THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 6, 1995 TAG: 9502030033
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
Last year, for the first time since 1980, more cars, trucks and buses were built in the United States than in Japan. Some 12.4 million vehicles were built here in 1993, compared with 10.6 million there.
The recently released numbers mean a couple of wonderful things, said Jason Vines, spokesman for the American Manufacturers Association.
``Number one,'' he said, ``we have the most productive automobile workers in the world. Number two, we also have the most productive and very high-quality auto suppliers. It just makes sense to build here, with the expertise and the value.''
The new statistics come with an annoying asterisk: Nearly one in six of the vehicles built in the United States last year carried Japanese brand names like Nissan and Honda. In stark contrast, no American cars are produced in Japan.
In other words, we are the champion auto-building nation because Japanese auto companies build millions of their vehicles outside Japan, including here.
Still, it's better the cars be manufactured here than elsewhere. American workers get the wages. And from half to three-fourths of the parts in the Japanese cars assembled here may be American-made. Nissan has said some of its cars made in Tennessee have more American parts than some Chryslers.
American production has been helped by the fact the Japanese yen is stronger than the American dollar, so a car built here has a price advantage over a car built there and exported. Also, a lingering recession in Japan has hurt domestic sales, leading to reduced production.
Still, the Big Three - General Motors, Ford and Chrysler - have progressed a tremendous distance since the late '70s and early '80s.
``The Big Three executives will admit they built some pretty lousy cars in the '70s,'' said Dave Zoia, editor of Ward's Automotive Reports, an independent auto-industry newsletter. ``Things started to turn around in the '80s.'' The Little Two of the Big Three led the way, first Ford, then Chrysler.
Although once-loyal customers were lost, Zoia said, American manufacturers have all but closed the gap in quality between their cars and Japanese cars. And the Big Three closed that gap, he said, even while Japanese cars kept getting better.
``The Big Three have reinvented themselves,'' said Vines of the American Automobile Manufacturers Association. They hold 74 percent of the huge American market.
More than a decade ago, Japanese carmakers scared the Big Three into aiming for virtual perfection. Once again, the customer was king or queen. Anyone who bought a lemon in the dark days of American car manufacturing can only be grateful the Japanese scare proved so effective.
American car-buyers have been the winners in the international competition, whether they buy American or foreign cars. And for the first time in years, the Big Three have been hiring in this country.
But every silver cloud has a dark lining. A recent front-page Wall Street Journal headline said, ``Evidence Is Growing That U.S. Auto Boom Is Coming to an End.'' Sales are predicted to increase a paltry 3 percent in 1995. by CNB