burlapp car

Big 3 bailout…

By  •  Published:  •  Last updated:


Looks like everyone in DC will agree to give them $15 Billion.
Almost 10 less than what GM, Ford and Chrysler were asking for.

But that should be enough to help them alive until the new administration decides what to do.

In a world where Citi just got almost $300B a few weeks ago in Bailout money, this doesn’t look so bad.

What do you think?

Conversation 28 comments

  1. My prediction: Kiss Chrysler bye-bye, cause it ain’t coming back. GM will look a lot different six months from now and Ford will come out mostly unscathed.

  2. Well, seems fair, GM and Chrysler say they need a combined $15 billion dollars to get them through 2009. Why give them any more right now. They need to follow through on their “Plans” to cut costs. Ford didnt ask for loans now. Ford just asked for access to loans after 2009 if conditions worsened in the economy.

  3. Sounds like a reasonable figure considering whose actually paying the tab. I think it’s unfortunate GM allowed it to get to this extent before taking action. After reading what lies in store possibly for Saturn I’ve come to the realization I may have already made my last American car purchase. What a debacle.

  4. It’s criminal
    HOW MUCH the government GAVE and continues to GIVE to their Banker-Buddies
    (with NO improvement showing in the credit-economy)
    &
    HOW LITTLE they're willing to LOAN to these Major Manufacturers.

    (imho 'those germans' mortally wounded Chrysler – tho I hope the next regime can arrange a way to salvage them back to independence)

  5. GM and Ford I can understand, because they don’t have any other business to draw money from.

    But Chrysler? Their corporate masters, Cerberus, has like 60 billion in the bank and is one of the wealthiest private equity firms in the world.

    Why should they get our money?

  6. I rather have see money go to the big 3 and the hell with Citi Group, they are so unorganized and have A-holes working for them. I wouldn’t miss them and either would my monthly payments.

  7. Loan? Congress knows very well that one or two of the three wil likely not pull through. Why should they give these corporations anything at all? There are too many players in the field now. Three American manufacturers nakes no sense! Above all, GM and Chrysler still have yet to learn that people will NOT start buying their cars again!

  8. You cannot compare Citi and the Detroit car makers. The financial institutions are a lot more important than manufacturers. Without the former the latter do not exist. Without replenishing the balance sheet of the banks, they cannot lend, since they can lend up to 7-8 times equity. This financial crisis has a long way to go. $15 bil, is just the beginning for the big 3 and..for the rest of us. The best and worst part of this crisis is that the average Joe out there, and this blog, has no clue how much worse it is going to be.

  10. I say, hire the likes of the GOOD Japanese CEO’s and watch how much they will change in a short period of time… Hey, it can’t get any worse! 🙂 I believe that the $$$ will last long enough for them show the world how fast they can blow it all and end up filing bankruptcy, anyway. Hopefully, they will prove me wrong.

  11. We give crap loads of money to foreign governments so they can get their houses in order. We give crap loads of money to foreign car companies so they can build factories here in the USA. Other countries can give their industries money so they can compete and survive. I don’t have a problem giving the $35 billion to the big 3……AS LONG AS IT’S MANAGED PROPERLY!!! I don’t want it to go to someones bonus. I don’t want it to go to someone who IS’NT going to work for an extended period of time. I want it to go to our industries so we can keep building stuff, and at least keep some jobs in the USA. These days, and in this economic crap sandwich we’re all in, I don’t think it would be a crime to give them the $35 big ones they need to save some US industries. AS LONG AS IT’S MANAGED PROPERLY!!!

  12. I would not have bailed out either. If a major bank goes belly up, US government takes it over and reorganizes it, resells to the public 3 or 4 years down the line. Auto companies should be allowed to reorganize under bankruptcy protection. New union contracts, debt gone, yadda yadda yadda……….much better off 5 years from now. Managememt and unions just don’t want to give up control

  14. That economic my man. You’re weak, you’re gone … someone else will stand up and take its place. Darwinism in the economic world.

    I would let them all sort of it out themselves. Giving money to a losing proposition is just plain stupid. none of the big-3 has any plan of creating domestic vehicles worthy enough to compete on the world stage in this era. Yes, sometime they got a creative buzz and came up with a great vehicle and then don’t spend money updating it. Ford Taurus, Chrysler 300 are two examples. GM has nothing worthy in my opinion (maybe the Corvette but then that one is a niche vehicle).

