"ALL CAPS IN DEFENSE OF LIBERTY IS NO VICE."

Friday, June 02, 2006

NYTIMES DISTORTS "ASIAN CAR MAKER" MARKET SHARE

The NYTIMES uses one of the oldest tricks in the book (and a logical fallacy called "arguing from ambiguity") to make it seem like "American" car makers who make cars in Detroit are losing to "Asian" car makers who make cars in Asia:
Sales figures reported Thursday showed that Toyota, Honda and other Asian manufacturers claimed a record 40 percent of the American market in May, when sales of fuel-efficient vehicles like the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic and Hyundai Sonata all rose 20 percent or more compared with May 2005.

For Detroit companies, which have continued to aggressively market their costly new sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks despite the high gas prices, market share last month dropped to 52.9 percent — their second-lowest in history.
the NYTIMES headline is the most blatant; it reads: "Asian Cars Won 40% of Market Last Month"

WHY IS THIS ANGLE BOGUS?! Because most of the so-called "Asian cars" the so-called "Asian car makers" sell here in the USA are made right here IN THE USA! They're no more "Asian cars" than a Chrsysler is a "European car." (And so-called American car makers make many of their cars - and car parts - OVERSEAS!)


This is really a story about the slowdown of the sales of BIG CARS, and the increase in sales of smaller cars, and NOT "import versus domestic cars" or "FOREIGN OWNED" makers versus "AMERICAN OWNED" makers. Especially NOT since the all car manufacturers make cars all over the world, and are ALL public companies whose stockholders are from ALL OVER THE GLOBE.

The NYTIMES is attempting to mount a sneaky, subliminal anti-free trade argument - one that has the added bonus of being anti-US business, (always a plus for anti-Americans like the NYTIMES). The NYTIMES is trying to spin it as if "AMERICAN MAKERS" were bad, and "FOREIGN MAKERS" were good. This is especially bogus when one additionally considers that much of the car design and marketing for the so-called "ASIAN car makers" is also DONE RIGHT HERE IN THE USA - BY AMERICANS!


BOTTOM-LINE: It matters NOT ONE WHIT where the cars are made - or where the corporations that make them are registered, or in what country their stock is listed - because FOREIGN TRADE IMBALANCES are also BOGUS; it's meaningless because it treats goods as if they were valueless. So called "foreign trade imbalances" are phantoms which REALLY DO NOT EXIST - (SEE MORE PROOF HERE).

When a free consumer buys the car she wants, then she is a WINNER. And the company that makes the sale WINS, TOO. Where they are and who owns them and where the car was made are IRRELEVANT. Except to anti-globalism/anti-American Lefties. Like the NYTIMES.

ADDENDUM: THE SO-CALLED "ASIAN CAR MAKERS" WHO MAKE CARS HERE HAVE BETTER LABOR CONTRACTS THAN THE OLD "BIG THREE" AND THAT'S A MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR REASON THEY MAKE MORE MONEY ON SALES OF SMALL CARS, AND HENCE MARKET THEM MORE AGGRESSIVELY/SUCCESSIVELY. THE OLD BIG THREE MAKE MORE MONEY PER UNIT ON SALES OF BIGGER CARS.

THE BAD DEALS THE OLD BIG THREE MADE WITH UNIONS IS THE MAJOR REASON THE OLD BIG THREE TEND TO MARKET BIG CARS.

THE OLD BIG THREE'S LABOR COSTS ARE HIGHER PER UNIT THAN "ASIAN CAR MAKERS" MANUFACTURING HERE IN THE USA.

BECAUSE THE LABOR-COST/UNIT-COST IN A BIG CAR IS SMALLER THAN THE LABOR-COST/UNIT-COST IN A SMALL CAR, THE OLD BIG THREE MAKE A BETTER RETURN ON BIGGER CARS. BECAUSE THEY MAKE MORE ON BIGGER CARS THEY MARKET THEM MORE AGGRESSIVELY AND SELL MORE - WHEN GAS IS PERCEIVED AS BEING RELATIVELY CHEAP.

THEIR DEPENDENCE ON BIG CAR SALES IS WHY THEIR CURRENT SALES ARE SUFFERING - BECAUSE GAS IS NOW BEING PERCEIVED AS RELATIVELY EXPENSIVE.

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