Germany to consider loan guarantees for Opel

The comments should be real interesting here.

I tink this country bettr investigate thismatter seeing that they were so nosy about the talk about this country in the GM bailout

I "tink" you should learn to tell Germany apart from the EU - The EU's voice is not necessarily the Germans' voice

If Japan did that for one of its own, that would have been classified as protectionism.. and unfair competition..

Instead they just don't allow other manufacturers to sell vehicles there. Also they tax cars out the butt once they are a few years old to force people into buying new cars instead of keeping older ones.

Opel belongs to GM, so it really is not a bailout for a "german" car company.

91z4me...

You have no idea,, how come BMWs , Mercs do well ?.. some people drive.. Japan builds plants in the markets thell sell.. If GM, Ford were serious about sellig in Japan, would they setup a plant in Japan.. Go somehwere like Korea, don't they all drive Korean cars.. Go to Germany, aren't erhy mainly german cars..The exception is USA, where they are open to all sorts.. so yes, if you complain about Japan, then Europe to, otherwise companies like GM, Ford deserve what hey get..

true.

plus, why would foreigners care much for buying detroit junk, when even americans eschew them!?

"If GM, Ford were serious about sellig in Japan, would they setup a plant in Japan."


Are YOU serious? That comment shows that you don't examine the whole picture. GM and Ford products won't sell well in Japan in the first place. GM and Ford know this. They are being serious. And being serious also means being SMART and staying out of Japan. It's better to ship a few hundred / thousand models over than set up a factory that will produce cars for a market with a low demand in American automotive products.

I found the second half of this quote in the article interesting:

"General Motors, meanwhile, is threatened by a looming liquidity crisis and has also asked the U.S. government for aid. According to the weekly Der Spiegel, also to be published Monday, it owes Opel billions of dollars."

How come GM owes Opel money if Opel is a subsidiary of GM? My only guess is that GM has been leveraging Opel developments and services more heavily than anticipated, or the return from those products is not enough to offset the development / manufacturing cost Opel is incurring for GM (i.e. engineering platforms, the Ecotec engine lineup, supplying Saturn...).

That's only my guess... thoughts anyone?