[bdeutsch]

I was talking to a peer today who lives outside of London and we started talking about the current situation with the Big 3.

He drew comparisons to the circumstance that led to the decline and ultimate break-up of British Leyland; non-competitive manufacturing cost structure driven by strong unions that resisted real change, entrenched executives that felt the government owed them survival, etc.

At the end of the day, BL was broken up and the UK is now essentially a service based economy with historic British brands, Jaguar, Land Rover, etc., now owned by non-british companies. Unions are done too for the most part.

While it is perhaps not a 1:1 comparison with the current conditions facing the Big 3, it is close enough to wonder if we will be facing the same end game.