Most US citizens have an opinion on the Big 3 automakers, and are curious about what they would do with a hefty sum of cash from Uncle Sam. Nobody was happy when Big 3 executives flew their private jets to ask for taxpayer money. A co-worker questioned: “Why doesn’t the government just give every US citizen over 18 one million bucks? That way, we could pay off our debts and start spending cash on luxuries.” That sounds great to someone like me who doesn’t have any debt and wants a house; and a new car, and an iPhone, and a pony…

Back to the point (and reality): Yesterday afternoon, a Twitter friend announced her appreciation of Ford for having responded to the US consumers. Ford is sharing every business plan detail they’ve come up with (or so it seems). They put a new business plan on the web for all to see. The website also outlines the company’s current progress, and re-assures the American people that this plan is already in action. While I haven’t read the plan or spent a lot of time on the site, I appreciate what they have just done by addressing customer concerns. Finally, buyers can reflect on a proposed restoration instead of pointing out bad business decisions.

GM followed suit. On their company blog, Fastlane, they offered a 37-page plan for restructuring the company. Before this was available, the blog offered only a quick description of interesting things they have accomplished. In that post, they failed to answer the question: “What is your plan?” Now they have done exactly what was requested of them. I also noticed an earlier post titled “Changing the Perception of GM, One Customer at a Time.” I won’t share my thoughts on the post itself, but the title suggests a genuine concern about what consumers think about their brand. I am unaware of Chrysler taking similar measures, but I would imagine they are not far behind on giving the consumers what they are asking for.

Thank you @QueenofSpain (Twitter) for the Ford Story link, and thank you Big 3 (or at least 2 out of 3) for sharing your plans. Check out the Ford story here. Read the GM blog post here.

Has anyone seen a response from Chrysler? What are your thoughts on the plans?

-Liz Giel