Well they'd have to cut c-suite and shareholder's cut because everything else that could be squeezed out has already been squeezed out, so the c-suite and shareholder will convert their money into the political power it takes to just block out the competition.

Ford stopped making cars because they can't compete with the current crop of cars coming from Japan/Korea and Europe regardless of how much money they throw at the problem. They have their niche with trucks and SUVs and are happy to stay there. China builds cars using massive government subsidies, slave labor, and local resources that aren't available to anyone else in the world which is why I think it's right to fight against them because it's impossible to compete against them just like a small local grocery store can't compete against Walmart.

When Americans of all political stripes finally wake up to global realty, they'll most likely do it lying on a sidewalk, naked in the rain, with their fingers in their ears saying na-na-na-na-na-na...

People will eventually have to face that the economic golden age of the 1950s and 60s wasn't a normal state we can return to if greedy billionaires just let us. The rich definitely grabbed the biggest share of the prosperity, but that brief era of prosperity wasn't normal, it was entirely abnormal, and it's been over for quite a while. We've been fooling ourselves and keeping it going for the last half century by living on credit, and that's about to end. I don't know what new era is about to start, but the American era is over.

defects galore

A friend of mine from high school attended the GM Institute and became an engineer for them. One of his first projects was on a team that bought a Lexus and an Infiniti when they first came on the market and took them apart to see how many production defects they had. He said a typical American car at the time (and this was in the '90s after quality had rebounded somewhat from its disastrous nadir) had 300-400 defects. The Infiniti they took apart had 2. The Lexus had 0.

So they dont care about making cars for the world market, they just want regulations to allow them to milk the american market...

So here is the thing.
U lost. The moment I need American people to bail you out, you need to treat American people way way the fuck better.

Worker rights, mandatory vacations, work protections, pensions, guaranteed healthcare etc.

US is not a country, there is no strong federal power to choose direction.
US is like Poland before being divided, everything run by oligarchs and every oligarch just pulling for himself.

I guarantee u US pressured Canada into not allowing byd

Okay, I'll concede that point to you. U.S. carmakers suck at software. And, even on the hardware, they're resistant to change and slow to innovate.

As is tradition

The problem is the world is transitioning to EVs, and burying your head in the sand won’t change that. Legacy manufacturers could be trying to find their place in the new world while they can, or they can stick with technology of the past, let someone else come to dominate the new technologies, and be left with a ever shrinking market until they disappear

I would kill for a small electric truck... Telo is calling my name, but they don't have a functioning product yet.

So it's not free market after all because the big 3 can make vehicles at home and sell abroad while the others have to make them in the US for the US market. In what way is it not a form of favoring the domestic auto companies?

In China workers rights are pretty non-existent and there’s no OSHA equivalent, at least not to the degree we have in the US

How much maternity leave d'you get in the US? Cause in China it's a minimum of 90 days up to 180. And an extra 15~30 days of pat leave. Mandatory paid holiday? US: 0 China: 11. Sick leave? US: 0 China: months (at reduced rate). Vacation? US: 0, China: 1 to 3 weeks.

An employer that fails to allow an employee to take annual leave must pay that employee 300% of the employee’s daily wages for each unused vacation day

The work sfatey certainly remains an issue, like any developing country, but things are rapidly improving.

Efforts at work safety shall be oriented around people and reflect the principle of people first and life first, with top priority given to people's life safety. The philosophy of safe development shall be adhered to and the principles of safety first, prevention as the main target as well as comprehensive administration shall be followed to forestall and resolve major safety risks at the source.

Law of the People’s Republic of China on Work Safety

(Adopted at the 28th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on June 29, 2002; amended for the first time in line with the Decision on Amending Certain Laws adopted at the 10th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People's Congress on August 27, 2009; amended for the second time in accordance with the Decision on Amending the Law of the People's Republic of China on Work Safety adopted at the 10th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress on August 31, 2014; amended for the third time according to the Decision on Amending the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Work Safety adopted at the 29th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress on June 10, 2021.)

(en.npc.gov.cn.cdurl.cn)

Things aren't all roses in China, but y'all have to get off of your high horse when you know fuck all other than bland ass propaganda.

True, I would argue though that after a certain amount of time, nobody even cares about the quality, it's the university name on the degree that is truly important.

You can go anywhere on the planet even decades from now and say you're from Harvard (take your pick) and you'll be regarded as a knowledge god even if you were the last in the class to graduate.

Educational quality isn't everything for getting into a good career, it's the reputation, and that is what schools in the US (and a few abroad) have in spades.

Software is the answer to many of the mechanical issues too though. Granted, the physical engineering is definitely over engineered, but would they really need to have 6 different taillight frames when LEDs can be multicolor and just tuned with software for each market? I also see zero reason why manufacturers can’t start from a base and tweak for different market configurations. You also see car companies complain about complex regulation, but then in this day and age when east Asia can make you anything, that’s not an excuse I’m willing to be fed. I fucking hate Elmo like everyone else here, but why the hell is the Model Y the most popular car in the world. None of the other companies want to copy Tesla? They don’t want to compete? We’ve gotten to the point where it’s ludicrous that they’re not competing.

I can afford neither, but if I had to save up for one it would be the BYD.

American cars are just large, stupid and inefficient. Also the parts are very expensive here in New Zealand

American manufacturing seems very incapable of change. If things worked this way for decades, why change it? Meanwhile the world moved on and they ask themselves why doesn't anyone wanna buy american...?

Have you heard of 996? It’s shorthand for a common work schedule in China: 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week

So a typical American teacher’s schedule?

Yes, there may not be child labor. But in places we cannot see, there are still black industry chains. A brick factory was exposed some time ago. They let some people with low IQ or disabilities work. They were not given masks, and the air was full of dust. They may work more than ten hours a day or even more. What is the difference between this and slavery? I just want to give this example to illustrate that there are still many black-hearted factories in society, and there is also the possibility of employing child labor. In China, young people who have not studied will choose to work in factories, but they must be at least 16 years old. If they are younger, they will not be hired. Back to the issue of BYD, although we are proud that it can be recognized by the world as a Chinese brand, and many people in China also buy it. But recently there have been some news that they blindly work overtime within the company, and have meetings after get off work, etc. Someone exposed the chat records within the company. We are all ordinary people. We just want to fight for our rights. Even if it is a big company, as long as it exploits people, we must oppose it.