News today that Carriage RV will not reopen and that its assets will be auctioned Feb. 9 is another black eye for the RV industry, a hit to the gut to RV dealers and another serious irritation to thousands of RV owners.

By now, I would think banks would understand it is much easier and better for them in the long-term to actually cooperate with borrowers than it is to force them into quick default and bankruptcy. But, now that customers are nothing more than account numbers, it’s much easier for bankers to rationalize that they aren't dealing with real people.

Perhaps the banks now used by former Carriage employees will be empathetic to their situations and cut them some slack on their own loans and credit card payments. But, I won't hold my breath.

I am beginning to suspect that the public universities which pump out bankers by the thousands each year are training students that it is somehow better on the bank's bottom line to accept pennies on the dollar today rather than work with customers to get the full dollar -- plus interest -- a year or two later.

Carriage has always impressed me as a great company with great products. I spent lots of time talking with CEO Glenn Cushman at his company's dealer meetings a few years ago. He seemed to be a genuine guy who took pride in his products and the way he worked with his dealers. His support staff couldn't talk up the company -- or Cushman – fast enough, even though many of them now work for competitors.

It will be interesting to watch how the auction unfolds next month. We'll see if some of these companies who expressed interest in "helping" Carriage out of its dilemma with the bank will now help themselves to the company’s goodies at fire sale prices.

As much as I love the RV industry, it's this kind of underhanded, back-room shenanigans where key people look out for their own best interests without considering the needs or interests of others that often makes me want to puke.

I certainly hope the Carriage debacle isn't an omen of what's to come for the rest of the industry in 2012. Otherwise, I'll be taking down my wall calendar depicting scenic places to which I'd love to take an RV, and replacing it with a Mayan calendar so I can count down the days until doomsday.