Add to that Digital Equipment Company. I worked for them for 10 years. At their peak they were the #2 computer company in the WORLD. For a while they were the Leader in computer Networking (70% share of the networking market)…They made the fastest computer chip (1000 times faster then the fastest Intel chip at the time)…Leader in mini computers (60% of the market). Their influence is still present today.
Another GREAT company…Altec/Lansing. For over 50 years they were the undisputed leader in Professional sound systems. 80% of all movie theaters (world wide). There were more Altec/Lansing speakers used in recording studios then the next 5 competitors COMBINED. Two of their speakers (VOT and the 604) are still considered two of the BEST audio components ever made.
Don’t confuse this company with the Altec/Lansing speakers you can buy for your PC. Completely different company. The real Altec/Lansing sold it’s name (Altec/Lansing Consumer Products) to Sparkomatic in the mid 80’s.
Meanwhile I am supporting US car brands that employ US car designers, marketing people, and suppliers.
That would be Toyota or Honda.
. I am of the view that US car companies will tend to use US suppliers for things such as machine tools, electrical controls, and other manufacturer’s goods and the like in their factories, multiplying the US employment effect.
And you’d be wrong. One of the reasons my brother-in-law retired as Plant manager from Chryco was when Chryco refurbished the plant he was running. Against his wishes…the plant was refurbished with state-of-the-art Korean and Japanese robotics…Laying off 2500 workers. The plant is now closed.
The MBA degree was originally intended for engineers in order for these engineers to gain management skills. Now many MBA degreed people come via the business route.
Yup. 30 years ago there was no technical growth path for engineers. Once you reached a certain point as an engineer you either had to leave the company or go into management to make more money. That’s no longer true nowadays. A Consultant or Principle level engineer pay grade is as high as a Manager or Director. Companies found it was better to keep these technical people around. Many do NOT make good managers…but they were highly educated and well trained engineers which would drastically hurt the company if they left. I was working as a mid-grade engineer at the time when companies started to make this change.
Higher education has become top heavy with management types who can’t or won’t make decisions and have little understanding of education.
I find that in many of the smaller or even state schools. But most of the prestigious schools don’t need to follow that business model. They have so many people applying to go there they can pick or choose the students. A college like Harvard or MIT will pick ONE student for every 100 that apply.
Cadillac should be a stand alone dealership… To warrant these huge prices a Caddy owner should be treated special… Not in line at service with Aveo strip -o
buyer… Toyota does it with Lexus…
It should have always been… Chevy… Buick… Caddy… Like Ford… Lincoln… Mercury… Any more is excess…
The franchise owner can do anything they want unless it’s in the franchise contract. There is a Cadillac dealer near me that is also a Chevy dealership. They share the shops, but the showrooms are in different buildings. What you suggest is very expensive. And the prices aren’t that big. You can easily pay more for a Chevy than any Cadillac.
I agree. How many of us know or are the guy who has, is and will continue to drive GM just like grandpa and dad? They are a huge market and GM had best remember to serve their needs. I think they will remember. I don’t agree with
the notion GM will become a relic.
Not since Lee Iacoca has anyone in management in Detroit had enough brains to come in out of the rain. As for the role of government, if government acted like private businesspeople, it would be the best thing that has happened in America in 80 years. The trolls who destroyed American manufacturing would be in the street, we’d raid Honda and Toyota for their best engineering and management talent or go find our own, and we’d be back in business.
I would respectfully disagree with that. Some private business people are good people that work for a larger good. But I would say that just as many business people are out for their buck and do not care about the other guy. Not how I want my government to be run. I’m not against changing the people in government or how its run, but not necessarily run like some busniess people would run it.
I think the mind set of America needs to change for us to grow. Take a long-term look at how our economy, ethics, morality, greed, materialsim, and society are going, decide what is good for all long-term go for it. Have some honor, compassion, and forethought in dealing with all people so that all taken care of. Everyone can succeed, but they should not succeed at the cost of society.
Wow, seems pretty idealistic when I read it again, but that is just me.
Ed Whiteacre used to be the CEO of AT&T, where I am currently employed. I don’t know him, noe have I ever met him, but I would believe that the decision to remove Henderson was probably not influenced by President Obama. It just seems to me that Ed Whiteacre doesn’t give a hoot about what others think when it comes to running his company. He took the runt of the baby bells, Southwest Telephone, and turned it into the second largest, AT&T. He pissed off alot of people along the way, but did what he wanted, and got what he wanted.
“He pissed off alot of people along the way, but did what he wanted, and got what he wanted.”
I don’t think it works that way, unless it is a single owner business. The CEO develops a strategic plan with his team, presents it to the board of directors, and the executes it when approved. A leader with no friends isn’t a leader for very long. There are always people that don’t like whatever strategic plan is underway.
It really matters very little whether the Obama or any Obama Admin had a hand the the latest turnover in management. What does matter is that GM continues to employ Bob Lutz who is a flaming EV detractor and had a major say in the recall and destruction of our beloved EV1s. He no more wants GM to change than I want to see the sun go dark. So until he’s gone and some truly new blood is actively engaged in the design and manufacture of up-to-date vehicles, GM is going to put our taxpayer money into the same old petro guzzlers as their stock and trade saving only the minimum amount for vehicles like the Chevy Volt and the recently announced Cadillac equivalent.
Now, can someone please tell me where to get new NiMH batteries for my S10e pickup? GM sued Panasonic to make those large format batteries totally unobtainable from anyone but Ovonics which GM owned and whom GM prohibited from producing any more of so that we independent owners would not be able to keep our equipment going. Thank heaven the superior batteries that Toyota used in the RAV4-EV are still going strong even after 10 years. We can’t even get the Toyota versions either because of GM’s lawsuit with resulted the the total restraint of trade. So when these are dead our RAVs and dead too - just like my truck.
Jack Welch would have cleaned out GM in half the time!
Jack Welch would have moved ALL manufacturing to Mexico or India. Jack has stated many many times that he believes that the US should NOT be in the manufacturing business. If it can be produced cheaper (even 1% cheaper) overseas then it should be. He is a HUGE proponent of off-shore manufacturing.
Lutz does not dislike EVs. But he does like making money. That’s why he has his current job. The S10e has a range of only 45 to 60 miles. That isn’t close to the range required to be a money-maker. The Toyota’s range is about twice that. Look here for batteries: