[Mr 5 0]

Ford and GM as well as Chrysler have long suffered from quality comparisons with Japanese cars that have swayed many American car buyers into abandoning Ford, GM and Chrysler for imports. Along with the perception that Japanese and other foreign automobiles are better of quality, and hence, a better value, the heavy burden of employee retirement and health benefits that American carmakers have to pay for, and foreign carmakers do not..at least, in nowhere near the same level...have all added to the challenge to the Big Three to stay competitive.

American carmakers have some nice cars to sell but they are losing to foreign manufacturers like Toyota and Honda because, unlike the early days of car manufacturing, they simply are no longer trusted to deliver good quality and value. While Japanese cars can break down and have problems too, they are just not perceived as being anything but near 'bullet-proof' as well as holding excellent re-sale value - simply because of the perception that they are high quality, 200,000 --mile cars.

I hate to see any American car manufacture sinking but the car business is like any other and you have to stay competitive or die. The Big Three had a long, long, long run (about 80 years or more) but intense foreign competition and high financial obligations that add to the cost of every car (and eat into profits) have apparently beaten them down. I hope they can come back again but at this point it doesn't look good, and that is bad news all around.