The other day Gila Courier commented about a sitting US Representative, Gabrielle Giffords (AZ CD-8), intervening to force GM to reinstate Don Mackey’s Cadillac dealership.

Giffords, who campaigned on raising gas mileage standards, is forcing GM to sell a luxury car brand featuring the Escalade in Tucson, so people in her home district can have ready access to them.  We previously reported that the Escalade gets 15mpg, we were overly optimistic.  GM’s own sitesays that city mileage for a 2009 Escalade is 9-12mpg.  The rest of their cars aren’t all that much better.  I don’t care, I say buy whatever car you like that you can afford to own and operate.  I love Caddys.  She’s the one that called for higher mileage standards and “change can’t wait”, not me.

Now the story gets more interesting:  Inside Tucson Business reports that Congress has a BILL–H.R. 2743, the Automobile Dealer Economic Rights Restoration Act–that, in the words of David Hatfield, “seeks to restore GM dealership franchise agreements that were in effect before the automaker filed for bankruptcy protection.”  It’s not just one Congresswoman who is twisting arms behind the scenes, they are going to make a law about where GM must sell its cars!  According to the article, the law has 242 co-sponsors with Giffords.

Again quoting Hatfield ”Giffords admits there are dealerships that should be closed but Mackey’s situation showed GM’s decision-making process lacked transparency.”  But, no matter, according to the law, if a dealer sold ‘em before taking government assistance, the automaker has to let the dealer keep selling them (Chryslers too, by the way).

I’m glad Mackey’s dealership will remain open and his great team of employees will still be working.  I said it before, I thought it was an unusual business decision on GM’s part that there wouldn’t be a Caddy dealership in a metropolitan area the size and demographic of Tucson but businesses make these kinds of decisions–and succeed or fail by them–every day.  It’s called “free enterprise.”  Before you answered to your stockholders.  Now, apparently, you answer to Congress.  You take the government cheese, you do what they say.

Interesting law–we will have to see if it is a case of ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions’ ?  Interesting precedent it sets.  I bet Ford is very happy not to have taken government assistance.