Obama Gives An Ultimatum To US Auto Makers, But Will They Change Fast Enough?

I guess the chices are getting fairly limited for GM amd Chrysler. If they are going to ask for government handouts, the government is going to puul the strings.

David, I've got an idea. Change your avatar to something with "TRUE DAVID 999" written on it. We'll see whether your 969 impersonator is gonna pick this one as well!

Ah...your kidding right? Close down two of the biggest employers in North America put thousands and thousands out of work and then who is supposed to buy these 'good quality' (you left out the word 'overpriced') cars ? Oh and by the way it's spelt 'Maserati'.

A socialist would take over the industry not let it sink...

It's good and bad. Good in that the Big 2 need an awakening. And not just the companies, but everyone and everything connected to them. Yes, that means the residents of Detroit and Windsor. What's bad is this continued focus on individualized transportation and financing strategies. America needs to rethink transportation and accessibility.

Couldn't agree more. Ours mass transit systems pales in comparison with other nations (Japan and Europe). Just traveling state to state without a car is a problem.

GM = Government Motors

From listening to Obama speak this morning, it sounds like the federal government is really going to seek changes in the product line-up to produce larger numbers of small, fuel-efficient vehicles, an initiative already underway at both companies, but at a pace sensitive to the marketplace. Too slow, apparently, for the White House. And these smaller cars are usually rejected by the buying public for larger vehicles and SUV's.

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GM already has small fuel efficient cars planned and more in the pipeline.

Of course bama & plugs will try to take credit!

huu76, are you referring to my post? If so, you are making the wrong assumptions. I have a 3-Series (hardly a huge car). The coupe works for me now since I'm 26 and don't have a family yet. However, down the road with a wife and kids, I would need a larger vehicle with more utility.

They've already changed for the better, a bit boring in some cases but good cars overall. The problem is that when your team is down 20 points in the 4th qaurter but making a miraculous comeback, most likely they'll still lose the game. To me, thats GMs predicament. They've just run out of time.

The stock market is down 280 points today thanks to the Socialist knuckle dragging neanderthal we have in office.

Wooden teeth bama boy, why don't you stick to basketball!

Anyone hear plugs Biden thank Spain's primer minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero for the action his troops did in Iraq???

These two fops are jokes and if things don't change in a year from now they should resign.

BTW, bama and plugs should be working for $1.00 per year and no jets, helicopters or limos.

Socialism according to EL:

We're no longer going to bail out auto companies. We'll have to let them go bankrupt.

(Sounds a lot like a free market system don't it?)


EL34 = FAIL

EL34 if socialism is too big a word for you maybe you should stick to grade 3 words.

You damn right you let a company go bankrupt.

That's why there is Chapter 11!!!!!!!!!

— 800over :

| EL34 if socialism is too big a word for you maybe you should stick to
| grade 3 words.

ROTFL!

Rule By Hiprocracy...

Manufacturing...REAL industry...Must come up with a "Workable Plan" and when they do it is rejected (Not "GREEN" enough... same people that want to ban Black cars)

At the same time,the "Banksters"...Financial Industry...Do they have to come up with a "Workable Plan"?

Of course not!

Welcome to the world where everything is run by banks. Even the government!

Now that Russia and China want to start a new 3rd world currency to undermine the Euro and the Dollar we have a wimp Socialist that will lay down and allow it!

bama, please just go parctice your jumper before you destroy the USA!!!

this is a very complicated issue. this is not something that a novice to this business can successfully conquer in a very limited amount of time. to succeed it will take planning. to plan it will take time. great cars is what gm needs to build and great cars---great cars that will sell. a great econimical car that the government mandates that you build will fail. it needs to be a great line of cars that are better than the other choices...this will take time and patience, apparently we have neither.

There is something I don't get. Why did the government give banks money as soon as the recession happened, when they clearly deserved to go bankrupt because of their bad decisions? On the other hand, they waited for the car manufacturers to start begging them for money to react, and when they did give them the money, they are now enslaving them?

