One can point a finger at the reasons Hollywood is suffering one of its slowest summers at the box office in recent memory to either: a) the growth in online movie piracy; b) rising DVD and video game sales; or c) it's just too damn hot to leave the lake cabin.
Of course, Hollywood's queens of denial would never admit that maybe--just maybe--people aren't going to the movies because of the movies. It's a challenge for movie goers to reach for their wallets when such retreads as Miss Congeniality 2, War of the Worlds, or Batman Begins are the only options down at their local movieplex.
The biting reality the celluloid chiefs are ignoring is that movie ticket sales are down because the major studios keep releasing films that no one really wants to see.
Sound familiar?
Like the psychotic denial Hollywood execs are also suffering from, in response to all of this past spring's financial doom and gloom emanating from Detroit, predictably, the auto grand frommages at Ford, General Motors and Chrysler had their own share of Oscar-winning excuses. They whined about restrictive dealer franchise laws, how the UAW has them over a barrel, and how low-cost global competition is eating their lunch.
C'mon. Domestic car sales are down because Detroit relentlessly produces cars that no one really wants to own.
Years of nothing down, zero-percent financing, cash back rebates, lease buyouts, free gas--and now the most recent form of consumer lures--manufacturer employee pricing for everyone and their dog, and still Detroit car makers suffer from infernal drops in market share and profits. Like a stripper down to her G-string, the Getting-Smaller-by-the-Month-Three are running out of freebies.
For the few, and fewer, that are taking the leap of faith in buying a domestic car, they're picking the deal, not the vehicle. After that first Monday morning water cooler boast about one's awesome negotiating victory over the weekend in swinging that new set of wheels, many regret having to actually drive the deal, er, car until the payments are finito.
For most car buyers, this is their second biggest expense next to their home. They need to reduce their financial risk by buying a vehicle that also holds it value, is enjoyable to use on a daily basis, and strokes their ego. If the same sophisticated buyers expect this type of tangible--and intangible--values in their home entertainment equipment, power tools, or cell phone, why not in their car?
And for sophisticated car buyers, it's about just that--the product--not the deal.
There are many reasons why buyers are flocking to import brands like Hyundai, Nissan and BMW. One of them is that Korean, Japanese and European carmakers are updating their line-ups much faster than Detroit.
The merry-go-'round that Detroit has ignored over the past 30 years is that new product equals profits, which equals more money invested in engineering, manufacturing, design and marketing to produce, you guessed it, more new products.
Selling cars the Detroit way, at low-margins, is not conducive to a manufacturer's long-term viability. Detroit can do profitable cars that car buyers lust for, like the Corvette, Mustang, and Chrysler 300C/Magnum/Charger. It's just that they aren't doing enough of them.
If they do, it's a movie I'd gladly pay to watch.
Of course, Hollywood's queens of denial would never admit that maybe--just maybe--people aren't going to the movies because of the movies. It's a challenge for movie goers to reach for their wallets when such retreads as Miss Congeniality 2, War of the Worlds, or Batman Begins are the only options down at their local movieplex.
The biting reality the celluloid chiefs are ignoring is that movie ticket sales are down because the major studios keep releasing films that no one really wants to see.
Sound familiar?
Like the psychotic denial Hollywood execs are also suffering from, in response to all of this past spring's financial doom and gloom emanating from Detroit, predictably, the auto grand frommages at Ford, General Motors and Chrysler had their own share of Oscar-winning excuses. They whined about restrictive dealer franchise laws, how the UAW has them over a barrel, and how low-cost global competition is eating their lunch.
C'mon. Domestic car sales are down because Detroit relentlessly produces cars that no one really wants to own.
Years of nothing down, zero-percent financing, cash back rebates, lease buyouts, free gas--and now the most recent form of consumer lures--manufacturer employee pricing for everyone and their dog, and still Detroit car makers suffer from infernal drops in market share and profits. Like a stripper down to her G-string, the Getting-Smaller-by-the-Month-Three are running out of freebies.
For the few, and fewer, that are taking the leap of faith in buying a domestic car, they're picking the deal, not the vehicle. After that first Monday morning water cooler boast about one's awesome negotiating victory over the weekend in swinging that new set of wheels, many regret having to actually drive the deal, er, car until the payments are finito.
For most car buyers, this is their second biggest expense next to their home. They need to reduce their financial risk by buying a vehicle that also holds it value, is enjoyable to use on a daily basis, and strokes their ego. If the same sophisticated buyers expect this type of tangible--and intangible--values in their home entertainment equipment, power tools, or cell phone, why not in their car?
And for sophisticated car buyers, it's about just that--the product--not the deal.
There are many reasons why buyers are flocking to import brands like Hyundai, Nissan and BMW. One of them is that Korean, Japanese and European carmakers are updating their line-ups much faster than Detroit.
The merry-go-'round that Detroit has ignored over the past 30 years is that new product equals profits, which equals more money invested in engineering, manufacturing, design and marketing to produce, you guessed it, more new products.
Selling cars the Detroit way, at low-margins, is not conducive to a manufacturer's long-term viability. Detroit can do profitable cars that car buyers lust for, like the Corvette, Mustang, and Chrysler 300C/Magnum/Charger. It's just that they aren't doing enough of them.
If they do, it's a movie I'd gladly pay to watch.