Audi leaves the American LeMans Series.
Is Chevrolet next?
Can you imagine NASCAR without Chevy? You might have to get used to it, because their business is dropping much like the theme of their long-enduring truck ads: Like a rock.
It's an Alice in Wonderland scenario: three bulbous and poorly-managed companies with inferior products go to Congress to ask for billions of dollars. Should General Motors not receive a bail-out, they claim they'll not even make it to the first of the year. Are they crying 'wolf?' And, if they do receive a financial band-aid, will they really change their ways and become competitive? Why are the Big Three less-worthy than the massive financial institutions?
Imagine the shockwaves in NASCAR should Chevrolet disappear, leaving titans such as Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing without support. The bigger fish will survive, but what about the smaller teams? Would this mean the final blow for the new DEI/Ganassi combo platter? And what about quality lower-level teams such as Kevin Harvick Inc. - which has Chevrolet backing for their Nationwide and Truck Series teams?
What if Chrysler goes down? It surely means the death-knell for the storied Dodge team Petty Enterprises, unless they can merge with the Gillette team - which is also backed by Dodge.
This movie is a sequel for Chrysler, as it received a federal bailout in the 1979 and then recovered with the innovation and explosive success of the minivan. That innovation meant Chrysler was able to pay back US taxpayers with interest. But there's no minivan-like vehicle in the pipeline at the moment. (Time Magazine scathingly referred to Chrysler's written plea to Congress - all of 14 pages - as looking like "a college sophomore's final term paper.") For GM, the fine folks who brought you the Pontiac Aztek (pictured above - and NOT to be confused with the Co'T!), it's the electric Volt model they're hanging their hat on. These companies have only themselves to blame. Sure, they're happy to build giant trucks and SUVs, but who can be passionate about driving a Cobalt?
Of the three, it seems Ford is the only one poised to remain in business without some sort of federal help.
The dilemma: do you reward their inefficient and ineffective business practices for the past 40-50 years, or do you allow millions of hard-working Americans to lose their jobs? We're already teetering on depression-like economic numbers, and seeing one or two go under will only make it worse. There's no easy answer. (Seth Godin, my oft-quoted favorite marketing mind, suggests letting them go under, and then encourage a wide array of small, innovative and lithe auto companies to spring up in their absence. Brilliant in theory, yes, but how realistic? Quick, name three American car companies OTHER than the Big Three.)
I don't have a clue what will happen. I do know NASCAR will survive - even as a one- or two-make spec series. Ford vs. Toyota anyone? Or, perhaps a starting field of 30-35 Toyotas? I can already hear the xenophobes wail! The Cup Series is so close to a spec series now with the CoT, not much will change on track, except the millions of dollars of support the teams receive.
It's a scary time, and it may only get worse.
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Ricky Weld Passes Away: Several message boards are reporting Ricky Weld has passed away of cancer. He was the youngest of the four Weld brothers who made their mark on dirt tracks across the land. My recent obituary of his brother Greg received more attention than most blog entries a few months back...
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