Sometimes we need to raise our heads above the muck and ask ourselves "what is the real goal here?"
When we take a dispassionate view of the American industry, there are probably three key goals to retaining the American car industry.
- Preserve high quality American jobs
- Preserve manufacturing capacity for potential conversion to military or other emergency needs
- Build high-quality vehicles that help us live our lives in car-dependent America
Yes, I'm one of those who thinks the world in general would be a lot better off without the car. Taking 3,000 pounds of metal everywhere I go strikes me as completely silly, as much as I enjoy my FM radio and lush leather seats. Anyone who's traveled to a city with a highly developed mass transit system knows what I'm talking about. Tokyo, in particular, shows how easy it is to move long distances in very short amounts of time. In fact, Japan in particular shows how easy it is to go from the heart of the city to lush country areas without even touching a car. Norway, with its high car taxes and robust transit system, is a classic example of an ancient country that has preserved more rural areas (on percentage) than many bigger countries.
But here we are. It's 2009 and we live in a country with millions of miles of roads. And we're facing environmental catastrophe caused largely by the cars on those roads. Meanwhile our economy lies at our feet in ruins. Can anyone smell what the economy is cooking? Yep, it's opportunity!
So how do we REALLY fix the American car industry?
Here's the General's prescription: Break the car companies into small pieces. Here's how it works:
- You get a car factory!
- You get a car factory!
- Everybody gets a car factory!
Seriously, we already have these companies organized by brands. So now each brand becomes a company. Buick? You're your own company now. Chevy? Your own company. Hummer? Same thing. Pontiac, yep you're on your own now. Even GMC -- your own independent company.
Sorry GM stockholders. You bought crappy stock and it's now worthless. However if you'd like to buy shares in these new companies, they're starting out at $1/share. I'm sure you'll enjoy investing in building a new American industry from the ground up. Plus the money goes toward paying back these costs. Call it a bailout if you want, but these new industries will need some seed money. Say $1 billion each. Can they build a car company with a billion dollars? I could do it, so they should be able to as well. Give me a billion dollars and I'll have an electric car on the market THIS YEAR.
These now small companies would not be allowed to merge for 10 years and would required to meet very tight efficiency standards or convert to manufacturing other products -- say mass transit rail cars or windmill parts. These little brands would be incredibly competitive and it'd spark a loyalty war among consumers that we haven't seen for years. Calvin would be peeing on a much wider variety of brands in the future.
Could Buick become the "must-have" brand of the future? A name completely associated with a solar-charged electric car? When you think Chevy, would you think "hybrid pickup"? Perhaps everyone rides to work in a Hummer-built light-rail car. Maybe Pontiac becomes synonymous with high-quality windmill blades. I'm just riffing here, but you get the idea.
The solution to companies that are "too big to fail" or maybe close to it, is to turn them into small, scrappy companies. When you need to compete or fail, you'll do some basic things that we have often forgotten how to do in America: fire crappy executives, hire talented marketers. Hire the best engineers and designers. Build cutting edge products that people actually want to buy. I know, call me crazy. Some of these companies will adapt and grow. Some will fail. But those small failures will easily be absorbed by the market. Evolution and the marketplace will drive innovation and quality products. Dinosaurs die and mammals take their place in the ecosystem.
Electric cars and mass transit are the future whether anyone wants to admit it or not. We didn't didn't throw a bunch of cash away trying to save the horse and buggy industry. Let's help these companies evolve into the 21st century or let them die.