Twenty years from now

23-02.-2007, 10:56 PM	#1
Bro Deal Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Resting by the Tumtum tree Posts: 6,223	Twenty years from now I was reading this story about germany's auto industry in the Economist and I found this quote rather interesting, http://www.economist.com/business/d...tory_id=8738865 Mr Reithofer at BMW will not accept a future in which it is too expensive to make cars competitively in Germany. “Can you imagine an industrial country like Germany in 15 or 20 years without such production?” he said recently. “I hate to think what would happen here if we lost our production base.” It's quite different from attitudes in the U.S., where execs are busy hollowing out the country's manufacturing capacity. What do people think the economies of Western countries will be like in twenty years? __________________ "You are like the wind and I like the lion. You form the tempest. The sand stings my eyes and the ground is parched. I roar in defiance but you do not hear. But between us there is a difference. I, like the lion, must remain in my place. While you like the wind will never know yours." -- Mulay Hamid El Raisuli, Lord of the Riff, Sultan to the Berbers, Last of the Barbary Pirates

24-02.-2007, 05:31 AM

slovakguy

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Join Date: Mar 2006

Posts: 267

Re: Twenty years from now

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bro Deal

I
What do people think the economies of Western countries will be like in twenty years?

...we in the west become the modern analogues to the french royalty before the reign of madame guillotine...

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24-02.-2007, 10:02 PM

limerickman

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Join Date: Jan 2004

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Posts: 12,487

Re: Twenty years from now

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bro Deal

I was reading this story about germany's auto industry in the Economist and I found this quote rather interesting,

http://www.economist.com/business/d...tory_id=8738865

Mr Reithofer at BMW will not accept a future in which it is too expensive to make cars competitively in Germany. “Can you imagine an industrial country like Germany in 15 or 20 years without such production?” he said recently. “I hate to think what would happen here if we lost our production base.”

It's quite different from attitudes in the U.S., where execs are busy hollowing out the country's manufacturing capacity. What do people think the economies of Western countries will be like in twenty years?

I got a guided tour of the BMW plant in Munich - eight years ago.
What a facility. The phrase "German engineering" doesn't do it justice : it was
magnificent.

German engineering/manufacturing is world class and I could never imagine that Germany would/could allow their manufacturing industry to relocate.

But you hit on an interesting point about the difference between US and German executives viewpoint.
I think the ChryslerDaimler illustrates perfectly the situation.
In both USA and Germany you have a unionised ChryslerDaimler workforce : in both countries you have manufacturing operations.
However Daimler in Stuttgart have accessed the Chrysler performance and have found it woeful.
Production takes longer, wages are too high, sales are down : Daimler in Stuttgart is enjoying superb sales, production time is excellent, wages are good.
Stuttgart made the decision to offload Chrysler this week - Daimlers shares increased by 20%.

Ther German auto industry went through a boom between 1970-1988 : cars sales went through the roof.
Volkswagen, BMW, Audi : we're dominant in the market.
The Japanese/French/Italians started to grab market share - what did the Germans do?
They didn't panic, they didn't relocate : instead they did what they do best.
They went away looked at their system, tweaked their systems, entered dialogue with their workforce, invested in research and development and produced a more effecient industry that is now flying.

American industry could do well to follow the German strategy.

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.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets" - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

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