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Last week I wrote that the congressional hearings on General Motors' plan to terminate dealerships represented the manifestation of the worst fears surrounding a government-controlled auto industry: managerial meddling motivated by political rather than economic aims.
Today Bloomberg reports that there's a very good reason for Congress's willingness to listen to the car dealers: "Automobile dealers have been among the biggest contributors to U.S. political campaigns over the past decade, surpassing all but two groups in donations. That $13 million investment may be paying off as the dealers get a lot of attention on Capitol Hill."
The result is that the investments made in GM and Chrysler by every single taxpayer in America will now be imperiled because of lobbying pressure representing a tiny minority of America. Why the heck should we have to provide welfare for car dealers?
And remember, it's car dealers. To paraphrase Allan Iverson, we talkin' about car dealers. Not autoworkers. Not retirees. We talkin' 'bout car dealers. Car dealers. The most-maligned group of salespeople in the history of the world, best-known for their bait-and-switch tactics, misleading advertising, and hard sells. To get an idea of how worthy these people are of saving, I highly recommend reading Remar Sutton's excellent book Don't Get Taken Every Time: The Ultimate Guide to Buying or Leasing a Car, in the Showroom or on the Internet.
Here's an idea: Write a letter to your congressman and tell him that you don't want the turnaround of the U.S. auto industry to be imperiled by the lobbying efforts of a few disgruntled car dealerships.
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