Howdy Paul.
I sincerely hope the industry picks up, not just for your benefit although that's important
, but for the general good of the economy.
If you look at the auto industry world wide in a more holistic fashion, it becomes obvious that European made cars and Japanese cars [and increasingly Korean cars!] selling into Europe are more technically advanced than OEM American autos. This is not coincidence or any unbridgeable technical superiority in engineering or know how. It is primarily down to the regulations applied at EC level combined with punitive taxation in individual countries that mitigate against big heavy-consumption cars. To have a chance at selling into these markets the cars have to be able to drive all week on the smell of a spoonful of diesel.
Your US manufacturers are home focused for sales, they do not sell world wide, so for the most part [Chrysler excepted] they are not driven by European legislation or tax.
So if they are losing market share internally to better product from Japan and Europe, you could rightfully blame them for not reacting to the competition. However, a major part of the blame for old style technology and old style economy in today's US cars [live back axle in a 2009 Mustang?] lies with the government in not enforcing overall improvement and with the buyers who up to the recent gas price increases bought huge useless pickup trucks instead of economical cars for transportation.
The merger with Fiat is innovative and will be good for both sides, so I do agree with you there. Fiat diesel engines are truly marvelous, used smartly in good US chassis you guys will have some very decent cars coming on the market soon.
If all this stress doesn't kill us, it'll make us stronger. You must have a few years on me, I don't remember FDR. It will be nice if the present New Deal does gain its
own momentum without the need for another Pearl Harbor to boost its chances.
Joe