TriShield

They squandered billions upon billions, why would anyone give them more?

05CherryGXP

Didn't stop Wall Street from getting a 700 billion dollar check.

Just saying....

I personally look forward to the day when I can hire all my unemployeed ex-GM friends to do my yardwork for me. We'll see who bragging about their payrates then.

wabmorgan

Well... I did say IF!!!

But.... I think before the US government would allow the entire US auto industry to fail.... you may find that the auto "bailout" becomes little more than a subsidy...... especially when you consider the banking and AIG bailout(s).

In other words.... I expect to see several bailouts(2 or more) before the US government throws in the towel on the US auto industry.

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

I think any bailout ought to bust 'em up,
into smaller unrelated companies like before
the marques lost all their independent
personality. We need competition and
variety of choices, not a bland monolith
that just plays badge games. Big and
bloated is the problem, big and bloated
and living on loans is not the solution.

Building something you really believe in,
for a customer base you can focus on,
is a more likely way to succeed. Or at
least a better way to die.

Trouble is, without a zillion piece-of-tinfoil
money-losing econoboxes in your product
mix, CAFE will screw the muscle (work or
play) segment.

We need the "open-source automobile".

TT632

iTrader: (3)

Give them the loans with "conditions".

You can bet this; The Japanese wouldn't let their #1 automotive company go down the tubes and niether would the Koreans. The people there, and their governments realize the need to support their OEMs...We could learn a lesson in that.

LS1LT1

iTrader: (16)

Absolutely and 100% TRUE!
In fact, Japan has been 'nurturing' and subsidizing their automotive industry (among other industries) all along. The combination of Sony, Toyota, Panasonic, Honda etc has been called Japan, Inc. for many years now and their is a valid reason for that.
Need help selling cars in your home market? Simple, just charge Japanese citizens $50k for a Malibu and only $20k for a Camry and guess which one they'll buy.

I think it's time for the U.S. to start taxing/tariffing the crap out of import nameplate brand vehicles (and NOT just the ones brought in on boats) just like they do to U.S. nameplate brands in their home nation.
Want a Camry or Accord that badly? Ok, $45k please and the excess cash gets put back into a fund to help pay unemployment and health benefits for unemployed/displaced American auto workers.

Awake455

Gotta be careful when you suggest tarrifs. There are ramifications to many far beyond the immediate parties. Example: steel tarrifs to save the jobs of steel workers. Price of foreign steel went up to match the higher price of US steel. Steel industry saved, yay!

What happened next? Let's look at one company in one industry: Caterpillar. An average bulldozer has what, 50,000 pounds of steel in it? An increase in the price of steel really hits them hard. Companies like Caterpillar and those who made large equipment realized it was cheaper for them to close down plants here in the US, build new plants in Europe, hire non-union workers, build the large equipment overseas, and ship them back to the states. Same thing happened with most if not all of the larger farm tractors. Very few of them are made in the US anymore. Sooo...to save steel industry jobs we enacted a steel tarrif that killed off (along with the help of union labor costs) many times more manufacturing jobs.

That being said, if there are cases like Japan imposing massive taxes and tarrifs on products coming in, we should mirror their policies without hesitation or delay.

Back on topic, I hate to see development halted. I understand they are out of money and trying to survive but stopping development to save cash ensures lower revenue in the coming months and years. To me this signals they have given up on planning for a tomorrow and are just trying to survive today...pretty much making the prospect for a tomorrow even darker.

LS1LT1

iTrader: (16)

Good point, it is a potentially slippery slope/fine line that needs to be walked.
Make it direct then...if a base Malibu sells for $45k in Japan then a base Camry sells for $45k in the U.S.
Fair is fair.
And yes, that should apply to a Camry built in Kentucky or Indiana as well as one built in Japan or Thailand.

Anonymous

Poor comparison.
One is a commodity/raw material.
The other is an end user product.
Apples & Oranges.
Tariffs on automobiles would work fine.

Look what Tariffs did for Harley Davidson to help them get back on their feet!

LS1LT1

iTrader: (16)

The Alchemist

iTrader: (19)

I couldn't agree more. Everyone says that a car made in America is an American car, but when all of the profits go out of the country and our economy, what good are we doing. I understand that Americans are working in the factories, but it's not enough. We should have a 1:1 trade relation. For every 1 car that Toyota wants to sell here, they have to purchase one American car by the big three or pay a premium.

The biggest problem with this country right now is the difference between imported goods verses exported goods, and to correct that, the guy who promised "CHANGE" had better start to do something about it. He campaigned against giving tax breaks to US companies, but without those tax breaks and incentives, we'd be going under at a quicker pace. How about we coincide those tax breaks with tax penalties for NON-American companies to operate and sell in the US.

Urban Legend

iTrader: (5)

GM forever.

LS1LT1

iTrader: (16)

wabmorgan

^^^^^^^Agreed!!!!!!!!!!

Urban Legend

iTrader: (5)

GM for life.

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

i agree 100%. say isn't that a honda in your sig???

chaman

iTrader: (5)

Fixed.

MaroMan

iTrader: (6)

Since my father was 18 my family has not owned any product except a chevrolet. I had chrysler in the driveway for 3 months and he told me i better have a chevy soon or the chrysler was getting junked.

We did our part to help.

BAD ASS TA WS6

iTrader: (5)

Everything on that thing is all trash. I wouldn't spend more than 10k on any of those shitboxes.

Corvette and their trucks is all they have.

EPP

iTrader: (22)

My '06 Cobalt SS runs quite well, here is a link to it.
http://www.exoticperformanceplus.com...Car.php?car=57

Car&Driver rates the new turbo Cobalt SS as one of the best small cars you can buy. Here's a pretty cool video of the new Cobalt on the track.
http://www.autojab.com/video-2008-ch...n-nurburgring/ Bob