Detroit Auto Industry Is Forever Changed Due to Credit Crunch

LANSING, Mich. — Detroit’s Big Three automakers are forever changed by the current credit crisis, according to a study done by a well-known Michigan economics firm.

The study, from Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group, gives a stark peek into the auto business and reports bankruptcy, radical restructuring and even a merger between two of the auto giants are just a few of the limited options the industry has left.

“Although the metaphor has been abused recently, it is indeed the worst crisis since the Great Depression for the domestic industry,” analysts wrote in the summary of their findings. The study projects annual sales for the Big Three may be less than 10.5 million units.That number is down from 16 million in 2007, a nearly 40 percent drop.

On a more positive note, analysts write in the study that they disagree “with the notion that the entire industry is a herd of ‘dinosaurs’ or that the Detroit 3 do not produce vehicles Americans want.”The next 18 months are both critical and full of possibility for automakers, according to the study.