How to Save Detroit From Itself (Der Spiegel, GERMANY)

Painful events can also open doors to new ideas, and in America the end of Detroit's auto industry will cause a lot of pain. The CEOs of Chrysler, Ford and GM paid a visit to Washington last week -- driving hybrid cars, instead of flying private jets -- to ask, again, for billions of dollars in help from American taxpayers.

They flew jets the first time, and American lawmakers advised a lower profile for their second visit. Don't take a taxi to a soup kitchen, they essentially said. The big bosses were scolded like little boys.

But symbolism wasn't enough: After a dramatic series of debates in Congress, the Senate rejected their bid for help. The decision is justifiable, because US auto companies are destitute. They need money, but even more importantly they need managers with a real love for cars. The current culture in Detroit is terminally ill. It has been destroying itself for 30 years. What Congress debated this week was not a rescue plan, as it was officially called, but a multi-billion-dollar assisted suicide.

Ghosts of Cars Past

The year of accelerated economic downturn in America -- Wall Street tarnished, Lehman Brothers dead -- has yet to see its furious finale. An overheated capitalism, which rated seriousness as unimportant and said quality was old-fashioned, has led us to this point. Detroit, unexpectedly, will pose the first serious test for President-elect Barack Obama and his promise of change and hope. Will he throw good money after bad, as powerful voices in his own party advocate?

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