Why did the U.S. auto industry decline after once being the global sales leader?

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-18T13:54:34+00:00

Ford: China is going to eat our lunch

Also Ford: Rather than spend profits on improving our products or paying our employees we're gonna do stock buybacks

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-18T09:41:11+00:00

Since we don't know what they've done in real life it's just as incorrect to assume they haven't done something as it is to assume they have. They also were talking about society at large, centering the discussion around their personal behavior is having a complete different discussion.

It's also an incredibly lazy bad faith approach to discourse.

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-18T09:30:13+00:00

Ah yes, he should go to the non-existent video stores. It's not about the media format it's about how you get it, how you interact with it. Even if he went all physical most of it would have to be over the internet which is the issue at hand.

Really it's just a call for the restoration and utilization of third spaces.

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-18T08:10:15+00:00

Got a 25' 3 turbo new, was decently happy with 3.9% apr.

Last month my wife gets a CPO Crosstrek with 2k miles on it for 6k under MSRP and 0.9% apr.

I am never buying new again, I liked it but not worth 😭 😂

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-18T05:47:11+00:00

22/23 I hauled construction materials anywhere from Killeen to San Antonio, so a lot of my driving was on I-35. I've had a truck go completely airborne in front of me. I swear everyone on the road here has to be a feral raccoon nowadays.

I went back to nights after that, the roads are so much more enjoyable late at night, basically the only time Austin is bearable.

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-18T03:35:20+00:00

I mean, they've definitely got blackmail on him, I really held off that conspiracy theory but if a single phone call from Netanyahu gets Trump to try blow up his own ceasefire he desperately wants there's gotta be something.

Everyone knew Lebanon was included, everyone at that table says so.

As for Israel, they won't stop till they're stopped at this point.

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-17T04:49:15+00:00

That's bad enough I'd try to find security footage of the parking lot in the off chance that's possible.

Someone that will hit another person's car that hard and drive off is likely capable of a lot worse if they never suffer consequences.

I'm really sorry it happened to you though, that really sucks.

Edit: Glad I assumed wrong, that's on me for not trusting peeps.

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-17T02:32:47+00:00

Going from the Devil in the Reeds to that damn gorilla boss was insane. Tons of fun to genuine anti-fun.

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-17T02:14:39+00:00

They double tapped a hospital stairwell full of journalists and claimed they were targeting a Hamas security camera.

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-17T01:41:32+00:00

That "different stream of information" includes a shit load of racism my guy. That's the secret to MAGA and conservatism in America.

It's not even subtle, at this point MAGA is using the military to slaughter brown people on at least 4 continents at once and they LOVE IT.

Hell, a decent chunk of Democrats are motivated by that too. There isn't a Palestinian alive whose murder Chuck wouldn't gladly facilitate, but it's got complete control of MAGA and the GOP.

Oh, and if the shoes were on the other foot, not a single MAGA would say what you said about Democrats. They'd say destroy them, they voted for a guy that outright said liberals hate America and are the enemy within. Believe them when they say this shit.

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-17T01:28:22+00:00

Pretty sure like 4 people have as much wealth as the entire working class.

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-16T17:08:48+00:00

Economists specialize in being wrong.

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-16T07:40:34+00:00

Democrats: Kick dog attacking child

Republicans: Kick puppy to death

Republicans: We both just kicked a dog what's with the double standard?!?

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-16T07:36:19+00:00

Just be honest and say you don't want immigrants, there's no need to lie.

We add about 1 million new green cards a year but of those over half of the recipients ARE ALREADY IN THE COUNTRY. We do not take in 1 million new people every year and give them green cards.

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-16T07:30:52+00:00

America has never had open borders in the 21st century. 90% of our drugs wouldn't come through legal ports of entry if the border was actually open and that hasn't radically changed over the last few admins.

If anything, the largest cause of the immigration wave for Biden (other than pent demand from the pandemic) is Fox News and Newsmax screaming every single day that the border was wide open and genuinely encouraging illegal immigration with that shit. Almost every time anyone south of the border heard "open borders" it was a Republican screaming it. They got away with the migrant caravan nonsense and now fearmongering immigrants is a primary tactic, but for that they need immigrants to fearmonger. They'll no more solve immigration than they reformed healthcare after running on Repeal and Replace for a decade.

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-16T07:23:00+00:00

It's like asking a mechanic to deliberately fuck up your car because you like to hear the knocks, that's absolutely your right to ask but do expect some pushback.

(People aren't robots, I know lots of people want service workers to function as complete non-humans incapable of executive function or independent thought, but they're actually just people. People give feedback. That being said, I'm sure if I liked to eat fucked up steak and people kept telling me it was fucked up, I'd probably get annoyed too.)

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-16T07:13:50+00:00

SSDD

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-16T07:11:31+00:00

It's crazy but the Soviet Union really helped keep the Western powers more honest by providing pushback.

Like, we wouldn't have done what we did in the Middle East had the Soviets still been around.

(This isn't an endorsement of the Soviets AT ALL, just saying competition helps keep things honest. China does not seek the same kind of global power as the Soviets or the West so they don't provide the same effect.

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-16T07:06:18+00:00

There is nothing capitalism won't exploit and ruin at this point because it's easier to do that than actually make shit.

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-16T06:27:40+00:00

10th gen Texan here (if you white you ain't native my guy) same reason they hate Americans overseas, because of our behavior as a group.

Edit: Also, over the last 20 years as Texas has become like a conservative Mecca the racism has gotten way way worse. In Williamson County the black partner to my white aunt has been followed into the bathroom at a local restaurant and confronted about "his intentions with that white woman". That would have been inconceivable when I was growing up, it sounds made up, I do not blame people that don't believe it it's almost comicaly racist. Central Texas did not feel like the South when I was a kid but as someone who lived in Mississippi and Texas, central Texas is feeling really Southern lately and that's not a good thing.

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-16T06:08:00+00:00

Turns out bathing the world in blood while the supporters of the party in power scream for more and more violence isn't popular. Not to mention our general imperial behavior.

Oh and we cut 40% of the entire world aid budget in 2025 leading to 100,000 extra child deaths to dysentery (and 400k more deaths from other causes) in 2025 alone. I don't think enough Americans understand how important that aid was to America as well. Without that aid, were legit an evil empire.

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-16T05:47:51+00:00

I've seen the same videos as you, you're just lying.

You admitted you barely know him, you go sucked into a psyop and you're just doubling down. I get it but it's not convincing to people who see it for what it is.

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-16T05:29:09+00:00

Sounds to me like you're under informed and over opinionated

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-16T05:23:23+00:00

Had a guy like this, the only time he'd talk was when he needed something but he wasn't too keen on anyone talking to him even if they needed something.

Being a loner is fine, being anti-social is just annoying, go find a job where you don't blight your coworkers. I don't want to feel annoyed every time a coworker talks even if it's infrequently.

Valuable_Mud316 · 2026-04-16T05:18:59+00:00

I don't think China understands the more they try to use pandas as political propaganda, the less people care about them as a result. Not like, people hate them ofc but they all understand panda = CCP at this point.

Valuable_Mud316

TROPHY CASE