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Originally Posted by Christ
Maybe I got some information mixed up while reading, or maybe it was a GM zealot trying to up the hype about their "attention to detail" or something... thanks for clearing that up.
Regarding boundary layer and polished glass, I actually knew that, but at times, I'm not so sure that companies like GM really do.  |
I should purchase one share of GM voting stock so I may attend annual stockholder meetings.I have no idea what goes on at those,and what is conveyed to management.
And while I'm no apologist for GM,I consider their research dept. top-rate.I have too many SAE papers presented from them to know otherwise.
Journalists,over the years,have indicated a reluctance on the part of all automakers to "innovate" with shareholder capital unless forced to by the market or regulations/legislation.They will cite a handful of autos which were "different" and "bombed" in the marketplace.,much to the consternation of shareholders.
There was a time when I could telephone GM's aero lab and bounce numbers off the top dog,Glen Scharf ( sp?).He was accessible,friendly,and very helpful at a time when only a person with his expertise could answer the kinds of questions I was asking.
I do agree that "bean-counters" have much sway in the affairs of automakers,however it's important to remember that a joint-stock corporation's primary premise for existence is to make money for it's owners.
I would hold any local kindergarten schoolteacher as responsible for suppression of technology as anyone else.As an institutional investor,being part of the Teacher Retirement System,they,or their proxy WOULD have a "voice" at shareholder meetings.
If "efficiency" in all it's faces were important to shareholders,they could demand that their corporation do something about it,or risk their multi-million dollar annual income and golden parachutes ( fecal parachutes for us ).
There must be more money to be made leaving things alone.
And since behavior is predicated on knowledge.And knowledge is predicated on information,education.It's best to make sure that no one gets an education,especially schoolteachers and professors,as that would establish an unacceptable precedent,allowing an informed populace into the marketplace.