Top 5: Reasons To Save The American Auto Industry

No.1 - Keep the U.S. auto industry alive

While the U.S. auto industry has lost some cachet, with some innovation it can be returned.

The domestic cars have been a part of our heritage and part of our bloodline for a long time. Whether it’s Knight Rider’s Pontiac Firebird, the 1969 Dodge Charger from the Dukes of Hazzard or the Partridge Family’s Chevrolet 6700-series bus, American cars are part of our collective family.

It’s easy to just say “let it die,” but the auto industry is an American legacy. We invented it, we’ll be around to help it evolve and, although these are some trying times, we can bring it back to the front of the pack.

No.2 - The ripple effects

As unemployment rates approaches 10% in the United States, it will shoot into depression ranges if the American auto industry runs out of gas.

Not only do the Big Three -- Ford, Chrysler and General Motors -- directly provide 239,000 Americans with employment, they also have 775,000 retirees relying on the automakers for pension and benefits.

However, those are just the people directly impacted by the Big Three. Think about the suppliers, dealers, mechanics, and sales people across the country relying on these American automakers for employment. One in 10 American jobs is linked to the auto industry, and if that was to be removed, the effect on the country would be crushing and so that alone is a reason to save the American auto industry.

If the industry were to collapse, the amount of personal income lost over the next three years is estimated at roughly $400 billion.

No.3 - The demand for cars won't disappear anytime soon

If Ford, Chrysler and General Motors were to drive off cliff, they wouldn’t be taking the demand for cars with them. Although sales are down right now, the demand for cars isn’t going anywhere. If the American companies were to fold, Japanese, German and other foreign automakers would move in and start taking their business.

That would also leave France as the last allied country producing cars.

On the one hand, foreign automakers would help cushion the blow of all of the potential job losses, but a better solution would be to repair the current economic models of the Big Three American companies, help them become profitable and, therefore, keep the money completely in the country to save the American auto industry.

No.4 - It's the last real manufacturing sector in the U.S.

The United States manufacturers helped carry the country in World War II, it helped rebuild Europe and Japan after the war, and it also helped the U.S. survive the Cold War with Russia.

However, manufacturing in the United States has dwindled to the point where people ask the question: What does America manufacture besides debt? The answer is going to be virtually nothing if the American auto industry shuts down, which is a big concern and one of the reasons to save the American auto industry.

The manufacturing industry is important to any country because it creates jobs, independence and boosts the internal economy. Right now, the United States has started to rely on outsourcing a little too much, and we would much rather keep the property here. Just as in the past, manufacturing jobs create employment for generations of working-class people, and we want to keep that industry so that our kids will have a place to work too.

No.5 - Opportunity to promote innovation

Since Henry Ford began his mass production, the United States has been one of the leaders in the auto industry. While it’s true that they have recently become fat, sloppy and disorganized, the reality is that if they were at one point innovative enough to dominate the market, they can do it again.

The American auto industry has to become sexy again. The focus of the projects needs to shift to innovative, fascinating products: be it hybrids, nuclear fission, diesel, or fuel cell technology.

If the spirit of competition can return, so will the bright, aggressive souls who once lead the automakers to the top spot. We’ve been the leaders before, and now that the wake-up call has been delivered, it’s time to get hungry again.

SRC:http://www.askmen.com