And there could be another reason . . .

CNN.com - Toyota boss fears policy backlash if GM, Ford crumble - Jun 8, 2005

I suspect he's right in fearing a backlash, but there is a fundamental reason GM and Ford are having trouble competing with Toyota. Toyota builds significantly better vehicles. Not just a little, A LOT better.

Last year I began shopping for a new vehicle for myself. The last four vehicles had been Fords and had been "good enough". But this time good enough wasn't good enough. I wanted something really comfortable and really reliable. I did my homework, talked to friends, and started test driving. There were no US manufacturers on my test drive list.

When I finally test drove the Lexus RX 330 I was done. It is incredibly well put together and a pleasure to drive. Then I started looking further and discovered how amazingly well they hold their value. Spend a few minutes looking online for one a couple of years old and you'll see what I mean.

GM is just too big. It makes cars we don't really want. It is not innovative. And yes, it has a big problem with it's workforce, which means we the taxpayers will end up taking over it's pension commitments. It's time for GM to get small, get competitive, and start producing vehicles that we the public want.