written by my hero Editor Marty Padgett.
Big Three Bailout: TheCarConnection’s Plan to Fix Detroit
By Marty Padgett December 1st, 2008
After what was probably the least successful round of begging ever televised, the Big Three automakers are going back to Washington this week in a full-court press for a bailout--yes, a bailout, never mind how it's being couched or glad-handed. GM, Ford, and Chrysler want easy money and low-interest loan guarantees that you and I can't get, so they can hang on to their current business models until the economy turns a corner. That's a bailout by any measure.
The trouble is no one thinks Detroit is worth saving--at least, no one outside of the Midwest. Bank of America says there's one too many automakers, and that's the most level-headed commentary to come from the talking heads in Congress and on television. Mortgage-industry shill and alleged Sen. Chris Dodd blames the car companies for everything--when CAFE is the real culprit. (Ask Dodd about his preferential treatment for an industry he's actually interested and has a stake in.) As a nation, we've lost respect for an industry that is part of the foundation of industrial America, and some of us are willing to write off what remains to the Japanese, German, and Korean car industry.
There are still ways to fix Detroit, though. Difficult, wrenching fixes but long-lasting changes that could give Detroit a new footing and a new way to compete. It's not quite a nuclear solution noncar guys want: uberblogger Seth Godin would have the dealers wiped out and promises an "orgy of innovation" as a result. It's going to take humbling in the boardroom, in the halls of the UAW, and in your driveways, but it's doable.
So as they caravan to Washington for tomorrow's epic round of fundraising, the leaders of the Big Three bailout mission--GM's Rick Wagoner, Ford's Alan Mulally, and Chrysler's Bob Nardelli--we give you these five ideas that can save the U.S. car industry for future legislators and executives and workers and Americans alike:
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Bailout Step Two: Axe CAFE and Enact an Energy Tax
Why was Detroit singled out with colossally bad CAFE legislation in the 1970s? Because they built shitty cars then. When Congress signed off on CAFE, though, they willingly gave away Detroit market share because they didn't have the stones to enact an overall energy tax that hit every oil-using sector of the economy, from airlines to makers of plastics. Detroit took one for the team--now it's time for every other energy user to take their turn in the barrel.
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