4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 13, 2006 OPINION J~ew1lrbftn aiI tt DoNN M. FRESARD Editor in Chief EMILY BEAM CHRISTOPHER ZBROZEK Editorial Page Editors ASHLEY DINGES Managing Editor EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com NOTABLE QUOTABLE 44I think criticism of the president is legitimate." -Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), criticiz- ing President Bush's wiretapping program, as reported yesterday by CNN.com. KATIE GARLINGHOUSE husE ARRL'T 0 ,' ...... z Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their author. II:;: .cr..) Manufacturing innovation SUHAEL MOMIN NO SURRENDER f1 Co n s u m e r Reports made its 2006 auto- mobile survey avail- able to the public last week, yet advance press reports broke the big story: American car companies were shut out of the top honors. Japanese giants Honda and Toyota, the latter of which will soon dis- place General Motors as the world's largest automaker, claimed seven of the 10 coveted "Top Pick" accolades, while an Infiniti (Nissan) and two Subarus rounded out the elite club. Much of the talk in Michigan for the last few years has been about the dying automobile industry and the state's dire economic situation: To be certain, the automation of auto lines and the increasing reliance on non-union labor in the South and across the world can be direct- ly linked to the state's woes. We've heard that Michigan isn't structured to compete - high corporate taxes and a deeply ingrained union culture hamper efficiency and saddle automak- ers with unnecessary burdens. But those issues are peripheral to the under- lying problem so poignantly captured by Con- sumer Reports - the failure, by Ford Motor Company and GM, to produce innovative, attractive product lines. As earnings reports make abundantly clear, the automobile industry as a whole isn't struggling. Japanese companies are having record-breaking years. Toyota and Honda have steadily gained ground in virtually every segment, and even Chrysler posted modest profits and market share gains. Only GM and Ford are struggling to move cars from dealer lots to driveways without crip- pling discounts. People around the world want more cars than they ever have. They just don't want a blue oval (or GM logo) on the hood. Japanese firms are reaping enormous prof- its because they can - unlike Ford and GM - demand top dollar for their cars. When Toy- ota and Honda can flash their "Top Pick" seals of approval, they don't need zero-down, zero- percent APR financing for three years to move their vehicles out of the dealership. GM and Ford, unfortunately, don't enjoy any such luxury. Consequently, even though Ameri- can cars can sell, they don't sell with very good profit margins. For a while, the success of sport utility vehi- cles and trucks covered for a weak lineup of reg- ular cars and luxury vehicles. While gas prices were low and 15 miles per gallon on the high- way was affordable, buyers were willing to pay undiscounted prices for Explorers and Yukons. But with gas prices promising to stay well above $2 a gallon, the inefficient vehicles are harder to sell - and balance sheets are showing more red. To add additional pain, the Japanese are chipping away at whatever market remains; the Honda Ridgeline won the coveted Motor Trend "2006 Truck of the Year" award. In the emerging market for efficient hybrid cars, American companies are playing a very lopsided game. While Toyota invested mil- lions of dollars in hybrid technology during the last decade, GM and Ford battled for truck and SUV supremacy. In the not-so-far-back era of cheap gas (Remember when it cost just slightly more than $1 per gallon? 2001.), execs at GM and Ford snickered at the Japanese for invest- ing in technologies aimed at hippies, greens and nobody else. Now that hybrids are all the rage, Ford is licensing technology from Toyota so it can compete against Toyota (using Toyota tech- nology) in the hybrid market. The bottom line? Toyota is playing a game it can't lose. And it's in that position because way back, before anyone knew whether hybrids would catch on, Toyota executives decided to gam- ble. They decided to look beyond the balance book and adopt a strategic vision. They figured cheap gas wouldn't stick around forever and put money into research. They accepted lower profits, because instead of basing decisions on quarterly earnings reports, they looked to the future. Only now, as the impending petroleum crisis comes into focus, are American compa- nies thinking about more efficient vehicles. The sad fact is that Ford and GM aren't in a position to compete effectively. They're behind the Japanese on alternative fuel- and hybrid technology. They're losing their domi- nance of the SUV and truck market. They haven't been major players in the luxury mar- ket for a long time. In the short run, GM and Ford are going to bleed cash. Restructuring union contracts and shutting down excess capacity will help alleviate that problem. But long-term secu- rity depends on, obviously, making products that sell. In the 1980s, when Toyota shocked American companies with its far more effi- cient manufacturing processes and factory designs, the Big Three quickly adapted. Two of them need another lesson. Momin can be reached at smomin@umich.edu LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Send all letters to the editor to tothedaily @michigandaily. com. Fresard playing to both sides of cartoon debate TO THE DAILY: The Daily's editorial judgment not to reprint cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad (What are we missing? 