crisis can be solved in the same way President Roosevelt did during WWII, where President elect Obama and the government need to first use the money to save autoworker jobs, but then they firmly need to hold the reins on these companies and regulate that the money is used to build mass transit and hybrid cars, and then production of unsafe, gas-guzzling vehicles ceases. “We don’t need more crap built by Detroit.”
Michael Moore expects us to buy hybrids. When the AC is activated, the mpg goes way down. The mouse doesn’t have enough umph to drive the compressor. A bit of scientific and physics knowledge would not hurt Moore.
Americans don’t want to be told what to drive by Moore or anyone else.
Imagine an outside industry performing a business plan noting that the incumbant industry has signed up to pay union wages that are about 2X that of the going rate, has signed up to provide lifelong pensions that are off the top with expensive health care to boot.
I would jump at this market, because I know I could provide a superior product at competive prices with enough trade-space to offer a few upgrades and still make a profit. This is exactly what happened. Greed from both the UAW and the corporation have come at the expense of product. The corporation should be about making cars, not millionaires. If you make the cars, the latter will follow.
There are many countries with the technology and work-force able to make cars. In the 50s and 60′s, Detriot had it all and got fat and spoiled. What a terrible business model, paying retirees the rest of their lives. Dumb. Unions demanding more, CEOs getting more, the product taking a back seat to the corporation.
Americans should be on notice that the global market will reward those whom work hard for a reasonable wage. When China is tooled up to produce cars, watch out.
I vote with making Michael Moore the new auto industry czar. He is the only one with a clear vision that encompasses all the problems and a solution for each one.