Paul Killinger

A Modest Proposal For The U.S. Auto Industry: Stop Building Cars

Nice idea, but I would tend to concur that it is impractical in an "iron and steel" manufacturing environment. We're not talking about laptops or TV sets here, but several thousand pounds of automotive parts being assembled and distributed on tight schedules.

And that doesn't take into account the competitive advantage these electronic manufacturers enjoy in lower wages and benefits, not to mention their freedom from onerous government regulations and mandates that largely only serve to run up costs.

As a result, we get a line-up of new full-sized trucks from Detroit, rather than the fuel efficient compacts they build in Europe that look great and sell well there. Besides bad management decisions, governmental and union interference in this industry are major culprits here.

I'll argue that until these impediments are reversed, Detroit can NEVER become profitable once again. But you won't hear this from Detroiters. And you can't blame them. They're hardly in a position to blow the whistle on this "dirty little secret" while going hat in hand to the Congress, begging for a lifeline from the very people who put them in this situation in the first place.