“Somebody ought to call Steve Jobs, who doesn’t need to be bribed to do innovation, and ask him if he’d like to do national service and run a car company for a year. I’d bet it wouldn’t take him much longer than that to come up with the G.M. iCar.”

A recent column from NY Times contributer, Thomas Friedman, discusses the potential government bailout General Motors and more importantly, what led to the General’s failure.

G.M.’s vice chairman, Bob Lutz has been quoted saying that hybrids like the Toyota Prius “make no economic sense,” and that global warming “is a total crock of [expletive].” It’s exactly why in times of economic crises, GM is looking for a lifeline while Honda is building new manufacturing plants to keep up with increasing demand for efficient cars. It’s why Apple continues to grow year after year while competitors from all sides are constantly scrambling to play catch up. (How many awesome new “touch” phones and MP3 players have come out this past year only to be forgotten and replaced months later?)

The key here is innovation. Sure, a company can probably ride out the latest trends and even make a quick buck from it. But fresh ideas, new ways of thinking and looking ahead are what will separate a good brand from the rest in the long run.

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