Instead of never-ending rolling bailouts for years to come, Holman Jenkins thinks a simple tweak could fix the Big Three:
Washington wouldn’t have to find the courage to amend the labor laws to end the Detroit Three’s captivity by the UAW. Nor would it have to repeal the CAFE rules that are now a sacred cow. It would simply have to allow auto makers to meet the fuel economy standards with any mix of autos made in domestic or overseas factories. . . .
For 30 years, to make and sell the large vehicles that earn their profits, the Detroit Three have been effectively required to build small cars in high-wage, UAW factories, though it means losing money on every car. (That — not some perverse desire to make bad cars — is why they skimped for decades on styling, engineering and materials in their family sedans.)
