Auto Crash?

Someone might grow a backbone finally. It sounds like the GOP has found its cojones and might derail the auto bailout deal when it hits the Senate.

Again, I'm not indifferent to the situation. But President Elect Obama has a point- we need guarantees that the auto industry is going to change and not just piss away the billions of dollars they're going to get. At the same time, you can't put that many jobs at risk. The economy is going downhill fast- and if the Big 3- or any one of them go under, then we'll go from bad to worse in a big hurry.

The Missus comes from a family that is very auto-connected. Classic cars, car knowledge, things that go way beyond my brain- all of it she knows upside down, inside out just from watching cars get fixed when she was growing up. Her take:

1. Smaller cars.
2. More efficient cars.
3. And, if you drive an obscenely large car- you should have to qualify for a different permit and be able to prove that you have a need for that car. (I.E. Why do you need an SUV when you don't have a family of six?)

My take:

1. Where has the artistry gone? It's been running through my mind more and more, but I think it's true. There was an age, running through the 60s probably into the early 80s (not being a car buff, I don't know the particulars) where American cars were downright cool. The Dukes of Hazzard, Smokey and the Bandit- it was the age of the American muscle car, with Chargers, Mustangs, Trans-Ams, the whole she-bang. Those cars were cool. I'd want to buy those cars. It seems like the VW had an icon in the Bug, so it updated it. The Mini Cooper was an iconic car- and it was updated. Other, more successful car companies took those iconic, classic, cars and made them relevant in the modern age.

Now, to be fair, they've reissued the Charger and the Mustang and they're not bad looking. But that should be the norm! Quality, efficiency and artistry should be the order of the day. Somewhere, in the mid-90s, the American Auto Industry got stuck on SUVs and pick-up trucks and it's coming back to haunt them, perhaps fatally.

But this is a bad situation, I think. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.