Regarding the role of the US government in the auto industry, Russo told Xinhua "Ultimately, market forces should prevail and the US government should be careful not to intervene too directly in the business, or they risk becoming a 'benevolent crutch,' without which the Big 3 can no longer walk."

He suggested that the government must stop injecting cash either directly into these companies or into the market as incentives. Instead, government incentives should be redirected toward the root causes of the problem.

"Mainly, the government should encourage the auto makers to develop cars that meet current and future consumer demand. They must also reduce the burden placed on manufacturers in the development of the next-generation green technologies," he said.

Russo believes that the government can help fund research in the area of development of green technologies and create a vision for transition from an oil-based infrastructure to a "new energy" infrastructure, and must encourage consumers to migrate in this direction.

When asked about his advice to the US government, Russo believes they should accelerate their efforts to address the root causes of the problems noted earlier.

"US auto makers must eliminate underperforming assets and reallocate capacities away from segments and products which are no longer wanted in the marketplace. While this macro re-adjustment may take several years, they must avoid the temptation of relying on artificial incentives or they may not get an accurate understanding of true market demand," he said.

Russo advised that the US auto makers must leverage their global businesses and partnerships in order to more efficiently address the opportunities in the American market.

Russo has more than 25 years of experience at driving strategy and performance improvement in Fortune 500 environments. In his role as the first vice president of North East Asia automotive operations for Chrysler, Russo successfully negotiated and secured government approval for six vehicle programs within a 3-year time period with three different Asian partners. He also oversaw the industrialization of the first Chrysler and Dodge-branded vehicles in Asia.

(Xinhua News Agency November 30, 2009)