Ironic Choices

There's a certain irony in offering silly choices.  Does anyone press the "No, I don't want a receipt" button at the gas pump, or press 9 when they want to hang up the phone?

Then there's the irony of offering a choice that doesn't really exist.  A proud union member is issued his obligatory bumper sticker "Union - Yes" with a picture of a check box.  Of course "Yes" is the only vote there is.  If you want the job, you're in the union.

This kind of irony has left Detroit in a bad way these days.  The UAW, in its upward-ratcheting need for self-perpetuation, call the shots like Rod Effen Blagojevich's wife screaming vulgarities in the background of his now famous phone calls.  "Labor demands" are not balanced with any "labor accountability" for performance.  The CEO's are up in front of Congress, but the shrewish-wife union bosses are in the wings telling them why they can't make those concessions.  

This situation is aggravated by a poor economy, but the latest reviews of the big three show a continuing lack of competitiveness.  Depending on blind patriotic loyalty from your customers more than competitive excellence in a free market is rather unpatriotic.  

So is pretending there's a choice where there isn't.

The Spirit of Detroit

Do you know who your competition is? The marketing team at GM spends big bucks to say Chevy trucks have better resale value than any other American-made trucks. Consumer Reports hasn't picked up on that angle and neither has the American auto buyer.

What about who your customer is? Chrysler says their $1.4 billion dollar loss and restructuring of 13,000 jobs is a result of a waning market in trucks and SUV's. Toyota announced today they're building a $1.3 billion plant in Blue Springs, Mississippi -- to build SUV's. The first step to solving a problem is honesty.

America's love affair with the automobile still carries a lot of loyalty, but Detroit needs to wake up and realize it's become nostalgic. The global market won't allow it to rest on its laurels and a culture of entitlement. When it comes to the biggest investment most Americans make outside their home, financing the appetites past and present of the UAW is no substitute for competing on quality and innovation.