LETTERS

Re “When cars were America’s idols,” Column, June 1

I think I’m missing something here, Dan Neil: “If I was working for Ford or Toyota, I might be getting a little insomnia.”

Before you look to the future, look to the past to see why baby boomers like me won’t buy GM cars. It gave us cars designed by accountants and built by people who hated their lives, hated their jobs and hated the company they worked for. The result was pickup trucks with exploding gas tanks, the Corvair and my 1975 Malibu.

I have been a business owner for more than 30 years, and if any of my employees treated my customers the way GM and its dealers treated me, I would fire him.

On the bright side, if it weren’t for GM, we would’ve never known Ralph Nader.

R.J. Smith

San Clemente

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Neil’s astonishing column on the fall of GM and its corollary implications for the nation, and Michael Hiltzik’s recent article on California voters’ culpability in the state’s financial crisis exemplify that The Times -- despite its steep decline -- still contains world-class public information.

Annette Ritchie

Irvine

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I believe Neil hit the nail on the head in his comparison of GM’s bloated “We’re No. 1!” mentality with that of the U.S., and how growth that prioritizes short-term gain -- without periodic adjustments or awareness of long-term effects -- will lead to collapse.

The current economic, environmental, cultural and international relations crises are concurrent wake-up calls.

As Neil said, the smaller, more agile competitors are capable of outmaneuvering the stubborn giant, so the only recourse is for the giant to shed the outdated tools that no longer function.

Sue Hirsch

Laguna Niguel

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Neil is a wonderful writer in analyzing and evaluating autos and the industry with his remarkably amusing choice of words, similes and metaphors in his discussions. But I was disappointed in his wandering into the political landscape in this article.

An example -- his harebrained theory that in 1999-2000, “GM had a golden opportunity to right its ship by backing Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore.”

My studied opinion is that Neil should stick to his automotive skills and leave politics alone.

Dan McKinnon

Santa Barbara