Instead of an Auto Industry Bailout, Have Them Cut Costs or Fail.

November 19, 2008

Rant by Me: They can start with eliminating seat belts and headlights.

If I remember correctly, years ago Ford did an analysis to determine whether or not it would be financially advantageous for them to fix a flaw in the Pinto or take the wrongful death hit when people died. In short, their lawyers determined it would cost them less to pay families who lost loved ones than to fix the problem with the car. Now that’s smart business!

With the same ethics in mind, why don’t they just eliminate the “extras.” Like seat belts, headlights, airbags, doors, windows, steering wheels, etc. Who needs this stuff anyway? This way the big three can cut costs without taking away big bonuses from incompetent leaders who drove the business into the ground in the first place.

The problem is, US automakers make shitty cars with or without the necessities I mentioned they should cut. So, I have a better idea. Let the big three go bankrupt, have the Japanese buy their assets, and let them build the cars of the future. Look, we are so tightly connected with the Japanese economy it would be foolhardy for them to let our economy tank (why do you think the Japanese automakers have been building plants in the US?). In other words, they could hire on those workers who get slashed by US automakers - or let robots do the job - which would allow us to keep those jobs here at home and assure these workers they will still get their retirement benefits.

It is a win-win. Let them fail.