The end of the American dream?
With US car company CEOs parking their corporate jets in Washington as they went for Senate help last week, the Los Angeles Auto show became a benefit for Asian and European carmakers, with the loneliest stands being those representing General Motors and Chrysler Jeep. All that was missing was the wind machine and the tumbleweed.
Meanwhile, the big three makers turned up, caps in hand, for NZ$50 billion without a business plan between them to show the Senate how they would use the money, and were told to go back and think about it again and return on December 2 with some kind of plan, preferably involving the concept of selling cars that people and the environment would actually like and want.
An aside after that initial meeting was that turning up in executive jets (three of them) wasn’t a good look, and selling them may keep the wolf from the door for a while longer at least.