Silicon Valley warning: Detroit still doesn't get it | U.S. | Reuters: "SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - From Detroit's union halls to its boardrooms, the consensus belief is that billions of dollars in federal investment and loans kept the American auto industry from collapse.
But drive up Silicon Valley, and you hear a sharply different -- and far darker view -- from some of the world's most prominent venture investors.
The U.S. auto industry, they warn, remains too wedded to a dying business model and too out of touch with the sources of innovation to become competitive again.
Instead, they look for a new group of upstart companies to shoot to prominence and profitability, eclipsing the automakers once known as the 'Big Three' just as Google Inc came from nowhere a decade ago to eclipse established technology companies.
'I do not believe that the U.S. auto business can be competitive,' said Ray Lane, Managing Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. 'I don't see any of these new car companies based in Detroit.'
Lane, who is backing plug-in hybrid carmaker Fisker Automotive that is planning to launch a $39,000 model, said Detroit has lost its entrepreneurial spirit.
'For years they have been led by accountants and lawyers, not engineers and entrepreneurs,' Lane said. 'That's OK if the industry isn't changing.'"
No comments:
Post a Comment