Designed by Congressman Barney Frank with the help of other astute Congressmen who are all self-appointed auto experts.

Maybe the Senatorial version might be more to your liking. It is the Dodd Hummer with a huge 30HP engine. It even has room for an extra passenger.

Now that Congress has taken over the auto industry there will be some design changes. They will be telling the public what they should be driving. Unfortunately, it may not be what they want, but that is all Congress will allow to be manufactured. General Motors will be renamed Congressional Motors.

All new cars must be green (not the color) and gas will be measured by the thimble full. They will be smaller and slower and emit perfume instead of carbon dioxide. No more Corvettes.

If Congress does try to run the auto industry (and it sure looks like they are going to) sales will disappear except to a few who are politically correct.

Bicycles may make a big come back for short runs to the store.

Joe Sixpack is not going to have his Congressman pick out his car. Joe likes big, fast cars and trucks and won’t pay $35,000 for a sluggish greenie.

The used car market will be where Joe and most Americans goes for the next vehicle. 200 and 300 thousand miles on the odometer will be standard. Engine rebuilders will have a ball.

Washington cannot make anyone buy the new “greenies”. Good used cars will suddenly become premium. Auto mechanics will be working overtime. At least there will be jobs in the industry.

The new car market in the U.S. was 14 million each year. With the new Congressional models they will be lucky to sell 7 million and most of those will be foreign manufacturers. Congress is killing the Big Three.

What got us in all this trouble was excessive spending and now we are in debt up to our eyeballs. Yet Washington has lowered interest rates and is trying everything to get Joe to start spending again. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together won’t; he will be saving and paying off debt. A year ago the savings rate was near zero and today it is reported to have skyrocketed to 5%.

Washington will not allow foreign car manufactures in the states to produce anything but green cars. If the buyer wants a real car the used car market will be the place to go.

Whatever car a person is driving today it would be a good idea to take very good care of it for the next 10 or 20 years.

It might be that long before real cars come back.

Copyright 2009 Albert W. Thomas All rights reserved. Author of "IF IT DOESN'T GO UP, DON'T BUY IT!"