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Double D
climber
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Topic Author's Original Post - May 3, 2009 - 06:53pm PT
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While fixing a pool-side umbrella the other day with duct-tape and bailing-wire I was reminded of the parallels of our current economy, particularly the Chrysler bailout / Fiat fiasco, and the simple art of quick fixes that we in America are so talented at. Let me explain.
I’m a simple guy who grew up in a middle-class family who loves God, my family, friends and country but not necessarily in that order. I’ve been referred to as a “dirtbag” in my early years but let me explain that this just meant that I traded a few years of college for what many family and friends call an intense lifestyle. You see I was obsessed with climbing and while it can be a very intense sport the lifestyle I assure you wasn’t “intense” but rather “in tent”s hence the label “dirtbag.” Being practical I’ve had plenty of vehicles and relationships held together with duct tape and bailing wire. In fact if I were majoring in this field I would be donning the letters of DTABW (duct-tape and bailing-wire) next to my name on all letterheads. My list of excuses for avoiding any real “gainful” employment or commitments rivaled that of the schemes from my favorite comedy sketches of the Three Stooges back in the day.
Occasionally when living as a dirt-bag you must rely upon creative craft to overcome the “challenge de jour. It’s not always about style, but survival so I get it when one doesn’t always display grace when warding off the woes of life. Take for example one time when putting on a slide show in one of the side rooms of the Awanee Hotel, Yosemite’s finest crib. An austere manager walked up to me and asked what I was doing. By this time in the show we had attracted several other dirt-bags and over a dozen genuine hotel guests gazing in awe over the dramatic shots from our 3rd ascent of the famed “Pacific Ocean Wall” on Yosemite’s own El Capitan. I looked at my nearest accompanist, Augie Klein, and said, “hey Aug, didn’t you tell me that you got permission from the manager?” to which he replied, I thought you and Zaccor did… where’s Zaccor?” Needless to say, the audience of both respectable and dirtbags were not grooving on this manager’s attitude and verbally expressed their discontent with her. She mentioned that she was going to check the schedule and confirm our legitimacy and that she’d be right back with the authorities if necessary. In a very well-coordinated sweep we bolted out with cords draping and slide boxes stuffed under our arms explaining to the guests that we may have overlooked some minor details and needed to go see a man about a dog, so to speak. Sometimes life throws you into situations where grace is just evasive.
Now I know from both personal experience and history, success oftentimes comes upon the heels of numerous failures. Henry Ford is still one of the American figures that I hold near and dear to my heart. His many failures demonstrate the power of perseverance. In my own life I’ve had many successes and failures and know that failures could be looked at as stepping stones towards success.
So what does all of this have to do with Chrysler and Fiat? Well plenty. For starters duct-tape and bailing-wire are typically used for temporary repairs, not permanent fixes. With longevity in mind, the creative craftsman repairs with temporary measures while evaluating the re-design to avoid a repeated failure. If given the chance to re-create, this guy usually knows how to avoid the weakness that brought about the failure in the first place and “fix” the problem in subsequent offerings. In Chryslers case they got into trouble in the 1970’s partially because they didn’t offer cars that the American public wanted to buy, especially in view of the gas crisis that had developed. In 1979 they were successful at conniving congress into passing the "Chrysler Corporation Loan Guarantee Act of 1979" effectively bailing out the troubled giant. Their promise was to re-tool (“fix”) the company and emerge with innovation and strength. They promptly paid back the government loans by 1983 through what some might call a system of smoke and mirrors bookkeeping and came out looking very good in the public eye but they were still churning out essentially the same gas-guzzling, high maintenance cars that the American public was already fed up with.
Like most Americans I’ll probably only purchase a dozen or so cars in my lifetime. When I’m not happy with the reliability or performance of a vehicle I don’t take it lightly. In fact they get effectively crossed off of my list for future purchase consideration. On the other hand, when I find something that is well crafted, reliable and performs well I tend to stick with it…even for generations. My evaluations don’t just pertain to my personal experience but extend to close family and friends experiences as well. Back in the 1970’s I owned a Fiat and my parents owned a Chrysler. Both were respectively the worst cars in our family’s recent history. They only redeeming feature that comes to mind about my little green Fiat of years gone by is that she took to catching air quite well during my wild and reckless days and survived many ‘o left lane landings. But I regress.
