Wednesday, December 03, 2008

A car is a car is a car....

....NOT!

On the front news burner is the US auto-makers plea for bucks. This is not a new problem, nor is it a small one. The auto industry is like a spider web in our society when you look at interconnected businesses like car dealerships, parts suppliers, repair and support services, etc. From the Ford Models A and T to today's array of guzzlers to semi-green sedans, the US auto industry has been a cornerstone in our economy, of that there can be no denial.

And now they ask for emergency funding in various forms and structure, lest they go under...belly-up...dead in the water.

I say let 'em.

No, I don't favor helping the car industry out. I have no doubt 'failure' would open the door to the new ideas that the Big 3 have hammered out of existence heretofore. Finally, here is a golden opportunity to truly change the way we do transportation business, which MUST entail changes in ideology and technology as we wean ourselves from petroleum. The Big 3 have done an abysmal job through recent decades in providing Americans with cars that are fuel efficient and trustworthy. They have squelched existing electric and other 'green' technologies as they pursued the copious profit margins of such worlds as the SUV, only begrudgingly saving face when we seemed near the end of a rope. They have done Society-at-large a great disservice, overall.

Of course, it takes 'us' to buy their products, and so we hold some responsibility for feeding the beast as we selfishly want and BUY bigger, heavier, and safer machines, never mind fuel efficiency and larger world views. It's the same in TV-land...virtually anyone will decry the repulsiveness of Jerry Springer's TV shows, but ain't it funny it's still on the air. Why? Because people still turn it on in the privacy of their own homes and give it ratings. If it had no ratings, it wouldn't be on the air. We truly can be our own worst enemy.

If you read this blog, you know I drive a 1999 Ford Escort wagon...still running like a top at 266K miles with 40 mpg...hypocrisy? Not really. My drivetrain is basically Mazda's. This fine line of wagons was discontinued in 1999, just as it received its highest marks from Consumer Reports. Ford brought in the tainted Focus from Europe to take over, and yet another example of short-sightedness entered the record books.

The Big 3 can take their 'spin' and shove it. They made choices over the decades to produce the very cars that are sinking them, strong-arming their workers in the process, and not thinking ahead of the curve for the 'public good'. It's time they do. But if they are able to, it should be under their own rebirth, not a handout. Besides, look at all the citizens losing or having lost jobs...why should any industry be immune?

Change is healthy...not always comfortable or easy, but good comes from it, if one heeds the lessons plastered across the sky. Our auto industry has needed to adapt and change and grow some sense of social awareness, and they have done precious little of that...the spin makes it sound like they have been champions of societal benefits and innovation, but it falls flat on my ears after decades of observation.

It won't be pretty. It won't be easy. It will be rather catastrophic, potentially. Regardless, enough is enough, so I say let 'em eat cake. The Big 3 had their chances on multiple occasions, and they squandered it. Let the new kids have a go at it while the current executives retire to their villas in Bora Bora.

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