Has the Chip Shortage Been the Greatest Thing Ever For the Auto Industry? Are We Going to Buy Cars Differently Now? Is the Auto Industry Leaving Michigan Behind? Industry Engineer Dan Snyder Discusses

The Best Paragraph I've Read: The most elementary tenet of economics is the relationship between supply, demand, and prices. If there's suddenly less of something that a lot of people want, it's going to get more expensive. At the same time, having competition in the marketplace encourages suppliers to increase supply and lower prices in order to win a larger share of buyers in the market. Indeed, that is the game that Ford, General Motors, and the predecessors of Stellantis have been locked in for decades, with each making as many cars as they could hope to sell and cutting prices with incentives and deals to attract customers. This year's shortage of semiconductor chips turned all of that on its head. Faced with real constraints on this necessary component, automakers were forced to make fewer vehicles with the chips they did have. Naturally, they chose to prioritize those models that had the highest demand and made them the most money. At the same time, the reduction in the supply from all brands meant that dealers could make a sale without the traditional haggling over the vehicle's sticker price. The result has been a boon for automakers. This paragraph comes from the Business Insider.  The article is titled: "The chip crisis is helping automakers and dealers do something they've wanted to do for decades: quit offering incentives and deals."  The article is written by Dominick Reuter.  You can read the article here: https://www.businessinsider.com/chip-crisis-lets-car-companies-dealers-offer-fewer-incentives-deals-2021-10 Mechanical engineer Dan Snyder joins Zac and Don to discuss the auto industry, the chip shortage, and whether the industry may emerge stronger and with a different business model.  They also talk about hiring engineering talent and wonder whether the auto industry will remain strong in Michigan.   The following articles are also referenced during the discussion: Bloomberg: "Ford Gives Michigan a 'Wake-Up Call' With Out of State EV Expansion." https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-07/ford-electric-car-investment-creates-jobs-in-tennessee-kentucky-not-michigan Fast Company: "Electric Vehicles Have a Weight Problem." https://www.fastcompany.com/90686171/electric-vehicles-have-a-weight-problem