Dec 20 2008
Motor City Blues…
So the Big Three Chrysler and GM got their bridge-loan, and President Bush can add not completely killing off one of the biggest job industries in our country to his list as he rewrites history. Let’s take a look at what’s in store for the Motor City.
A lot of the blame has been forked onto the Big Three executives and CEO’s for going against progress. Even I joined in on bashing the executives, and to be fair they do deserve a lot of criticism. In the end though it all comes down to demand.
Even in this economically-plagued November, light trucks made up 58 percent of G.M.’s sales; they account for 63.5 percent of Ford’s sales and 72.2 percent for Chrysler. Maybe it’s us and not the CEO’s that need to learn a lesson about fuel-efficiency.
No matter how much kicking and screaming it does on it’s way out remains to be seen, but let’s face facts — the SUV-era is over. Barack Obama has repeatedly pledged to cut down on our reliance on oil, foreign or not. Now that Bush has assured the auto-industry gallimaufrie will be passed on to Barack Obama somewhat intact we can expect one of two things.
1.) The auto industry will retool itself in multiple ways, from the bogged-down red-tape beaurocracy to the blue-collar assembly-lines. Funding a fuel-efficient America won’t be an easy (or inexpensive) thing, but if the companies show they’re willing to make an effort I’m sure Obama will be willing to help them out in any way he can.
2.) They fall. As tragic a blow to the economy as this would be, there are plenty of foreign car companies that have shown far more interest and initiative in building more fuel-efficient cars. I believe Barack Obama will do everything he can to prevent this from happening, but there’s only so much that he, and our government, can do. The rest of it falls on the industry and it’s ability to adapt. I’ll say this again, losing the Big Three could be devestating to our economy, but it would by no means be the nail in the coffin. There’s no point in continuing to prop up a failing company that isn’t producing a profitable product.
And if the executives expect a bailout the next time that their budgets come back in the red, they might as well start looking at other career options. The American public has grown very wary of these government bailouts, and I doubt even a democratic-controlled congress would be able to agree on, much less pass, another bailout to the big-three.
