Detroit is Dead

A casual stroll down a block of any U.S. city tells a tale that automakers will try to call “tall” this week as they ask President Obama for even more money to save the one-time flagship industry from moving into the Titantic’s neighborhood.

They will point to the millions of jobs they’ve shed and the crippling effect it has had on the economy, while they avoid the fact their employees do not drive Fords to work. With grease on their faces from shuttered factories and a tin cup in their hands, they will ask for “bailout” funds, but what they really need are start-up funds, because their companies have collapsed.

The proverbial tortoise has stuck out his thumb and gotten a ride with Hyundai, Kia and Honda while the Hare’s Hummer hits pit row to refuel. The U.S. auto industry cast its lot with soccer moms who cried for stylish chariots to bus their children around town, but rising fuel costs and a global demand for a more economical vehicle has left the four-wheel drives spinning in place as they burn cash.

The future is in hybrids, and the Americans don’t know how to make them. Ford and General Motors were too late to respond, and Honda and Toyota’s popular Civic Hybrid and Prius, respectively, have cornered the market. While Honda and Toyota seized the green movement, domestic companies stubbornly tried to convert behemoth Escalades and Tahoes into hybrids, with little success. Chevy will release its first electric car, the Volt, next year, but with a hefty price tag for a sedan - $40,000 – experts aren’t predicting it as the savior the Yanks need.

The people, and their Civics, have spoken. The U.S. auto industry was once a titan, coupled with the steel industry, that turned our country into a superpower. But foreign companies have grabbed the global market, and Ford, Chrystler and GM have been relegated to second class. The job loss from the automakers is catastrophic, but with it, the United States will have the man power to build and develop the next great industry to ensure its place atop the world’s economy.

The ingenuity and scientific breakthroughs within the borders of this great land once astounded people all over the world, and it is imperative that we use our resources to develop a product that will not only reverse the recession, but improve the world. Obama promised change, and change is necessary to save the economy. To make good on his promise, he must focus our economic efforts on a renewable energy source. Millions are out of work, the great plains provide ample acreage to produce the agriculture needed and our country has a tremendous track record in innovation and scientific advances.

Renewable energy will reverse the adverse effects of greenhouse gas, lower the impact the cartel OPEC has on the world’s economy and put millions of people back to work. Obama promised change, so he should not be giving his quarters and dimes to an industry that frittered away its prestige and success, but instead, to an industry that is badly needed around the globe, both financially and ecologically.