Auto Bailout
I’m sitting here listening to some “experts” debate a potential Big 3 auto bailout. Here’s why we need to nix this whole idea and let the chips fall where they may.
I’m in my mid-thirties. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a negative opinion of American cars. Not because they were American. That’d be silly. It’s because they suck. I remember my father agonizing over the decision to buy our first Japanese car: a 1982 Honda Accord. I also remember that after we bought it, we loved it. We’d say, “is it running?” after we turned it on, because it ran so quiet. It was fuel-efficient, problem-free, and cheap to maintain. You know what my family has done ever since 1982? We’ve bought Hondas. Too many to recall. In the mid-nineties I had a Ford Explorer for a few years. It’s the only car I’ve ever driven that I didn’t like. It’s also the only American car I’ve ever owned.
I’ve got 2 Hondas in my driveway right now. One has 114K miles and one has 175K miles on it. They both run like champs. I change the oil, keep up with regular maintenance and they reward me with reliability. They’re both paid for. I feel like I’ve gotten great value out of these cars.
So, when the Big 3 tell us their big plan is to release a hybrid electric in 2010, when the Japanese automakers are already there, it just reinforces my negative opinions. They tell us to give them tens of billions to play catch-up. No thanks. They’ve had close to 30 years to play catch-up and they’ve done nothing but fall farther behind. Releasing a hybrid vehicle in 2010 is going to do nothing to change my opinion. If the Big 3 can survive and make reliable cars for a number of years, then my opinion will change. But a single car just ain’t gonna do it.
Now, I do feel for the many people who would lose their job if the Big 3 collapsed. But, you know what? Nobody gets a job for life. Nobody gets to rest on their laurels. In my business (software development) if you rest on your laurels for even a couple months you’re gonna get burned. These people can expand their skillset. I’m sure they’ll get nice payouts that give them a cushion. Those that take advantage of that time to improve themselves will be fine. Those that sit on their ass waiting for a job just like the one they had are not going to be fine. I’ve been laid off. It sucks, but you get resourceful and you bounce back. That’s the American way.
