STICKS IN THE MUD....they make cars for car collectors.......we just want to get to work......DORKS........ask how badly dilapidated their schools are all around that 'auto industry'......WHY?------WELL, THEY MAKE DRONES OF COURSE......as each assembly 'ant' retires or dies there's another to take their place......
DISGUSTING DISGRACEFUL AND DIABOLICAL.......
Union's doing that well to keep folks that short sighted......and the company leaders????? yeah, them too........
always be ready to jump ship.......always.......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
There was a great web site with a timeline on the rise of the car industry and the choice of electric or gas......well, here we are.....we reap what we sow.... and without foresight or the ability to change/adapt we will fall behind........I hope I can find that site again....it was very informative.......
show me the $$ trail........
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Gov’t may further press automakers BY TOM KRISHER AND KEN THOMAS The Associated Press
DETROIT — The Obama administration is likely to impose deeper concessions on Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp. in exchange for additional federal loans, a person briefed on the government’s plan said Friday. The concessions could go beyond the requirements imposed by the Bush administration when it agreed to loan the automakers money last year, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the government’s plans have not been revealed. President Barack Obama will announce the administration’s plan for the auto industry on Monday. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama’s auto task force was “winding down the decisions that have to be made” and finalizing the plan. Both automakers are operating on a total of $17.4 billion in government loans, trying to weather the worst auto sales downturn in 27 years. In addition, GM is seeking another $16.6 billion, while Chrysler wants $5 billion more. General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner met with members of the task force on Friday, an Obama administration official said. The term sheets that came with the fi rst loans require extensive restructuring, including executive pay cuts and labor costs that match Japanese automakers. Both companies also must persuade the United Auto Workers to take equity in exchange for half of the payments the companies must make to unionrun trust funds that will take over retiree health care costs starting next year. And they must get debtholders to swap equity for twothirds of the companies’ debt. “There may be more extensive conditions than were laid out initially in the term sheets,” the person said. Both companies face a Tuesday deadline to turn in finished restructuring plans to the government, but neither company is likely to have everything done. Neither GM nor Chrysler have deals with the union on the trust funding or concessions from their debtholders, although talks are continuing. “Our union is continuing to work with the task force and the auto companies to find a solution to the many issues we face,” UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said Friday through a spokeswoman. Obama made clear Thursday that the companies would face having to make tough concessions for additional aid, but it was unclear if that meant concessions beyond the initial loan terms. The president said if the companies were “not willing to make the changes and the restructurings that are necessary, then I’m not willing to have taxpayer money chase after bad money.” He said the current business model for the U.S. auto industry was unsustainable and various industry stakeholders — suppliers, unions, creditors, dealers — would need to make concessions. A task force created by Obama has been meeting with industry officials and reviewing restructuring plans submitted by the companies to revitalize the industry through shared sacrifices. The government can recall its loans to GM and Chrysler if they fail to sign deals for debt restructuring and other concessions from stakeholders, including the UAW, by March 31. But the administration has not indicated it plans to do so. GM owes roughly $28 billion to bondholders, while Chrysler owes about $7 billion in first- and second-term debt, mainly to banks. GM owes roughly $20 billion to its retiree health care trust, while Chrysler owes $10.6 billion. Bondholders have been reluctant to go along with the cuts, saying they’re being required to sacrifice more than other parties, but they have been holding ....................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00300
Since Ford Motor Co is the only one that did not need to be bailed out...I don't know whay they just don't turn all of the failing auto companies over to Ford's executives. They are giving these failing companies billions without the assurance that it will even work.
Like I said before...the bail out should have been for retirement funds only!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
The Obama administration asked Rick Wagoner, the chairman and CEO of General Motors, to step down and he agreed, a White House official said.
Wagoner's departure is one of the remarkable strings attached to a new aid package the administration plans to offer GM.
The White House confirmed Wagoner was leaving at the government's behest after The Associated Press reported his immediate departure, without giving a reason.
On Monday, President Obama is to unveil his plans for the auto industry, including a response to a request for additional funds by GM and Chrysler.
Industry sources had said the White House planned very tough medicine, which turned out to be an understatement. And it went to the very top. The measures to be imposed by the government will have a dramatic effect on workers, unions, suppliers, retirees and the communities where plants are located, the sources said.
