Are Consumers Using (evil) Capitalism to fight Government Motors?

Tom Blumer has a interesting perspective on the sharp decline – 42% and 45% – of GM and Chrysler.

Reviewing September’s detailed sales results in the car business carried at the Wall Street Journal, three things stick out immediately:

* The awful performance at General Motors — down 45% from September 2008.
* Chrysler’s even worse performance — down “only” 42% from September 2008, but a mind-boggling 61% from September 2007 (62,197 in 2009, 156,799 in 2007)
* Ford’s tiny decline of only 6% from a year ago, despite the end of the Cash For Clunkers program in August.

No other major maker had a year-over-year September decline that was even half of that seen at GM or Chrysler.

Yet the press, while beginning to acknowledge serious problems at the companies, both of which were first bailed out by the government and then taken through government-orchestrated, contract law-violating, UAW-favoring bankruptcies (GM discussed here, Chrysler here), still will not entertain the possibility, despite the evidence, that consumers are shunning them because of their bailed-out status and their heavy-handed tactics in bankruptcy. – newsbusters.org