The Repubs are saying that the US Auto industry should take a page out of the Japnese or Chinese play book, but would that really be wise?  Why do you ask?

China’s auto industry is quietly pressing Beijing for government help as it copes with a jarring slowdown, top Chinese auto executives said in interviews with the New York Times.

This autumn, after six years of 20 percent or more annual growth, vehicle sales were flat or slightly negative, a shock to an industry that has borrowed heavily to build ever more factories for a market that had once seemed insatiable.

Citing the $25 billion in loans that Congress has already approved to help American automakers increase green research, and the additional $25 billion in loans the American industry is seeking this week to cope with a hobbled economy, Chinese executives are now telling the government here that they also need emergency measures. They are seeking lower taxes on new cars, lower fuel prices and increased grants for research into hybrid cars and new technology.

The Chinese auto industry faces several threats simultaneously. Weakening economic growth, falling real estate prices and a yearlong plunge in the stock market have made consumers leery of spending money. Fuel prices in China are still high despite the recent decline in world oil prices. And Chinese auto exports, mostly to developing countries in Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America, are starting to crumble.

China’s car industry is already bigger than Japan’s, and is approaching in sales the industries of the United States and all of Europe. China is on track to sell 10 million vehicles this year, while demand in the United States is dropping toward 14 million vehicles.

Automobiles have played a central role in Beijing’s recent plans to move up the manufacturing chain, from making cheap goods that require unskilled or low-skilled workers to more advanced products.

So maybe China would not be a good role model.  Plus the CEOs of the US Auto companies said that it was all about the world economic crisis….could they be right?

What about the European auto makers?

The meeting in Berlin comes as carmakers

in Europe and the US clamour for aid to help offset what GM has called the worst auto market since 1945. In the US, plans supported by President-elect Barack Obama are being drawn up to provide at least $25 billion in loans to GM, Ford Motor and Chrysler. European automakers are meanwhile lobbying the European Union for 40 billion euros in low-interest loans and incentives to scrap older cars.

Meawnhile, automakers in the UK will also ask the government for ‘a package of measures to stimulate demand,’ including assistance for their loan divisions, the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders said. The group, representing global carmakers including GM and Toyota, will send a letter asking for “access to special liquidity vehicles” as have been provided to banks, SMMT chief executive officer Paul Everitt said on Monday.

Holy crap!  Automakers worldwide are in trouble….ALL need a bailout one way or another.