THE OTHER ILLNESSES AFFECTING THE AUTO INDUSTRY.

By Peter M. DeLorenzo

Detroit. Now that we’re deep in the throes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) – and it is no laughing matter in terms of the devastating effect it has having throughout the global auto industry – the predictions of how this will ultimately play out, or what the duration will be, are simply pure speculation at this point. 

The sign that things were no longer normal, or under control, in terms of dealing with this virus was the sudden – and last-minute – cancellation of the 2020 Geneva Motor Show, a decision that cost the collective manufacturers hundreds of millions of dollars. That this might have a snowball effect throughout the industry and spread to other events on the global auto calendar is turning the business upside down at the moment. And how it will shake out remains to be seen.

But rather than dwell on COVID-19, because we’re all really sick of it and hope it goes away in a hurry for lack of a better course of action, since we’re all basically helpless up to a point, I thought I’d spend some time today discussing some other illnesses affecting the auto biz. Fortunately, these assorted illnesses won’t put anyone in the hospital, but they have their own set of devastating effects nonetheless...

The dreaded “Not Invented Here” Syndrome. You would think that this time-honored homage to mediocrity and delusional thinking was put to pasture long ago in this business, but you would be wrong. As much as manufacturer operatives talk a good game about being open to new thinking and engaged in embracing different points of view, ultimately it comes down to the notion that they’re much more comfortable in their own boots and their own hoary avenues of thinking. One Dearborn-based manufacturer in particular has an overwhelming belief that it can do whatever it is better, faster and ultimately cheaper than anyone else, when in fact it doesn’t do it as well, takes at least twice as long to do it – if not more – and brings it in for three times the cost (usually much more, in fact). And they have suffered greatly over the years because of that company credo. 

The debilitating “Kick The Can Down The Road” Affliction. This particular illness is not fading away. In fact, it is growing in stature and importance. Scheduling a meeting has become an art form. It allows the players involved to hear themselves talk – which is a sub-illness unto itself – and it provides the illusion of actually doing work while allowing the participants to seem interested and engaged. That decisions of consequence are usually not made in these meetings is part of the protocol, because everyone is waiting for the executive who gave the original directive to make a decision, or change his or her mind, whichever comes first, which then allows the whole process to start all over again.

The classic “Cover Your Ass” Infection. I wrote about this in the very first issue of AE. Back then it was ingrained in middle managers that their first order of business was not to do a great job on a project, or to go the extra mile to complete an assignment. No, it was to make his or her boss look good, no matter what. That took priority over anything else, because in the bureaucratic morass that defines the “vast gray middle” at these car companies, covering your ass meant the path to proverbial gold stars, a suitable bonus or even a promotion. Is it still going on? Yes, of course it is. It might be masked, or couched in more subtle tones, but it is definitely present and accounted for. 

The “Emperor Has No Clothes” Pomposity Virus. That executives are easily sucked in to the pomp and circumstance of the job is well-documented. This is understandable, after all, because it’s human nature and auto executives display a boatload of human frailties at any given moment. It’s also very easy for your typical auto executive to start to believe his or her own press clippings, since too many in the automotive media are prone to canonizing these executives for no legitimate reason other than to gain more “exclusive” access through their dedicated PR minions. (See the pitiful past performances by the media when it came to Sergio, Carlos, Captain Queeg, etc.) The net result of all of this orchestrated bootlicking is that these executives start to believe in the dulcet tones of their own thought balloons, to the detriment of everyone and everything else.

The devastating “Sun Spot Contagion.” Last but not least is the uncanny knack by car company executives and operatives to assign blame to absolutely anything and everything else, rather than embrace the notion of accountability. A bad quarter? “We had to make some difficult decisions due to in-market disruptions.” (We stunk it up so bad that none of the top executives are available for the analyst call.) The latest Belchfire Luxury 8 isn’t selling? “Our product mix was front-loaded with heavily optioned units; we’ve corrected that now.” (It’s such a design disaster that dealers have simply stopped ordering them until the incentives are jacked up.) The latest product launch is a disaster? “We had some initial glitches, which required us to spend more time than we liked on after-production fixes.” (It was such a cluster that we’re having to rebuild the sonofabitches one by one.) The ultimate culprit taking its place in the blame game, whether it be a disastrous product launch, a horrid financial performance, or a piss-poor design failure? 

Sunspots. You can always resort to blaming it on Sunspots.

And that’s the High-Octane Truth for this week.