I would think that one of the most important lessons of the American automobile industry is to never underestimate foreign competition and their ability to one day kick your ass.
Only the paranoid survive. The minute you sit back thinking you've got a guaranteed lock on any industry is the minute that you just began the process of your own destruction.
"Market capitalisation says it all. Toyota is worth more than the American Big Three put together"
http://www.economist.com/displaystor...ory_id=3599000