Absolutely. I have the original patents right here for the wheel and for fire - it's depressing to think where we'd be if anybody could have gone and started their own fire or carved their own wheel!
thats why patents expire...you being a little more reasonable and factual would definitely help the discussion. Without protection of intellectual property companies would have never come up with innovation. What you cheer for is a communist way of sharing everything one comes up with, that this does not work has been demonstrated thousands of times. Everybody wants to be rewarded for their hard work. Not sure what you have a problem agreeing with. But hey, why dont you share with all of us your one strategy that has worked the best for you so far...unless you dont have any...
There is a huge difference in quality between cars destined for the European market and those constructed to drive on US roads. Nevertheless both of them outshine cars made for the Chinese by a landslide. The principle for the growing Chinese auto market isn't that much different then it's leading role in other industries. You produce crap at a give away price and flood the markets with it. It will take several decades from today before they will catch up to first world standards in the carsector, if they respect the notion of intellectual property rights that is.
If one wishes to drive around the world by car you chose a German car. There is a reason for that you know and it's not only good PR.
Anyone remember those Chinese car crash tests? Here's one at 40 mph: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/g5SRyG6UR2A&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/g5SRyG6UR2A&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
GM, Ford, Chrysler etc. largely caused their own problems. Overpriced Poor quality Old fashioned etc. I used to work in a duty free market ( Hong Kong ). It was an eye opener to see European and American products failing to compete on a level playing field. And now that it has come to the crunch - they are either going to have to up their game a lot or go under. Govt bailouts have usually failed e.g. Rover etc.
car industry is being reshaped due to the energy shift paradigm of our days. i wouldnt be surprised to see the chinese to emerge as the new industry leaders in the aftermath of this evolution phase. the german industry lacks competitiveness, flexibility and is not reacting rapidly to the new market trends. maybe that's the reason they're so sour.