Ship all those vehicles at cost or minimal loss to other countrries and re-calibrate production levels to more realistic demand. They should spin-off or eliminate redundancy such as Buick brand and focus on more meaningful vehicles such as the Volt (scheduled for 2010) and other alternative fuel use.

This is all you really need to know:

" Minyanville staffer Cory Bortnicker graduated in 2003 from Boston University. After a 3 year stint playing in a country band, a cross country trek on Amtrak trains, and performing stand-up comedy in New York City, he began writing a humor blog. Eventually landing in the ‘Ville, Bortnicker writes on the ever-expanding frontier between business and entertainment."

I'd say management was too busy stuffing its pockets during the 90's when they were selling mostly money making SUVs.  I remember looking to buy a 'car', walked ino a Chevy showroom and asked if they had any automobiles for sale.  The sales staff  looked at us like we were nuts or something.  The only thing you could find on the lot was a truck or an SUV.  We, common every day folks, wanted something that was fuel efficient, but Detroit didn't think we did so the only option for us was to shop where there were cars...the foreign makers.  BTW, I'm still driving my '96 Subaru with over 200,000 miles.

There is too much 'forgiveness' in this country.  You lie, get caught, nothing happens.  You eat too much, get fat, oops, get surgery.  You compete, lose, someone will give you a trophy anyway.  We need to remind people about consequences and to be accountable for their actions.  Auto industry didn't plan, too bad.  They should take their lumps and be held accountable for their mis-steps.  No free ride but force all those affected by their failure to work together for the benefit of everyone impacted, concessions from both management and union.

I undestand the reason for the bailout to help save jobs.  What I don't understand or condone is the giving of money to companies that have obviously been doing buisness badly.  They are obviously making to many cars to a market that is completely saturated.  Some where along the way we got greedy and thought we should all own the newest cars out there.  What about the one we bought last year?  Is it all the sudden a piece of junk rendered to the junk yards or could we keep it and drive it for a while longer and not have any problems with it.  I think what I am talking about here is contentment with what we have.  We Americans as a culture are the highest marketed to culture in the history of the world.  We always have to have the newest technology, the newest gizmo.  Its got to stop and the companies that are pushing this need to stop.  So to tie this into the current buyout plans...the companies shouldn't have saturated the market with so many vehicles.  Why should we give a company that did it to themselves money so that we can pat them on the back and tell them big governement is here in case you stumble?  I think aplauding bad buisness is stupid.  And to me...joe shmo here in backwoods america, is what it seems like is all that is happening.  Instead they need to be changing the way they do buisness and make it more profitable for them and the public.  

iF THE EMPLOYEE'S & RETIREES OF GM, CHRYSLER, AND FORD WANTED TO SAVE THEIR COMPANIES THEY COULD MAKE CONCESSIONS REARRANGE HEALTH CARE BENIFITS AND TAKE A 5 TO 7 DOLLAR AN HR PAY CUT PER EMPLOYEE RETIREES COULD TAKE A TEMPORARY $50 TO $100 A MONTH REDUCTION IN THEIR MONTHLY RETIREMENT CHECK TO SAVE IT ALL!!!

IF THEY GO UNDER AND FILE BANKRUPTCY THEY WILL LOSE ALL OF IT!!!

HELP YOUR COMPANY, DO YOUR PART AS A LOYAL EMPLOYEE BEFORE ITS TOO

LATE!!! JUST ASK ANY EX EMPLOYEE OF ANY OF THE FAILED STEEL COMPANIES!!!!

I have worked in the auto industry and also in industries that support the auto industry like the tool & die, metal stamping, and sprint manufacturing industries. If the auto industries are allowed to slide into obscurity not only will thousands of people in the auto industry but the many more thaousands that support the auto industry will loose their jobs. This may be too high a price to pay. What we need is auto manfacturers that are more lightweight with fewer layers of management and can respond to the market faster. Chrysler and Ford have both exhibited the ability to bring a new model to market in just over 12 months. This should be the norm not the exception. Use the wages regained from the pared down management to hire innovative young designers and invest in energy effeciency and research into alternative forms of energy for automotive use. As average life span of an auto has increased because of quality improvements fewer autos are needed. Maybe if they can pull this off we will get excited again to see next years models...

DUCKS,

You walked into a Chevy Dealer and they didn't have any cars?  You're lying!

Bloated and over paid management structure...Too Many Divisions with associated Marketing Costs...Too Many Dealerships...Expensive Union Workforce that even when they get a contract, still go on strike costing hundreds of millions of dollars...A generous defined benefit retirement package that has never been properly funded so it has to be paid up annually out of current production runs and retiree health insurance and we all know how expensive health insurance is when we are working - much more so as we age.  A 3 decade long decline in market share, and inability to achieve Japanese level of quality control (never a car in the JD Powers Top 10), and never really focused on compact to midsize cars (Toyota & Honda have owned this space for the past decade).  The Big 3 have lost market share in spite of cash back, employee pricing, cheap leases, cheap & 0% financing, even discounted gas so you can afford to drive their gas guzzlers.

So I ask - if you give the big 3 a handout, how can this possibly save them.  They will just burn through the cash, buying temporary employment for a very small sector of the American Economy at a very high price.  Major restructuring is needed and that is what bankruptcy is for...

Not much is being said about big business falling or failing brings MAJOR opportunity to smaller businesses who are more than likely better run. After all the buyers go elsewhere right?

I am amazed at the number of apologists coming to the aid of the US automakers, defending them in the name of Liberty, Freedom, blah, blah, blah.

The bottom line is this. The UAW and the "Big Three" screwed themselves into this position and have nobody to blame but themselves. They make shoddy product and when nobody buys it, "Its the governments fault!" Well if it is then don't come begging the government for taxpayer money.

Go bankrupt and get reorganized. Jettison the management and get out from under the UAWs control. Stop trying to make a car for every idiot marketing flyby and instead make a simple, cost effective, reliable car. The Japanese and the Germans have figured out how to do it; let them run things for a while. They can't possibly do worse.