Ford Motor Company has announced the largest quarterly loss in its history, losing almost as much money as Exxon made (which is saying a lot). The loss is do in large part to the collapse of its big vehicle sales. That gas guzzling trucks and SUV sales should decline as the cost of gasoline rises has to be evident to anyone with a 5th grade education. This must rule out the management at Ford which is just now beginning a shift to more fuel-efficient vehicles. This puts them at least 2 years late in this painfully obvious move. Fortunately for Ford, they expect to have their line adjusted by 2011. It is currently costing Ford about $700 million per month to run its operations. With 26 billion in cash left after its recent borrowing spree, the company has about 3 years of cash left. With that 5th grade math we can see that 2011 is just under 3 years away so Ford better hope that something good happens, and happens quick.

The example of Ford does seems to show that bad things can happen to bad people, or at least stupid people. At least the idiot investors that pushed Ford's stock up by 60% in April and May are paying for this absurdity as the stock heads back down to the level it should be based on its fundamentals. For decades these car companies have kept the United States tethered to oil and have fought every piece of legislation proposed to find alternative fuel sources. Now they are paying for it with their lives and they deserve every bit of this grief. It's unfortunate that so many people have had to suffer because their greed and there should be some lessons here but they are probably too little, too late. On the bright side, people who buy Fords in the next couple of years may get an extra bonus. Those vehicles may turn out to be collector items; monuments to a culture that cherishes its own ignorance and places greed as one of its primary virtues.