OUR CARS, OURSELVES

If the auto industry goes bankrupt, it will rip a massive hole in our economy. It is hard to imagine why anyone in the Senate would go on record to endorse the certain tsunami of job losses that will pour into that hole. First the 3 million employees who work for the Big 3. All the car dealers. Then the millions upon millions of people who work for suppliers to the auto makers, manufacturers ranging from from batteries to seat covers. And there are those who provide raw materials, machinery, supplies & quality systems to all of them.

And we know the demise of the auto industry would leave us bereft of a manufacturing core that could be converted into building other needed vehicles, ending unknown possibilities. One last point. Should the Big 3 go bankrupt, that gargantuan hole in our economy will also trigger an emotional backlash. Our cars represent ourselves. We grew up with these automobile icons, interacted with them intimately by making purchases laden with passion, anticipation & even a little fear. But we make that leap into the unknown, confident that the Big 3 will always be there to catch us. So the question becomes, can we afford to sever this part our personal histories, the part that beats near our hearts?