Am I cruel to think the Big 3 should file chapter 11? Is it crazy for me to think their CEO are doing a TERRIBLE job? A few years back, I read a book on Carlos Ghosn... the man that saved Nissan. Here is a brief recap on his career: He joined as its COO in June 1999, became its president in June 2000 and was named CEO in June 2001. When he joined the company, it had debt of $20 billion and only three of its 48 models were actually generating a profit. Worse, Ghosn was viewed as an outsider by the media and parts of Nissan. To counteract this view, Ghosn promised to resign if the company did not reach profitability by the end of the year. Ghosn claimed that Nissan would have no net debt by 2005. One year after he arrived, Nissan's net profit climbed to $2.7 billion from a loss of $6.1 billion in the previous year. Nissan's operating profit (earnings before interest and taxes) margin has increased from 1.38% in FY 2000 to 9.25% in FY 2006. SO... Why can't the car companies do like Nissan did and take action to revamp their operating strategies? Why won't they consider DIP (deferred interest program, aka debt in possession) financing before going after our money? Why won't our government let us deduct cost of purchase (or even interest) from our personal income taxes the way businesses can?.. ummm, hello? maybe stimulate the market without cutting a bunch of checks to consumers that aren't spending properly? Yes, I worry and pray for the workers... as I do for people in the real estate market. BUT I needed to know if anyone the reads this agrees or not. Thanks for listening! ~~ In case you're wondering, I would feel the same way even if the bank bailout wasn't such a massive failure. | 
