To the Editor:
Re “G.M. to Eliminate Some 14,000 Jobs at Five Factories” (front page, Nov. 27):
President Trump said he’s “not happy” with General Motors. I’m sure the objectives of General Motors’ chief executive and board of directors do not include making Donald Trump happy. Later he said General Motors betrayed him. G.M.’s executives run the company. Their responsibilities don’t include serving Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump said he may punish General Motors. Punishment of an individual American company is not a prerogative of an American president.
Mr. Trump seems to think he’s more the king than the president of the United States. He doesn’t realize that it’s not in his job description to dictate business policy to American enterprises.
Michael Frank
Doylestown, Pa.
To the Editor:
Re “Few Blaming President for Shutdown of Car Plant” (Business Day, Nov. 29):
If President Trump had any sense, which he does not, he would blame the American public instead of G.M. for its idling of the Chevrolet factory in Lordstown, Ohio.
I drove a wonderfully attractive and high-performance ’99 Chevrolet Cavalier convertible until last year, when my eyesight demanded that I quit driving at the age of 86. That little car was not only lovely to look at and fun to drive, but also never required much attention repairwise.
In the end, as I drove down Chicago’s Edens Expressway, surrounded by gigantic SUVs, huge trucks and the other mammoth vehicles that have been chosen by the American public in preference to such vehicles as Chevy’s Cruze, I speculated about such foolishness. I noted other gray-haired women like me at the wheel of their massive SUVs, and saw the future.
If those other little gray-haired women, not to mention Americans of all ages, would embrace smaller cars and forget their love affairs with the tanks, factories like the one in Lordstown would come alive again.
Laurie Levy
Chicago
To the Editor:
My wife and I recently uncovered hundreds of photos my parents took 50 years ago, when my family took summer road trips. The slides of campgrounds, national parks, scenic overlooks and roadside attractions also happened to capture the cars on the roads and highways in more than 40 states.
What stands out is that every single car and station wagon in the photographs, except for the occasional VW, was built by one of America’s Big Four car manufacturers — General Motors, Ford, Chrysler and American Motors. Our family had an American Motors Rambler station wagon.
Every vehicle in these many hundreds of pictures represented an investment that Americans were putting into our Midwestern workers in the car and many related industries (like steel), and into strong unions and high standards of living. What has happened to this country and — in economics as in so many other ways — to our caring for one another?
James Adler
Cambridge, Mass.
Source: Read Full Article
Home » Analysis & Comment » Opinion | G.M.’s Woes and America’s Changing Tastes in Cars
Opinion | G.M.’s Woes and America’s Changing Tastes in Cars
To the Editor:
Re “G.M. to Eliminate Some 14,000 Jobs at Five Factories” (front page, Nov. 27):
President Trump said he’s “not happy” with General Motors. I’m sure the objectives of General Motors’ chief executive and board of directors do not include making Donald Trump happy. Later he said General Motors betrayed him. G.M.’s executives run the company. Their responsibilities don’t include serving Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump said he may punish General Motors. Punishment of an individual American company is not a prerogative of an American president.
Mr. Trump seems to think he’s more the king than the president of the United States. He doesn’t realize that it’s not in his job description to dictate business policy to American enterprises.
Michael Frank
Doylestown, Pa.
To the Editor:
Re “Few Blaming President for Shutdown of Car Plant” (Business Day, Nov. 29):
If President Trump had any sense, which he does not, he would blame the American public instead of G.M. for its idling of the Chevrolet factory in Lordstown, Ohio.
I drove a wonderfully attractive and high-performance ’99 Chevrolet Cavalier convertible until last year, when my eyesight demanded that I quit driving at the age of 86. That little car was not only lovely to look at and fun to drive, but also never required much attention repairwise.
In the end, as I drove down Chicago’s Edens Expressway, surrounded by gigantic SUVs, huge trucks and the other mammoth vehicles that have been chosen by the American public in preference to such vehicles as Chevy’s Cruze, I speculated about such foolishness. I noted other gray-haired women like me at the wheel of their massive SUVs, and saw the future.
If those other little gray-haired women, not to mention Americans of all ages, would embrace smaller cars and forget their love affairs with the tanks, factories like the one in Lordstown would come alive again.
Laurie Levy
Chicago
To the Editor:
My wife and I recently uncovered hundreds of photos my parents took 50 years ago, when my family took summer road trips. The slides of campgrounds, national parks, scenic overlooks and roadside attractions also happened to capture the cars on the roads and highways in more than 40 states.
What stands out is that every single car and station wagon in the photographs, except for the occasional VW, was built by one of America’s Big Four car manufacturers — General Motors, Ford, Chrysler and American Motors. Our family had an American Motors Rambler station wagon.
Every vehicle in these many hundreds of pictures represented an investment that Americans were putting into our Midwestern workers in the car and many related industries (like steel), and into strong unions and high standards of living. What has happened to this country and — in economics as in so many other ways — to our caring for one another?
James Adler
Cambridge, Mass.
Source: Read Full Article