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Old 10-04-2019, 02:07 AM   #41
flybouy
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Joppa, MD
Posts: 11,714
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frosty46 View Post
WE own a ten plus year old Raptor and have gone to many RV "shows" finding today's offerings sadly poor in quality of materials and sad workmanship is the norm even on half million dollar rigs. Todays sad business morals reflect our political situation that is drawing down our nation. The "deregulation" crase is reaping the obvious rewards......
I'm not going to defend any manufacturer but I'm unaware of any "deregulation " that's affecting the RV industry as far as the manufacturing process is concerned. I'm no economist but having worked in large corporate America all my life (the last 30+ yrs as a Director) I know what those companies demanded and what their economic models/strategies were.
As costs increase, i.e. utility rates, property taxes, insurance, wages, etc. the only way to hold costs down is to change manufacturing costs, materials, assembly techniques, and or increase production with fewer "man hours".
This is a lesson the auto industry learned years ago when imported cars came close to putting the "big three" out of businesses. The auto industry adapted by the use of more economical materials ( mostly made in other countries), utilizing more robotics to reduce the labor costs, reducing inventory by eliminating underperforming brands (Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Mercury, are a few) and shuttering plants and consolidating the output to other facilities. It was so bad 2 of the 3 went to the Government for loans. Chrysler sold out, and Ford didn't take the Fed's "help".
US automakers are now thriving.
This is the world we live in today and have been for centuries. The only voice we have is in our spending dollars. As long as the demand is there then there is no incentive for industry to change.
The RV industry doesn't have the opportunity, nor the need for the transition as sales have been at a record high for a few years.
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2012 Laredo 303 TG
2010 F250 LT Super Cab, long bed, 4X4, 6.4 Turbo Diesel
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