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Old 07-11-2012, 02:18 PM   #151 (permalink)
jamesqf
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mcrews View Post
ok, you dont get it.
There is no 'entreched mental block'! that is a simpleton way of thinking.
There is, however, a built in cost that other((non-big three) manufactures do not have,
Detroit cant even began to think about making a mini because there is no volume. THey have to have volume to cove the costs accoiated with each car produced.
Do you(in the plural) really not understand business models?
I'll skip over the US politics, and just ask why it is that you appear to think that BMW (parent of the Mini) does not have the same sort of built-in labor costs (and corporate taxes, etc) as US automakers? I don't claim expertise, but it seems to me that labor unions are even more entrenched (if not as adversarial) in Germany and the rest of Europe as in the US, and British labor unions (where the Mini is built) are perhaps worst of all. There are also the generally higher taxes needed to pay the costs of social programs &c.

As for volume, Detroit seems happy enough to build other fairly low-volume models, such as as the Corvette.

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