I am never more than one more expensive repair bill away from needing a new car. When that time comes, I don't think I will buy a GM or Chrysler product. It's that whole thing about rewarding bad behavior.

I am interested in knowing what you think about buying a Chrysler or a GM in the near future. Is buying a Ford - which did not get itself involved in the government loan business - a good idea or a bad idea given the fact Ford will have to service its debt and deal with its unions without the benefit of the government owning it.

Is buying a Kia or a Hundai - Korean cars - a better or worse idea than propping up Chrysler and GM?

How about those pesky Japanese brands: Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan and all the rest? If they hadn't focused on quality and economy like they did, we would still be driving big America cars with lots of chrome and huge fins.

And the Germans. What more need be said about Mercedes and BMW? Will you buy one of those brands, thereby helping to toss GM and Chrysler under the imported bus?

The government can't force us to buy GMs or Chryslers, but they can provide incentives for us to do it. The Congress can pass legislation giving an additional tax exemption or deduction for the purchase of any car made by a company which is more then 50 percent owned by the federal - the American federal - government.

Conversely the Congress might pass a law putting an excise tax on the purchase of any vehicle not manufactured by a company which is more than 50 percent owned by the U.S. government.

The scary part about how far across the collectivism causeway we have come in so short a period of time is this: A few months ago you would have snorted at the silliness of a suggestion like that. This morning you're saying, "Oh, my, he's right. They might just do it."

The auto industry and health care are tied together. The thought of the government running them makes me car sick.