A Belated Pox on Foreign Carmakers
By James T. Moore (09/05/07)
So much has been written about 9/11 since the time of the tragedy that some important things may have been forgotten; or even overlooked by the media. It happens, you know. So, at this time, a "reminder" seems to be in order, if a bit late.
Even if you flunked Latin, you probably know what quid pro quo means: a fair exchange, an equitable give-and-take, something for something, you rub my back, I’ll rub yours.
Quid pro quo seems to be a lawyer’s stock in trade. Ditto for politicians, businessmen, bankers, traders, sales executives, even high rollers in any business. Which brings us to a news report about a corporate quid pro quo in the automotive industry. Although a bit dog-eared, this report bears re-reporting. You’ll see why presently.
To re-cap, it seems that Ford and General Motors were among the generous contributors to the relief and recovery efforts after the World Trade Center tragedy. According to the report, Ford gave $1 million to the American Red Cross, plus ten excursions to the New York Fire Department, and other gifts. GM gave $1 million to the American Red Cross, plus a fleet of vans, suv’s, and trucks.
And the gifts go on: Daimler Chrysler gave $10 million to help the children and victims of the September 11th attack. Harley Davidson gave $1 million, and 30 new motorcycles to the New York Police Department. Volkswagen employees and management funded a $2 million Foundation for the victims of WTC. Hyundai popped for $300,000 to the American Red Cross.
Most foreign carmakers, however, tend to ignore Latin in times of crises; especially the quid pro quo part. These are the big wheels who are making tons of money and taking that tonnage out of this country and putting into their own country’s piggy bank, completely “forgetting” where they got their bread and butter. When it comes to giving a little back to America in a time of tragedy they conveniently run out of gratitude. Apparently business is business.
What did Audi give? Nothing. BMW? Zip. Daewoo? Zero. Fiat? Nada. Honda? Goose egg, even though they had the second best sales month ever, the same year that the WTC went down.
To continue with this empty gift basket: Isuzu gave nothing. Mitsubishi? Zilch. Nissan? Uh uh. Porsche? A big cipher, but then their press releases with condolences were nice. Suzuki? No show. Toyota? Condolences on their website. Subaru? They gave at the office.
In light of this tight-fistedness, you might want to think “American” when buying your next automobile. I figure there are two lessons to learn from this: First, loyalty is often rewarded with indifference. Second, some quids have lopsided pro quos: you drive away with their cars, they drive away with your country.
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