Auto industry

I worked around cars for years. I was a book-keeper, dispatcher, manager of a mid-sized fleet of metered, medallion, yellow cabs, in N.Y.C. for quite a few years. I drove a cab for a while. Later, I sold cars, and became general sales manager of a good sized dealership (Oldsmobile and Cadillac).

I remember the smells of a garage from the time I was five or six. Pumped gas at 12 or 13, etc., etc., etc.

When I sold cars, I truly wondered why otherwise rational people left their brains at the entrance to the dealership when they walked in. I wondered why they thought a salesperson could make a living by giving away the vehicles, and why it never occurred to them that many dealerships actually go out of business -- they are not the money machines many think them.

Now, it seems to be true that the secret is "break even" (like the restaurant business) -- once you pass "break even", you can actually make a lot of money. Isn't that what all the capitalists WANT to do?

I guess not when it comes to THEIR cars -- they all seem to want the "special, magic, under the table, "super-duper", DEAL.

One of the reasons so many folks get "screwed" by car salesman is that they DEMAND it. Tell the truth and they laugh, walk away, sneer. THEY KNOW there is "better" to be found -- and, they shop until they find someone who tells them what they want to hear -- even though they can't deliver THAT vehicle at THAT price. It is THEN that the "games" begin. Some folks actually demand you lie to them.

I never lied to a customer, and built up a very loyal following - one that led to my success. Telling lies was just a shortcut to a sale, and brought no repeat business. It led to failure.

Anyway, too many folks still have that idea of the car business. In addition, many will not accept the fact that the gap between U.S. and foreign cars has closed. Some is perception -- if the new Chevy breaks down -- folks want to storm the dealership. If the new Toyota craps out, some folks go back to the dealership asking, "What did I do wrong?".

I think a lot of this love-hate relationship has infected our Congress.

It would be INSANE to save AIG, yet let GM go down the tubes. Remember, Charles Erwin Wilson, Eisenhower's Sec'y of Defense said, "because for years I thought what was good for the country was good for General Motors and vice versa.". That became, "what's good for G.M. is good for the country".

There may still be some truth to that. In any case, it's more true (more true???) than all the 200MPG doohickey stories, all that stuff supposedly hidden in vaults.

For @#^%$ sake, get over not being the cool car guy in high school. Get over being one of the nerds - but not being as smart as the REAL nerds. You're now Senators and Congresspersons --- save our manufacturing, save our automobile industry.

Do the right thing -- and to hell with getting even because some cheat made a fool of you when you bought that Mustang, Starfire, GTO, Ford Fairlane, etc. Just suck it up and think a bit.