Reply #7: I think the big difference is that in the airline industry

[smoogatz]

the big carriers are protected by regional monopolies, aka the "hub" system. So no matter how mismanaged the airline, no matter how cramped and dirty the planes are or how surly the staff, if I want to fly non-stop from Minneapolis to L.A., I'm stuck with Northworst. No such protections exist for GM: if Toyota makes a better, cheaper, more efficient car, I can drive right past the Chevy dealership and buy one in just about any city/town in the country. GM's failure is a direct result of truly epic mismanagement over the last forty years or so: they've made just about every wrong decision they could make at every turn, and it ultimately comes down to having the wrong vision for the company and the product line. They fought every socially responsible safety/environmental innovation tooth and nail, from seatbelts to unleaded gas to airbags to catalytic converters, the list is freaking endless. Meanwhile their competitors embraced the public ethos, and now GM's clock has been officially and permanently cleaned by Toyota at el. Looking back at that history, it's hard to muster up a whole lot of sympathy for GM management. The workers are another issue, which is why I think nationalizing GM and turning it into a flagship green manufacturing operation is a great idea.