Japan wins the Clunkers

As expected, the Japanese automakers have won the clunkers battle.

Reports indicate that the 'Cash for clunkers' participants preferred foreign brands to the local, especially the Japanese cars , which tend to give better mileage and are very reliable.

One has to applaud the public for buying reliable and fuel efficient cars. A good step forward I feel.

As Detroit loses another battle here, the message which is very clear to all of us, hopefully will ring a bell in the ears of American auto makers.

Detroit lost, thanks to the clunkers they produced, poor quality and living in illusion.

Everyone learns by making mistakes, Detroit did the same and I am sure it will come out of this mess soon !

India behind !!

These are not my words:

"India may stand to loose its competitive advantages against the other countries in long term if corrective measures are not taken to strengthen the Indian education system qualitatively," Assocham President Sajjan Jindal said.

There is also a silver lining in the survey by ASSOCHAM. Check it out.

Like I said in my earlier post, India has to take care of its Cheese.

Automakers woes - A lesson

I've been closely following the bailout discussions for the automakers in the USA. Washington in my opinion, will pass it but with a lot of strings attached. i feel that 'Strings' are definitely needed for the arrogant automakers.

Why do I call them arrogant? I should actually call them foolish and arrogant. They were foolish to sleep when the whole world was talking about fuel economy and saving money, not to forget GLOBAL WARMING. Japanese were smart. They took the lead and crushed the US Automakers to dust via their Hybrid cars.

We all know about the quality of the American cars. If one followed the ratings of the cars in Consumer Reports magazine, it would be easy to notice where the American cars stand in quality and reliability.

I called the automakers arrogant because they didn't budge to the government's request for fuel efficiency standards. They even sued the Govt. on greenhouse emissons (Even the Japanese participated).

Now...they are on their knees begging for money.

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I think about India..as this drama unfolds. Today, India is entirely dependent on its booming IT industry. Well deserved , no arguments. But..! What about the other sectors ? Any action plans if the IT PIE is lost or becomes cheaper ? What will happen to the economy of India if IT starts to fade ? Can it sustain the growth? ( 8% is the claim). Scary thought indeed !

Unless India takes sufficient steps to cement the success and grow wisely ...it will lose to China and other countries pretty soon.

I had a question for Wipro's chairman when he was here. I asked him 'Are you afraid of China?'. He said 'Yes' and that's why they are opening offices in China.

Always stay on the cutting edge is the Mantra here. If you slack....someone will eat your cheese.

In fact this applies to the entire world even to you and me !