The story behind GM's scramble to build ventilators for coronavirus patients

The global automotive industry has mobilized its collective manufacturing to address the coronavirus pandemic. General Motors was the first to step up with a manufacturing plan, which the Trump administration tacitly approved when it invoked the Defense Production Act, but not before being criticized by the president for its initial efforts.

GM has now been authorized to build ventilators, but was that a result of Trump's prodding, or in spite of it?

The New York Times describes the efforts undertaken by GM and Ventec to come up with a viable solution: "While much of the U.S. economy has ground to a halt because of the coronavirus outbreak, several dozen workers in orange vests and hard hats were hauling heavy equipment on Sunday at a General Motors plant in Kokomo, Ind."

"The crew was part of a crash effort to make tens of thousands of ventilators, the lifesaving machines that keep critically ill patients breathing. The machines are in desperate demand as hospitals face the prospect of dire shortages. New York State alone may need 30,000 or more," the article said.