Chinese Firm set to buy Hummer

[Cazzie]

apparently, he understood what i was talking about in post # 5

Well, he'll tell you every toy he's ever owned was made there!

I'm afraid they own the gun; lock, stock, and barrel!

Caz

 

[Lionheart]

That would be nice if they can keep our people imployed at least for a while.

I hope your friends make it through this ordeal Henry.

I remember working for Range Rover (Land Rover) and hearing one Monday morning that BMW had officially taken us over. What an odd feeling that was. Taken over by a competitor. Its like your ship being boarded and a new flag is hoisted up. It might be gentlemanly and all, official and proper, but its a new captain, a new country, a new flag, and new ways of doing things....

I hope the people at Hummer endure.



EDIT: Out of curiosity, are they still building Range Rovers at Sullihul?


Bill

 

[gera]

I am humble to see, how many do not see, the penetration of China in America!...not only North America. To those like me who like to study history, specially, Political History of the 19th and 20th Century, I find Chinese movement into America a case study in "Strategic long range" plans developing rather well. They have now entered probably a phase before the last......check it out, Americans both from upstairs and downstairs might be talking Mandarin by the end of this Century and eating Roast Duck on a regular basis (the last part is OK).

 

[cheezyflier]

well, this is one american that sees it. many turn a blind eye. it's why i said earlier that things are already in the toilet. the fat lady is practicing her scales. she 's about to sing.

 

[Cazzie]

As I have jokingly said the past five years, we should make Mandarin Chinese our compulsory second language taught in schools. It seems my prophesy will come back to haunt me.

Oh well, they say the Chinese do like a good beer and though I do not smoke, they at least give their people a choice. And friends, choice is freedom. When a government starts making your choices for you, you are no longer free.

Caz

 

[Lionheart]

As I have jokingly said the past five years, we should make Mandarin Chinese our compulsory second language taught in schools. It seems my prophesy will come back to haunt me.

Oh well, they say the Chinese do like a good beer and though I do not smoke, they at least give their people a choice. And friends, choice is freedom. When a government starts making your choices for you, you are no longer free.

Caz

Amen

 

[MyassisDragon]

At the rate we are going, I'm afraid history may prove ol' Lenin correct when he said: Capitalists will gladly sell us the very rope used to hang them."

 

[FengZ]

I started a game-development company in China for the same reason. The cost of doing things in the States is so high. It's not just in salary, but also because lot of employees tend to be slow due to the fact that they are so used to their jobs - they slow down and get jaded. As a result, high paid employees are costing you even more. In Asia, everyone is so hungry for a high-paid job, that they work super hard (and trust me, my studio is NOT a sweat-shop...it's run just like a US studio in an awesome location and office, but we are way more efficient). I hope i'm offending anyone, but this is just my personal observation. I employee over 60 artists, programmers, etc in Beijing, and they are some of the best i've worked with in the industry.

The downside is that they are not super experienced. However, this can be solved by hiring experienced US staff as leads and shifting them to China (most of my leads are US or "western" people).

You can do the exact same thing (game dev) in China for 1/3 the cost (it's not 1/10th as some think). For a founder who has to write huge checks, this totally makes sense to me. Why risk your own money in the States, when i can place the same bet at 1/3 cost?

For me, it's really about survival. The US is very powerful and i love it (born and raised out of Los Angeles), but countries like China are catching up quick. In fact, i love Asia so much now that i started another company in Singapore. My wife has moved to Singapore as well, and loves it here.

ps. And the thing about learning to speak chinese...it's dead on! Right now, i will hire a western manager on the spot if they can speak chinese and english. I'm always trying to tell my friends in the States to come to Asia. There are so many jobs here, and they pay the same or even higher than the States. The downside is that you need to speak the language...

-feng

 

[FengZ]

A followup to my own post. Asia in general is actually an awesome place to work. It's not the bicycle riding, villages, etc. typically portrayed by the media. It is far-far-far more advanced than any city in the States. This is why i keep telling my friends to come to Asia.