So they other day when I heard about Fiat taking a 20 percent share of Chrysler I started busting up. I mean this is like the blind leading the blind. Even my first-generation Italian friends forfeit their national pride when it comes to Fiat and shake their head in disbelief. It’s kind of like if you’re the parent of a 13 year old, they always want to walk about fifty feet behind you in public just to assure that nobody makes the connection that you are actually related to them. I’m sure both companies make a few cars that some love but I don’t get a “warm and fuzzy” feeling when I hear either brand’s name mentioned.
So are we to believe that the promises of our massive, tax-payer bailout, resulting in a “fix” or with a leery eye are we construing this as a “duct-tape and bailing-wire” repair? Perhaps only time will tell. Until then we each have to figure out how to explain this burden to our children’s children.
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John Moosie
climber
Beautiful California
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I was thinking the same thing Double D. Unreliability teamed up with unreliability. I love the ruggedness of the jeep, but the things break down too much. You have to wonder what the CEOs are thinking. Aren't they aware that they aren't known for reliability and that this hurts them?
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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Dodge was a solid project. Go with that!
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Ricky D
Trad climber
Sierra Westside
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I recall Fiat standing for "Fix It Again Tony".
But I am worried that parts for my Jeep are going to be hard to find - should have bought a 4Runner instead.
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mooser
Trad climber
seattle
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I smell duct tape and bailing wire, Double D. In a way, it seems like a really funny partnership, but also a bit desperate. My dad used to buy Fiats that had had engine fires (makes you wonder why so many were available to him), relegated to junkyards, and then rebuild them. We had a series of Fiats in the family for quite a while back in the 70s--more as a hobby for him than anything else. They were fun to drive, but boy howdy...there's also a good reason you don't see any Fiat dealerships around, too. But the more I think about it, would Fiat be a liability to Chrysler, or Chrysler a liability to Fiat? Hmmm...
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TradIsGood
Chalkless climber
the Gunks end of the country
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Making a decision about all of the products of a company based upon one purchase does seem a little naive.
It is popular to diss companies these days based upon recent results.
Just off the top of your head, without resorting to any search engines, try naming 10 companies with a longer history in one business than Chrysler.
It is also popular to say that they made things people did not want. So explain why the mini van is one of the most emulated, and at Chrysler, longest running products. Explain the Jeep history while you are at it. The Wrangler traces its history well longer than the average life of companies.
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Double D
climber
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Topic Author's Reply - May 4, 2009 - 01:09am PT
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While it may be popular to dis large companies these days that’s not my intent and as I mentioned I’m sure both companies make some good vehicles. Let’s take the Jeep for example, and all time classic and time proven rig for the tierra unfirma. Great that serves a portion of the population well. Volkswagons also served the public well back in the day but most of us who owned them had permanent grease under our fingernails and the time spent repairing them would have been more profitable collecting cans for the five cent refunds. I know plenty of folks who still own Jeeps but it’s a labor of love…and I get it…they’re a blast!
My concerns are simple; 1) Are we nationalizing our corporations at the expense of our children’s children and 2) Is the government necessarily the best operator of large corporations? Maybe they are… I’m not convinced.
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E Robinson
climber
Salinas, CA
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The original bailout of the automakers at the end of 2008 played some value in creating stability for the American workforce. It was nice to see the Obama Administration put into place a level of accoutnability for the CEO and Executives.
The TARP (also from last year) and administered by Sect'y Paulson seemed seemed to be VERY poorly implemented and thought out...throwing money at banks with few conditions...huh...it was like continuing with the culture of deregulation that got us into the mess as marked by the Reagan-Bush-Clinton-Bush era.
The stimulus package (ARRA) seems much more targeted towards creating real economic opportunity for working people...from infrastucture projects, to investments in green collar jobs, to supporting financial bridges for people who've lost their job or are working for very lw wages.
The real cost to our kids grandkids are the mega-bonuses the CEO's and corporate executives have been grabbing.
Speaking of duct tape, one of my more amusingt memories is of giving an Aeroflot helicopter pilot some duct tape from my water bottle to patch up the underside of the rotor on a Afghan War surplus helicopter ferrying folks to the Inylchek Glacier (1994). I think it was French team that got on the helicopter next :-)
E
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