Jclgodale3

Caught some last night. Gm says they'll be out of money early next year. Ford said they might make it a year and Chrysler? They needed a second bailout years ago, they are gone. They asked each CEO what they're cash burn rate was. GM? 1 billion in cash per month. Ford a little more and Chrysler? About 3 to 4 billion per quarter or about the same. So congress gives them 25 billion in cash??? At their burn rates this will keep them afloat for...what?...1 fiscal quarter for all three? The money is there for investing in fuel efficient vehicles with new plants and tooling. They want to spend it on current bills. I hate to say it but Chapter 11 and bringing the unions back to the realization that they don't have the strong armed tactics they used to have and should be paid only a competitive wage based on industry standards for limited skilled work. Take the bonuses away from management until they start showing a profit...if they ever do. Bonuses contribute to about 9/10 of their yearly compensation

parkerracing

Interesting that the banks didn't go through the same grilling when they were awarded 700 billion. I'm surprised that the oil companies haven't asked for bailout money yet with the price of crude dropping and all.

Oh, which is the foreign car? The Honda built in Marysville Ohio or the Silverado built by General Motors de Mexico. /:\

couperdecar

Why not purchase a car made in the US and made by one of the big 3?That way you support suppliers 'here' , manufactoring 'here' , AND GM.

sub006

Ahem, the current Malibu is a German-engineered Opel that is a fine car. With the now-available 4 cylinder/6-speed auto combination, this fairly large and roomy car gets something like 37 highway under the new, stricter EPA standard.

I'm waiting for something like this in its low-$20,000 price range with rear-wheel drive.

ve77er

yes, i realize that, i already was asked and answered this, before i married her, my wife had owned a couple of maximas and she tells me they are far superior to anything she has ever owned domestically, i side with her father on the "buy american" and always have, my main contention being if you support the "big 3", the money and jobs will stay here in the U.S. this has turned out not to be the case as just the money part has stayed here. they have out-sourced so many jobs to foreign lands that an american automobile is not truly american, (we all know that) but, i still want to support as many american workers as i can so i continue to buy american. i can not say for how much longer i will (especially if they go belly up) this is a world economy, the japanese and german cars that are made here also support american workers true but, the profits from those sales still go to the corporations in which ever land the nameplate represents. so, this is my reason for wanting to continue to "buy" american. i guess we'll wait and see what happens and how this all shakes out.
.................................chris

TheSkunkWorks

Yes, but reorganized, so I wouldn't lay odds on a miracle stock rebound such as K-mart experienced. Besides their being somewhat of a corporate dinosaur long overdue an overhaul, consumer confidence has depressed the economy considerably below where it ought to be, IMHO, which doesn't help.

Maybe if surplus money had an expiration date, investors and consumers alike would have better incentive not to sit on their wallets because they aren't feelin' it, and the circulation of money so vital to capitalism would flow more consistently, reducing the need for M1 infusions which, in turn, contribute to inflation...

milo30

To me it's buy the best car for the best deal for me. There are plenty of other companies out there that are manufactured in the US, use suppliers in the US and have a better quality and price than the big 3. Make a better car and people will buy it.

Funny you don't hear the unions stand up and say buy XXX model so you're buying US. They fail to mention that buying GM might mean that you are buying Canadian or Mexican.

If this was just an economy thing because people can't buy right now then why are only the big 3 in trouble. Maybe a bankruptcy court can straighten them out. If not then the other companies will step in and hire the employees to increase their production to cover the slack.

tigers123

So far the poll indicates GM will survive. I believe you all are right who voted that way, however given the current capitol hill debacle of no means no it looks like GM will have to go through bankruptcy to get the job done. Whether they are smart enough to pay attention to their critics remains to be seen. As for the unions, concessions will probably take place. Nobody likes a "crap" sandwich, but that is what bankruptcy will serve up. But if I were the UAW I believe I would make the case that there should be no free lunch for executive compensation either. Welcome to the third world United States. We are in decline now as a major economic power. If we we don't get our house in order we will be a footnote in the world economy.

mpett1

Yesterday they asked the ceo's of the big 3 who flew commercial to the hearing and no one raised there hands. Haha that was a good one. Another question was who is willing to sell there corporate jet here and now and fly back commercial and again no one raised there hands. You cant by this stuff hahahaahhaha.....

jgrigg

I think GM will survive. All you people dumping money into their stock beware.

