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Many Boomers now are empty nesters without the need for vans and larger vehicles.  As they face retirement, there may be a need to downsize.

Where do you stand on this?

Personally, I prefer something larger, usually an SUV.  For a number of reasons:

I feel safer.  We were in a serious accident several years ago and hit head on by a tractor trailer.  If we had been in a small car, the vehicle would have gone right under the truck.  As it was, all four of us were seriously injured, but not beyond healing.

We live in snow country.  I like the idea of a four-wheel drive and a vehicle that’s a bit higher off the ground for maneuvering in the deep snows we get.

We have occasion to haul building supplies, yard supplies and other bulky items for our business, so a small vehicle would present problems.

My husband is tall, so small cars are very uncomfortable for him.

We are conservative with our driving, try to combine errands and forego unnecessary trips .

My husband maintains our vehicles to get maximum mileage.

If we lived in a different part of the country and didn’t have a business, we might have other thoughts about the type of vehicles we drive (used SUV and used Cadillac).  However, safety still is high on the list for me.

Post from: Small Business Boomers

First, the auto maker bailout:

Two articles in Harvard Business Publishing debated the issue of whether GM/Chryslter/Ford  should be bailed out.

David Silverman says we should bail out GM/Chrysler/Ford and not worry about “survival of the fittest.”  In other words,  he says, if you see a dog get hit by a truck, you don’t say, “tough,” you help the dog. If a company is in trouble, you help first, and ask questions later.  That might work for a dog that didn’t know what hit him, but these big guys knew or should have known that the crash was coming.

On the other side, Umair Haque says we should not bail out GM/Chrysler/Ford. Haque says the automakers have been making critical mistakes playing by old (20th century) rules of business.  No bailout, he says, unless it forces the car makers to play by new 21st century rules.

It sounds to me like they are both right.  Whatever we think of “fat cat” corporate executives profiting from bailouts, we don’t have any choice.  If our economy is to avoid complete collapse, we must bailout GM/Chrysler/Ford.  If you don’t think the auto industry is the lynch pin of our economy, sit back a minute and consider all the industries that are directly and directly tied to the production of new cars and travel.

That doesn’t mean Congress can’t impose some new rules on the automakers.  But will they?  Do they “get” that we’re in a new age?  I doubt it.  Particularly a lame duck Congress, which just wants to get away for the holidays.  Good luck getting them to do anything other than a quick fix.

What do you think?  Should we bail out the U.S. automakers?  Why or why not?

Post from: Small Business Boomers