Big Three Automakers in Trouble No Matter What?

It's always interesting to read about US stories from publications outside this country. The article excerpted below is from a British paper, about the fate of the US auto industry. The general vibe seems to be that no matter how much money we throw at them, they're in trouble anyway.

Maybe. I mean, the US automakers (or their CEOs and executives) seem to be completely unable to change course when things start going bad. Not one seemed to have a Plan B for if the price of petroleum were to skyrocket. They all seemed to believe that we'd want huge trucks and SUVs forever. They've kept the little, economic cars they make in Europe and Australia, thinking we wouldn't buy them. And they seem to be completely unable to change course for years when it comes to making and selling different cars.

On the other hand, we've been surprised before. Chrysler, when it was faltering in the 70s after years of making crappy cars like the Omni/Horizon, was reborn after government help. American Motors went out of business, but the Jeep lived on (and got better). Nobody could've saved the Gremlin or the Pacer.

So, maybe if the Big Three can survive. Maybe they can start having contingency plans for changing tastes or economies. Maybe they can cancel or sell off slower selling divisions. They don't need to kill Pontiac, they just need to scale it down, and make it something different than a Chevy with a pointy nose. Kill Hummer though.

[Excerpt]

Bleak prospect for Detroit Three despite bail-out

America's Big Three car makers will struggle to stay afloat until 2015 - even if they win a $34bn (around £23bn) government bail-out, a leading auto-industry think-tank said.

David Cole, the head of the Center for Automotive Research, believes that a combination of recession and manufacturing problems will make a rapid turnaround impossible. . .

Read more at: GuardianUK