Someone mentioned the K-mart rebound... The rebound was after filing bankrupcy, it was NEW ISSUED STOCK... Everyone that had stock in K-Mart before the filing lost all their money and were issued nothing in new stock for compensation... I know many people that lost thousands and the next week the stock was up up up... They all got nothing!!!

Just my .02 but beware that dumping money into GM right now may not the best idea.

Wait until after they file and see where the pre-filing stock goes...

Have a wonderful Turkey day all!

Looking forward to the next X-mas gifting thread

milo30

I was told about that, but wasn't sure if it was true. I was also listening to s sports radio show and they were going over the budget that GM spends in each different sports category, it was amazing how much more cash they spend than any other manufacturer.

Sidepiper

Pretty much the big 3 came to Washington unprepared. They don't even know what they need or have a plan to fix whats broken.

cgc

I believe the Big 3 will survive. I also believe in the Tooth Fairy. I believe the Tooth Fairy will be our President come Jan. 20. I believe there will be a lot of Big 3 VP's with missing teeth. Not the CEO's but the VP's.

PS: If this offends anyone I apologize. It is not meant to be any kind of a political statement. It popped into my mind and seems funny to me. It's only a joke well to me it's a joke. I did not vote for our President elect BUT I will give him a chance and I pray nothing but great success for him and our nation.

charlie

TERRY CLARK

......or Jets !

Duke94

Here's a CNN poll you can all take. So far, the #1 response is to do nothing.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/14/auto...fect/index.htm

68 l79

So goes GM, so goes the country. That saying has been around forever, and it's alway's rang true. We need to buy american cars,built in american factories. GM directly or indirectly employs 900,000 people in the U.S. and who knows how many more retirees. Keep U.S. dollars in the U.S.

Glass Act

Other than my Corvette, you couldn't give me a GM model, they are poor quality and outdated model lines for the money. GM needs to sink or swim alone.

asianlimodriver

I agree that GM and the other two American manufacturers need to go through ch. 11. I work for a Japanese car manufacturer who almost went belly up a few years ago. We didn't get a hand out from the government then. GM has some serious problems, but I don't think all of their problems are due to management. I think that the UAW should take some of the blame on this one. Unions were necessary back in the day when companies took advantage of their employees, but today, I think it's the other way around. The UAW has grown too powerful and have GM over a barrel with their current labor agreements. I think Ch.11 is the way to go allowing them to re-negotiate these labor contracts.

fauxrs2

The new Malibu is a damn fine car, stacking up well in just about every magazine review I've read against the best in segment Japanese cars. GM can do it if they put their mind to it.

That isnt the issue, nor are actual wages really the issue. What is killing the big three are retirement and health packages for tons of retired workers. So far as I can tell that, and some lousy management that only now is talking about making cars, is whats killing the big 3.

Problem is no amount of concessions from the UAW is going to remove the burden of all those retirement packages hanging over their heads.

Also the big 3 going to washington basicly asking for 25 billion so we can pay operating costs wages and contribute to the pension plan, is nothing more than 25 billion of the same stuff they been doing forever and solves nothing.

The big three need a new business model that is slimmer than it is now, the sword of damocles that is that massive pension hanging over their heads needs to be removed. they also need to make cars that people want, of course the announcement in october that GM would cut off nearly all product development spending for the next two years is going to make that difficult.

Tim81

I think the first problem is letting a company get so big that they hold the nation hostage expecting to be bailed out or else. A better idea would be for the government to give us all $150,000 each. That way people could use it to pay off their mortgages or credit card debt, and eliminate some debt which would allow them to buy new cars, homes, or whatever. The point is people would start spending again which will boost the economy and help out businesses in general. One question I have is if the government has 750 billion laying around doing nothing then why do we pay so much taxes to them. Just a Thought