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This is the first in a weekly series about the car business. The auto industry plays an important role in the global economy, but record-high oil prices and a global slowdown have created a crisis in the sector. This column will highlight some of the interesting stories that emerge as that crisis plays out.

Sure, the economy is in the tank and the stock market is teetering on the edge of a very steep cliff. But the severity of the situation really hit home with shocking news about a beloved secular American feast day: General Motors (NYSE:GM) announced this week that it will not buy ad time during the 2009 Super Bowl (that's Super Bowl XLIII for all you Roman numeral lovers).

It seems that it was just yesterday that GM was promoting the new 2007 Cadillac Escalade at Super Bowl XL. Sales of the Escalade -- perhaps the most over-the-top of the gigantic SUVs that so many Americans fell in love with -- had been falling, and GM hoped to recapture consumers' bling-addled imaginations with a shiny new model displayed, appropriately enough, on a fashion runway. It was not to be, though, as Escalade sales continued to fall.

And who can forget GM's adorable suicide robot ad from Super Bowl XLI? Some stick-in-the-muds found it a bit insensitive, but it did get people talking. It did not, however, help GM increase its sales.

And that's the basic problem. Critics have long argued that GM relies too heavily on cheap redesigns and flashy advertising to sell cars, rather than focusing on good engineering and construction. The fact that GM is bailing out on the biggest advertising day in the media calendar suggests just how desperate it is. Maybe it has learned the lesson that you can't sell cars no one wants, no matter how much you spend on advertising. Let's hope that the money saved on Super Bowl ads is spent on making cars that can compete with Toyota (NYSE:TM) and Honda (NYSE: HMC).

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