I think I may have a solution for the American Autos. Put simply, it is time to for them to have another mini-van moment. That is, create something that is a total game changer. All this bail out talk is a joke. They vote, it doesn't pass, they vote again, it doesn't pass. The bills are littered with crap, so just stop all the hand out wishing, and go build a product that people want to buy.
Naturally, that's easier said than done. But it's definitely easier that finding some car czar that has a magic wand to waive and fix all the problems of the auto industry. But on a side note, the thought of some government appointed person to oversee the Autos has got to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. That person doesn't exist. And you can't have some outsider telling you how to spend your bail out dollars.
But I digress. Here's my suggestion: Disappear for one year.
Support current warranties, repairs, and yadda yadda yadda. But for now, and at the least; stop making stuff that isn't competitive. Bolt the doors. Go into deep R and D. For one, the media will go nuts because they won't know what you're up to. Spend a year thinking, researching, prototyping, and stop making all the same old same old.
For years, we have watched the American Autos go BACKWARDS. They have been sitting around the boardroom thinking, "Hey, what worked in the 70s?... Lets make that again. And what was that one car that was popular in the 80s? Let's do that again." It's regression at its finest.
Now, you might be saying, what about all the union workers, and all those jobs? Well, if the autos stay on the track their on, then they will all be unemployed anyway. Wage cuts are a way better option. Massive unemployment is already the probable case scenario. It's time stop making crap just so you can employ people and start looking long term towards, "What can we do to get a competitive edge?" Now, I'm not literally calling the product crap, it's not; but it's seems like they have 15 brands of cars that are the same ol same ol, producing ridiculous volumes of brands and cars and nothing is sticking. That's a lot of crap. So stop. Spend some time thinking, and come up with something (like the mini-van) that will be a game changer. Tweaking one curve of the fender to come out with next year's model has got to stop.
Americans don't need a cooler looking car, and we don't need to relive the muscle car days. We don't need a 3rd cigarette lighter under the rear passenger seats, and more gadgets and options that will break in 2 years anyway. We need fuel economy, safety, performance and reliability. Is that so hard?
Now, you want the easy road to profitability? Just kill off every model except the overgrown black SUV's. We all know those things have sold like hot cakes, and still are.
On a side note, I watched a discovery channel special on aircraft carriers the other days. An American aircraft carrier only has to fill up once every 24 years. So if I'm supposed to believe that an American made 97-thousand TON boat can run on fuel so that it only has to fill up once every 24 years, but the best GM can do is make their Hybrid Tahoe achieve 2 more miles per gallon than it's gas guzzling non hybrid counterpart, you've got to be kidding me.
If you want revenue, you have to make something that people want to buy. I don't know how any company can go on employing tens of thousands of people spinning all their wheels making a product that isn't competitive, while executives fly around on private jets begging for money.
