The General
08-15-2005, 01:29 PM
The following is an article from one of our contributors. It brings up many interesting points that you may or may not agree with. I would really like to know what your opinions are.
"Are You Sure About Buying an Import, Man?
by Alex Law , Auto123
Today, when you listen to members of my generation (who no longer seem to want to die before they get old), it's hard to believe that Boomers were also responsible for the counter-culture of the 1960s.
We believed in long hair, shorts skirts, free love, women's rights, racial equality, James Taylor and doing your own thing, man, all of which are still admirable goals.
But many of the people who supported The Movement nearly 40 years ago are considerably less likely to bend today, let alone move. Consider if you will the Boomers' love for cars from Europe and Japan and their distrust of anything from American companies.
To be fair, there was considerable reason to take up this position in the 1970s. Few of the cars coming out of Detroit's factories appealed to anyone under the age of 50, and they weren't very reliable and they tended to use a lot of gas when we couldn't afford to pay much.
Perhaps most importantly, our parents owned or coveted Buicks, Cadillacs, Chryslers, Lincolns, Mercurys, Plymouths and the like, so we couldn't possibly. We weren't our parents, after all, and buying a Japanese car was thought to be a polite way of establishing our own identity.
We were so shallow at the time that it never occurred to us that buying a Honda or a Toyota -- or a BWM or a VW, come to that -- was a slap in our parents' faces. We conveniently chose not to remember that the Japanese and the Germans had only recently been trying to kill our parents, their families and friends, and indeed our very way of life. World War II might have seemed like ancient history to us, but for our parents it was -- and still is -- their defining moment. So our disloyalty must have hurt them all a great deal, and I can't even begin to imagine what it's like for Jewish parents to see their children buy a Beetle or a 3-Series.
But there was a legitimate business case to be made for buying a car from our parents' mortal enemies, and if you think I'm exaggerating on that point talk to someone who knows the history of the war in the Pacific against Japan, or who liberated a German concentration camp in Europe.
But the Second World War is old news, you might rightly say, so we should move on.
Moving on to the current political reality, I have my own concerns with buying a car from German and Japanese firms. To put it mildly, the people who run the car companies in those two countries (and Korea, it should be noted) are way, way behind Canada and the U.S. in terms of the way they treat women in the workplace.
Generally, the Germans are bad about hiring or promoting women, but the Asians are worse, and this applies to their operations in Canada and the U.S. as well as those in their home countries.
Canadian women of all ages have generally ignored this on-going inequity so they can buy a car they trust (from Honda or Toyota) or a car they covet (from BMW or Mercedes), and that is their right. In terms of wanting a car they can rely on, you could even say it made a certain amount of sense.
But the days of having to buy a Japanese car to obtain reliable transportation is also old news, as the two American-owned firms (who aggressively recruit and promote women) have caught up to or surpassed the Asian firms on that score, as endless surveys and studies prove.
(If you're wondering where the Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler stands, it is a German-owned and operated firm and tends to mirror many of the same prejudices as the parent.)
On top of their ability to use men and women of all races (a claim the Asians and Germans can't make) to build excellent vehicles, Ford and General Motors are also offering some of the best bargains in the world right now.
So, let me speak directly to all of those Boomers out there who are thinking of buying a new vehicle, but particularly those of the female persuasion.
Maybe it's time you lay down your prejudices against vehicles from the U.S. and reconsidered your dependence on Japanese and German products. You might save yourself a bunch of money on a more interesting car (I mean, is anything more boring than your average Toyota?), and throw your weight behind some worthwhile societal change. Perhaps if great numbers of women stopped buying their products, the Japanese and German car companies might take some long overdue steps toward not discriminating against women in general, either in their own countries, or here in Canada.
The bonus would be one of a Boomer's favorite things -- a heavy dose of nostalgia. Power to the people, baby, and we shall overcome again."
http://www.auto123.com/en/info/news/news,view.spy?artid=46184&pg=1
I'll I can say is that he must have been one heck of a Hippie! I also don't think that the American car makers are that perfect...
