US Auto Makers Shoot Themselves in the Gas Tank

With market share slipping and the future generally looking drab, you'd think that US auto makers would decide that leading in what they would offer to consumers would be smart business. But New York Times reporting suggests that the CEOs of Chrysler, GM, and Ford - can't really call them the Big Three anymore - are pushing on Congress to undercut mandatory increases in fuel mileage:

The executives argued that the bill’s proposal to increase mileage requirements for cars and light trucks would be impossible to meet and would gravely damage the automobile industry.

It would increase the average mileage requirement for passenger cars to 35 miles a gallon by 2020, up from 27.5 miles a gallon now, and would apply to light trucks and sport utility vehicles as well.

So these business "leaders" are saying that they can't increase average gas mileage by 8 mpg in 13 years? Time and again I've heard CEOs bemoan how too many employees are negative and stuck in old thinking - not being positive. But you've got three engineering giants, even if not the three biggest, that are just giving up. To me it sounds like another case of corporate whining of how business is just too hard. Too bad. Think the Japanese and Koreans won't be at those numbers, or lower, within the same time frame? It's as though these executives are intent on commercial suicide. It doesn't matter whether the government is mandating this. Wake up, people! When gas prices keep hovering above $3/gallon in this country, it's the market that will be making the demands. But God forbid that these dinosaurs make a strong fight for their existence. Clearly the big problem is not in labor costs, but in trying to do business without imagination, daring, and resolve. Anyway, how much courage does it take to run out of a burning building?