Obama takes tight rein on GM, Chrysler BY DAVID ESPO The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama asserted unprecedented government control over the auto industry Monday, bluntly rejecting turnaround plans by General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, demanding fresh concessions for long-term federal aid and raising the possibility of quick bankruptcy for either ailing auto giant. Obama took the extraordinary step of announcing the government will back new car warranties issued by both GM and Chrysler, an attempt to reassure consumers their U.S.-made purchases will be protected even if the companies don’t survive. “I am absolutely committed to working with Congress and the auto companies to meet one goal: The United States of America will lead the world in building the next generation of clean cars,” Obama said in his fi rst extended remarks on the industry since taking office nearly 10 weeks ago. And yet, he added, “our auto industry is not moving in the right direction fast enough to succeed.” Obama, flanked by several administration officials at the White House, announced a short-term infusion of cash for the firms, and said it could be the last for one or both. Chrysler, judged by the administration as too small to survive, got 30 days’ worth of funds to complete a partnership with Fiat SpA, the Italian manufacturer, or some other automaker. GM got assurances of 60 days’ worth of federal financing to try and revise its turnaround plan under new management with heavy government participation. That would involve concessions from its union workers and bondholders. The administration engineered the ouster of longtime CEO Rick Wagoner over the weekend, an indication of its deep involvement in an industry that once stood as a symbol of American capitalism. Obama’s announcement underscored the extent to which automakers have been added to the list of large corporations now operating under a level of government control that seemed unthinkable less than a year ago. Since last fall, the Bush and Obama administrations, often acting in concert with the Federal Reserve, have engineered the takeover of housing titans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, seized a large stake in several banks and installed a new CEO at bailed-out insurance giant American International Group. The latest addition to the list, the onceproud auto industry, has struggled with foreign competition for more than a generation, then was further battered by the recession and credit crisis gripping the economy. Obama said 400,000 industry jobs have been lost in the past year alone, many in Michigan. Under Fritz Henderson, newly named as CEO, General Motors issued a statement saying it hopes to avoid bankruptcy, but will “take whatever steps are necessary to successfully restructure the company, which could include a court-supervised process.” Chrysler Chairman Bob Nardelli sought to assure customers, dealers, suppliers and employees that the automaker “will operate ‘business as usual’ over the next 30 days” while working closely with the government and Fiat to secure the support of stakeholders. Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat, issued a statement calling the Obama administration’s involvement “tough but fair, and we believe we will arrive at a result that will establish a credible future for this crucial industrial sector and that assigns the right priority to the repayment of U.S. taxpayers’ funds.” Fiat executives have talked to administration officials about a proposal to acquire a 35 percent stake in Chrysler in exchange for small car technology, transmissions and other items that Chrysler has valued at $8-$10 billion. Ford Motor Co., the third member of the Big Three, has not requested federal bailout funds. Obama said bankruptcy would be a way for either GM or Chrysler to “quickly clear away old debts that are weighing them down so they can get back on their feet,” and stressed that either firm would remain open. “What I am not talking about is a process where a company is broken up, sold off and no longer exists. And what I am not talking about is having a company stuck in court for years, unable to get out,” he said. Still, fears about the industry’s future sent stocks plummeting, with the Dow Jones industrial average losing about 254 points. GM plunged 92 cents, or 25.4 percent, to $2.70. Chrysler is not publicly traded. Obama’s remarks were prompted by the expiration of a temporary bailout approved by the Bush administration last winter, with $17 billion in federal funds to help GM and Chrysler survive. Under its terms, the two automakers had until March 31 to submit restructuring plans as it searched for additional federal funds. At the time, it appeared Bush had avoided an industry collapse on his watch yet had deferred the most difficult decisions for his successor. By his comments, Obama bought himself a little more time but made it clear it was fast running out. “Now is the time to confront our problems head-on and do what’s necessary to solve them,” he said. The administration issued papers detailing the prospects for survival of both GM and Chrysler, credited them with making diffi cult choices, yet also stressing the difficulties that remain. It said that while GM’s new car of the .................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00500
Government will back GM, Chrysler new car warranties BY KIMBERLY S. JOHNSON The Associated Press
