While it sounds logical, the question begs itself: why not GM, Ford and Chrysler shift production of efficient cars to their truck plants?

We were colosssal dumb asses for buying those crap SUV’s to begin with.

#1

While it sounds logical, the question begs itself: why not GM, Ford and Chrysler shift production of efficient cars to their truck plants?
Comment by autonut, posted on June6 at 4:27 pm

Because that would make too much sense…

UAW can’t just spend 6 hours retooling switching out dies and machines. It would take weeks and millions.

And they still have tons of capacity at other plants, so why not shutter a few truck plants?

Makes sense with truck and SUV sales dropping like a rock.

Invest in Toyota.

I thought you guys knew.
Toyota thinks, invest, produces, and profits.
The domestics watch, do their focus clinics, check with accounting…….
And then do what Toyota showed them how to do, only 10 years earlier.
Quite a business model, if you ask me.
DrFill

How much does it cost to change the plant from trucks to cars?

Gotta love Toyota’s blunder with the Tundra, but this is why they’re the best right now: they’re fixing their mistake right away instead of rationalizing it until they’re in a deep hole.

“…why not GM, Ford and Chrysler shift production of efficient cars to their truck plants?”
By autonut

Because they don’t have any efficient cars.

DrFrill, you can dump on the domestics all you want, but they are starting to match and in some area surpass Toyota.

Supply management and foresight aren’t those areas.

Now that I raised the question, I can give an answer (something I learned from my kid who goes to sheister school: good scheister never asks a question he does not an answer for). Per Toyota (and Honda) plant development model each plant can produce at minimum 3 different platforms without changing a screw. Although all domestics caught up (or think that they did) with Toyota (and Honda) JIT (just in time) inventory management system, they can not build assembly to produce different vehicles off the same plant. The argument that GM/Ford have 100 years old factories and Toyota only 20 y.o. does not fly, because retooling occurs for each new model and those factories are changing every few years to employ new technology. At least balance sheets of all (foreign and domestics) say that do.

The US is getting closer and closer to the transplants employing more Americans than the big 3. My prediction is in the next 20 years there will be almost no loyalty to the former big 3. People will truly buy whatever car best fits there wants/needs.

All of the people writing comments here seem to have good grammar and spelling, eluding to the likelihood that they were probably born and raised in America. All seem quite smug and sure of themselves, likely meaning that they are employed in American businesses that are successful.
Why is it that so many think they are superior to anyone that works in the American auto industry? Does the American auto maker in your neighborhood stand out in any negative way that convinces you they are inferior?
That people buy foreign owned company products at all, is the sign of a new multinational America. It happened in electronics, steel, and others. Judging by the mentality of the average contribution to this column, the industry YOU are in is next, ripe for a takeover by foreigners with alleged superior intellect. If you believe it, it’s true.
Personally, I will continue to buy American no matter what, because I don’t believe for a heartbeat that the Japanese, Germans, Indians, or anyone else are better than us, and I believe our standard of living will continue to decline along with the Anti-American attitudes of the resident foreign car lovers and drivers.

As an employee of a Japanese car company, I don’t believe that American automakers are inferior in intellect, brain-power or the desire to build better products. Their vehicles, from concept, are probably very similar to the ideas of everyone else. For example: GM could have designed a vehicle exactly like the Camry with all of the same features and specifications. Toyota could have designed a vehicle like the S-Class. And so on…

The fundamental problem with the domestic 3 brands is: EXECUTION OF THE PLAN.

The domestic brand would start with a concept and go through everything on the car that they felt could be made cheaper or where economies of scale could be taken advantage of. They would sacrifice design, ergonomics, build quality and brand image among other things to save money. Why? Because they have to.

Another part of executing a successful product launch is to determine demand for the vehicle, constantly manage production to keep it in line with a healthy dealer day’s supply. The domestic brands, until recently, pushed inventory on the dealers so that they could make as much money as possible, leaving their dealer’s out to dry with vehicles they couldn’t sell. At some point, the dealer’s began to turn down inventory, meaning less wholesales to dealers and less income for the manufacturer. This is one reason why the brand have been in the mindset of looking for ways to pinch pennies; it is because they had less income.

Well you would question, why not slow down production of slow-selling vehicle and increase the vehicles that are selling well? They couldn’t easily do that with UAW. The UAW effectively had precedence over how their plants were run. They couldn’t slow production or close plants without threats of lawsuits or strikes. In addition, the domestics got themselves into ridiculous labor contract overpaying workers and creating huge legacy costs. So, now, the domestic brands have very little control over production and costs.

Going back to the dealers who had too much supply of vehicle that wouldn’t sell. The domestic brands decided, “if dealers won’t buy them, we need to give a discount to someone else to take these vehicle off our hands”. Answer: Fleet sales. Up until recently, fleet accounted for 25% of Chrysler sales. The problem with fleet is that it diminished the value of vehicles already owned by retail customers, going back to the supply/demand effect of value/price. So when the vehicle was being sold traded in, the customer would owe more on the vehicle. At some point, customers stop trying to buy new cars because they were so upside down in their current vehicles that it was financially impossible to get out of it. Solution? CASH BACK and 0% FINANCING. Although it may have seemed these financing tactics were used to incite customers into new vehicles, it was really a solution to get people out of their old vehicle for a reduced cost.

