The car companies are steadily moving offshore in any case. Pay them billions or pay them nothing, its the same. They’re leaving.
A number of Asian news sites report that the largest Chinese auto maker (SAIC) will walk into the situation by the end of December and likely pick up GM...maybe even Chrysler. I think both will be desperate enough to accept the deal....to survive for a couple of years as all parts production is based in China.
As for Ford...I’m expecting a surprise “savior” to come in by mid January and cough up enough cash to save the company (maybe even the Russians).
The true losers in this entire deal? The parts industry in the US will be taken down within just a year or two...and the unions. The problem with this entire mess....is that if the banks had not gotten themselves so screwed up....then the loose credit would still be there and the screwed-up union deal would just continue on. What the democratic leadership did in allowing the banks to fall apart...has simply triggered a domino effect...and it won’t end with the car companies.