Who Killed The Electric Car?- Page 2

[Yawper]

Posted: 6/1/07 at 6:02pm

That's a cop-out. The manufacturers don't make money off their warranty work, and after the warranty period ends non-OEM (truly aftermarket) parts are on the market and the OEMs don't make money from those. Frankly the oil companies make more money thanks to the oil and other fluid change requirements of routine maintenance (once again the oilies shifting blame to the auto companies!!)
Updated On: 6/1/07 at 06:02 PM

[Craig]

Posted: 6/1/07 at 7:55pm

The dealerships make money on maintenance - in or out of warranty... it's not a cop out really...

[Yawper]

Posted: 6/1/07 at 11:11pm

yeah, it's a cop-out

The dealerships make money on repairs - the manufacturers don't - and there isn't a lot that's going to go away with electric motors: the fuel, cooling, ignition, and exhaust systems are it. Electrical components will still fail (and are the most difficult to diagnose until they TOTALLY fail). Accidents will still occur. Suspensions will still exist and tire rotations, brake, and transmission work is still there. The electrical work (usually the highest priced) will increase.

[Craig]

Posted: 6/2/07 at 1:14pm

My statement wasn't limited to the manufacturers.

And clearly you are passionate about the subject - while this debate is interesting, my initial post was to state how much I enjoyed the documentary.

And I'll say something that I said to those who took issue with Farenheit 911 or any of Michael Moore's pieces. Whether you agree with it or not (and the opinions or not) - what's even more important are the questions that are raised.

I would imagine that many Americans know nothing or very little about this endeavor (the electric car) - so regardless of the postives or negatives you might have on the subject or the way it was presented, I would find it hard to believe you'd be against the AWARENESS that such a film creates.

[Yawper]

Posted: 6/2/07 at 2:09pm

I hate to say it, but I'm not really impressed with most Americans' critical thinking skills, that's why badly skewed information needs rebutting.

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 6/2/07 at 3:12pm

Where do you think dealerships get the materials to make repairs? If those repairs are for fewer parts, both dealerships and manufacturers lose money. I agree that this is mostly an oil issue, but car manufacturers aren't completely silent on the issue.

[Yawper]

Posted: 6/2/07 at 3:26pm

Which repairs?

For warranty work the automaker provides them free of charge - no money made

For non-warranty work the parts usually come from what are called Tier 1 parts suppliers - not the automakers. If the vehicles are old enough the parts don't even have to come from the Tier 1s but from other companies like the ones that supply auto parts stores, which aren't the automakers - actually most aftermarket auto parts nowadays are made in China.

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 6/2/07 at 3:45pm

Yes, some parts come from suppliers (Tier 1 suppliers are the "largest" of these companies -- like Delphi, not the catch all name for suppliers). But, frankly, these companies don't even make enough money to survive -- most of them are bankrupt, being bought by risky investors, or are on their way to bankruptcy. Why? Because the car manufacturers are selling parts at extremely competitive rates. And, to clarify, last year, 2006, only roughly 1/3 of auto parts were imported. The trend is going up (mostly because we are laying off people at a disproportionate rate), but there are still roughly twice as many car parts made in the US as all imports put together.

[Yawper]

Posted: 6/2/07 at 3:59pm

"Because the car manufacturers are selling parts at extremely competitive rates."

Absolutely not - Delphi is the former parts division of GM, which spun Delphi off becaue of it's losses. The majority of parts suppliers going under are those whose primary business is directly supplying the domestic automakers for line assembly and warranty work, so when the majors go down so do the suppliers. The automakers themselves make almost no parts that would be rendered obsolete by electric motors.

The competition for the Tier suppliers that do try to service the aftermarket sector is Chinese (who are now even undercutting the Koreans).

[suzycat]

Posted: 6/2/07 at 7:50pm

This was a great film.