“ONE THING I MISS IS THE TIME AMERICA HAD BIG DREAMS ABOUT THE FUTURE"

The once-mighty Detroit Three that dominated North America for generations will shrink to the Detroit Two, and a collapse into bankruptcy protection that will cut the auto industry down looms in 30 days.Those were two of the key developments in a watershed day for Detroit that culminated with the U.S. government effectively ordering Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp. to shape up and address fundamental problems they have been unable to solve for decades.By the end of April, Chrysler will be in bankruptcy protection if it doesn't complete a strategic alliance with Italian auto giant Fiat SpA and further cut costs. GM has 30 days beyond that to undertake a more dramatic and sweeping restructuring than it has already proposed and to come to a new deal with its bondholders and the United Auto Workers.“It is a failure of leadership – from Washington to Detroit – that led our auto companies to this point,” U.S. President Barack Obama declared as he rejected restructuring plans the two companies submitted in February, while giving them a bit more time to do their own repair jobs.

The Globe & Mail
March 30 2009