Detriot's FAILURE

We as a nation are on the verge of bailing out (when you click on this link LOOK very carefully at the flags the workers are holding) General Motors, Chrysler, & Ford. Are we really bailing out the auto manufacturers or are we bailing out the United Auto Workers union ? I believe we are purchasing out the unions and not the manufacturer of the vehicles. The UAW much like our very own fire fighters & police pension system it is UNDERFUNDED !!!!!!!!! How did this happen you might ask, management wrote out checks post dated to the future without the knowledge of whether the future was going to be able to pay the bills.

I also have a theory as to why the manufacturers are having a hard time selling cars, it has nothing to do with the economy because personally our economy isn't in that bad of shape as compared to the same time frame before 9/11. Remember Bill Clinton got rid of the WORST economy in 50 years by defeating Bush 1.0. Once he was term limited his VP took the Democrat nomination for President and LOST (yes all you democrats I said LOST not stole) the election to Bush 2.0. Up until 9/11 we were in the economy which was created by President Bill Clinton and we all know it was better than the roaring 20's.

NASCAR unofficially got started when deep in the back woods, farmers around the depression era made moonshine to earn money to support their families. Money for the bare necessities was hard to come by. They learned to outrun the law by making their cars faster than what the lawmen had. One famous moonshine runner is Junior Johnson from Ingle Hollow, he was never caught while running moonshine.

As this sport has gained popularity so have the vehicles which have toured the track. In any given era the cars which dominate the highways and byways of America are the counterparts to their racing cousins. There are exceptions to this rule as well since Plymouth Superbirds and Dodge Charger Daytonas were designed strictly for the track with a limited production for purchase just in order to beat Ford and the racing Torino.
The long list of cars that have been on the track resemble a who's who of auto manufacturers nameplates. During anytime in NASCAR history the car which dominates the track also dominates the sales. This list includes such fantastic vehicles as:

General Motors

Buick Regal
Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
Chevrolet Lumina/Monte Carlo
Chevrolet Malibu
Pontiac Grand Prix & the current model the Chevrolet Impala

Ford Motor Company

Mercury Montego
Mercury Cougar
Ford Torino
Ford Thunderbird
Ford Taurus & the current model the Ford Fusion

Chrylser Corporation

Dodge Intrepid
Dodge Charger & Charger Daytona
Plymouth Valiant
Plymouth Superbird

There are others that I'm missing but as you look through this list think about the cars you have seen in your lifetime. Ford Thunderbird dominated the track in the 80's and it sold up until the Ford Taurus took over NASCAR duties. The Thunderbird got a redesign and the sales hit the tiolet while the Taurus started to perform quite well on the track it also started performing well on the showroom floor. Same can be said for the Lumina, Monte Carlo, and the Dodge Intrepid.

What we have now is considered the car of tomorrow which has no defining body style and realistically has no defining front or rear tail clip. It is not by mistake that sales have dropped of the current models of NASCAR vehicles since they have NO definition on the highways and byways of America. NASCAR and cars sales work best when we have cars that LOOK like there race track counterparts.