Big 3 Car Makers Gang Up on Japan : Autos: GM, Ford and Chrysler are cooperating on projects and conducting a campaign to get U.S. help to make their Japanese rivals play ‘fair.’
The Big Three auto makers, once the fiercest of rivals, are getting cozier in a coordinated effort to dull Japanese corporate knives that have whittled their shares of the U.S. market.
A joint appearance Tuesday on ABC’s “Nightline” by the chairmen of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Corp. is the latest sign of that cooperation.
Last month, the Big Three filed a “dumping” complaint with the government, contending that Japanese auto makers were selling minivans for less than fair value. The Japanese denied the accusation.
The Big Three are also cooperating in research programs looking into plastics, batteries, electronics and the environment.
GM and Chrysler are operating a joint transmission manufacturing business called New Venture Gear. The Justice Department’s antitrust division has sanctioned the arrangement.
The Big Three hosted a two-day series of briefings for a 38-member congressional delegation in April. A month earlier, Chairman Robert C. Stempel of GM, Harold A. Poling of Ford and Lee A. Iacocca of Chrysler met privately with President Bush in Washington.
Their general plea was for government aid to the American auto industry, which has been pummeled by a combination of recession and fiercer competition from abroad, especially from the Japanese.
On Tuesday, Stempel, Poling and Iacocca took their collective case to the public with the “Nightline” appearances.
The three executives used the hourlong program, moderated by Ted Koppel, to defend the quality of their cars and trucks and air grievances against Japanese trade barriers and congressional efforts to further regulate the industry.
Iacocca was particularly vocal on the dumping issue.
“I send Jeeps to Japan, and when they cross the international dateline, magic happens--they go from $22,000 to $34,000,” Iacocca said. “The Toyota minivan, which we just had a dumping case against--like magic it’s $22,000, (but) it drops to $15,000 when it gets to San Francisco.
“Now, why can’t sane Americans figure out that there’s something wrong with that? It’s unfair. So as long as it’s unfair, I’ll keep shouting.”
Poling played down the significance of the joint interview, telling reporters after the taping that the three rival chairmen appeared together only because ABC had invited them. But he added, “We all have a common interest.”
“We spent $120 billion in the last 10 years and we are ready to compete,” Iacocca said. “But we’ve got to compete by rules made in this town by politicians on both sides of this aisle. And if the rules aren’t right, we can’t compete.”
Stempel and Poling emphasized the auto industry’s importance to the U.S. economy. Poling noted that it accounts for 4.5% of the gross national product and employs, directly or indirectly, one of every seven American workers.
“I think it is unforgivable to consider even the possibility of giving up” on the domestic industry, Poling said.
The program included a background report detailing the Big Three’s woes and complaints about U.S. car quality by consumers interviewed in man-on-the-street style.
“American plastic just seems cheaper than Japanese plastic,” one man says. “You get inside a car and the Japanese plastic just seems like it fits better, you know?”
The companies posted combined losses of $2.3 billion in the first three months of this year--their worst quarter ever. Meanwhile, the steadily expanding Japanese share of the U.S. auto market stood at 25% at the end of last year, compared to 71.1% for the Big Three.
The Big Three have complained that Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry helps that country’s auto makers. The Japanese firms counter that they compete fairly and are selling products Americans want to buy.
