FYI Pat has gone gone gone.
"GM and Ford down to less than half the U.S. auto market, and GM paper looking like Argentine bonds, Americans now import $188 billion worth of autos, trucks, and parts, three times what we export. Motown is no more king of the road. "
What Pat does not tell you is that previous union contracts have saddled GM and Ford with huge costs so they can not invest as much in new technology or product development.
The car companies demise is not due to trade, free or otherwise. The companies management and unions stink and turn out inferior cars.
Maybe. That's GM's line, anyway, and they are sticking to it...
But the Detroit News also opines that GM's product line sucks, which is why nobody is buying their cars.
Falling sales will exacerbate GM's cost problems, just as rising sales will ameliorate them.