Several bosses ago I worked for a guy who's idea of encouraging progress was to cut back.  His primary responsibility was to spur revenue growth, but he spent virtually all of his effort trimming costs.  So, when we didn't have enough ad pages or income from other sources, he would cut expenses, i.e. jobs. That made it even harder to make up the revenue we'd hoped for in the first place, because there were fewer people available to execute assignments, initiate new projects, offer new ideas, etc.

I thought of that guy when I reviewed this week's auto industry news. Chrysler, Ford, and Toyota all reported domestic sales declines for August, while General Motors, Honda, and Nissan all increased their sales for the month.

For the record, GM's U.S. sales rose 6.1% over August 2006, primarily because of its truck products. Nissan's sales were up 6.3%; Honda increased 4.7% over the prior August. Ford's sales were down 14.4%; Toyota's declined 2.8%; and Chrysler's were down 6.1% over August '06.

As we approach the one-year mark for the Big Three domestic automakers' radical restructuring programs, these August figures are being looked at by market analysts as indicators of the companies' overall health. That's important, because the market's evaluations determine who gets the credit needed to finance further restructuring.  And, hopefully, revenue growth.

It's possible to look at these sales figures in different ways — unit volumes, corporate total rankings, largest-selling models, and so forth — and find encouraging nuggets. Analysts and lenders aren't using microscopes, though. They're looking for trends, and numbers to support them. The Big Three are going to be pressed to intensify their restructuring, which is going to mean fewer resources to achieve their real objective: profitability.

For example, Ford, which is doing the most drastic slashing, is reported now to be thinking of phasing out the Mercury brand. Add that to the Jaguar and Land Rover lines, also up for sale. And, don't forget all the manufacturing divisions being discontinued ... starting with the casting operations.

Restructuring needs to be done, obviously. But, wouldn't these restructuring plans have more credibility, inspire more confidence, if Ford and the others would identify what they will be producing (and how) once they are restructured?