"Are You Sure About Buying an Import, Man?
by Alex Law , Auto123
Today, when you listen to members of my generation (who no longer seem to want to die before they get old), it's hard to believe that Boomers were also responsible for the counter-culture of the 1960s.
We believed in long hair, shorts skirts, free love, women's rights, racial equality, James Taylor and doing your own thing, man, all of which are still admirable goals.
But many of the people who supported The Movement nearly 40 years ago are considerably less likely to bend today, let alone move. Consider if you will the Boomers' love for cars from Europe and Japan and their distrust of anything from American companies.
To be fair, there was considerable reason to take up this position in the 1970s. Few of the cars coming out of Detroit's factories appealed to anyone under the age of 50, and they weren't very reliable and they tended to use a lot of gas when we couldn't afford to pay much.
Perhaps most importantly, our parents owned or coveted Buicks, Cadillacs, Chryslers, Lincolns, Mercurys, Plymouths and the like, so we couldn't possibly. We weren't our parents, after all, and buying a Japanese car was thought to be a polite way of establishing our own identity.
We were so shallow at the time that it never occurred to us that buying a Honda or a Toyota -- or a BWM or a VW, come to that -- was a slap in our parents' faces. We conveniently chose not to remember that the Japanese and the Germans had only recently been trying to kill our parents, their families and friends, and indeed our very way of life. World War II might have seemed like ancient history to us, but for our parents it was -- and still is -- their defining moment. So our disloyalty must have hurt them all a great deal, and I can't even begin to imagine what it's like for Jewish parents to see their children buy a Beetle or a 3-Series.
But there was a legitimate business case to be made for buying a car from our parents' mortal enemies, and if you think I'm exaggerating on that point talk to someone who knows the history of the war in the Pacific against Japan, or who liberated a German concentration camp in Europe.
But the Second World War is old news, you might rightly say, so we should move on.
Moving on to the current political reality, I have my own concerns with buying a car from German and Japanese firms. To put it mildly, the people who run the car companies in those two countries (and Korea, it should be noted) are way, way behind Canada and the U.S. in terms of the way they treat women in the workplace.
Generally, the Germans are bad about hiring or promoting women, but the Asians are worse, and this applies to their operations in Canada and the U.S. as well as those in their home countries.
Canadian women of all ages have generally ignored this on-going inequity so they can buy a car they trust (from Honda or Toyota) or a car they covet (from BMW or Mercedes), and that is their right. In terms of wanting a car they can rely on, you could even say it made a certain amount of sense.
But the days of having to buy a Japanese car to obtain reliable transportation is also old news, as the two American-owned firms (who aggressively recruit and promote women) have caught up to or surpassed the Asian firms on that score, as endless surveys and studies prove.
(If you're wondering where the Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler stands, it is a German-owned and operated firm and tends to mirror many of the same prejudices as the parent.)
On top of their ability to use men and women of all races (a claim the Asians and Germans can't make) to build excellent vehicles, Ford and General Motors are also offering some of the best bargains in the world right now.
So, let me speak directly to all of those Boomers out there who are thinking of buying a new vehicle, but particularly those of the female persuasion.
Maybe it's time you lay down your prejudices against vehicles from the U.S. and reconsidered your dependence on Japanese and German products. You might save yourself a bunch of money on a more interesting car (I mean, is anything more boring than your average Toyota?), and throw your weight behind some worthwhile societal change. Perhaps if great numbers of women stopped buying their products, the Japanese and German car companies might take some long overdue steps toward not discriminating against women in general, either in their own countries, or here in Canada.
The bonus would be one of a Boomer's favorite things -- a heavy dose of nostalgia. Power to the people, baby, and we shall overcome again."
http://www.auto123.com/en/info/news/news,view.spy?artid=46184&pg=1
I'll I can say is that he must have been one heck of a Hippie! I also don't think that the American car makers are that perfect...