While I'm sure there is more than meets the eye, it seems as though the Big 3 automakers are serious about needing this help. Last month, the executives of Ford, GM, and Chrysler were criticized heavily for traveling to Washington in corporate jets to ask for help from the government. They appear to have taken it seriously.
Since then, Ford has made plans to sell ALL of their planes, GM over half. In addition, the executives of all 3 companies have agreed to work for a dollar next year if the government provides them with the loans they need.
While these are great first steps, I feel there is one more action that they need to take. They need to alleviate the problem that got them into this mess to begin with. The reason that our companies are failing is because while Asia's car companies are busy manufacturing hybrids and fuel-efficient cars (except Toyota for some reason), ours are running non-stop ads about how they've built the new record-breaker for "Biggest Freakin Car Ever Made."
They haven't yet figured out that while there are a few holdouts, it's time to start making smaller, cleaner cars. The 1990's SUV craze has faded to all but nothing. I think Congress needs to take advantage of this. They have the auto-industry by the sack and they should exploit that. Tell them they can have their bailout as soon as they promise to cut SUV production by 90%. As soon as they promise to increase their fleet average to 33 mpg.
They're at the mercy of the people. It's time to do what's right.
2008-12-02
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