Bailout of the big 3, is it really such a bad thing?

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Dennis
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Post by Dennis »

What's good for General Bullmoose, is good for the USA.

Apologies to L'il Abner :cry:
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Post by Nemo2 »

Perhaps, since taxpayers will have already made their (over)contribution, sales of new GM vehicles should now be GST/PST/HST exempt?
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Post by worthy »

This will be the last injection of taxpayer money, promises King Stevie.

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______________
And Barack the Blessed is so busy not running Government Motors that he has time to call the Mayor of Detroit to assure him that the headquarters will not be moved.
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arthur
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Post by arthur »

I understand that there will be some major expenses associated with many senior executives being forced to leave as their positions have been designated Bilingual and they do not speak Quebecois.
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Post by marty123 »

worthy wrote:This will be the last injection of taxpayer money, promises King Stevie.
Unless the US also kicks in more money, but the US Government is not the type to provide bailouts in multiple iterations :roll:
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Post by parvus »

arthur wrote:I understand that there will be some major expenses associated with many senior executives being forced to leave as their positions have been designated Bilingual and they do not speak Quebecois.
At GM?

The Ste-Thérèse assembly plant closed in 2002. It is now Le Faubourg Boisbrand.
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worthy
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Post by worthy »

A former GM senior economist reminds us there is another model, too, for Government Motors--AMTRAK.

But as every social activist, Red Star columnist and crusading politician will explain, "social objectives can't be judged strictly on a dollars and cents basis." Think of the jobs, the economy, the communities, the environment. (And especially the voting blocs to appease and delight.) Ah, democracy!
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Post by WishingWealth »

For those who like (or love to hate) PJ Rourke's prose.
In the WSJ, a week ago.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 15892.html
The End of the Affair
The fate of Detroit isn’t a matter of economics. It’s a tragic romance, whose magic was killed by bureaucrats, bad taste and busybodies. P.J. O’Rourke on why Americans fell out of love with the automobile.
....
Image

Image from WSJ.


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Dennis
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Post by Dennis »

I remember the '59 Chev and the rumours at the time that the back end got light at about 90 mph because of the air getting under the fins at the back :roll:
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adrian2
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Post by adrian2 »

Re: Chrysler and Fiat

I kind of doubt small cars would be a big seller in North America. Two brand names come to mind: Yugo and Lada, both older Fiat models manufactured under license, reasonably successful in their home markets, not so much on this continent.
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Post by Shakespeare »

Chrysler, Hummer, Saturn, possibly Opel are just having prolonged deaths as the politicians try to stave off the inevitable.
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Bylo Selhi
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Post by Bylo Selhi »

adrian2 wrote:I kind of doubt small cars would be a big seller in North America.
When fuel costs as much in the US as it does in the EU then let's talk ;)

In any case, Honda Civic has been the top selling car in Canada for a couple of decades now. Other small cars like Toyota Yaris, Mazda3, Ford Focus, et al are also in the top-10. And IIRC Honda Civic also topped the charts in the US last year when fuel prices did skyrocket.
Two brand names come to mind: Yugo and Lada, both older Fiat models manufactured under license
Emphasis on older. Emphasis on country of manufacture. In those days Ford sold the infamous Pinto firebomb too yet now the Focus is well-regarded and sells well.

Anyway, that was then, this is now. But you may be right that a Chrysler/Fiat collaboration may not result in success, at least judging by Fiat's position in the top-10 in Europe.
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Post by kcowan »

Bylo Selhi wrote:...Anyway, that was then, this is now. But you may be right that a Chrysler/Fiat collaboration may not result in success, at least judging by Fiat's position in the top-10 in Europe.
Well if a Mercedes Benz partnership didn't work, why not try the opposite end? :lol:

(I think the opposite end is good for a change once in a while.)
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ghariton
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Post by ghariton »

How about a Chrysler hookup with Daimler-Benz? They should be a great fit, complementing each other geographically.

Oh, wait...

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Post by AltaRed »

Bylo Selhi wrote:
adrian2 wrote:I kind of doubt small cars would be a big seller in North America.
When fuel costs as much in the US as it does in the EU then let's talk ;)
It is so frickin' obvious. The US has a $10+ Trillion debt and climbing faster than a helium balloon. Legislate high CAFE and add $1/gal excise tax to mitigate deficits.

But wait... USians believe they have a constitutional right to cheap gasoline and legislators have a gas pump up their butts.
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ghariton
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Post by ghariton »

AltaRed wrote: USians believe they have a constitutional right to cheap gasoline.
... and no tax increase, ever.

That's one of the reasons why I'm not too worried about that huge US deficit. If it ever does become really serious, the US can easily handle it, by increasing personal income taxes.

