Strategy to Help the Big Three Survive & Thrive
U.S. WheelHouse™ is a Magnet Project designed to help revitalize the most vital American industry: car and truck manufacturing. These are desperate times for the Big Three. They face tremendous obstacles to their viability and even survival.
Desperate times call for bold moves. They call for thinking “outside the box with both feet planted on the ground.” The Big Three can be
A cold look at the current automotive industrial scene leads us to these conclusions. This is not 1958 when it was Ford vs. Chevrolet, Chrysler vs. Buick and
When it comes to manufacturing, jobs, international trade and national security, let us remember that as Americans, we are ALL on the home team.
If the
With this ultimate reality show in mind, what can Chrysler, Ford and General Motors do to win back the hearts and minds of the American people?
They can reduce factory and dealer marketing costs, including advertising and costly incentives if they join a new all-American cooperative marketing program under the banner of U.S. WheelHouse™. This concept takes the “auto mall” several steps further in a dramatic fashion by introducing the Metro Marketing Center™ .
Chrysler, Ford and General Motors can demonstrate concern for their fellow citizens (customers) by offering shopping convenience and easy financing plans for the two most important needs of American families. The
As the drawings and PDFs show, the Metro Marketing Center™ is a large complex comparable in size to a major regional shopping center. It is situated on a major thoroughfare or adjacent to an Interstate artery in or peripheral to a large
The layout of the complex is such that it looks like a wheel from an aerial view, with circular showroom “pods” radiating from a reception area “hub”. Entry corridors and corridors to the showrooms resemble “spokes” of the wheel. The outer perimeter is a wide circular drive with parking on both sides that forms the “tire”. Most of the circular pods are showrooms for Chrysler, Ford and General Motors cars and trucks. Classic cars, concept cars, hotrods and “kit” cars will occupy one pod. This pod is more of an entertainment showroom to attract the public and contains a food court. Another pod is a showroom for American brand motorcycles, custom choppers, snowmobiles and ATVs.
Large buildings beyond the outer perimeter of the wheel are showrooms for American brand heavy trucks (Freightliner, International, Kenworth/Peterbilt and Mack.) One of these buildings is a showroom for motor homes and recreational vehicles.
Model homes are set up between the “spokes” of the wheel. These showcase engineered factory built housing, commercial modules and room additions.
Vehicle showrooms can be staffed by local Big Three dealers and the model homes can be staffed by local builder/dealers who represent the engineered building factories. As an alternative, specially trained U.S. WheelHouse™ staff can man the showrooms.
There will be no need for Chrysler, Ford and General Motors to go into the housing business other than to offer finance packages. Literally hundreds of engineered homebuilding factories and their local builder/dealer networks can handle erection and finishing of homes, townhouses and condo buildings across the
The U.S. WheelHouse™ program will help Chrysler, Ford and General Motors survive and thrive in the foreseeable future. It will help them win back
Chrysler, Ford and GM can put the “Big” back in Big Three by launching and operating this bold All-American enterprise.
After all, how many Americans want to see an
(See the open letter to the big Guys at the Big Three downloadable press release from Society for American Industry.)
Comments on this proposal are welcome. Please confine the topics to (1) helping American brand (Big Three) sell more vehicles and (2) preserving and increasing American jobs.