Last night, I was assembling an artificial Christmas tree we recently purchased. As I was doing so, it reminded me of why the auto manufacturers are having a difficult time making money these days.
The photo shows the safety warning tags I removed from the tree and the associated wiring for the pre-installed lights. These are not all the tags that were attached; they are only the ones that would be visible when the tree is standing. Nearly as many more are tied out of sight inside the wire bundle. Each end of the wiring had five tags attached near the plug and receptacle.
If it takes this many tags to warn me about possible tree hazards, the number of government mandated features and standards on a car must be monumental. Just off the top of my head, I can think of enough to stagger the imagination: CAFÉ numbers, emissions numbers; bumper height, rollover standards, front, rear, and side crash protection, air bags, head and stoplight light intensity standards, seat belts, headrests, door locks, power window switches, shift lockout, anti-skid brake system, rollover prevention system, brake light location, inside trunk release, and even hood ornaments.
This does not include all the demands placed on the manufacturing facilities. OSHA and the EPA control things like stair heights, ventilation, painting facilities, parts and material storage, use of solvents and adhesives, clothing and safety equipment, and even how everything is labeled and how the records are maintained.
I just touched on the things required by the federal government, and you can add state and local demands to the mess, as well as the idiotic union work rules. It’s a damn miracle that cars don’t cost twice what they do, and it really ticks me off to watch those politicians bloviate about the stupidity of the auto industry CEOs.
2 comments:
Thank goodness the government is there to protect us from ourselves. What would we do without them?
It wWas the tree made in China?
K
Post a Comment