In light of all the noise about the auto industry bailout debate more than this post\’s report on Merkel and others obsessing over US taxpayer subsidies of the auto industry should be included.  The link to Michelle Malkin and the link from Right Voices make that clear.

While it was already too late for the auto industry a post here in early 2007 featured the dismal performance of the American auto industry and the writing on the wall announcing impending doom if things didn\’t change quickly.  As far back as the eighties and Ford\’s debut of the Probe sent a signal that major events were taking place. If memory serves, Ford\’s partnership with Mazda on the Probe included Ford\’s assistance to Mazda for setting up shop in the US.  That may have been the beginning of the end.

Everyone knows auto execs caved to organized labor and allowed all sorts of concessions for expediency and now it\’s time to pay the piper and they can\’t.  There was writing on the walls for labor also but all one heard was a loud whining sound and it wasn\’t coming from automobile engines.  Workers were angry that some of their jobs would be taken over by robotic machines like in welding.  There are stories of people who get payed for not even showing up to work but remaining on the employee roster.  If you are looking to cast blame it\’s all over the industry on both sides of the management/labor issues.  And it didn\’t help that government ignored the need to move away from fossil fuels with the unheeded warning of the earlier so-called oil crisis phenonmenon in the seventies.  Thirty years or more of inaction on alternative energy and all they could do is paint the auto industry as the bad guys for not drastically increasing the mpg of vehicles coming outta Detroit and elsewhere.  And of course the general public didn\’t need much incentive to continue the love affair with cars and other vehicles.  Bigger, faster, heavier, with all the modern conveniences and who cares if they get lousy gas mileage?  Gas is cheap, right?  Just the fact that car loans went from a typical three year payoff to six years or more should be some kind of clue we couldn\’t afford the love affair anymore.

So now what? 

What can they do at a ’summit’ that they cannot do with available technology for video conferencing or even old fashioned conference calls? The answer is the intimidation available with a face to face, group photo ops and not having to explain to the MSM why a high level private meeting took place.

Hey Angel, oops, missed the thanks for stoppin’ in part and the same goes for you Maggie, thanks all.

I luv when the EU hints at a dislike for gov’t subsidies, oh, excuse me, US gov’t subsidies.

Thanks for stoppin’ in, Perri, and the commentary.

Is Merkel talking about the possible U.S. aid to U.S. autoworkers???? If so, aren’t we honored to have her input??? phtttt

If there was any hope of these Summits proving productive, they would have rolled up their sleeves and stayed with it until the “bright light” came on. Oh, I forgot, only underlings do that.

I really enjoyed your intro.

Pot — meet Kettle. You’re both black.