Falling Out of Love With Cars

Most of today's Word of Mouth was pre-empted by NPR's airing of President Obama’s remarks on the bankruptcy of General Motors, along with GM President Fritz Henderson.

After months in downward slide, GM’s bankruptcy comes as no shock. The company was struggling well before the current recession struck. Author and political satirist P.J. O'Rourke says that if we want to understand what doomed the American automobile, we should give up on economics and turn to melodrama.

In the 1950’s, cars like GM's Chevrolet were symbols of freedom and adventure. Now, P.J. believes, the romance has turned to tragedy. Americans have fallen out of love with our cars. He's just released a collection of essays, Driving Like Crazy, about our fixation with lead sleds and muscle cars - a fixation on the wane in the age of the Prius. P.J. O'Rourke joins Word of Mouth on the phone from his home in New Hampshire.

Wall Street Journal: The End of the Affair

(Photo by Frank Stahlberg via Flickr/Creative Commons)