I was a car buff from my childhood, always fascinated by the beautiful invention that was rare in my home town in northern China before World War II. To a little boy, the smell of the car’s funny exhaust was sweeter than a rose. It was a dream to one day get myself behind the wheel.

That dream came true in 1969 in Taipei, when I traded in my Yamaguchi, a clanking 50cc motorbike, for a second-hand Mercury Comet, a four-door sedan by Ford. Private cars were a rarity at that time, when you could park the vehicle anywhere you wanted to. You belonged to a coveted “car-owning class.” Comet, you know, had two sexy fins, which were cool in the late 1950s and early 60s.

But my love affair with American cars started in the 70s when I pursued my MA degree in the United States. I bought a used Mercury Grand Marquis, a well-appointed behemoth pre-owned by a professor at the University of Missouri. It ran silky smooth and was powerful, sturdy as a tank. A gas guzzler? Yes. But gas was dirt cheap, cheaper than water (mineral, I mean) these days, at around 25 cents a gallon. A fill-up cost five bucks. In 1976, I bought my first new car when I got a job in New York — a Dodge Aspen stationwagon. Unfortunately, it was a lemon. Years later when I worked in L.A., I drove a Buick Century and a Chevy Nova. My loyalty to Detroit never wavered — until I drove a Japanese Subaru Legend in Ottawa in the early 90s.

So, it was with a sense of sadness and nostalgia that I am watching the decline of Detroit in the face of foreign competition. For almost a century, Detroit has been the symbol of American prowess in manufacturing. General Motors, in particular, has been an American icon. Remember the proverbial saying, “What’s good for GM is good for America?” That was true in the golden years of Americana after World War II. Detroit then had more than three titans — GM, Ford and Chrysler. It also had Studebaker and American Motors, which also made fabulous cars. They roamed the earth with unchallenged authority and dominance. America, after all, was recognized as the indisputable “Automobile Empire.”

Now that empire is crumbling down, inexorably. Detroit, which symbolized American ingenuity, has suddenly become a dirty word, like Wall Street. How unbelievable! Now, the emperors and barons of the vast, mighty auto empire, together with Wall Street’s Gordon Gekko’s, are begging Uncle Sam for help, lest they go down the drain. Strangely enough, the majority of American people appear indifferent and even resentful, refusing to extend a helping hand to Detroit, which President-elect Barack Obama called “the backbone of American manufacturing industry” which he says deserves succor.

If Detroit is so vital to America’s economy, why do people appear so unsympathetic? The Big 3 employ 250,000 people directly, plus 2.3 million people indirectly — working in related businesses.

To let the Big 3 go belly-up would have disastrous consequences. They simply are too big to fail.

In fact, Detroit is not asking too much — a US$25 billion “bridge loan” on top of US$25 billion already approved by Congress for retooling plants to produce fuel-efficient cars. The amount pales in comparison with the US$700 billion rescue fund for Wall Street. Besides, the US$25 billion loan is not a handout. It must be paid back with interest, just as the US$10 billion federal bailout for Chrysler in 1979 when the legendary Lee Iacocca got the loan to save the country’s third-largest auto maker from bankruptcy.

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