SNL Covers The Detroit Bailout Hearings

I'm amazed that no one laughed at the best joke -- the Congresswoman said that they had done their part by demanding 200 MPG cars.

The biggest problem with Detroit (and I think even the AE may have mentioned this awhile back) is that for many decades but especially after the "Keep America Rolling" 0% promotions of late 2001, the ONLY way they can sell anything is on "the deal". No matter how hard they try, Detroit cars are thought of as crappy, disposable products full of yestertech, which in many cases is still true (see 4-speed automatics, no NAV, ancient engine designs, ancient platforms, beam axles, leaf springs, etc.). Even if the Aveo suddenly became a good car, nobody is going to pay MSRP for one. Wait six months, and it'll have $5,000 cash on the hood. Try asking for 5 grand off on a Honda Fit, and you'll be laughed out of the place. That's the difference, and that's why it's too late for them to come back. Their products are perceived as having no value.

It was unfunny and stale. Those jokes might have been funny in 1986, when Detroit's new cars often had trouble starting up even when brand new, but it just showed how painfully ignorant most of the coastal elites are today. And I'm not saying that as a dedicated Palin fan. But just as many of the red state folks are ignorant about foreign affairs, the California and NY-types seem to have no clue about the Detroit automakers today, and the products they produce. A further galling thing, is how Ford, Chrysler and GM are all lumped together. Even Consumer Reports now declares that Ford is in the same league as the top Japanese competitors in reliability. GM is in the middle. Meanwhile, Chrysler, makes relatively poor products, with inferior reliability and craptastic styling. Lumping the Big 3 together and declaring that they share ALL the same problems is like lumping ALL WMDs together. Chlorine gas is not as dangerous to civilization as nuclear weapons, and Chrysler and Ford are vastly different companies.