$15 Billion Auto Deal Considered

Fox News ^ | December 5, 2008 | Associated Press

[re_tail20]

WASHINGTON -- Amid fresh assembly line layoffs, congressional Democrats and the White House reached for agreement Friday on about $15 billion in bailout loans for the beleaguered auto industry. President Bush warned that at least one of the Big Three carmakers might not survive the current economic crisis.

Several officials said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten spoke by phone. While no details of their conversation were available, it appeared the House's top Democrat had dropped her opposition to Bush's insistence that the aid come from a fund set aside for the production of environmentally friendlier cars.

The developments came as desperate auto executives pleaded for a second straight day with lawmakers for loans to help them survive, and the government reported the worst single month's job loss in 34 years.

[Wiseghy]

So, is it Chrysler who isn’t going to make it?

[Ingtar]

Here’s hoping every Republican worth keeping votes against it. Then again, that’s all who are likely to vote against it.

[stockpirate]

“the government reported the worst single month’s job loss in 34 years.”

This is untrue, while the amout of jobs lost was high compared to 34 years ago. The actual percent is low due to the doubling of the number of workers.

So as a percent of workers this isn’t that high.

All will change come Jan. 20m 2009

[org.whodat]

Sounds like someone is on the old fax machine throwing out garbage. Un-named sources say. ETC, ETC, yesterday the spin was corkers plan, there was no corker plan.

[Dallas59]

"How big is a billion? If a billion kids made a human tower, they would stand up past the moon. If you sat down to count from one to one billion, you would be counting for 95 years. If you found a goldfish bowl large enough hold a billion goldfish, it would be as big as a stadium."

If we wanted to make a book with a billion dollar signs, printed 1000 per page as before and with pages printed on both sides, our book would be 500,000 pages long.

One billion months is about 82 million years.

[org.whodat]

Here’s hoping every Republican worth keeping votes against it. Then again, that’s all who are likely to vote against it.

Little Nancy and her boy frank will do nothing if that is the case, they will not walk the plank.

[re_tail20]

From all indications, it is Chrysler. Ford is set for another year. General Motors still has enough parts to keep going with the right bankruptcy overhaul. The only way Chrysler can keep going is to become part of General Motors, or another company, in a bankruptcy overhaul.

[Azzurri]

This is a victory for the “old” Democrats (Big Labor) over the Pelosi “new” Democrats (Big Environmental). Nancy’s group really, secretly want to kill off the Big 3 so that California can become the Green Car Capital of the World. They can only achieve this thru the demise of Detroit. At the same time, she had to face reality that Big Labor is still among the Democrats largest contributors.

[Dawn531]

I’m no economist, nor CEO, but seems to me there’s a lot of drama surrounding this auto bailout. Say they declare bankruptcy, that doesn’t mean every single person will be laid off. They make it sound like if they don’t get the bailout every worker in the auto industry and associated industries will automatically be out of a job. For those more informed, it wouldn’t work like that, would it? Wouldn’t the bankruptcy just force them to renegotiate contracts, some lay offs, I’m sure, but not everyone would lose their job?

[rovenstinez]

Okay, so I live SOUTH of your border. Why don´t they let the 3 giants go down the drain, SELL the Railroad Right of Ways to private investors to get CASH, and turn these ole railroads into high rise up off the ground hi speed treins. Instead of building cars, they can revamp and make modules that fit on flat cars, that run on tracks and move at 200 mph for trips of 200 miles, a lower lever at 100 mi8les per hour for traffic that gets off in 100 miles, and the bottom tier for cargo. This would create a BOOM in jobs, making parking lots for parking modules, and enconomical little cars for people to pull in the Park and Fly towers...and get their rental cubicle ON LINE a railway. This would alleviate traffic on freeways, create all kinds of infrastrucure, building malls around railways. Top tier could be for scenic routes.. If they rescued the 3 companies...who is going to be buying cars in the next 2 years! Toss it all out, asnd start something NEW:

[re_tail20]

The really aggravating thing is that they all know this. It would be already be done except for the political reasons with the unions and the UAW. The Democrats in Congress don’t want the unions to lose power. The unions don’t want to lose power and their jobs. The auto execs don’t want to make the inevitable decisions that will irreversibly reduce the size of their companies - in other words they don’t want to adjust to reality if they don’t have to.

