How do you feel about government intervention in the auto industry?

Tweet

How can the big three automakers in the United States (Ford, GM and Chrysler) continue to operate? Chrysler was a victim of a previous government bailout and came back to produce the most concept cars of any automobile company in history; now GM and Chrysler have shut down unprofitable units (Chrysler stopped producing Plymouths and GM is set to stop Pontiac production). The federal government told GM they have to stop producing Cadillacs and Hummers, two types of vehicles that have been considered gas guzzlers in the past. I asked my sister who works at Ford in the collections department what their cheapest car is and she told me the Focus at around $12,000. I was surprised--in the last 20 years, US car makers continued to make high priced vehicles. Having never made more than $22,000 a year, I've either driven used or gone foreign. I don't think I'll ever be able to afford an American car, even after I graduate college! Perhaps if we all offer suggestions to the auto makers on how to make their products more attractive AND affordable, they can start being profitable again. All of my suggestions do involve belt tightening though. 1) Slow production down by 75%. Prices are so high on newer vehicles and we're in the midst of a recession so no one can buy them anyway; just cut production for a year or two. Rotate the workers so that no one is laid off. Make the rarity of a particular vehicle help to increase it's perceived wealth. 2) Do we really need 2 or 3 slightly different versions of the SAME vehicle with different name badges? I recall all three automakers did this at some point or another (the Taurus and the Sable; the Firebird and the Camaro). Create a signature car that is not made by any other manufacturer, one that is so unique. Think Corvette or Jeep (funny, does Ford have one?). Or at least cut down the number of models available in any given year. 3) The initial concept behind Saturn was really good...and people believed the hype. I've seen this happen with A&P grocery stores (they created the Super*Fresh concept by allowing local employees head up the division). But new ideas take time to be nurtured, and to catch on. So try it again...and let it develop on it's on (hint GM: stay out of it). Chrysler could do the same thing with Jeep. (Could Ford do that on their uber-popular F-series trucks?) Those are just a few ideas I've come up with. So what are your ideas? Maybe we can help save the auto industry!