BootCamp

I think RLSH700 has some very good ideas about changes to the product lines for the Big 3. But I think the problem with the companies goes much deeper than models.
At the risk of being redundant, I'll repeat my previous statement about the Japanese not really inventing much, but improving and perfecting products and processes we originate over here. In this case, it's improvements in the manufacturing process that make the biggest difference.
US cars don't sell as well as they used for for several reasons.
The "buy American" loyalty isn't as prevalent as it was 40-50 years ago because in the "global economy" we have now, the US consumer has more products to choose from. Loyalty is tied to "reliability" and "value". Foreign cars offer more reliability for the projected useful life of the cars they build than American (made) cars, and usually for a lower MSRP.
Financial bloat in "executive salaries" in US companies is NOT tied to performance as it is in foreign companies. The same is true on the assembly line. Foreign companies compensate the employees based on performance - from the assembly line to the executive level. The employees have "ownership" of the company and perform accordingly. The better they make cars, the more they sell. The more they sell, the more money they make. Additionally, they're rewarded for finding more efficient/cost effective ways to get thier products to the market. They have a personal stake in the company they work for, where US auto employees (through the UAW) work on a "contract" for a predetermined amount of money - regardless of the performance of the company overall. Thier incomes are based more on the number of hours worked than anything else. In the Japanese system, Pride In Your Work Pays big dividends, contrary to the "put in my 40 a week" philosophy, regardless of the quality of what's being made. And God only knows how the executive compensation packages are arrived at for Ford, GM and Chrysler (if it were performance based, those high-level exec's would be a LOT thinner than they appear in the photographs). Alan Mullaly of Ford recieved $39.1 million in compensation in 2006, while Ford continued to lose money! I'm not "picking on him", but rather using this as an example.
Japanese marketing is very different from American marketing too. Almost everyone knows who Lee Iacocca is. Can anyone name any of the chief executives at Honda, Toyota, or Mitsubishi?
Has anyone ever seen a "designer nameplate" on a Japanese car (like the "Bill Blass" or "Givenchy" Lincoln Mark IV's, or Shelby or Roush Mustangs)? The Japanese approach is simple - no gimmicks or marketing pretenses - just simple value at the point of sale.

The foreign auto makers have learned well from us - both what to do and what NOT to do. Maybe we could learn something from them?
If you want to succeed, find a process that works and repeat it. Rich people don't get to be rich people by hanging out with the homeless - they rub elbows with millionaires. If the Big 3 want to succeed, they need to change thier way of producing and marketing automobiles to those of the companies that are growing and displacing them in the market.
Adapt or perish.