Today's Outrage: Green Mandate Would Kill Carmakers
A growing chorus of would-be do-gooders think the answer to the U.S. auto industry's woes is a
government bailout
that requires carmakers to build green cars.
That's a nice idea. Unfortunately, it's also a death sentence. Dealer lots will just fill up with even more cars made by
GM
(GM) - Get General Motors Company Report
,
Ford
(F) - Get Ford Motor Company Report
and
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Chrysler
that no one buys.
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I'm sorry. I wish it weren't true. I wish we could get Americans to give up their love of gas-guzzling cars of the big and/or fast variety. But we're just not ready.
The much ballyhooed hybrid accounts for less than 3% of all vehicles sold last year despite all the hype around
Toyota's
(TM) - Get Toyota Motor Corporation Report
Prius.
Need I say more?
Now, a lot of jobs are at stake -- it reaches into the millions when all the parts suppliers, steel and plastic makers and other related industries are factored in. Clearly, something will have to be done, if only to spare the economy the pain of unemployment reaching toward Depression-era levels.
So I guess we have to take some action. But do we really want to mandate perpetual losses for the U.S. auto industry?
