Automakers greet Congress with hands out

I doubt if the auto companies have the union's interest at heart.

You are correct the auto companies spent millions yearly trying to kill the unions. The real problem is poor management.

Our government has given hundreds of billions over the years to innovate and create better cars. Nearly all the money wasted and ended up in management's pockets.

Google who killed the electric car?

We keep hearing politicians & various companies using the the word "billion" in such a casual manner, think about whether you want these politicians spending your tax money. A BILLION... (some things to think about)

- A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
- A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
- A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
- A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.
- A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.
It is thrown around a lot but it is more than you think it is, and remember it is coming out of our pockets. I don't know about you, but my money is tight enough without the gov taking more of it and giving it to oil companies, car companies, etc... and hundreds of billions overseas. Iraq has universal health care, new roads, new schools and hospitals, now wants to send billions to Georgia, to Israel, to various other countries. What about our country, our starving kids, our schools, hospitals, roads, etc... when is it going to stop and we start taking care of our own country and children FIRST, then help out others?

You know, I feel absolutely no sympathy for the auto companies themselves. None. The winds of major change have been blowing for several years now and Ford seems to be the only company that has come up with options to meet new demands. It is unfortunate, however, that their efforts haven't matched those of foreign (read: Asian) auto makers. I think that they need to feel the crunch in order to make the necessary adjustments to their future plans. I regrettably (or not) see GM being bought out by one of the other giant world auto companies. Toyota? BMW? Maybe even Renault? Who knows? The ones who I cannot bear to see suffer are the workers, whose health care plans and pensions - not to mention salaries - have been compromised over the past several years to make up for managerial mistakes. So, when I read that the major auto makers of America are heading to Congress with their hands outstretched, asking for a Federal loan to tide them over until the winds blow in the 6-mpg-SUV direction again, I say, "Go to Munich, Tokyo or Paris and ask someone to take over operations." Maybe not Ford, though, since they have at least had the foresight to produce small, efficient gasoline cars. Maybe Bush's Cabinet could bail Ford out in the same way it is bailing out Freddie and Fannie. Er, wait, I thought the Republicans wanted -less- government interference in corporate America...

My two cents.

Its simple. American car makers are trying to get us, the tax payers to bail them out from there mistakes. American auto makers have poor designs, poor quality, and horrible gas mileage compared to foreign car makers. I for one would love to see all American car makers, go out of business, or bought by an Asian or euro company. American car makers don't see the future or how and what to design for the future. They live in the now and the now only. They are greedy, blind, and like most of that generation controlling large corporations, always want someone to bail them out.

They have nothing but excuses for not having or bringing fuel efficient cars to the auto market, but in the mean time Japan has produced small, 40+ MPG cars for years. The auto makers will say, small cars cant be produced in America easily cause there isn't a marker, when they are the ones creating the market. American auto makers blame the safety and design of smaller cars as an issue. Although other countries design some of the safest small cars in the world. Funny how American car makers cant produce a small safe car, but can build large safe gas guzzling suv's. Its all about greed. And a lack of vision. American car makers deserve everything the get, and if that means they are out of jobs, so be it. I think we should be able to vote as American tax payers, if we want our tax money to go to the American car makers. Do we want them to be bailed out. I don't. Will the government bail me out if I'm in financial trouble just because of poor judgement and blind vision. No way. We are the consumer. We just vote, we done give.
I say, let them suffer. As Americans, we will all benefit is they go out of business or sold or taken over.

This from companies that said they couldn't build fuel eff' cars and needed tax credits to build more trucks and 7 passenger suv's couldn't meet fuel eff standards without massive layoffs and the unions went along now they need money to build cars they couldn't build in 40 yrs what happened to the winkel engine or the 4/6/8 engine ? yet Honda/ toyota don't seem to build these auto's electric ? just getting to them NOW ? maybe next year yet Honda has been making these for years while US automakers laughted fuel efficent cars? Let them have more cup holders that can't hold a cup from spilling Let them have it people As with all things the Bean counters have WON

Let us remember Lee Iaccoca

Is there a 3 strike limit for Auto manufacturers?

Why try and compete if the government is going to come to the rescue every time the managment makes bad judgments? They have been against higher fuel efficiency mandates for years. Looks like a government of the corporation by the corporation. Next in line should be the airlines to get government backed loans to buy new, more fuel efficient planes. Who will be next for the tax payer bailout?

Only a moron wouldnt have seen that the auto industry needed to change. But instead of planning for fuel efficient cars, the automakers continued to produce the high profit, environment destroying vehicles. They even continued to fight better gas milage vehicles saying they couldnt meet more fuel efficient guidelines. So if they cant meet the guidelines maybe its better they are allowed to go out of business. I am sure the executives continued to collect their big bonuses year after year. Bail them out? They dont deserve it.

why dont the companies use their record profits to pay for the retooling of their plants. if they can make billions in profits, then they should be able to use those profits to pay for thier own plant upgrades. dont increase the burden on government, use your own money. ceo's: be ethical and take a pay cut!!!!!

And the punchline...
"Something has to happen pretty quickly because they can't compete paying 15 to 20 percent (interest)."
These people are obviously not consumers.

