Re: The Auto Bailout

What U.S. Carmakers Really Need? New Ideas

The Big Three automakers don't deserve a bailout package. If they want to turn their companies around, then they need to get creative. Our economy, our democracy, is based on the ability of businesses to innovate in order to stay competitive and viable. GM, Ford and Chrysler are doing nothing creative to justify a bailout.

Look at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is thriving despite a global recession. How is it thriving? The specifics elude me, but I can generalize. Wal-Mart is thriving because it is successful at being creative. The executives running the Bentonville retailer are simply adapting to the financial climate better than anyone else.

Another great example of a creative company is Nike. I love Nike. Just when you think there is nothing else left to do with an athletic shoe, Nike makes up a new tweak. Just two years ago, Nike rolled out it's Air Max 360 line of running shoes. These shoes were the first athletic shoes without foam as the main cushioning element. That is simply amazing.

This year, Nike released shoes with Lunar foam. Lunar foam is a NASA invention. It is a lightweight foam used in seat cushions on space craft. Highly degradable when in contact with every day elements like air and water, Lunar foam challenged Nike to reinvent ways to make a running shoe. Nike had to invent a way to isolate the foam to prevent it from degrading when applying it to a shoe. After a lot of hard work, determination and innovation, Nike prevailed. What a great story.

Now, Apple Inc. is making iPods that change songs when users shake the iPod. That is great innovation. Apple has shown a lot of initiative with the iPod, iTunes and the iPhone. The music marketplace has changed forever all because of Apple. Cellular telephones have changed for the better, too. Apple's iPhone, now the gold standard for telephones, can be attributed to that.

American automakers aren't showing any of the creative juice needed to improve their standing. American cars seem rather stale. There hasn't been a noteworthy new car in the marketplace since Ford's latest Mustang. Ford's latest Mustang debuted in 2004. How many American cars have made headlines like the Mustang did four years ago? Zero. The Big Three need to roll out products like the Mustang every 18 months at least.

If American automakers want to improve their profits, they need to get more creative and make cars the public can get excited about. New ideas and creativity are the key to their future. A bailout package is a waste of resources.