During the past two weeks, General Motors reported a $15.5 billion quarterly loss (including special items), following Ford Motor's $8.7 billion loss the week before. I shudder to think how bad it is at Chrysler, now in the hands of private-equity investor Cerberus Capital, but note that Chrysler Financial couldn't renew all of its $30 billion in short-term debt.

Now we see the results of the myopia that has afflicted Detroit auto executives. These are the people who staked their companies' futures on gas-guzzling, heavyweight...