One of America's most memorable newspaper headlines -- Ford to City: Drop Dead -- appeared in the New York Daily News on October 30, 1975 when President Gerald R. Ford declined an opportunity to bail out New York City from its fiscal crisis. Today, U.S. auto industry leaders will meet with President Bush and ask for government help with their problems.

As I've noted before, in recent years U.S. automobile manufacturers have made their money on financing cars, not selling them. Competitors from Japan, such as Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (NYSE: TM) make cars that customers want with better gas mileage and higher quality than U.S. models. Moreover, customers are willing to pay more for Toyota's cars as TM charges 14% more on average for a vehicle than General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) does.

The auto manufacturers want government help with reducing health care costs and currency exchange rates. Beyond speeches, I don't know what will actually change as a result of today's meeting. Yet since Motown is generally a Democratic party stronghold, I'd be surprised if much will happen. Meanwhile, I think the U.S. automakers should devote more management time to making cars that will compete with Toyota's on fuel efficiency and quality and less time seeking government bailouts.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm, and a Professor of Management at Babson College. He has no financial interest in General Motors or Toyota.