Bye, GM Stock

The People's Car?

Finally, it's a good day to be Ford Motor Company. If they can manage to stay off of the government tit until the new car market rebounds they will suddenly be the premiere American car company. Chrysler will have become a distant memory and thanks to the help of the US Congress GM will be paralyzed in bureaucratic inefficiency that makes the ancient Byzantine Empire look tighter than UPS.

What does the government know about any business let alone the car business? Surely the steady hand of Congress will straighten out the domestic auto industry. They've done wonders in the past with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Amtrak, the Postal service, etc. Speaking of the USPS, owner of the largest fleet of vehicles in the free world, what is their carbon foot print? What have they done to advance hybrid technology, electric vehicles, the hydrogen economy, or whatever it is they blame the Big Three for failing to do?

Congress would do well to save the American car industry with no-strings-attached loans when there isn't a bank in the world that will lend to them. Save the three million jobs that would be lost when GM, Ford and Chrysler declare bankruptcy and drag their supplier network with them then get the hell out of the way. Appointing a 'Car Czar' to look over their shoulders and muck up the process isn't going to help anyone. New cars are difficult enough to design and build in the light of existing regulation without more government interference. It's too late for GM and Chrysler but Ford has a fighting chance for freedom if they can stay away from that first Bailout Dollar.