Skip to main content

I Can Save the US Auto Industry, Really!

I have the answer! I really do. But I want to lay out some ideas before dropping the bomb on you.


A few disclaimers before we get started...

In reality, I have very little car experience. Never marketed a car, built a car or designed a car. That said, I've paid for CV boots, brakes, tires and once, an entire new front end. I've wrecked a few cars (no one hurt), and certainly spent plenty of time at the gas pump. I have washed cars occassionally, but don't like it that much.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, here are some actual disclaimers:


  1. I'm not a huge car nut. My brother fills that gap in our family. I did once subscribe to Car & Driver, but only for a short time. I tend to view cars as a depreciating asset, but I do trip out when I see a really cool looking ride.

  2. I actually (delusional or brilliant, you tell me) believe I can save the US Auto Industry with my idea.

  3. The idea is free for you to take and use. All I ask is that I get a free one of my choice one day.


As I said, I am not going to simply drop the idea on you just like that. It would feel trivial I think. Or be misunderstood. You might make smarmy comments on my blog like "you idiot" or "that's the dumbest thing ever. Go die jerkboy." Stuff like that.



Instead, in this first post, I'm going to layout a few ideas. You smarties out there will see where this is going straightaway. Feel free to use your car industry contacts to take the idea and make it happen.

Concept 1: Most folks don't give a crap about [high] performance

Since I have literally no statistics, I'm going to take the bloggers perogative and assume this is true for MOST (but not all) of us. If it is true, I'm already on the right track. Sure, lots of folks want high performance vehicles. But me, I just want something efficient that never breaks. My solution isn't for those of you who can afford $150,000 cars. Hell, it isn't for those of you who can afford $50,000 cars. The sort of performance we want is fuel economy and advanced cup holding technology.

Concept 2: My solution bets on the fact that the theater of cars is the most important factor

As I mentioned in a recent tweet, "my auto industry solution based on: It's a fact that U.S. Auto design has always been more about theater than innovation." I'll expand on this soon, but you already know it's true, don't you!

Concept 3: My solution requires a totally new business model. The record companies thought Napster was tough - ha! My solution will require even more pain (hey, I never said my solution was going to be easy did I?)

Ok, more to come soon... if you can guess what my solution here is by leaving a comment, I'll give you a special prize. Yes, I'll tell you if you are right.

Labels:

Comments

Unknown said…
Disposable, recyclable cars that never need an oil change?
9:55 AM
Marc Sirkin said…
Interesting, but no.
9:57 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Would Google Do: Non-Profit Edition

I've been tweeting and yapping to friends about Jeff Jarvis's terrific book " What Would Google Do " even before I've properly finishing the thing. I sat myself down tonight and plowed through the last 100 pages where Jarvis examines different industries including automotive, manufacturing, telcom, healthcare and more to see what Google would do if they were in those businesses. On one hand, I was really hoping that Jarvis had taken a look at the non-profit sector given my personal history in the sector and my ongoing interest in how non-profits operate. I'll also note that I used to write a fairly well read non-profit marketing blog . Unfortunately, the book doesn't delve into this much, if at all. I thought, instead of a basic set of notes or a book review as I usually do that I'd jump back in time and take a look at the sector with fresh, and "Googley" eyes. If you haven't yet read the book, the basic premise is that Google fundamenta
24 comments
Read more

The Future of Non-Profit Fundraising is Already Here, and You Are Not Ready

This blog post is loosely transcribed from a talk I gave as part of a Future of Non-profits meet up hosted by my buddy  David Neff . I was asked to do no more than 5 minutes and came up with the following. I'm also posting my hand scribbled notes I used to plan the talk, may as well show you my doctor like scribble. The notes were written on my iPad mini using Penultimate in case you were wondering. And now... the talk... Hi everyone and good morning (In my head there is awesome music playing!). My name is Marc Sirkin and I'm currently a Director with PwC, focused on helping organizations transform their digital marketing and social media. I spent 10 years in the non-profit sector, with large health charities such as March of Dimes, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Autism Speaks. Most recently, I've been volunteering and doing pro-bono work for much smaller organizations focused on mentoring and youth. Before I jump in, let me warn you, I'm extremely enam
Post a Comment
Read more

1-2-3 TEAM

My older daughter is playing on a high school sports team and frankly, I'm surprised at how little focus there has been on the "team"  as opposed to what seems to be a singular focus on individuals. I know some of it is normal; lots of in-fighting, jealousy and misunderstandings between kids who are all eager to do well. However, the overall feeling I get so far from observing things is that the school and coaches have simply forgotten that they should be teaching "team first" concepts. Most of these kids will end their sports careers in the next 2/3 years, especially the girls. I've been talking to more and more parents and am hearing that girls in particular drop off teams and for spring sports, rarely play out their senior season. I'm unsure if  this is a generalization or a trend but it seems to be more true than false. The chances of playing college level team sports is slim - which is of course why some players continually focus on their indi
1 comment
Read more