Are japanese imports ruining american industry of vehicles?

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why american people let that happen?

The answer is extremely complex. But let’s try to hit the hilights.

First, the big three in North America(NA) made a lot of fundamentally bad decisions in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. The most significant detrimental decisions involved (1) pay and benefits, (2) production methods, (3) quality or lack there of and (4) not adapting to the market place (giving the customer what they want).

Examples. (1) Pay and benefits were programmed and promised at a level that could not be maintained. (2) Production methods were not improved to be made more efficient. (3) They were not committed to producing good quality products. GM for example, produced and installed A/Ts in the 90s, knowing that everyone of them would fail. But the bean counters calculated that it would be “more cost effective” to fix them later, under warrantee, than to do it right to begin with. You just can’t do that to your customers. (4) Completely ignoring smaller fuel efficient vehicles, they were caught flat footed during the early 70s fuel crisis.

Second, others such as Toyota and Honda committed to producing top quality vehicles that met their customers’ needs. Ask the Japanese and they’ll tell you they didn’t invent quality. Remember, in the 40s and 50s, everything produced in Japan was referred to as “junk”. But they read Demming’s American book on quality and decided that was the way to go. So have their customers. And remember, they’re doing it mostly in NA with an NA labor force. (Labor costs in Japan, by the way are generally HIGHER than in NA.) The fact is that the big three talk about quality while others achieve it. (Don’t take my word for it, ask the previous CEO of Chrysler Corp who every year would declare “This is the year we’re going to get a handle on quality”.)

Finally, and a different issue altogether is the threat of staggering wage differentials between Europe, NA and Japan on the one hand, and China and India on the other. As long as they are willing to work for ten cents an hour (or whatever it is) it will remain a problem. And the only solution is for their wages to rise to approximately that of the rest of the industrial world so the competition is on a level field. Keep in mind, this is little different from what has occurred in NA when various industries (ie textiles) relocated to different parts of the US to reduce labor costs. Companies still look at labor costs when deciding where to locate or relocate. (Ask Buck Knives why they relocated from SoCal to Idaho.)

What has/is happening in the automotive industry is not an overnight phenomenon but the result of over thirty years of mismanagement by the boys in Detroit. While the big three were dedicated to doing “what’s good for GM is good for the USA”, others have dedicated their organizations to constant improvement and customer satisfaction.

The saying in the auto industry is “it’s product, product, product”. If you don’t produce good quality product at competitive prices that customers want, nothing else matters. One could say the "Big 3" did it to themselves and the Japanese nameplates are not destroying the industry, but resurrecting it.

The Japanese imports aren't ruining anything. American car makers just don't know how to make a good car, so they keep making 6L trucks.

Hmmm ... probably ...
though its not really and assassin - victim situation!

Car manufacturers from the US used to be the biggest and most profitable car makers in the world. This had a) to do with a large domestic market and b) the image of the USA and its economy in the 50s and following.

Over the years though the US car manufacturers have not been very progressive and focused solely on their core competencies: building big cars ignoring trends discovered and fostered by European and Jap car makers. This gap in a) knowledge b) market standing c) product range is now making it difficult for them to regain or just to keep their share. Not only did they not pick up on those new trends but belittled those 'rice bowls with wheels'.

Its a complex example of the T-Model problem:
"Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black."

Most other countries and car man. always heavily relied on export and where more accessible to influences from other countries and thus had to 'keep up with the Jones".

A good comparison can be drawn from the beer market. What are the two most known beers internationally - beers you get anywhere in the world: Heineken from the Netherlands and Carlsberg from Denmark!

Yes, but it is all imports not just the Japanese. The reason is two-fold. The primary reason that imports are cheaper and built with better quality has to do with lower wages and lax environmental control, and lastly retiree legacy costs. The combined retiree health care expense for the big three is larger than the gross revenues of all but 138 US corporations. We can compete with slave wages, and companies that polute the air.

The second problem is not the solution everyone thinks it is. Even if US suppliers file bankruptcy, US companies lower UAW wages, and make more quality cars, the absolute large number of competitors will result in US car companies selling fewer and fewer automobiles. Hence, they will not be able to manage the legacy costs and too will have to file bankruptcy.

I will bet that 30 years ago the textile industry thought they would ultimately compete. When is the last time you bought a US made garmet?

Supply and Demand. Basic concepts of business 101. I think if American car makers listened to what the people wanted (good gas mileage, safety, half decent looking, interesting concepts) they would be better off. The funny thing is they had a control on this market for so long and the Japanese companies just slowly kept building a base till they are now rated some of the best in America.

no, not really

american cars still dominate the american market

and germany and korea and sweden also sell lots of cars in america.

if japanese cars are selling in america, it's only because americans are buying them.

and furthermore, japanese cars are now made IN the united States by american factory workers. so no its not really ruining the industry at all

No American car makers don't have the best cars and if you cant keep up your dead

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