I'm not blaming unions entirely, but they're a big part of the problem. The wages and benefits add $2000 to the price of each vehicle. The manufacturer can either raise the price of the car by $2000 to make the same profit as Toyota, or cut corners on quality. The Big Three seem to have chosen the latter, at least in most instances.
Management has made some ridiculous blunders as well. Here's an example:
A couple of months ago I stopped at a Ford dealership to see what kind of price I'd be looking at for a 2009 Mustang GT. I gave the salesman my list: GT body package, 5-speed manual, red. Should be simple, right?
Wrong. He did a search at dealerships within a 200 mile radius, but could not come up with the car I wanted in red. Why? Because red is the most popular color.
If red is the most popular color, why the hell don't they make more of the cars in red?