WSJ - Auto maker CEOs admit mistakes, need for help

While we read in the Wall Street Journal that the CEOs of GM, Ford, and Chrysler admit that they made mistakes that led to the current crisis and would we please give them boatloads of cash to get out of the mess, let's remember this:

The proposed bailout of GM, Ford, and Chrysler overlooks an important fact. The US has one of the most vibrant, dynamic, and efficient automobile industries in the world. It produces several million cars, trucks, and SUVs per year, employing (in 2006) 402,800 Americans at an average salary of $63,358. That’s vehicle assembly alone; the rest of the supply chain employs even more people and generates more income. It’s an industry to be proud of. Its products are among the best in the world.

Their names are Toyota, Honda, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes, Hyundai, Mazda, Mitsubishi, and Subaru.

From Signal vs. Noise blog, which quoted Peter Klein via Andrew Sullivan.