While it's true that GM has complained repeatedly about the advantages of their foreign competitiors, it's worth remembering that the American branded manufacturers have both failed to produce competitive products and failed to exercise sound political judgement.
In their product lines, they largely ceeded the automobile market to the competition, focusing on the short term profitability of light trucks (SUVs). These corporate executives might have been expected to plan for a future when taste would revert, and be prepared with a quality product line. Instead, they let Toyota and Honda sell notchbacks, since there was more money in Navigators and Escalades.
In the same way, their political contributions have been focused on the party in power, rather than the party that might have assisted in their goals. While the automobile manufacturers were never large players in terms of political contributions, they have followed the pattern of giving most of their contributions in recent years to the party in power, the Republicans. This may have made sense in terms both of buying access and supporting elected officials who would be least concerned about emissions standards -- but it also shows a lack of concern with redressing the imbalance in health care costs.
When the leaders of the automobile industry went to Washington to pleade for more time to meet cafe requirements, they were given scant courtesy. It was inevitable. Thier own focus on the next quarterly report had made them effectively obsolete. Ben Stein, an old style conservative who believes in individual resposibility and working for money, writing in the New York Times (Sunday Business Section) made the point that the failure of the so-called Big 3 was failure to make cars that people wanted. Both the change in buying patterns and the health care crises could have been forseen, but in a culture that can't seen beyond the price of stock options in the next reporting period, the future doesn't matter. In reality, the future gets here, whether we're ready or not.
