The Big Three (Or Is It Two?) - Recovering Their Footing in the US

For some time now we have been hearing dire news coming out of Detroit regarding the performance of GM, Ford, and Chrysler. Even before the collapse of the stock market, their share of the US car market had steadily been declining, losing ground to Asian manufacturers such as Toyota and Honda. Burdened by pensions and union contracts, these companies make less money per car sold than their competitors. Their gas-guzzling fleets, so popular for so long, suddenly seem dated and unaffordable to the average consumer.

What to do then? Evidently, the priority has to be redesign of their models to make them competitive again, and the Big Three's lobbying for a bailout package is sold precisely as an investment for retooling plants and developing new, competitive vehicles.

However, the other main issue remains. How can they compete with foreign companies that have much less expenses and are much more flexible? Something that is not said too loudly but is well known is that all three companies (Ford in particular) intend to offshore car production, with Mexico being the main beneficiary because of its close distance to the US, lower wages and costs, and competitive exchange rate.

What do you think? Will the Big Three be able to get a bailout package when Congress knows full well that the intention is to export jobs and invest overseas? Will they be able to survive this downturn, betting everything on their new product lines and a government rescue of the employees' pensions?