The quality of life/office is so good in Asia. For example, here's my Beijing studio (designed the whole place myself). Beautiful construction and execution by the contractors:

A 60-seat movie theater...great for XBOX games! hehe

our location...smack in the middle of the CBD (central business district)...best location in Beijing.

and my new Singapore studio (also custom built)

-feng

 

[Cazzie]

Ah, the joys of living in a homogeneous society FengZ. America is much too fractured, especially her cities. There are even castes within the so many various racial undertones. To be free in America these days, you have to be an independent with enough money to just move away from it all. And thanks be to whatever Cosmic Muffin for that, I did!

Caz

 

[FengZ]

Ah, the joys of living in a homogeneous society FengZ. America is much too fractured, especially her cities. There are even castes within the so many various racial undertones. To be free in America these days, you have to be an independent with enough money to just move away from it all. And thanks be to whatever Cosmic Muffin for that, I did!

Caz

Yup, everytime i go to the States, i feel like it's no longer a free country, but a police state. It's so scary to do anything there now. Big brother is watching everything...maybe cuz it's LA? haha...

Just look at the experience they put you through at airports. I love seeing millionairs in first class stripped down to their socks and body-searched....what kind of service is that when they are paying 15k tickets?! They treat everyone like criminals.

I still love the States, but most expats who has spent a great amount of time recently in Asia will all say the same thing: The US is behind the times and moving away from a democratic state. No wonder a lot of businesses are dying or moving to Asia.

The US has been too comforable for a long time, and when you get comfotable, you relax and forget to move forward. It's the classic Turtle vs Hare race...

-feng

 

[Panther_99FS]

 

[Lewis-A2A]

Does that mean all of China will now Hummmmm?

I dont know but the legend is that if all chinamen jumped at the same time the resulting wave would destory the US.

 

[Lionheart]

Thanks Feng for sharing. Awesome offices!

I thought you were one artist, not an army of talent.


I have heard many great things about the orient in their levels of technology. One thing was how they have integrated the cell phone into all bills and purchasing. All of your power, water, etc, are paid via your cell phone, and this was several years ago. I wonder what they are into now.


Speaking of police states.. Phoenix Arizona is hurrendous. Its horrible and bad enough that I want to move, but to where? There are these police speeding cameras every several miles, four cameras and sensors. Instant $200.00. (If you are behind a gravel truck and wish to pass, think again. $200.00 penalty for that). They also have mobile units that go out and do the same thing, to catch people off guard. Sure they put up a sign, about 20 feet from their truck. Saw one 2 nights ago like that. They are making millions upon millions on that, and off of people that can barely make that a week in salary, which means 2 tickets in a month and they might as well file bankruptcy.

And DUI's.. It seems that they do everything that they can to incriminate ANYONE on this. Medications? gone.... You get three tickets in one stop.

Total police state. (Now you know why Janet Laponitanno is in charge of homeland security.. She ran Arizona.. Land of pink underwear, prisons, photo cop troll vending machines...)

steps down from soap box. I hope that is not political. Just tired of photo radar.



Bill

 

[FengZ]

Thanks Feng for sharing. Awesome offices!

I thought you were one artist, not an army of talent.

I have heard many great things about the orient in their levels of technology. One thing was how they have integrated the cell phone into all bills and purchasing. All of your power, water, etc, are paid via your cell phone, and this was several years ago. I wonder what they are into now.

Bill

hehe, i still do a lot of the major design work myself, but i'm moving away from "one person" design to "our studio can handle all your pre-production needs."

yup, the level of automation is pretty cool in Asia. Everything is digital through either cell-phones or pre-paid cards. You never get bills in the mail (in fact, i only check my mail box maybe once a month...there are just no paper-bills). You pay as you go in Asia...so if u missed a payment, then the phone will stop working...etc. This prevents people from living on credit, and you never had to worry about late fees. I love this business model. The US is ALL about living on borrowed money, and look what has happend; people buy stuff they can't afford.

Asia isn't perfect; there are still a lot of dumb stuff and problems. But right now, at my current career path, it is far superior than the US.

