Round two for automakers

Round two for automakers

If only they had gotten together and shared a private jet to Washington, D.C. — and maybe talked along the way about what they actually planned to do if Congress loaned them $25 billion — the leaders of the U.S. auto industry could be back in Detroit today making plans for saving their industry.

Instead, after a disastrous performance on Capitol Hill, the CEOs of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler not only have to be concerned about saving their companies, they have to be worried about saving their own skins.

While leaders of Congress still seem to recognize that this is no time to let the nation’s largest domestic manufacturing component fail — given that we’re already in a recession — the leaders of the auto industry made it easy for their critics to delay a bailout and virtually impossible for their supporters to push one through.

The car guys demonstrated that while they are all bright individuals, when they get together things go from dumb to dumber.

How could no one foresee that at least one member of Congress was going to take note of their arriving on separate corporate jets?

Of course it’s disingenuous of congressmen — people who are themselves far more pampered and privileged than 99 percent of their constituents — to sit in judgment on the lifestyles of the CEOs of major corporations. But obviously none of the CEOs could have responded by pointing that out. It would have killed their chances with Congress, and it wouldn’t have made them any points with the public because the public knows that two wrongs don’t make a right.

Better left unsaid

Even before he arrived in Washington, Rick Wagoner, GM’s CEO, put his foot in his mouth by declaring that there was no reason for a change of corporate leadership in Detroit. That may or may not be true, but there are some things that are better left unsaid when you’re seeking billions of dollars in loans to prop up your company. Likewise, Ron Gettelfinger, president of the United Auto Workers, didn’t help by declaring a week earlier that there would be no more UAW concessions. Have UAW members made meaningful concessions? Yes. But when you’re asking taxpayers who, on average, make less than autoworkers to bail out your industry, announcing that you’ve made all th concessions you’re going to make isn’t a winning strategy.

We don’t believe all is lost. The bottom line remains that failure or bankruptcy for any of Detroit’s Big Three would have disastrous consequences for hundreds of thousands of workers and their families, the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. that would have to assume pension obligations, the health care industry that would be saddled with more uninsured sick people, dealerships and other creditors, and the economy in general, which would be crippled by the loss of disposal income earned by auto workers.

The industry has its supporters in Washington, including Ohio’s senators George Voinovich, a Republican, and Sherrod Brown, a Democrat. But it also has those who seem almost eager to push the industry over the cliff, driven by free market ideology or selfish motives (their ties to foreign car makers).

The next time General Motors, Ford and Chrysler send the best and brightest to Washington, they’d better come with a more detailed plan. And they’d better be ready to talk about their commitment to personal responsibility. One Sunday morning news show host asked how GM and Ford CEOs can justify $15 million and $20 million salaries when their companies are losing money, while the CEO of Toyota gets $1 million, and his company is making money. GM’s Wagoner, Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli and Ford Motor CEO Alan Mulally should have an answer to the question at the ready. It’s almost certain to be asked.