Built Ford Tough?

The American auto industry reported dismal numbers as june sales figures slipped by double digits. While GM retained it's edge (barely) over Toyota, industry analysts are quick to identify a correlation between rising oil costs and the poor auto sales. These statistics speak volumes about the outdated American way of doing things. Whether we want to accept it or not, the times, they are a changin'. The American auto industry will have to creatively change the way it does business, or suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of Japanese automakers, namely Toyota and Honda. American companies are firmly planted in a paradigm that no longer works, and while Trucks and SUV's have been the American auto industry's bread and butter, with rising costs of fuel, that way of doing business will no longer work. I expect we'll be hearing rhetoric very soon about bailing out the American auto industry with federal dollars to ensure that American jobs are not sent overseas.  Before we start throwing money at these companies (which I'm predicting is inevitable) why don't politicians sit down with American automakers and open a dialogue about implementing all those wonderful changes we've been hearing in McCain and Obama's platforms. This is the perfect time for America to change the way that we do business and help the environment at the same time. This is the moment for American companies to move forward and utilize technology to combat the innovation already undertaken by foreign companies. The way I see it, either we can change the way we do business, or begin to accept the idea that American industrial and economic might is a thing of the past. Let's see if Made in the USA still means something.