-feng

 

[gera]

FengZ...Congratulations Man, great job you doing with your company...you said:

"Just look at the experience they put you through at airports. I love seeing millionairs in first class stripped down to their socks and body-searched....what kind of service is that when they are paying 15k tickets?! They treat everyone like criminals."

Due to this fact in Miami, Houston, Newark and other airports which are entry and "transit points" for many Latin Americans traveling to Europe and Asia--You get searched as a common criminal Even if you are going to catch another flight going to Timbaktu or wherever, without even leaving the transfer saloon!!!!!!!---are now Flying direct!!!!...I go to Italy every year and for many I had to suffer this totally criminal search....But gladly for the last two years I fly either Iberia or KLM which have flights direct from here to Europe. Airlines realized that they had to do this for they were loosing tickets going through these airports...Oh yea, and you have to have a US VIsa even for Transit only....US Visa at "discount" (joke) costs US $ 200.00 now!!!!!!!......The US Goverment is killing the chicken of the golden eggs slowly but surely!!!!.............Change???, what change, the one in your pockets for the bus???

 

[FengZ]

FengZ...Congratulations Man, great job you doing with your company...you said:

"Just look at the experience they put you through at airports. I love seeing millionairs in first class stripped down to their socks and body-searched....what kind of service is that when they are paying 15k tickets?! They treat everyone like criminals."

Due to this fact in Miami, Houston, Newark and other airports which are entry and "transit points" for many Latin Americans traveling to Europe and Asia--You get searched as a common criminal Even if you are going to catch another flight going to Timbaktu or wherever, without even leaving the transfer saloon!!!!!!!---are now Flying direct!!!!...I go to Italy every year and for many I had to suffer this totally criminal search....But gladly for the last two years I fly either Iberia or KLM which have flights direct from here to Europe. Airlines realized that they had to do this for they were loosing tickets going through these airports...Oh yea, and you have to have a US VIsa even for Transit only....US Visa at "discount" (joke) costs US $ 200.00 now!!!!!!!......The US Goverment is killing the chicken of the golden eggs slowly but surely!!!!.............Change???, what change, the one in your pockets for the bus???

man, that really sucks!! ....don't even get me started on airports and airlines in the US...hehe. I fly A LOT from Asia to the States...and have seen it all.

I try to avoid American carriers at all cost, even if i have to pay double for a non-American carrier.

Carriers such as Singapore Airlines, Emirates, and Asiana have got it right. Their service (especially in business class) is excellent. They treat you with respect the minute you step into the airport. For example, Singapore Airlines have completely different terminals for Business/First Class passengers (not just a differnet line; but a differnet section in the airport). It's top service all the way. It's hard to describe in words how good their services are...

In contrast, sometimes i get stuck flying UAL from Beijing to LA...oh man...the pain!!! The cabin crew up in the old 747 b-class are on the verge of retiring, cranky, and doesn't want to help you with anything. They are mean to the customers and treat everyone like a terroist. UAL really needs to hire some younger/prettier/handsome cabin crews....learn from Singapore Airlines...hehe (look up "watch?v=P5sGKR6NJBw" on youtube)....

-feng

 

[cheezyflier]

they definitely have cool uniforms.

on a barely related note (the asian tech thing) my wife and her family are all from osaka and they are always telling us about cool stuff they have there but somehow, we don't have over here.

 

[Piglet]

I Always HATED the H2's H3's and Escalades, and other so called high-end SUV types! Why would anyone be dumb enough to pay twice as much for a thinly pimped up Suburban/Tahoe/Silverado??!
To me, there all SPV's (Small Penis Vehicle's)!
Twenty years ago, I worked in Tokyo for a awhile. Loved it!! Well, except for the no guns part, but the replica gun market held me thru! Really loved how they seemed to have model shops all over town like we have 7-11's.
Saw one the nicest SB2C Helldiver model on display there, along with F4F's, F4U's P-38's etc. So much for them "hating us" Thought Helldiver would like to know!

 

[Panther_99FS]

Sadly the hummers are made here in Shreveport
or at least some

H

I was talking about this with someone in another unit today - sad about the job loss....