Tim Leuliette, the newly crowned CEO of auto supplier Dura Automotive Systems Inc., is at it again. Six years ago he scolded the auto makers for their terrible relationship with their suppliers. Now, using a seminar given by the Center for Automotive Research as his platform, he wants them to know they're all idiots for not preparing for life after $4 gas (WSJ):

[Tim Leuliette] said in prepared remarks that "we had warning. We knew gasoline prices would rise. We watched as the emerging markets demanded more and more of the oil. As a nation, we did nothing. As an industry, we pretended that cheap oil would last forever."...

"We had no plan to quickly import fuel-efficient vehicles," he said, according to prepared remarks. "There was no plan to make up the lost profit loss caused by the rapid drop in SUV and truck sales."

How refreshing. As General Motors (GM) Rick Wagoner tells it, the oil price spike was a one-in-a-million act of God. It wasn't, of course. But the auto industry's biggest failure wasn't a failure to see the future. It was a failure to be ready no matter what.

See Also:

General Motors (GM) CEO Wagoner Has Lost More Money Than Any CEO Ever. So Why Does GM's Board Still Support Him? (GM)

Princeton Economist's Dumb-Ass Bailout Plan: Government Buys Your Old Gas-Guzzler