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It's a brand new world with international markets for parts and cars. When Volvo sold out to Ford 10 years ago everyone cringed, but I don't think its so bad. The cars the last 10 years are fine and the market has retained the Volvo identity sure enough. The resources gained by aligning with Ford are not slight. If Volvo ran independently they would have been very hard hit by the latest recession. Every small independent car producer has been absorbed the last decade. Advancing tech, materials and design needed consolidation for timely implementation. Volvo traditionally from a design standpoint was very slow to implement styling changes and some were not the greatest (remember when the 740 line came out and seemed to mimic GM's)
I am not afraid of the Chinese acquisition of Volvo. In fact it is a brilliant move if the Chinese want to seriously enter the US market as a player. The market is saturated with good Asian brands. The Japanese cars are aces (Toyota,Honda,Subaru) the Korean sector (the most arrogant Asians that insist on outperforming the Japanese that they dislike) is much improved with Hyundai. The Chinese are far behind but with the inexpensive and skilled labor being developed and since they are the major purchasers of Western technology and modern machinery in their plants, its a pretty good bet that in 10-15 years we could be seeing some decent cars from them Chinese. Volvo gives them instant credibility.
I see what they have done to the propeller industry in the Marine field in 5 years. By buying the best equipment and precision machinery and teaching their youth to master it the Solas people have started to dominate the after market propeller field making a very good product and improving it and selling it 20% beneath prevailling pricing.
The weird thing is Chinese companies are beginning to set up shop here. Favorable land leases and community tax breaks offset cheap labor so many entrpreneurs are migrating here to the good old USA to start manufacturing. How strange. Manufacturing and assembling plants returning to US ground.
It's an international market where anything goes. Business boundaries help dissolve national borders. Business goes where profits can accumulate faster. The times they are changing...
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