The Era of Big Cars is Over

I've been remiss lately, erratic in my posts, MIA, distracted.

Another year is ending; three weeks left. I made the mistake of looking at my retirement portfolios today. Luckily, I'd already done my grocery shopping, because that smoked salmon wouldn't have made the cut.

At Predictify, most of the user-generated questions lately have been about sports or pop culture. There's been a falloff in the volume of serious political and business questions -- "bailout fatigue," perhaps, or too many Obama press conferences?

The main political drama is whether "The Big Three" in Detroit will get any funds from Congress this year or not. Public opposition to the idea has softened a bit, from in the 60's in percentage to the 50's, but a majority of Americans continue to oppose the idea.

My cousin sent me a link to a "Boycott Alabama" movement that has cropped up in the Midwest. There is a definite feeling widespread in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana that there was a class bias in the government's bailout of financial companies and the lack of consensus to help out the domestic auto makers.

But, Republicans oppose helping Detroit, generally, and many middle-class Americans think the UAW shares some of the blame for GM's decline, in particular. The problem with this idea is that the workers, however well-organized, had little to do with determining corporate strategy.

They build the cars, but they don't get to choose what cars get built.

In this regard, GM, Ford, and Chrysler all missed the boat years ago. Why gas guzzlers? Why SUVs? Why? What rationale supports that sort of ludicrous product line?

If -- and it's a big if -- Congress passes a financial aid package for The Big Three, there will almost certainly be regulatory oversight that forces the companies to restructure and invest in new, more green technologies.

The Era Of Big Automobiles Is Over.

I said that.

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