DETROIT — Along with harsher demands, President Obama offered support Monday for General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, hoping to soothe consumers fears about buying new vehicles from automakers teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. The main source of support is the Warranty Commitment Program, which has been designed by the Treasury Department to ensure that customers buying a new vehicle will still have a warranty even if GM or Chrysler slides into bankruptcy and is forced to restructure — or, even worse, liquidate its assets. The president is giving Chrysler and GM more time to come up with stronger restructuring plans that involve renegotiating contracts with the United Auto Workers union and bondholders. But if that doesn’t work out, a bankruptcy filing is imminent. Many consumers — reasonably enough — say they wouldn’t buy a car from a bankrupt automaker. So the government has taken steps to ensure that the buyers of GM and Chrysler cars won’t be left out in the cold. Here are some questions and answers about the warranty program. Q: What exactly is this program? A: Starting Monday, consumers who purchase a GM or Chrysler vehicle will have their warranties honored in the event that the maker of their car or truck goes into bankruptcy. The government will finance the companies’ cost to repair covered vehicles at the dealership or through a third party. The funds will be set aside in a separate federal account. The companies will provide 15 percent of their expected warranty costs, with the government covering the rest. The funds are slated to come from the government’s Trouble Asset Relief Program (TARP). The Treasury wouldn’t say how much money it’s putting up for the program, but it’s expected to be in the millions — significantly less than the $17.4 billion the companies have already received. Q: I just purchased a car last week. Is my car covered? A: Unfortunately, no. The plan is available for vehicles purchased during the companies’ “restructuring period,” which the Treasury is defining as beginning on March 30. The period will end when the companies emerge from restructuring — in other words, when they are viable without government help, or emerge from a bankruptcy. Q: Are only Chrysler and GM cars covered? What about Ford and foreign automakers? A: Any U.S. manufacturer is eligible to participate in the plan, though Ford Motor Co., which is not seeking government aid, is not expected to do so. Foreign automakers are not eligible to participate. Q: How do I get repairs under the government-backed warranty? A: Consumers don’t have to do anything out of the ordinary. The program is primarily a financial one and would allow GM or Chrysler to cover the cost of repairing your car free of charge, or under terms of the warranty, should the companies enter bankruptcy. Q: Will taxpayer money end up being used to repair people’s cars? A: Any court-ordered bankruptcy is likely to have a quick turnaround — versus the years of court proceedings often associated with bankruptcy. As a result, it’s unlikely that taxpayer funds would have to be used to pay for warranty repairs.
George Wil Obama shouldn’t even try to save automakers George Will is a nationally syndicated columnist.
The Constitution enumerates three requirements of those who would be president (they must be natural-born citizens, at least 35 and a resident within the country for 14 years), and now the government’s thrashing about in the economy imposes a fourth: Presidents must be able to speak pluperfect nonsense with a straight face, lest the country understand what the government is doing. Obfuscation serves political salvation when what the government is doing includes promising that if Chrysler will sell itself to Fiat, U.S. taxpayers will lend that Italian firm $6 billion. Barack Obama displayed realitydenying virtuosity last week when, announcing the cashiering of General Motors’ CEO, and naming his replacement, and as the government was prompting selection of a new majority of GM’s board of directors, and as the government announced the next deadline for GM to submit a more satisfactory viability plan than it submitted at the last faux deadline, and as the government kept the billions flowing to tide GM over until, well, whenever, the president said: “The United States government has no interest in running GM.” Actually, his administration prefers to do that rather than allow bankruptcy to infuriate the United Auto Workers union, which was pre-emptively grateful to Obama’s administration with lavish contributions to candidate Obama. The president supposedly showed “toughness” in sacking a conspicuous member of a particularly unpopular little cohort, CEOs of big corporations. He will need more grit if, as his administration hints, this time it is serious — that its patience is wearing thin, that someday GM could face “controlled” or “prepackaged” or “surgical” bankruptcy. One suspects that those adjectives intimate that it will be faux bankruptcy, gentle in dealing with the UAW. Last November, five months and $17.4 billion in auto bailouts ago, this column noted: “Some opponents of bankruptcy say: GM must not be allowed to fail before it perfects batteries for its electric-powered Volt, which supposedly is a key to the company’s resurrection. This vehicle was concocted to serve GM’s prolonged attempt to ingratiate itself with the few hundred environmentally obsessed automotive engineers in Congress. They have already voted