Carlos Planas did all the right things since he arrived from Cuba at age 12 in 1960.

He embraced a new language and country, graduated from Miami-Edison Senior High. Then went on to study marketing and finance, graduating with an MBA from the University of Miami.

By 1971, he was working in Dearborn, Mich., at Ford Motor Co. He moved to Jacksonville, Atlanta, even Venezuela as his career soared. At Merrill Lynch, Planas rose to vice president.

HIS OWN BOSS

Twenty years ago Planas decided to open his own Chrysler-Jeep dealership. He would be his own man, his own boss -- even if that first year he lost a million bucks. That only made him work harder, and it paid off.

Consistently his dealership was No. 1 in South Florida and often tops in the Southeast region. Nationally, Planas' Tamiami Chrysler Jeep Dodge dealership ranked in the top 75 among more than 2,000.

``Not bad for a country boy,'' he told me Friday, even though he's not quite a guajiro. He was born in Havana.

Thankful for life's blessings, he gave thousands of dollars to South Florida charities -- from St. Thomas University to Jackson Memorial Hospital.

``I never owed a cent to anyone,'' he said. ``If I can't pay for it, I won't buy it.''

UPSIDE DOWN

But all that he built in 20 years came tumbling down in 28 days through no fault of his own. His dealership was among five in South Florida terminated by Chrysler last month as part of its bankruptcy plan -- a compromise worked out by President Barack Obama to save the industry.

Except this deal is upside down. Why punish good performers like Planas? Why charge him $2,000 to $3,000 per vehicle to have Chrysler ship back the more than 300 new models he had in his lot? Why hit these dealers with liability for manufacturer defects?

``It was horrible,'' he said, as he talked about the workers he had to let go. ``I was crying with my wife, I was so anguished and so angry.''

This from a man who ran newspaper ads praising Obama on his historic election -- not because he necessarily voted for him but because Planas saw in this young president's victory the future of a nation that rewards hardworking risk-takers, where anyone, whether of Cuban or African descent, can rise to the top.

The harsh irony for Planas is that his father left Cuba because Fidel Castro took away the family business, and now the U.S. government's plan for Chrysler has taken away his livelihood. He's like an Alice in Wonderland Hell.

NOT GIVING IN

Planas, though, is not a quitter. He has been to Washington twice, lobbying Congress to fix the arbitrary nature of this Chrysler deal -- not just for him but for the dozens of other dealers he knows who have been crushed. ``It's an injustice what they've done to the small dealers in small towns.''

Some 248 members of Congress and 34 senators -- including Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez -- are backing federal legislation that would require Chrysler and General Motors to reinstate dealers they've terminated.

This week, Planas heads back to Washington. And if that fails, there's talk of a lawsuit. In the meantime, he has ``big plans'' for his company.

If it's a matter that these dealers are losing money, then it makes sense to dump them. But that's not the case with Planas and others.

This federal bailout for Chrysler dumps on small businesses that worked hard and played by the rules. In an effort to save an industry, our government severs America's backbone.

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