Bankruptcy protection will mean liquidation of their companies, they say, although they probably know different.

[Lurker]

GM

[CapnJack]

“So, is it Chrysler who isn’t going to make it?”

Oh please don’t say that!

I have a new 2008 Ram 4500 I got this past spring and I don’t want to see my 100,000 mile drivetrain and 3yr/36K mile bumper to bumper go down the tubes.

[Orange1998]

Chrysler dealers may be sunk since they cannot convert to F or GM dealer.

[dalereed]

“Nancy’s group really, secretly want to kill off the Big 3 so that California can become the Green Car Capital of the World”

The best reason in the world to make sure the Big 3 survive and prosper.

If any law is passed it should be to make it a felony to produce a green car or import one!!!

[sickoflibs]

GWB final present to us.

Right now 917 pm Amy Goodmann and Ralf Nader are saying government needs to takeover the big three on marxist show Democracy Now. Union leader Wendy Thompson organizing pro-bailout protest in DC, So GWB has friends.

Bush-bots? I know you are out there. Your spin?

[Azzurri]

I have a new 2008 Ram 4500 I got this past spring and I don’t want to see my 100,000 mile drivetrain and 3yr/36K mile bumper to bumper go down the tubes.

Don't worry, Chuckie Schumer said the government is going to guarantee those warranties, LOL.

[truthguy]

I’m no economist, nor CEO, but seems to me there’s a lot of drama surrounding this auto bailout. Say they declare bankruptcy, that doesn’t mean every single person will be laid off. They make it sound like if they don’t get the bailout every worker in the auto industry and associated industries will automatically be out of a job. For those more informed, it wouldn’t work like that, would it? Wouldn’t the bankruptcy just force them to renegotiate contracts, some lay offs, I’m sure, but not everyone would lose their job?

The bankruptcy of any one of the three auto makers would be a catastrophe for the United States. Manufacturing in the United States is hurting enough as it is without the prime mover failing.

Many on this site have stated that the Foreign Companies produce cars in the US. SEWAGE! The foreign car companies do low-tech final assembly. That's not the same as Manufacturing. When you have a healthy manufacturing company you have good engineering, design, R&D, Marketing Jobs etc,etc. We don't have much of these types of jobs with Toyota or Honda. The overwhelming share of the good jobs are overseas. The foreign manufacturers are not going to depend on anything of importance coming from the US. And I say this with authority because I briefly worked for a Japanese Company. You get to do only the "grunt" work. They will not trust you with anything important.

This is what a lot of Freeper knuckle draggers do not completely understand. Manufacturing is a lot more than final assembly. The people here who trash the US Auto Industry are really cutting their own throats. They aren't smart enough to understand it though.

All 3 car companies are making great strides to fixing their cost structure problems. GM and Chrysler are going to have some great series hybrids out which will save a lot of gas if only they can survive long enough. All the things that people are calling for are already in the works. It's just that the Auto Industry got killed by the perfect storm of the rapid rise in gas prices and then the economic meltdown. If not for this they would have made a decent recovery.

If we can give the Wall Street Scum a much larger bailout, why not give the US Auto Industry a "bridge loan". They WILL recover if they can make it to 2010. The taxpayers will get their money back and then some. People are NOT going to buy a car from a company in Chapter 11. I cannot believe people are stupid enough to compare an Airline with a Car Company. This is a ludicrous comparison. Bankruptcy in not an option. The car companies will not recover from this.

[Emmett McCarthy]

If you had to, you could go out and buy a warranty. It ain’t nothing but an insurance policy. Chrysler may even go out and purchase the warranty coverage in the insurance market anyway and they just pass it along to you when you buy the vehicle.