"IF true, market forces at work, nothing more, nothing less."
Yep. GM/Ford have discovered that their products are not worth what they'd like to sell them for. Now they simply need to find the price at which their product moves.........and then make sure that their cost of doing business results in a profit.
Of course that last part won't happen until after they declare bankruptcy and void all their union contracts/pensions. It's now clear that this path is unavoidable.
They can do that without bankruptcy if, and that is a big if, they can convince the unions that the only way to remain competitive in today's market is for the unions to agree to wage and benefits returns with a guarantee that if the companies profits increase to a certain level, the wages/benies package is restored. Either that or have the union members swap wages/benies for a commensurate amount of stock in the company. That way, both the company and the workers would be able to survive and benefit in our ultra-competitive world. Bankruptcy gives a stigma to a company that is difficult to overcome. I know many people who will not touch Chrysler products because of their financial difficulties and bailout in the 70s/80s. If GM and Ford can avoid bankruptcy, they might be able to avoid the taint to their corporate names due to that, and working with the unions instead of fighting them might be the better alternative. Of course, that is assuming that the unions will be reasonable, never a certainty, in negotiating with the car companies. Now might be a good time for union members to speak with their union representatives and forcibly remind them that part of a smaller pie is preferable to no pie at all.