So what do you think of what is currently happening to the Big 3 and the car market in general ? Bailout? Banrkuptcy?
I think the failure of one or all american automakers would be a huge disaster when the economy is already in a turmoil.
Imagine nearly 15 000 dealerships, factories, parts suppliers, steel, tires, hundreds of thousands of workers and the cost of all this, value of the cars, warranties and so on.
Some say that other car companies would just hire the workers and grab the market, but it would be a long and painful process and it would not happen tomorrow with the current mood in the economy.
I am so torn on this topic (and just for full disclosure, I am a GM customer). I feel that it would be a HUGE mistake to let any or all of the "Big 3" go bankrupt and disappear. Just think of all the jobs that would be lost not only with GM, Ford, and Chrysler, but with all the associated companies. It would surely put us in a depression equal to or greater than the 1930's. On the other hand, why should we pour money into companies that aren't willing to accept that they have have been run into the ground, make products that the majority of the public doesn't like, are so afraid of the UAW unions that they do whatever they want, and are so closely tied to the oil companies. I think that if the US gives money to the US Auto Makers, there needs to be a serious restructuring of management, and long hard look at the role the unions have played in getting them where they are today, not to mention limiting the role the oil companies play with in the auto makers.
That's my two cents. ;)
The more i look at this, the more i think that something has to be done because doing nothing will be very bad.
On the other hand, i'm starting to think that the time has finally come for the U.S. Automakers to deeply reorganize, not the kind of restructuring that they've been doing for the past 20 years!!
It's clear that they can't survive as they are today so they have to face the music and downsize, streamline their operations and start fresh and focused on what works.