I COULD GO ON ALL DAY ABOUT POOR EXECUTION. IT IS THE ONLY THING THAT KEEPS THE DOMESTIC BRANDS FROM A RETURN TO GREATNESS.

BUT THEY NEED TO HURRY QUICKLY. BEFORE TOO LONG, THE ONLY THING THESE BRANDS CAN HANG ONTO IS CUSTOMER LOYALTY, WHICH IS ERODING DAILY.

Buhbye, you either more intelligent or much wealthier then I am. Please advise where can buy American made underwear, shirt, tie, pants, coat, shoes, TV, microwave oven, toaster,….. Those industries are gona, yet most of us have jobs and country continues to prosper. I was concerned what will happen to my industry in the beginning of last century (electronics and computers): and it gotten better. For auto industry it is the same: more transplants will employ American workers. Now, when you buy American do you mean American label like Chevy that is made by Daewoo in Korea? Or Ford from Mexican assembly build out of Asian and South American parts? Do you look on content sticker of the vehicle you buy? Those fears are unfounded as number of industries already left US and new one came about. Insofar, the industries which came instead of those departed ones were primary intellectually driven: finance, software and services. Our high schools are pumping out illiterates and new industries that require scientific foundation may not start. That we all should fear.

toyota should move production to Ford plants. Or just buy Fords and re-sell them as toyotas

And on that note…………
Let us close this episode
DrFill

Well, being from Indianapolis and going to IU in Bloomington, I can say that the blue collar workers we have in this state would appreciate more jobs…and that’s putting it lightly.

‘Buhbye’, it’s “alluding”, not “eluding”.

Not to worry, the illiterates like ‘NoNameDufus’ can keep their jobs mopping floors and transporting vehicles by truck … with falling real dollar wealth and a transfer of manufacturing to the U.S., monkeys like him will be doing all right in the years to come.

The real reason the domestics are in trouble right now…

“Because they don’t have any efficient cars”

Never mind that it isn’t true, but think for yourself: Leaving out the usual import humpers, how many random people have piped in with similar statements over just the last 2 weeks?

Ipulsive, you really need a life, or some anger managment courses. I teach at the college level, because unlike you, I worked hard and went to school, while you live in your mother’s basement and have no job.

You CANNOT teach anything but a cage full of monkeys at the zoo … you are ILLITERATE … you know nothing. You are dumber than a kernel of corn.

You know nothing of my education … but I’m quite sure you have a very good idea that I am very intelligent. Far more intelligent than you, write-off.

You are so out of your league, it’s comical, loser.

I’m sure anyone who wastes their time name calling others over the Internet, is far from being so smart as they think they are.

That is what I have been saying WEKS, yet Impulsive still does it, he thinks he is above us and thus does not need to listen to other people.

Where are Camrys being made right now? No matter what company is doing it, more jobs anywhere in the United States is good for the United States be it Toyota, Ford, VW, etc. Foreign companies investing millions into the US economy from local suppliers of materials to paying the workers at the plant.

I have no true brand loyalty, although I do love Mazda, which is mostly owned by Ford. Next time I buy a vehicle I’ll buy whatever fits my needs the most, which right now, none of the big 3 have as offerings.

livelyjay, Ford owns only 33% of Mazda, albeit Ford has controlling stake.
Kaizen, made an interesting point. Nobody questions ability of US engineers or workers to build an excellent car, they been doing it for many years and still can do it. The problem is management or lack of it. Unfortunately the market system which is responsible for American industrial miracle also responsible for this deficiency. Company management is thinking in 3 months intervals – quarters. Product management takes years. Hence the dilemma: to please Wall street every 3 months or build products. Gun shy management at both public domestics are known to sticking head in the sand. We will see how private capital works out for Chrysler. MY bets are on them for survival.

I don’t understand how a lame @$$ car like the camry, that doesn’t really get any better fuel mileage than alot of domestics, becomes such a popular car. The only thing the japs are better at is brainwashing.

The Camry isn’t that fuel efficient. Even the 4-cylinder model gets mediocre fuel economy.

I wonder how Toyota’s ROI on the new Tundra program is looking now. Not so hot, I imagine.

I will give Toyota this: if it’s true that they can switch over a plant from a full size SUV to a Camry without turning a screw – that’s a mind boggling piece of engineering. It is unimaginable to me that anyone could pull this off. If they did it, my hat is off to them…

‘WEKS’, you waste your free time doing whatever you do … I waste some of my free time laying into worthless **** like ‘Dufus’. To each their own. But thanks for your defecation.

Impulsive you need a lfe if you derive joy out of cowardly insulting people over the net.

It’s not cowardly … it’s all FACT … read it, it’s all there for all to see … you are a worthless and illiterate fool.

You are a coward Impulsive, you insult people over the net, how cowardly can you get.

I state FACT … accept it … if I saw you in person, I’d probably do worse … so be thankful, ****piece.

Z06, as you can see, with their flexible engineering, and TPS system, they can make a killing while still making a revolutionary truck.
Sweet!
DrFill

LOL, revolutionary. Name one thing on that POS that Chevy, Ford and Dodge don’t do better.