Do we bail out the Big Three American automakers.? No. The solution must involve the special interest ethanol producers, state air pollution boards, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Look at what we are being offered: Cadillac hybrids and Ford Flexes that get 24 miles per gallon. Foreign SUVs touting 24 to 30 mpg. General Motors is building a diesel Cadillac for the European market. American cars do not sell in Europe unless they are diesel. Europe is 80 to 90 percent clean diesel. Chrysler PT Cruisers, Smart Cars, and many Jeeps are diesel, and mileage averages are in the 50s and 60s.
I personally own two German cars, one gas and one diesel. The gas car gets 25 city and 30 highway, the diesel gets 30 city and 37 highway and is quicker and cheaper to maintain. The same car in Germany with a four-cylinder diesel engine gets 55 mpg. That is why I do not drive American and why most of the rest of the world does not either. Until government changes its view of clean diesel and drops flex fuel E 85 and ethanol, no amount of bailout will make a difference.
This article appears in Nov 20-27, 2008.