US Automakers Choose Not to be the Best

I was talking with an out-of-state CEO of an auto parts manufacturer last week and he confirmed what I had suspected. This man's company supplies both American and Japanese auto manufacturers and he said that his Japanese buyers think first of quality and then price. The American car manufacturers, on the other hand, think first of price and then of quality. This comes from a man who knows both sides.

One thing about Americans is that we have a firm belief that that we can do a better job than anyone in the world. We have a lot of empirical evidence to back up this belief - and that deep-rooted belief in ourselves makes the excellence possible. Therefore it is all the more disturbing that we, as exemplified by our auto manufacturers, often choose not to be the best at whatever we do.