We are all well versed in the comedy of errors that is GM, but it doesn't look like Ford is too far behind.

The automaker announced today that they plan to cut 30,000 jobs and close 10 plants in the next five years, citing overcapacity issues. Apparently, their temporarily beefed up sales from the "employee discounts for everyone!" deal back in July wasn't enough to save them...not to mention the fact that the discount most likely made up the majority of Ford's profit on the cars they were selling.

One can't help but wonder why Ford (and GM) continue to manufacture more cars than could feasibly be sold, when they then end up having to practically give them away - wiping out any possibility of an actual profit.

Perhaps they should take a cue from Toyota, who continues to do better than the "Big Three" (GM, Ford and Daimler-Chrysler) month after month. Bloomberg.com reports, "By investing more conservatively in new plant capacity and forgoing peak demand, Toyota and rival Japanese automakers, Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. have minimized the idle time in factories that kills profits.

"The theory is called 'heijunka' in Japanese, which means 'leveling,' and is integral to Toyota's production system."

Hmmm...thinking and sweating - looks like our friends to the Far East are coming out on top again...

*** Today, gold hit a new 24-year high, mainly due to buying by second and third tier central bank buying from second and third tier central banks who find themselves burdened with U.S. dollar reserves.

This diversification out of currencies like the US dollar and the euro has caused the price of gold to skyrocket - it opened in London trading at $512.20 an ounce, up $5.20.

"So gold has smashed through the $500 level. But where will it go from here?" wonders Dan Denning. "Are we due for a correction, or can a gold bull market and a stock market rally exist side by side? And even more intriguingly, can a dollar bull market and a gold bull market cohabitate?

"My money is on gold and Pierre Lassonde, the president of Newmont Mining (NEM), who thinks gold is going to $1,000. In a recent interview aired on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Lassonde said, 'Everybody thinks inflation is going to stay at 2% - I don't believe it. There has been way too much money printing in the world for that to happen.'

"Is it sad to believe the dollar will collapse? A little. It means a great deal of change. Is it wicked? Not as wicked as the reckless spending bills passed by Congress and signed by the president...for the last 50 years. It is too good to be believed that the dollar system can fail and be effortlessly replaced by something else? Yes. In a market economy, nothing new of value is created without destroying the thing it replaces.

"That's why Lassonde and others believe in gold. It is what you'll have in your pocket or portfolio during the intermission between the current act of fiscal tragedy and the next act of political comedy.

"So be of good cheer! The gold rally will probably give way to a correction, at which time it will be a good idea to add to your holdings, both of bullion and of gold stocks."

Bill Bonner is the President of Agora Publishing.  For more on Bill Bonner, visit The Daily Reckoning.