It's All About The Trucks Again
This column was written by CBS News Early Show Co-Anchor Harry Smith.
It's all about the trucks. Let's assume for a minute that the U.S. automakers get what they want and Congress writes them a check for $30 billion or so.
Much has been made of the fact that CEOs drove hybrids to Washington to help make the case that "they get it." That they understand their management performance has not been what it should have been.
Congress wants the Big Three to get green fast. To make cares of the future the whole world will want.
But, the two biggest reasons Detroit is in so much trouble have not been mentioned very often in the last couple of weeks.
People stopped buying trucks and SUVs, Detroit's big profit makers, mainly because the price of gas went through the roof.
Now that gas is affordable again I'm betting there are plenty of truck hungry men out there itching to buy a new pickup if only they could get the financing.
The dirty little secret, the road back to prosperity has a truck on it.