  15. The same goes with banking but I have to blame congress for that. Case in point, my local bank Chevy Chase settled in the 90s for not lending money to people who couldn’t afford the payment (mostly to the poor) … so they have to readjust the qualification (giving no interest for certain amount of time, adjustable rate, interest only etc) so now they are holding default loans from the same people who wouldn’t be qualified otherwise. ah, thanks barnie frank!!!!

    at least they are being brought by capital one.

  16. Banks are different–failure of huge banks and loss of uninsured deposits (major corporate payroll accounts among others) would be far worse than the collapse of moribund car companies. So, comparing bank bailouts with auto company bailouts is ridiculous.

    There will be an auto bailout because the Democrat Party is owned by labor unions and trial lawyers, so UAW pandering is a priority for the Democrat Congress and the incoming administration.

    As a GM shareholder (fortunately not a major part of my portfolio) I’d benefit from any help that saves GM stock. But as one who’s studied economics (and taught it), I think GM’s best chance for the long term is to go bankrupt so it could rid itself of the legacy costs that are killing the company.

    GM needs to break the back of the UAW which is largely responsible for ruining the company, and nullify contracts with redundant dealers so it can drop unneeded brands.

    A slimmed-down GM operating on the same cost curves as Toyota and Honda in the U.S. can succeed because GM has some competitive products that people will buy from a company that appears to have a future.

  17. No C11, no $$$$$.
    Just because the(which I’m against) is no reason to give to these ass-clowns and their unions unless they declare C11 first.

    Then, every contract and agreement is on the table with a big dose of STFU.

    All they’ve done now is maintain the status quo which isn’t working.

  18. Anonymous 7:23pm said…
    You cannot compare Citi and the Detroit car makers. The financial institutions are a lot more important than manufacturers. Without the former the latter do not exist.

    seems to me that even with Billions and Billions given to the financial institutions, OUR MANUFACTURERS still can’t get loans…
    …maybe the banks just are NOT doing their job???

  19. It’s apalling how willingly the government just handed over hundreds of billions to of dollars to banks – who don’t produce a thing – and how much hell their giving the auto companies over a small fraction of that amount. Our government is seriously, seriously broken. There is an incredible irony in listening to the Federal government lecture companies on how to run a profitable business. If the government were a business, it would have been bankrupt decades ago. And excess? Please. These CEOs lifestyles pale in comparison to these Senators and all the proceeds they take in from lobbyists. Why didn’t Citi Group of AIG employees get beat up over how much they earn? Why didn’t their CEOs have to work for $1/ year? H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-E-S.

  20. Vince, Whatever happened to your friend Douchebag Jones’, his blind support of the indomitable American auto industry and his eagerness to totally ignore what the market has been saying for years and that has inevitably resulted in what we’re seeing right now?

  21. My guess is that Douchebag Jones finally sold or junked his Chevy Monte Carlo and bought a Honda Accord that he’s now ashamed to say he likes better.

  22. Chicken feed for those who manufacture products, megabucks for Bankers who lose it all. Makes sense if you are actively dismantling your nation’s manufacturing industry.

  23. Yes it seems Douchbag Jones is very silent about all this??
    Is he still alive??
    Maybe hes Rick Wagoners alias.

  24. Yes it seems Douchbag Jones is very silent about all this??
    Is he still alive??
    Maybe hes Rick Wagoners alias.

    Unless he’s been picked up by the police for all his foolish boasting about vandalizing foreign cars. The upside of that for him would surely be the ride down to the station in a fine American cruiser…

  25. To anonymous 12/7/08 3:10pm,

    RIGHT ON!

    It made me laugh when politicians were scolding CEO’s for using corporate jets when they themselves pay for fancy flying with TAXPAYERS DOLLARS!!! As far as I’m concerned they should be flying coach. And did any of the banking ceo’s get yelled at for the same thing? Uh….no. I guess it’s ok for them.

  27. It seems part of our money that goes to the financial bailout has helped the Chinese!

    One bank (can’t remember the name now) has bought a Chinese bank for 6M with our bailout money!

    I think there should restriction that the money stays in this country to help the economy. The same goes with the big-3 money.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *