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Honda Benefits from GM, Ford, Chrysler Loan
Filed under: Opinion, Honda
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What is more painful than watching our once storied and mighty “Big Three” auto makers going through a financial slide so severe that it has required a $25 billion government bailout? The only thing we can think of is enduring a matinee showing of “Beverly Hills Chihuahua.” When recently watching that film, we realized that there was something wrong with our seat. It was facing the screen.
Regardless of what you think of that film, even people outside of GM, Ford, and Chrysler are breathing a sigh of relief over the recent government bailout. Recently Takeo Fukui, the CEO of rival Honda, praised President George W. Bush for helping out the U.S. automakers that his company has for so long been leaving in the proverbial dust. Wow, someone liked something President Bush accomplished! That should make him feel pretty good, even if the guy lives in Japan.
The reason for all of this goodwill? Well, while Honda will not directly be benefiting from the government money, some of its many United States suppliers sure will. Honda has a number of factories in the U.S. and they all buy thousands of parts from suppliers all across our country. These suppliers are all hurting because of dwindling sales at GM, Ford, and Chrysler but this injection of cash should help to keep them in business through our economic downturn.
Mr. Fukui also went on to say that Honda avoided some of the pitfalls of its competition by looking at the market and adjusting manufacturing output accordingly. Wow, those guys at Honda sure are geniuses! They figured out that if they were only going to sell 350,000 Accords this year, maybe they should only make that many.
One the same line of thinking, Mr. Fukui also claimed Honda avoided big losses by not trying to compete in the once profit-rich pickup sector. “We didn’t dabble in that and it worked out well for us,” was the somewhat misleading comment on the matter made by the Honda CEO. Does he have no memory of the woefully hideous Honda Ridgeline (aka Hunchback or Ridgeback)?
We know that the poorly conceived Ridgeline never really “competed” with the Toyota Tundra, Ford F-150, and Chevrolet Silverado it does not mean it somehow went “poof” and no longer exists. We guess that delusion is not only a trait attributable to the leaders of American car companies but also those of their Japanese competitors as well. It is good to know that the head of Honda also does a good job at ignoring complete and total failure.
Our view? As one of the characters in “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” might have opined, things are “ruf” all over. This economic bailout from our government will not only aid “Big Three” automotive manufacturing in this country, but also all of the foreign manufacturers with plants here who depend on local suppliers.
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