Great article by Paul Ingrassia, the former Detroit bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal.

In an article from November 10, 2008, Mr. Ingrassia wrote regarding a potential bailout of General Motors: “In return for any direct government aid, the board and the management should go. Shareholders should lose their paltry remaining equity. And a government-appointed receiver — someone hard-nosed and nonpolitical — should have broad power to revamp G.M. with a viable business plan and return it to a private operation as soon as possible. That will mean tearing up existing contracts with unions, dealers and suppliers, closing some operations and selling others and downsizing the company…”

In a recent commentary, Thomas Friedman tacked on a great addendum to Mr. Ingrassia’s plan: “I would add other conditions: Any car company that gets taxpayer money must demonstrate a plan for transforming every vehicle in its fleet to a hybrid-electric engine with flex-fuel capability, so its entire fleet can also run on next generation cellulosic ethanol.”

It is an interesting perspective - GM has been hamstrung for years with union obligations and has been beaten to the punch (at least in the Public Relations game) by Honda and, more particularly, Toyota in developing fuel efficient or hybrid vehicles.  Members of Congress, and their constituents are simultaneously feeling the effects of “bailout fatigue.”  While the Big 3 had worked in recent years to wriggle out of some of the costly union obligations (retiree benefits being first and foremost), the high price of gas and the recent economic downturn is going to cause major change much sooner and much more rapidly than the Big 3 would have otherwise have liked.  Whether rapid change comes through the bankruptcy courts or via an entirely new leadership team, the time is right.  The question is: in the current political environment, is a government funded rescue possible?  The unions stand to lose big if GM, Chrysler or Ford fails.  Will President-Elect Obama allow that to happen given that unions played a key role in his election?  Congress is preparing to debate a $25 billion dollar bailout before the inauguration.

Here’s hoping that whatever the outcome, the Big 3 come out as more nimble, green-focused companies that can meet the new demands for fuel efficient and/or hybrid autos.  All three companies have spent time and money investing in alternative energy technologies, as can be seen in a quick review of the Patent Office website.  Can they turn over fast enough to avoid extinction?  We’ll know soon enough….