What of our autos now?

It is easy to look at the issues presented on this blog about why/how the car industry is failing and point out the obvious. American cars are too expensive, the workers who make them are unskilled and underpaid, the executives who run the companies care about shaving expenses by outsourcing jobs. These are their problems, and we as consumers and more importantly taxpayers are picking up the burden that should be felt by the companies themselves. There is little we can do to directly save the industry besides vastly overpaying for the cars. The problem can only realistically resolve itself from the inside. The recession on the other hand is out of their control. The American automakers should stop and ask themselves, "What is it about the Toyotas and Hondas of the world that are so much better than ours?" "Should we be investing more in alternative methods of fuel consumption?" Until these changes can be met, the car industry in America has to wait to be 'built for the road ahead'