I notice that GM is in trouble in the States. Fiat is gonna clean up there. Ford, here, is floundering. Could they have buffered the damage themselves by making COMPETITIVE electric/hybrid/hydrogen vehicles?.

I appreciate it isn't as simple as that but it seems to me not having all your chickens in one hen house is a basic hard times strategy. People WOULD buy cheaper running cars if they looked good, performed well, and were affordable. Toyota's hybrids are ugly and expensive. I noticed a coupla new ones - that really ARE high performance (0-100 in 4 secs) - that range from 60G's to 250G's......umm yeah right.

Is it the fault of the oil industry?. Are they significantly responsible through business pressure?.

In a word, yes.
Ever since Ralph Nader the car industry has fought tooth and nail against any changes, and ignored social and environmental considerations.
They have been so enamoured of their own production numbers and capacity that they buried their heads in the sand, and are now paying the price.

I agree Maxi.

Which is why I don't believe they should be bailed out. More progressive car manufacturers would have need of displaced workers from GM etc. Why is it some businesses are allowed to disappear without a trace and others like oil-consuming GM or tree-crunching Gunns are continually propped up?

Whilst governments continue to hold back progress by supporting institutionalised union jobs with massive tax payer hand outs, you will get the sort of moribund and regressive industry and unlitmate mess which the car manufacturing industry represents.

No more government "pretend winners".

Cut Governemnt support and the general level of taxes to leave the money in the pocket of the consumer, who are perfectly able to decide for themselves who is fit to continue and who should go to the wall....

Smaller and less intrusive government is and always has been better than bigger, know all government... but try telling political retards like Krudd & the rest of the socialists that....

Whilst governments continue to hold back progress by supporting institutionalised union jobs in regressive companies, who represent the "Status Quo", with massive tax payer hand outs, you will get the sort of moribund and wasteful industry and the ultitmate mess, which the car manufacturing industry represents.

No more government "pretend winners".

Cut Governemnt support and the general level of taxes to leave the money in the pocket of the consumer, who are perfectly able to decide for themselves who is fit to continue and who should go to the wall....

Smaller and less intrusive government is and always has been better than bigger, know all government... but try telling political retards like Krudd & the rest of the socialists that....

Margaret Thatcher dealt with it in UK, properly back in 1980s... it seems to be catching up with USA and Australia now.

govt has to be to blame as well..[remember the burton car/plan..[or the latest 6 billion resque plan..[the most recent govt grant..or what about govt depts bying fleets of locally made inports[..we the pay as you earn mugs pay for,..then pay for the fuel..[or recall the tariffs that protected the failed businness plan's the auto-industry has continually thrived on

look at the money govt has fed to the industry..over a hundred year's..we had an effectuve tram/train system..[running every 10 minutes]..run on electricity generated by local councils...then fed/state govts allowed these to be sold off to big buisness/bankers..[auto industry fianancies]..who let them run down..[who by virtue of being directly owned by the auto industry was deliberatly run inefficiently..and eventually closed down

so much so that in time..we bought auto's,..and were sold the dream..of living on our own quater acre..[needed new freeways and tollways to get to work...[needed new bridges,new roads,..needed to diversify infastructure/services to far flung suburbs..and the auto cartel collected the govt subsidies for the rebuild

the auto industry has shaped society..[directly divided us into fractured little people..sitting in huge homes enslaved to our petro-lawnmowers, dilligently mowing opur grass in what used to be leisure time...created consummers...

the hidden subsidies the petro-chemical..industrial complex collectively gets are huge[..recently a water recycling plant was gifted to ampol refinery..[one of the biggest water users after power generation..[of which smelting is the biggest users..[our paying extra for their subsidised power]...

but heck the subsidy for all of industry is huge..the auto industry is just the biggest..[2 billion just to finance car loans...lol,..or the billions..[infa-structure grants]..were now spending on roads[for cars]..lol

wont get into the petro/chemical-drug industry subsidies via subsidy for perscribed meds..,.

and wont get into those needing the new tax..[car-bon/good]..tax to rebuild the post auto,..'green'..industrial complel[car-tel]..to get more yet ever tax from the mug con-sumers via their govt lobbiests