I am a 47-year-old father of seven. I have been buying new cars since 1959. In that 28 years, I have owned a total of 14 family vehicles of which 8 were GM products; all were American made and all purchased new.
After reading The Tribune article regarding the $169 million in bonuses being paid to GM managers and executives, I feel it`s time for me to announce to Roger Smith and friends that my misguided loyalty to the American auto industry has finally been realized. No more will I let myself feel un-American for purchasing a foreign car. No more will I need to feel anger and frustration because a gaggle of greedy bureaucrats feel they are entitled to reap excessive bonuses at the expense of the American consumer.
Roger, you may feel no loss in my desertion given that most of my heavy auto purchases are behind me. Let me remind you that my seven children have entered, or soon will enter, the consumer market for automobiles and that my influence and philosophy will be a factor in their decisions. Remember, it`s a numbers game.
Roger, I know that you are usually the one to move first in announcing news such as this, so let me make a prediction. I predict that D.E. Peterson (Ford Motor Co.) and Lee Iacocca (Chrysler Corp.) are right behind you in announcing their bonus plans. You see, greed amongst the greedy is so predictable.