HA HA , if anybody thinks Bush or McCAIN is going to help out the automakers in our country their mistaking ,,,, our country OWES china , india , maybe even russia interest and money on whats been borrowed already to fight unnessary wars . Its costing our country dearly to be over in Iraq and Afganistan

Having lived in Detroit and worked as a consultant at Ford - I say let them go out of business - they deserve it for being one of the most mismanaged, lackluster, inefficient company I have advised. It starts at the top and goes right down to the over paid union workers who on a given sunny day, hundered don't even bother showing up for work not even having the decency to call in sick.

But they are also a scum bag company.

1. It's a known fact (from court records) that they let their customers burn in the Ford Pinto case because they said it was more cost efficient to pay injury settlements then pay for a $75 fix.
2. The rollovers from the tire blowouts that killed scores was also another coverup.
3. Their Crown Victoria police cars that killed numerous cops whose cars were being rear-ended and blowing up was not immediately addressed as cops died. They said, that police cars were more apt to be rearended due to traffic stops on freeways...funny how the Chevy Impalas were not blowing up.

As for the rest of them (GM and Chrysler) they are old school businesses that didn't have the smarts to change their big car concepts when oil was running short in supply in the 70' the 80's and now...as they stand around with their dicks in their hand saying duh...

This economic downturn is doing what is should do - get rid of by market forces all the crummy companies that deserve to go out of business because of shoddy workmanship/quality, excesses, poor managment, terrible customer service and not being smart or flexible enough to learn from the past and adjust for the future.

As far as all those unfortunate employees - I believe it's the employees that make the company what it is...and are just as much to blame for their demise as is upper-management...along with the unions sticking it the management...

If I'm dumb enough to invest all my money in buggy whip futures, do I deserve a low-interest government loan until I can figure out a more farsighted investment strategy?

Like other overpaid titans of industry, U.S. auto executives love to preach about free markets; now it's time for them walk the talk, or sell out to the Japanese, who really do know how to run a car company.

Maybe they can borrow from Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac!!!! Taxpayers will end up paying for all of these irresponsible action as we are with these failed mortgage giants...Might as well just go on welfare..At least I will have health care, housing, and a paycheck..

This has nothing to do with unions, Germans and Japanese treat their workers much better and do not look at workers as adversaries, but as contributors to car development.

50 Billion for the same old crap, they should have been investing into alternative energy vehicles but these car companies did not care and now they have their nerve to have the government prop them up so they can so call retool, I wonder how much will be used to give themselves a nice pay raise while they close plants and lay off more workers, they know the end is close and I say let them fail, they should have looked to the future instead of just doing business as usual ....

In response to TR421173

I totally agree

What the heck happened to this country? Since 9-11 and the airline bail out, entire industries think they can bleat out requests for money from Congress for their lack of foresight? As a taxpayer, I'm left wondering when will enough be enough? So the car companies want to update their plants to make modern cars? Maybe they should have built more plants in the US instead of in Mexico or other low labor spots around the globe. Maybe they should have kept a major presence (industrial-wise) in this country instead of leaving several communities in the lurch. Maybe they should have listened to people who were considered crackpots 15 years ago and began investing in alternative fuel vehicles. These are the same companies that cry and wail when required to meet safety or fuel economy standards? The same ones who don't want the tougher standards for pollution control to be lawful in California? Who ever votes for this aide in anyway will either lose my vote for President or definitely lose my interest in sharing their party.

I would rather see money spent on roads and bridges built by people that need a job for the vehicles that are driven by those workers.That's AMERICA.

These morons have had since 1973 to retool and do something other than try to make a profit. They've let technology, Honda, Toyota etal pass them by. That's 35 years of inaction and claiming that they couldn't make money on small cars while they produced them en masse for world markets.

I spent 30+ years in the automobile biz. Most of us shook our heads in constant amazement at what the American mfgs put on lots for sale. It got to a point in the late 90's-early 00's where the only thing they actually were selling was trucks and suvs. The cars they put out were so substandard to what Honda and Toyota put out that the only people who bought them (their cars) were people who couldn't get financed at a Honda or Toyota store. Now they want the American public to bail them out "for the good of the country" or some nonsense like that.

I say let em sink or swim or sell out to mfgs who know how to build product that people actually want to buy!

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Auto makers should have to present a plan for use of the money, with solid statistics that support what they will be manufacturing as a result of the loans. The process should be considered by whoever makes the decision to approve, and the money should be distributed the same as a construction loan where permits and instructions are part of the process.

If a plain old citizen want s to borrow money to open a business, they are required to present business plan to include the financial plan as well. Too much money is given out with too little justification. Why do we as citizens sit by and let this happen?

25 billion isn't enough? C'mon! Now we need 50.....id say get the heck outta my office and dont come back till you get some sense! Even 25 billion! Ya know, to support a idea like that is stupid. They can build cars just as effective with the Asians, but the cost in pay alone to pay auto workers is crazy.
I'm all for having someone there for the working guy and all that, but the unions are b.s. How much money does a union get from each of those people that work there? What does the UNION do for them? Guarantees their job. well if you do your job there should be a need for one. I paid $9,000 dollars to the union for insurance, in 1 year. My daughter needed to see a therapist, and the UNION decided they were not covering it. If employees can do a honest days work, they have no fear in losing a job, and money saved to the company for the increase in wage just to pay for it cause the UNION needs money, the savings alone would keep the company efficient. Go UNIONS

All I have to say is goggle David Crockett Not Yours To Give