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One problem is the two-dimensional view that we have an either-or choice: "Bail 'em out" or "let 'em die." If China can develop a viable auto industry, the bright boys here at home ought to be able to figure out how to do it too. One thing is for sure, paying 70 dollars an hour compensation for screwing part A into part B isn't a good place to end up.

Some form of reorganization with a minimum of political interference is called for. And yes, no nation today can go without a domestic auto industry and expect to be taken seriously.

I agree with part of your analysis. We need an Auto Industry that is competitive. We must restructure the American Auto Industry without the crushing legacy costs that will kill the automakers if not fixed! That's economic reality and that's where the UAW is totally insane.

As far as China developing an auto industry, that is a different matter. The Chinese Government is paying for this directly. This would not happen in the United States. I don't believe any car company can be created today without massive support from government. This is why we CANNOT lose our domestic auto industry.

One thing that most of the posters and most economics professors simply cannot grasp is the manufacturing know how and technology that will be lost if we lose our auto industry. They simply cannot grasp the fact that the Foreign Car Companies DO NOT MANUFACTURE here. They do LOW-TECH FINAL ASSEMBLY. There is a TITANIC difference between manufacturing and finaly assembly. Final Assembly is a joke and those of us in the Manufacturing and Engineering fields know this. It's keeping the knowledge that's important. Those fools who are posting about having Toyota and Honda Manufacuring here are either ignorant or as dumb as a box of rocks.

All of the really good jobs in R&D and Engineering will be lost and this will be a crushing blow to our economy. This is what most of the posters fail to understand. When or if we lose this technology, then it's lost forever. And forever is a very long time. So for all the knuckle-draggers out there who are mindlessly buying Toyota and Honda you are killing the goose. When or if it hits the fan you will bear a huge part of the responsibility for the mess.