tax credits of up to $7,500 for purchasers of such cars — bribes that reveal doubts about consumer enthusiasm for them at a price that would reflect cost.” In December, GM, by then a mendicant groveling before its congressional masters, ran a full-page newspaper ad apologizing for having “disappointed” everyone, vowing to stop selling so many “pickups and SUVs” (which were 11 of GM’s 20 most profitable products in 200, and promising “revolutionary new products like the Chevrolet Volt.” Another ad, which appeared before December and is still running, features a car attached to an electric cord, and says the Volt amounts to “reinventing the automobile.” Last week, in an unenthralled summary of GM’s “viability” plan, Obama’s administration said: “GM earns a large share of its profits from high-margin trucks and SUVs, which are vulnerable to a continuing shift in consumer preference to smaller vehicles. Additionally, while the Chevy Volt holds promise, it will likely be too expensive to be commercially successful in the short term.” The stunning shift in consumer preferences that should make the White House’s freshly minted auto experts feel vulnerable has been reported under headlines such as “Like a Rock: Hybrid Car Sales Plummet” (Wall Street Journal, Dec. 9) and “Hybrid Car Sales Go from 60 to 0 at Breakneck Speed” (Los Angeles Times, March 17). Absent $4 gasoline, customers, those nuisances with their insufferable preferences, do not want the vehicles the politicians want them to want, even with manufacturers now offering large rebates and other incentives. The two best-selling vehicles in..............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar03000
AFP/File – General Motors' factory in Strasbourg, eastern France. The embattled US auto maker is aiming to double … Mon Apr 13, 12:45 am ET WASHINGTON, April 12 (Reuters ) – The U.S. Treasury Department is directing General Motors to lay the groundwork for a bankruptcy filing by June 1, even though the automaker has publicly stated it could reorganize outside of court, The New York Times reported on Sunday.
GM is operating under emergency U.S. government loans. It has been told by the Obama administration's task force overseeing its bailout that it must cut costs and reduce its debts in order to continue to receive aid.
The White House-appointed autos task force has given GM 60 days to come up with a restructuring plan and it is trying to determine whether the automaker can be a viable company.
Quoting sources who had been briefed on the GM plans, the Times said the goal was to prepare for a fast "surgical" bankruptcy.
The newspaper said preparations are aimed at assuring a GM bankruptcy filing is ready if the company is unable to reach agreement with bondholders to exchange roughly $28 billion in debt into equity in GM and with the United Automobile Workers union.
A plan under consideration would create a new company that would buy the "good" assets of GM after the carmaker files for bankruptcy, the Times said.
Less desirable assets, including unwanted brands, factories and health care obligations, would be left in the old company, which could be liquidated over several years, according to the paper.
Treasury officials are examining one potential outcome in which the viable GM enters and exits bankruptcy protection in as little as two weeks, using $5 billion to $7 billion in federal financing, a person briefed on the matter told the Times.
The Times sources declined to be identified because they were not authorized to discuss the process. Both GM and Treasury Department officials declined to comment, the newspaper said.
Last week, GM's chief executive said the automaker wanted to restructure out of court, but also preparing for a bankruptcy filing.
They pay lobbyists to help get legislation passed for them to continue to work and function as a company in America....now use the system you created....to fix yourself......or do you fear your beast.......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
GM, Chrysler to get more cash DETROIT — General Motors Corp. could get as much as $5 billion more in federal loans, while Chrysler LLC could get $500 million as they race against government-imposed deadlines to restructure, according to a government report filed Tuesday. The quarterly report by a special inspector general on the auto industry and bank bailout programs says the money will be made available for working capital. GM has until June 1 to complete restructuring plans that satisfy the government’s auto task force, while Chrysler has until April 30. A person briefed on the plans said Tuesday that the exact amount of the loans have not been finalized and will be worked out with the companies. The person asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. GM already has received $13.4 billion in government loans, while Chrysler has received $4 billion. The government’s auto task force rejected both companies’ restructuring plans on March 30. GM CEO Fritz Henderson said last week that the automaker would need $4.6 billion during the second quarter. A Chrysler spokeswoman said only that the company has not received any more money beyond the initial $4 billion.
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, and promising “revolutionary new products like the Chevrolet Volt.” Another ad, which appeared before December and is still running, features a car attached to an electric cord, and says the Volt amounts to “reinventing the automobile.” 