A banks failure would cause widespread panic. Especially if it is a large intitution.

True, but if the car makers go bankrupt, what would happen then? It's a very big chain, and if one falls all the others will fall with it. I see this as being extremely unjust to car makers.

How to change....start producing creative products instead of attempting to rely on the past (i.e., 2010? Camaro, hi-peformance G8, boulveard ride Buicks and hemi's from Chrysler), Cadillac and Corvette are great but only serve a small market, get decent looking energy/fuel saving vehicles on the road pronto! (the 'volt' has been taking forever to get to production and Chrysler has nothing!), provide much better warranties (if the vehicles are as good as claimed then back them up!) and include more 'extras' like the imports do. Slim down the model selection (instead of Chev and Pontiac models of just about everything...Chrysler has done a better job here), competitive 'world economy' pay rates and mgmt. bonuses and expenses to cut back costs that would help to lower the price of new vehicles (lowest price Chrysler is $18k). Hey if Honda and Toyota and Hyundai can do it all then why not GM or Chrysler?...then again if fewer people have decent paying jobs it doesn't matter what they do for whose going to buy them?

Barack looks good on those two photos.

its the socialist liberal monster rearing its ugly two heads. GM and Chrysler should give obama the bird and file chapter 11 restructure and come out stronger. That way we dont have to drive obamamobiles

Sorry about my bad English, but it's not my first language!

Why everybody's complaining GM and Chrysler!?! Why nobody said - Hey look at FORD, they do it great! Let see why and learn from them?

For me, personally, nostrum of Ford's success is rooted in their international policy in decades. The company is American for Americans, European for Europeans, Australian for Australians and Asian to Asians. I mean everyone accepts it as own, but not as foreign. It is no secret that the Germans, when they say German automobile companies along with OPEL and VW put Ford. The British in turn had taken Ford always as their company. Today Ford owes its financial stability of Europe. Fiesta, Mondeo and Focus are the backbone, but that backbone has never broken, before they were again Fiesta, Escort and Sierra, i.e. Ford has far, strong traditions of meeting the needs of the Europeans in their favorite 3 segments (european classes B, C and D) with good quality. In America, F-series and Taurus bring the company on their backs and they do it very successfully.

GM is trying to lie the Europeans with Daewoo disguised as Chevrolet, well that's not the right way! Chrysler do not care at all, that ugly, big and powerful cars are not spent in Europe!

But leave Europe, look at the US market. The bad thing is that they don't do anything there too! Hey you CEOs of GM and Chrysler look at the statistics - Yaris, Fit and Smart are may be the only model in America, which show an increase in sales. Ford knew it, made "Fiesta movement", a brilliant marketing strategy, first Fiestas arrived in the U.S. and by the end of the year Ford will begin selling them. What did GM do? They tried to foist Aveo and if it works OK, if it doesn't who cares!?!

Well, GM, thousands of workers in America care, they care about their jobs, their children, their houses, their families and if you do not care about the company and its great history, take care at least about these workers! Look at Ford, may be they know "How it's made!?!"

This is how it looks outside of Amerika!

At this point if the government is going to back the warantees for GM and Chrysler then a structured BK is a no brainer.The bondholders and the legacy costs are killing both companies(or should I say have killed).Wagoner should go as should the current GM board. If Fiat and Chrysler can't make their deal work then Chrysler needs to go into BK liquidation. The point is everybody knows what is coming. The money supply is going to be cut off and thats that. Ford is weathering better because it made the hard decisions already with the bondholders. Allen Mullaly was brilliant in his stragety. Neither Rick Wagoner nor Bob Nardelli showed that forsight. Although in Chrysler case the've have been gutted so badly that no CEO could save them and Cerberus has no interest in doing anything.Further what "Observer" said above is right on with Ford.