A few months ago, Forbes had six profiles of HENRYs -- hihg earners, not rich yet. One of the couples was making $400,000 a year and paying $100,000 a year in income tax. They were outraged, talking about lack of incentives, and so on. But if they were to pay, say, $150,000 a year, would they stop doing what they are doing? Not bloody likely.

That said, I still favour much smaller government and much lower taxes in normal times. But these are not normal times.

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The juice is worth the squeeze
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Post by biker »

In today's paper I see a full page ad from Government Motors the re:invention company.
The copy includes this:
The new GM will be leaner ,greener,faster stronger...........Building more of what you want......"

From the 5 car line up featured it seems that the emphasis will be on the faster,stonger rather than the greener...
Here it is for 2010 ....
Chevrolet Camero.... a muscle car
Buick Allure...not very compact
Cadillac SRX Crossover....big
GMC Crossover SUV.....big
Chevrolet Cruse ...hard to tell what it is.

CEO Obama and VP McGuinty will be pleased that the new GM is underway
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Post by WishingWealth »

Don't you hate it when people buy what they want not what the theory says they should buy.

At the NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/10/busin ... l?_r=1&hpw
A Muscle Car to the Rescue

DETROIT — Believe it or not, General Motors has a hit car on its hands.

Amid the gloom of bankruptcy and a miserable market for new vehicles, G.M.’s new Chevrolet Camaro muscle car is winning over consumers looking for a little excitement in a bland landscape of look-alike sedans and watered-down sport utilities.

G.M. sold 9,300 Camaros during the month of June — more than either its entire Buick or Cadillac divisions could muster on their own.

And with G.M. expected to emerge Friday from bankruptcy as a newly constituted company, it is hardly surprising that the Camaro will play a starring role in the company’s coming-out party and news conference at G.M.’s Detroit headquarters.
...
Hmmm I thought that the Ste. Thérèse plant in MTL was closed because there was no future ever ever for that big stoopid Camaro gas guzzler.
Go figure!

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Post by worthy »

Muscle cars aren't what they used to be. The Camaro with a 304 hp V-6 gets 29 mpg highway, 18 city. Even the highest power road scorching version boasting 0-60 in 4.7 sec. is rated at 16 and 25 mpg. (All US gallons.)

The 2010 SRX is shorter and wider than its three-rows of seats predecessor and is powered by highly-efficient V-6s only equipped with six-speed transmissions.

Image
2010 Cadillac SRX

The Cruze is a global compact replacement for the generally unlamented Cobalt.
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ghariton
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Post by ghariton »

From the red Star:
Sputtering General Motors Co., just out of a quick drive through bankruptcy court, will soon be using its iconic Cadillac brand to sell a line of fragrance for men.

Beauty Contact Inc., a Dubai-based cosmetic company and holder of the fragrance licence, said yesterday it will launch the Cadillac line in stores this fall to mark the brand's 100th anniversary.

"Cadillac, the new fragrance for men is part of the recent Cadillac renaissance: Hot new products and redesigns that capture the mantra of life, liberty and the pursuit," said Alwyn Stephen, a Beauty Contact director.

"Our fragrance is a relevant extension of the Cadillac lifestyle."
Good to see that the new GM is a focused company, concentrating on its core business.

After all, who wouldn't want to smell like a Cadillac?

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Dennis
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Post by Dennis »

Hey, don't knock it George. Perhaps GM should get out of the car business and concentrate on after shave! They might even make more money.
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Post by brucecohen »

Dennis wrote:Hey, don't knock it George. Perhaps GM should get out of the car business and concentrate on after shave! They might even make more money.
The marketing line: GM knows what it's like to have a close shave!
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Post by beluga »

Less bad is the new good.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... -debt.html
Excluding special items, including the debt reduction, Ford would have lost $424m, or 21 cents a share, far surpassing analysts' expectations. Analysts polled Thomson Reuters expected a per share loss of 50 cents on revenue of $24.7 billion.
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Post by WishingWealth »

RE: Caddy smell:

I sure hope they won't charge $5Ks for it.
Limited-edition Maybach Zeppelin set for Geneva motor show reveal

...
The run is limited to 100 units total. Base pricing for the Maybach 57 Zeppelin will come in around $523,000, while the Maybach 62 Zeppelin should sticker for roughly $609,000. The perfume atomizer, available only on the Zeppelin, is a $5,000 option.

Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/2009021 ... z0M5zRo4L4
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worthy
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Post by worthy »

When the Cash for Clunkers programme ended, Government Motors new car sales plunged. Who woulda thought?

The trouble with following Keynes is that, in the long run, we're not all dead. Just back where we started, but broker.

I'm sure the Blessed Barack and the Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman will come up with some new (old) stimulus ideas. Anyway, I'm not qualified to carp, but only stand in awe, cap in hand, as the Masters of the Universe command obedience from the "economy".
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