This may come as a shock but "The auto industry" encompasses quite a bit more than just the Big 3. The main problem right now with non-US car makers - like Toyota - is that they have relied too heavily on the US car market. This is a market dominated by ugly, inefficient, and dangerous behemoths. That market has evaporated. Good riddance. GM (and maybe Chrysler) may not make it out of 2009 because they keep making cars nobody wants to buy. Trucks, maybe - but not cars. Why would I buy a Pontiac when I can buy a BMW? Why would I buy a Cadillac when I can buy a Mercedes?

Here in Sydney I see a few Chrysler 300C's around town and I think, "What an ugly piece of sh*t." Pair the AUD$55k-$75k price tag with $5/gal gasoline ($1.20/L for the other 6,200,000,000 people on this planet) feeding that 6.1L HEMI and it's an absolute joke. Looping this back into the world of IT, it's called "bloatware" 🙂