"Remember, what was Detroit's plan two years ago when they, when they confronted this problem? It was to subsidize gasoline at $1.99 a gallon if you bought a Hummer or Suburban or a big truck — that was their idea of innovation. So, you know, it was like a crack dealer offering subsidized crack rather than, you know, going to a clinic to get — to get off the drug,” the NYT editor was quoted as saying during msnbc's “Meet the Press” by Edmunds.
"If I thought with $25 billion we could save this industry, I'd be for it, OK? But I see no plan right now, no reason to suggest that these people who have driven this industry into a complete ditch have a plan to get it out in the long term and not come back six, three months from now, for another $25 billion. Show me that plan.”
Obviously, GM's representatives lost no time in replying to Friedman, explaining that NYT's editor was repeatedly invited to visit General Motors to understand all the GM efforts to get out of the global economic crisis. “We’re disappointed you still haven’t taken us up on our offer. You would be surprised at what you’re missing,” Steven J. Harris, GM Vice President, Global Communications, wrote on the GM FastLane blog.
“Mr. Friedman, what exposes us to failure now is not our product lineup, or our business plan, or our long-term strategy. What exposes us to failure now is the global financial crisis. Please know that you have an open invitation to come and visit GM. We’ll be happy to brief you and we’ll even show you the cool stuff. Please give us a call. We’re looking forward to your visit.”
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