Chrysler "Buy American!"

[jimking]

Unless you need printing, go offshore. American tax money is bailing them out and they then find a way to pay folks in China. The CEO's statement that printer's bids have skyrocketed is simply not true. :angry:

http://printceo.com/2009/04/chrysler-offshoring-catalog-production

[frailer]

Off topic, but sorta not. My wife's had a PT Cruiser for about 4 years. A great concept and design...retro-chic etc...all of that. Quite fun to drive. But crap turning circle, and some problematic things; nothing major, just a series of niggling annoyances. Conclusion? A good idea, but not very well executed.
I think the auto market in general is in for a big shake-up, worldwide, but maybe for a bigger shakeup in the U.S. than elsewhere.
Away from your offshoring of their print, jimking, but...maybe it's good money after bad either way. The Big 3 are only just starting to pull their heads out of the sand.

Just some random thoughts.  But yeah; "Buy American".   

[Joe]

American companies that take their manufacturing facilities out of the United States as well as their printing can kiss my a$$. I'll buy from a Japanese company that manufacturers their automobiles in the U.S. before buying from one of the big 3 "U.S." automakers.

[gnubler]

I read recently about some big bullshit marketing campaign for a Ford car - I think for the Ford Focus. All the "hometown pride" and "buy American" nonsense. In reality, the car is completely assembled in Mexico.

[Joe]

Exactly. An American company does not equal "Buy American". Ford, GM, and Chrysler can all kiss where the sun don't shine.

[jimking]

Anyone notice the replies underneath the article? Someone mentioned that these car manufactures required printers with 12 unit presses. One person responded, why not go with a 4-6 color presses instead to cut cost. Then I got to thinking, how many printing companies in China have 12 unit presses? A job as complex as a 4/c+8/spot job requires plenty of communication between client and printer which leads me to think this has the potential to be a complete nightmare for some poor souls.

[Foozball]

... James Letzel, President and CEO of GSSI stated, "As the North American printing industry has consolidated over the last several years, domestic printing prices have escalated and options have become fewer for print buyers here in the U.S. The decision by Chrysler to move production of domestic catalogs off-shore should be commended as visionary and at the very least, fiscally responsible, by ...."

I'm sorry to say, it's a lost cause. When your CEO declares a move as as "visionary" ... 10-15 years after people first started sending production off-shore ... how far behind the times are you? And, more importantly, how long will it take for you to become competitive on a global market??
Your corporation is DEAD, the shareholders just don't know it yet! :cry:


On a side note: After working Good Friday with a full press crew, SOLELY to produce a print-job for a huge US corporation, ... (late files, more pages than quoted for, and it was "URGENT") ... I wonder how much the "cost of printing" Chrysler could slashed if they employed the right people??
Basically, could "competency" and "managerial desighner nonsense" both be major issues there???  :wink:

[Slappy]

Only partially related, but didya know that Peppermint Patties which used to to be manufactured in PA are being sent to Mexico now?  Guess I'm done eating those, damned shame too. :rolleyes:

[jimking]

I've kept an open mind about outsourcing and saw merit in it at one time but now, it seems, it looks to be capitalism run amok at the expense of its given nation's people. I grew up during the cold war and was taught communism is evil and must fight it at all cost. I believed it and 60,000 Americans died in Vietnam because of it whether they liked it or not because of the draft. Not 15 years later, after that lost war, we reward communist countries our jobs and now all I hear is China owns us, whether we like it or not. WTF.  :angry: