More Blog Stories

I just like writing Blog stories. That may explain why I have written so many over the past little while.  Of course, not being able to go for walk because of this extremely cold weather means that I have to find an alternative way to pass the time because I am not working any more. One of the ways I have chosen to do so is to write more stories because I have the time.

The biggest advantage for me to do this is the requirement to work my "brain" better. That is one of the goals that I must reach. One of the after-effects of my illness is the loss of some of my brain power. Accordingly, there are things that I just cannot do as well as I did in the past. Therefore, I must figure out alternative ways to help me try to achieve what I have lost mentally to do. To be direct, that is the reason why I do write on here. It forces me to figure out ways to try to achieve what I was able to accomplish before.

I have found a number of matters that have drawn my attention a lot over the last little while and thought that I should write about them. I hope you find them of interest to you as well.

WILL SMALL CARS STILL BE BUILT 

A long time ago I used to work in the car industry. After all, that is the reason why I moved to Windsor from Toronto. It was quite fascinating for me to be involved although for my last few years working in that industry I was not really focusing on the car business directly. No matter though because, when one lives in Windsor, the car industry plays a major role and one thinks about it all the time.

I just read a terrific Associated Press article that deals with smaller cars. The theme of the story was that small cars aren't really all that relevant right now to purchasers but rather people are looking to buy SUVs:

"New small cars unveiled at auto show but will anyone buy?

…But cars — particularly small ones — are having a tough time getting buyers to look their way as SUVs grow in popularity.

Car sales are expected to hit a record low this year after steadily declining for several years. SUVs surpassed cars for the first time in 2016, and the gap only widens: Auto shopping site Edmunds.com forecasts the utilities will make up 43.5 per cent of new vehicle sales this year, while cars will fall to 34.5 per cent." (The Associated Press, January 16, 2018) 

To be honest, I find that quite astounding. Why would anyone want to buy a SUV? Isn't driving car so much sexier! Moreover, why would one want to buy such a big vehicle. Does it make any sense to anyone?

I must admit that is what I was wondering when I read the article.  It seemed quite strange to me that such a conclusion would be reached. Yet, the vehicles that I have owned for so many years, especially when our family only owned one, were not smaller ones but rather minivans. And in the last few years, we have been driving a Ford Escape, a small SUV, and enjoying it considerably.  In fact, my wife and I have been discussing this matter recently and talked about getting another SUV when the lease on the vehicle we are driving expires rather than getting a car, even a small one.

Why then did the writer focus so much on the smaller car business even though their volumes were decreasing. Here is why they are still being considered:

"There are economies of scale, since many cars are sold globally, including in overseas markets where small cars are more popular. Then there’s the “gateway” effect, according to Michelle Krebs, an executive analyst for the car buying site Autotrader.com.

“A small car is likely the first new vehicle a young person buys,” she said in an email. “So it is particularly important to make a good impression so that person sticks with a brand and moves up the size and price ladder.”

Sure, there is a need for us to focus on SUVs but let us not forget that the Automobile Industry will still be producing smaller vehicles for a variety of reasons because there always will be a big market for that sized vehicle. The object of the exercise for the manufacturer is to get a purchaser to buy its vehicle when it purchases its first one and then hopefully remains within its auto family forever.

SPEAKING OF CARS

I have to admit that I am surprised that Windsor/Detroit did not make the Top 20 list of areas that were chosen to compete for another major centre for Amazon. In other words, for Amazon HQ2.

To be honest, I never expected that our area would make it as the winner but nevertheless I expected that it could well be considered as one of the better areas where this kind of a project could be done. Unfortunately, those who were making the decisions, did not even choose our area as one of the finalists.

Here is what part of what CNNtech published about Detroit. It was shown as the first of the list of some of the other cities that were not picked:

"Detroit, Michigan

The Motor City, which declared bankruptcy in 2013, pitched itself to Amazon as a region experiencing an exciting revival. 

"Move here. Move the world," declared a flashy video that accompanied its bid. 

Detroit's 242-page proposal, reviewed by Crain's Detroit Business, shows that the city offered to remake its downtown area -- as well as 30 years of hefty tax breaks. The state also said it planned to launch a $120 million initiative to expand its tech workforce. 

But it wasn't enough for Amazon." (Julia Horowitz, CNNtech, January 19, 2018) 

I must admit that I am not all that disappointed about the loss considering what it might really have cost Windsor to have it built here. I am not really sure if proper numbers are shown in materials put forward as the cost by any of the regions across North America. In any event, the amount was $106 million as the price that Windsor would put up. Here though is how the Mayor described it and presumably why there was not a major concern about putting up so much money:

"Windsor's incentive package according to "Crains Detroit Business" is valued at about $106-million U.S which Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens says is a 'notional figure' which includes tax incentives and possibly the Paul Martin building downtown…

[Mayor Dilkens said] "We have put forward a plan that we think makes a lot of sense and one that we think we can do and one that we think is attractive to a company like Amazon."

Dilkens points out the dollar figure is a value of what was offered saying, "it doesn't mean it is cash out of the pockets of taxpayers in the City of Windsor." (Teresinha Medeiros, AM800 CKLW, December 20, 2017) 

I do not believe that we should be upset about what happened if realistically this area had little chance of winning. What we should be happy about is that the regions on both sides of the border CAN work together to improve the economic potential of this area.

Should we at least hope that people on both sides of the river can now see the opportunity between us for what should be done, especially in the automobile industry, to make this region unbelievably successful economically!

US TRAINS ARE OPPOSED TO POSSIBLE NAFTA DIFFICULTIES

I just read this news story the other day. Note that, while the story was posted from New York City, the company that I saw that published it was from the other side of the world. It was an online poster that was the link that I saw for whatever reason.

In any event, here is what the story was about:

"Major US railroads warn Trump against derailing Nafta

Major US railroads yesterday warned President Donald Trump of the potential financial and political consequences of scrapping the North American Free Trade Agreement and urged US, Mexican, and Canadian officials to find ways to modernize the accord. Trump has threatened to withdraw from the agreement, which is heavily utilized by US and Canadian railroads hauling freight such as cars, beer, and grain across the three countries.

Some 35 per cent of annual US rail industry revenue is directly linked to international trade, according to the Association of American Railroads lobby group.

Kansas City Southern Chief Executive Officer Pat Ottensmeyer told Reuters at a rail shippers’ conference that scrapping Nafta would put supply chains, jobs and consumers at risk and could come back to haunt Trump politically." (Malaymail Online, January 18, 2018) 

It is very interesting to me to see such strong support for this joint Canada/US program and to see how businesses are prepared to tell the Governments to keep it in existence. I would think that the US President needs to reconsider what he is proposing and get a deal done quickly. I would think that the Republicans who are running for office this year will try very hard to make sure of that if they want to get re-elected!