03/08/2006) can't be proven wrong. But spotlighting that judgment in a column challenging everyone to embrace controversial - indeed, offensive - material begs whether the editor-in-chief, Donn Fre- sard, is trying to work both sides of the intel- lectual street. Fresard excoriates politically correct aca- demia's "culture of offense," yet genuflects to these same sensibilities when citing "the shock of the images" as the reason why the Daily hasn't reprinted the Jyllands-Posten cartoons. This seems a distinction without a difference (i.e., I still don't get to see the cartoons), and undercuts the assertion that "the Daily will continue to print cartoons that may occasion- ally offend." Well, prove it. Nord Christensen Rackham 'U' should not reward community college students TO THE DAILY: There was a time when a university educa- tion was conceived of as more than the mere acquisition of a requisite number of units of academic study. It was seen as a coherent experience of living and learning in a con- tinuous community for a period of four years. The combination of the ongoing experience of interaction with one's fellow students, along with the continuous challenge of a rigorous in-class experience, was what constituted the grounds for the award of a degree. Admis- sion of transfer students, especially those from community colleges, runs contrary to this entire philosophy and should be discouraged, contrary to what the Daily argued in a recent editorial (Transfer on in, 03/08/2006). Community colleges frequently offer a sub-. standard level of academic rigor, in addition to failing to provide the challenge of a communi- ty learning environment. A University degree advertises a certain level of both personal and and the University is at great pains to adver- tise this fact to those who may not be aware of it. Additionally, it has been proven that obtaining a Michigan degree substantially increases one's earning potential. Thus, a certain amount of borrowing for the educa- tion is little more than a wise use of modern financial techniques. Therefore, the Univer- sity should not reward students, of whatever background, who choose to go to community college with further efforts to recruit them. The University should find a better use for the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation's money, such as further efforts to publicize scholar- ships in high schools in low-income areas, or it should politely decline it. David Waddilove Law School Stronger connection between cam mses is possible TO THE DAILY: I appreciated Doug Wernert's well writ- ten article on North Campus in the March 9 issue (Rethinking North Campus, 03/09/2006). It adequately portrayed the frustration that many people have with the physical and psy- chological isolation of North Campus, even as it becomes its own place. The article refers to a monorail as a possible connector between Central and North Campus. While a monorail seems like an expensive Buck Rogers approach to making this connection, the important point is that an above-grade transportation link could be made. The two banks of the Huron River on which the Medical and North Campuses are built are at about the same elevation, and a bridge could easily connect these two points. It is frustrat- ing to stand on the edge of either campus and to sense the separation across the valley with the feeling that there is no way of getting "there." A bridge that is dedicated for buses, bicycles and pedestrian traffic only could relieve some of the congestion in the valley, cut many min- utes off the commute between campuses and reduce the psychological distance between them. If the bridge were to be designed by an outstanding architect/engineer such as the Spaniard Santiago Calatrava, it could be a (Crime Notes, 03/10/2006). Perhaps most trou- bling of all items in this campus crime wave was your report of a student with a sprained ankle being transported to the hospital. How- ever, the crime note was unclear about whether the ambulance driver or the student had com- mitted this heinous crime. When will it end? Ray Burke Medical school research specialist 0 Spring break on border was an eye-opening experience TO THE DAILY: Having recently visited the border of the United States and Mexico in El Paso, Texas, I am still grappling with the consequences of America's strict immigration policy. Talking to residents on both sides of the border, the issue is far from clear-cut. Imagine for a moment having to leave your home and country for fear of death. One such person, Julia, lived her entire life in El Salva- dor only to be forced out of her home by'gangs while she was two months pregnant. Travel- ing thousands of miles across Mexico unsuc- cessfully seeking work and opportunities, she finally ends up in Juarez, Mexico with nothing to go back to. Now eight months pregnant, Julia wants nothing more than to seek a new life for her and her child in America. This pursuit takes her to the Mexican-American desert border in . El Paso, Texas. Here, with barely a few ounces of water for the 100 miles trek across desert wasteland, she tries to cross to the United States twice unsuccessfully before finally making it across the border. Now imagine Congressional representatives in Washington, sitting at their desks with a cap- puccino in hand, drafting legislation to build a giant wall across the U.S.-Mexico border. While this giant wall might dissuade or deter Julia from taking easier routes over the border, it will not stop her nor ameliorate her problems back home. Julia and individuals like her are willing to risk their lives to come to the United States because they have nothing to go back to. While American politicians seek to deter illegal immigrants like Julia, they should be embracing the tired, poor and huddled masses. -r.. .. - .- +L.,+ ----- ^ Editors' note: Aaron McGruder, author of "Boondocks," will be taking a six- month sabbatical beginning March 27. Starting this week, we will run cartoons from LSA junior Erin Russell and LSA sophomore John Oquist in place of McGruder's strip.