THE CANVAS IS BLANK.

By Peter M. DeLorenzo

Detroit. The one question I get more often than any other these days is, “Where do we go from here?” It is asked in the context, of course, of the auto industry, but it’s extremely difficult to confine my thoughts and comments to the industry alone. It just seems small and inconsequential at this moment, but make no mistake, the automobile industry is a key part of the industrial fabric of this nation, and it will play an essential role in getting our economy going again.

But there will be no “finger snaps” that will get manufacturing going, and besides, social distancing has fundamentally altered the physical approach to manufacturing as well (for the record, Peter has been social distancing his whole life -WG). But that’s the internal, nuts and bolts of this situation for auto manufacturers. What about the reality that for a lot of people, the notion of going out and buying a car is so far down on their list of things to do that it’s not even remotely a consideration? 

The economic disaster facing us is real, and the depth and breadth of unemployment across this nation will affect consumer thinking for years, not months. Yes, car selling/buying seems to be making the final move to going completely online, which I don’t think is a bad thing at all, but will it really matter? And a side effect to this could be that the manufacturers won’t need as many dealers, and it might move them to create major service centers instead, which will cause even more unemployment. These are just some of the questions that will need to be addressed going forward, and they seem to be growing exponentially by the day.

That this international medical calamity has turned into an economic one is clear, and we are a long way from being immune to its effects. In fact, the U.S. is in the unenviable position of leading the downward spiral. Being ill-prepared has had brutal consequences in terms of lost lives and has caused a massive strain on our medical community. 

Another question I get asked is, “When will we get back to normal?” The answer to this is, unfortunately, easy: We won't. Being susceptible to international infectious diseases is our new normal and we will be dealing with it indefinitely. Our traditional way of life has been inexorably altered, and in order to survive we will have to adapt and change our thinking, our habits and our outlook. And this is going to be painful for everyone in all strata of life. It will change our approach to literally everything, which is daunting and sobering.

But then again, I strongly believe that new bright spots will emerge and new opportunities will come forward. One glaring revelation due to the outbreak of COVID-19 is that the cessation of human activity has presented a whole new – and much-needed - look at the state of our planet. I’m sure you have seen some of the countless images of locations around the world that suddenly have clear horizons, clean water and the return of wandering animals that had long since been banished by the encroachment of populations.

Will this herald a new way of thinking and understanding about the fragile state of our planet? I certainly hope that to be the case, but it’s no big secret that the notion of climate change has been ignored by people and governments for a long time. Maybe the crystal-clear horizons will finally get through to people, because, until proven otherwise, this planet is our home. But as far as I’m concerned there is no disputing the fact that the pollution of our planet is due as much to human activity as it is industrial activity, and those compelling images from around the globe prove that convincingly.

This development suggests to me that the mass move to electrification is not only unavoidable, but necessary. No, automobiles aren’t the sole culprit in all of this, not by a long shot, but removing them from the blame equation is absolutely essential going forward in order for one of our founding industries to be able to survive.

But as I said at the beginning, the canvas is blank. The fundamental shifts to our way of life are permanent, so I strongly believe that we, as a society, must use this blank canvas to rethink and reimagine what we do and how we go about conducting our lives going forward. What do we want as a society and what is important? Really important?

Old habits are going to fade away quickly, replaced by new approaches governed by new realities. And I view all of this favorably because, after all, we really have no choice to do otherwise.

I believe in the indefatigable nature of the human spirit and our capacity for hope. It’s up to us to define the human condition going forward; it’s up to us to paint the canvas with the power of dreams and the vision of a New Way.

And that’s the High-Octane Truth for this week.