Government logic

The US House of Representatives has passed two bills that affect auto dealers, reports Automotive News today.

The Dealer Arbitration Bill is described as giving the 2,150 auto dealers whose franchises were canceled by GM and Chrysler more favorable terms in the arbitration of their disputes with the automakers. So the government decides to interfere in this business dispute not by establishing a mechanism for impartial resolution, not in support of its own to companies involved in it (GM and Chrysler), but by tilting the field against them and in favor of the dealers.

The second bill is the 1,279-page financial regulation legislation, which would create the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Its intent is to protect consumers from making bad financial decision by regulating the sources of financing, such as mortgages, credit cards, etc. Given that the second largest financial transaction for most Americans is the purchase of an automobile, and that dealers are the biggest targets of consumer complaints about financing, one could expect the new law to regulate dealer financing as well. Not so--the bill excludes dealers-assisted financing from this regulation.


If your politics lean to the left, you're likely to accept the first bill but be appalled at the omission in the second. If your politics lean right, you would likely disprove of both. If you're an auto dealer...

Also today Automotive News reports that all of Toyota's North American factories are running over time to keep up with demand. Hm... if you're an auto dealer you might just want to get a Toyota franchise.

Lights out - now we need the light bulbs on

It was sad to see the beautiful Chrysler headquarters building outside Detroit seemingly deserted when I passed by it last Saturday evening. While office buildings normally leave many of their lights on 24/7, the only lights visible that night in the glass and steel Chrysler tower were the faint emergency exit lights. I figured it must be some cost saving measure (it is), but the momentary thought that the building might actually be vacant was jolting.

Chrysler is an American institution. Founded in 1925 by Walter P. Chrysler, the company introduced numerous innovations, many of which became industry standards. Walter Chrysler was a manufacturing and engineering genius who cut his teeth in the locomotive building business before switching to automobile manufacturing. The company is one of the "Big 3" American automobile manufacturers that survived competition and consolidation in the industry that saw literally hundreds of companies go out of business since the 1920s. None of this, of course, mandates that Chrysler must survive the current economic turmoil. On the other hand, the possible demise of this venerable American corporation is neither necessary, nor necessarily helpful.

It would be really sad, I think, if Chrysler ceases to exist. Not just for sentimental reasons, either. But the current artificial life support, the government loans with their strings attached, may not be the solution to bringing Chrysler from the brink of extinction. It seems to me that now is the time to open the floodgate for all kinds of creative ideas, as many as possible, from anywhere across America and around the world. I teach my students that modern corporations must be learning organizations in order to survive the global competitive environment. Now is the time for Chrysler to become a learning organization- to plug into as many people and other organizations as possible, to plug into any source of ideas that might flame the creative sparks, which might lead to new, innovative, creative solutions for its current predicament.

There are thousands of business and engineering school students who crave for an opportunity to put their minds to work on really challenging real-life cases, there are tens of thousands of workers (and former workers), with their ears (and noses, and eyes) close to the ground who have perspectives and experiences that the corporate executives lack, there are civic organizations and others, thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, who may be interested in solving a challenging problem like bringing Chrysler back from life support. Thomas Friedman would call this "open source innovation." It's possible, it's doable, it's a bit crazy, but it's the way the knowledge economy (fyi: that's today's economy) works. The real question is, can Chrysler plug into, and manage, such an open source innovation model, or will it just wait to hear for whom the bell tolls? Alas, the answer is out there: Its own blog rules state:

1-In the spirit of honest, free-flowing conversation...
...
11-The blog is not intended as a forum for outside suggestions, including but not limited to those which pertain to vehicle design, product attributes, marketing or advertising, and no such material will be posted.

Yes, I know, the Chrysler blog is just one out of many possible ways to plug into the open source innovation 'thing' in this flat world of ours, still... The company saves a few thousand dollars by turning the lights off at night, but what it really needs is to find a way to turn lots of light bulbs on if it should have any hope of survival. In the spirit of honest conversation, I'd like to help you out, Chrysler, really, but my entire lifetime tax dollars just went to the guy sitting over there, in the dark corner of the AIG executive cafeteria. Sorry, all I've left is advice.