It has been a rough year for my home state. Michigan, with its deep ties to traditional manufacturing industries and the auto business lead us into our current US economic recession. The state economy was the proverbial “canary in the coal mine” for our current economic challenges. I know, I lived and worked there as a professional in the auto industry for five full years and more as a college intern. Housing prices were inflated by the profits from SUVs for much of the 90s and early 2000s. Union members with paychecks fat from overtime bought cottages, ski-doos and plasma TVs thinking the party would never come to an end. Cheap credit, easy financing and low-low lease rates created a bubble as bad as the dot.coms, real estate or oil futures. I know that it is popular in the Wall Street and Washington media to castigate and ridicule the Detroit Automakers for building large SUVs and caving to union contract negotiators, but what could the chief execs do? Sacrifice $10K profits per vehicle on large SUVs (markets that Mercedes, BMW, Toyota, KIA and Nissan quickly entered, now to their dismay)? Not having the foresight to build hybrids (why would they after GM lost millions on the EV1)? Not standing up to the UAW (GM tried it and lost billions in truck profits)?
Still all of this water under the bridge. Manufacturing and automaking in the US is pretty much on the verge of collapse (yes even mighty Toyota is hurting). Some say good riddance to the dirty and vulgar biz of manufacturing, but I cannot agree. I do not believe that the US can survive with out a strong manufacturing sector. We have to build some things here. We cannot all be Coffee Baristas, Professional Sports Stars, Pop Singers or Consultants (sorry Doug). Without building innovative products, for own consumption and for the world, I fear that the US economy will be marginalized and mediocre.
I think that now is the time for the true leaders and visionaries to step up from the ranks of the Midwestern manufacturing firms and US Auto manufacturers . Often times, at GM, Ford and Chrysler, (even at Toyota), the companies have been run by the MBA bean counters, the legal pinheads, or management process champions. But I think that there are true ‘car guys’ in these companies, with gasoline in their veins that can step up and LEAD the industry out of the current crisis. There are people at the automakers that love the product, crave the competition of the business and want to deliver great product to US consumers, create inspiring designs for people around the world and lead the business and manufacturing in this country out of the dark ages. I know these people, I met kindred spirits from each of the Big 3 while I worked in Detroit. I still even consider myself a ‘car guy’, even though I left the industry behind (to this day I am saddened by my flight, a bit guilty occasionally, but now relieved given the current state of the economy in Michigan). One of best examples is my hero Bob Lutz (please read his book, GUTS) , a veteran of Ford, Chrysler and now working at GM as VP of Product Development in his 70s. I think he embodies the principles of leadership that K&P espouse in the Leadership Challenge.
Yes, reform, recovery and survival of the US automakers IS going to require Federal help. Aid from Washington appears to be on the way. While I cringe at the idea of a handout from Congress, the fact that Nancy Pelosi and her band of clowns seem willing to help is better than their usual political posturing about global warming, sneering ridicule of the managers of industries in fly-over states and carping about ineffectual fuel economy regulations. As much as I hate it, this kind of aid, to industries that employ people making important, useful and beutiful machines, seems more ethical and proper than bailing out fatcat bankers shooting the “slots” on Wall Street with hedge fund money.
Am I bitter? Probably. I hate the unfair rep my home state and favorite industry get. But I still hope and pray that there is untapped spirit in local Michigan governments, pride the American people to buy American products, and mostly LEADERSHIP within the US Automakers themselves to overcome these recent challenges. There is a lot of good American auto product out there (many designed here and some coming from overseas subsidiaries via integrated global engineering systems) Below are a few photos of my favorites (if you cannot yet tell which of the Big 3 is my favorite, it should become obvious).
In closing check out my favorite cranky Auto industry blogger, the Autoextrimist – Peter D. He echos a lot of my opinions on the matter of leadership within the US auto industry (or lack thereof) and the leadership it will take for the industry to survive. Enjoy!
