GM and Chrysler don’t appear to be hopping off the bailout bandwagon, but it appears Ford is. So if you’re in the market for a car or truck, why not buy a Ford?
Nobody wants to see an American business fail. Especially one as big as GM or Chrysler. But we also don’t want our tax dollars used to subsidize failing corporations. There’s so much wrong with that.
To begin with, why should someone earning $15 or $20 per hour with average benefits subsidize another who earns more than twice as much in addition to benefits only bested by Congress?
Why should American taxpayers foot the bill for CAFE standards set by Congress? Do these politicians have any business experience? Do they know or care what their mandates are costing these companies? Again, kind of hard to swallow.
My husband and I have always driven American automobiles, at least until this year. Last month my husband traded in his Chevy Silverado (which we loved, despite some of it’s problems) with a Toyota Tacoma. We like the Tacoma, but there are a few things about ‘foreign’ cars we weren’t aware of. Like the way the cell stops charging when the ignition is turned off. That’s annoying.
I drive a Ford Escape and I love it, more than anything else I’ve ever driven. I no longer worry about making it up hills in the winter. Getting ‘plowed in’ my driveway is a thing of the past. I enjoy satellite radio without messing with wires and a ‘vehicle kit’. I’m just as delighted with it now as I was the day I drove it home.
I’ve already decided I will never lease or purchase a vehicle from a business that demands money from me, a taxpayer.
If Ford forgoes any government bailout, and makes it through this financial crisis, I’ll remember. As long as Ford continues to sell quality vehicles that I like I’ll continue to drive Ford vehicles. I’ll even tell my kids about the company that said they didn’t want to take money from the taxpayers.
Update: We had a winter storm last night and early this morning. It snowed during the morning rush hour so the roads weren’t plowed as well as they usually are. It’s a good thing I didn’t drink the global warming Kool Aid and buy some tiny little car. A hill that used to stress me out in my minivan was child’s play this morning. I stopped mid-hill and made it the rest of the way up as if there weren’t 6 inches of snow and slush beneath my tires.
Why do politicians want all of us driving little death traps, while they drive big, safe gas guzzlers?
Update 12/19/08: President Bush has approved a $17.4 billion bailout for the auto industry. Ford declined any government funding. Good for them!
Great minds….
I was thinking along the same lines, but you got there first. Sphere pointed me here. Good post.
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Thanks, MW. I checked out your post, you made some excellent points. I happily drove my Ford Escape through the snow this morning! I may write about it later after work.
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