Chrysler Should Have Been Allowed To Fail

The shameless auto executives are back begging for more money. They remind of the young man pleading his case before his sceptical parents. "Please just give me one more chance. I will be home on time and I promise to fill up the gas tank this time."

The parents retort," But son you are a mature man now. Some of your classmates have started their own families and they own a home and own their own cars. When will you grow up? We have other obligations."

Former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca made a sucessful plea for a government bailout some 30 years ago. And now Chrysler is back but this time with GM and Ford at the same table. Maybe if Chrysler was allowed to fail years ago, GM and Ford would have worked harder and the UAW would have learned a lesson that would have avoided todays mess?

Bye Bye General Motors And Ford ?

Today General Motors and Ford were both downgraded by Wall Street analysts to sell. Now they tell us ! The future looks like either bankruptcy or a government- assisted bailout which in either case would leave the existing shares worthless.

The Volkswagen Bug showed up on our shores in the 1950's and the Japanese invasion of cheap, economical- to- run cars joined VW. But GM, Ford and Chrysler didn't take the hint. They continued to build expensive gas guzzlers with high profit margins . They bribed Congress to keep miles-per-gallon requirements at a low threshold and even got the lawmakers to give tax incentives to buyers of trucks and SUVs.

My take on this tactic by Detroit was that the obligations to pay the inflated demands of the United Auto Workers necessitated the high-priced autos. Now this is not the way to meet the public's changing trends toward affordability in transportation choices. Detroit went down the wrong way on a one-way street.