How car companies went brain dead...

Reading about the U.S. auto industries woes. You just have wonder about the skills of the C.E.O.'s running that sinking ship...

'How could these companies be so bad for so long?, asks The NY Times. 'Clearly the combination of a very un-innovative business culture, visionless management and overly generous labor contracts explains a lot of it.'

What resulted was 'a situation whereby General Motors could make money only by selling big, gas-guzzling S.U.V.’s and trucks. Therefore, instead of focusing on making money by innovating around fuel efficiency, productivity and design, G.M. threw way too much energy into lobbying and maneuvering to protect its gas guzzlers.'

The results is an industry that has became brain dead; especially when you statements --'like those of Bob Lutz, G.M.’s vice chairman. He has been quoted as saying that hybrids like the Toyota Prius “make no economic sense.” And, in February, D Magazine of Dallas quoted him as saying that global warming “is a total crock of [expletive].”

'These are the guys taxpayers are being asked to bail out.' they add. Which screams the simple question --- why didn't they see this coming?

These companies sounds as if they were only managed by greed that they missed the green trend that could make the U.S. the leaders in innovation...

I tend to favor this idea most -- 'somebody ought to call Steve Jobs, who doesn’t need to be bribed to do innovation, and ask him if he’d like to do national service and run a car company for a year. I’d bet it wouldn’t take him much longer than that to come up with the G.M. iCar.'

Via: The NY Times