Even if GM gets the bailout(I single out GM because asking for the cash was their idea, Ford and Chrysler tagged along for the $$) it will be bad for the industry. One of the stipulations for the loan is that congress gets to call the shots. It won't be cars being built to meet consumer demand anymore (IE trucks, SUVs) it will be these pansy (*)(*)(*)(*)ing hybrids, Aveos, Festivas, ect. Lawnmowers with 4 seats. One of the major agreements if this goes through is that GM will HAVE TO build an excessive amount of green vehicles that the majority of the public does not want. The big 3 won't be building cars the consumer wants , they will have to build cars mandated by congress.

Company profitability is based on SALES. If trucks and v8 cars are limited and overpriced, and all we have to chose from is 120hp Aveo sized cars, I won't be buying new for awhile.

BACK TO THE 80s. Yeah. I want my kids going 60mph in this coffin.

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Except for Ending Slavery, Fascism, Nazism and Communism, War Has Never Solved Anything
If there were any truth to global warming, it's biggest proponents wouldn't be hypocrites.
V8 drivin'x2 hybrid hatin' auto mechanic

I worked in a 'union shop' also. If someone didn't attend at least one union meeting a month they were ostracized. Every day dozens of 'grievances' were filed against the company. Virtually every one of them were BS. Picture yourself sitting in the lunchroom and watching a shift boss through the windows. He notices a wrench on the floor and he picks it up and sets it on a work table. Now imagine what a hundred workers in the lunch room sound like when they all holler in unison GRIEVANCE !!!!!!!!!!
There were kids with three months 'seniority' working at the end of a shovel one day and the next day they were operating/destroying a million dollar piece of equipment. That happened all the time. The plant eventually went bankrupt. In my last year the material/equipment loss due to employee theft was a MILLION dollars. One of the union bosses was caught red handed trying to sell a fork lift. He actually filled a 'grievance' against the company claiming one of the plant managers had no business visiting the plant on a Sunday. The Sunday afternoon when the plant boss caught him with the fork lift half on half off a Rider truck. The truck driver when to jail for a short time. The union boss never missed a shift.
There was a time and place for unions but thankfully those days are fast ending.

http://gas2.org/2008/04/07/mercedes-...k-bluetec-suv/
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008...-available.php
http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/04/coming-soon-to.html
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008...wagen_to_i.php

The other problem we have in the states is the mixing of our gasoline with ethanol, would you burn sawdust in your car? Why burn Ethanol it's a waste. You need to burn more fuel to travel the same distance.

Then the idiots in California have funny ideas about how clean and efficient diesel fuel really is, it's cleaner than gasoline and contains more energy per gallon than gasoline

Diesel 138,000 BTUs per gallon
Gas 122,000 BTUs per gallon.

Even 10% ethanol can be very damaging to a non ethanol engine. The alcohol content in ethanol causes motors to run lean, and can also damage fuel injector seals. I have repaired many vehicles in my shop caused by ethanol at a large expensive to the customer.

__________________
Except for Ending Slavery, Fascism, Nazism and Communism, War Has Never Solved Anything
If there were any truth to global warming, it's biggest proponents wouldn't be hypocrites.
V8 drivin'x2 hybrid hatin' auto mechanic

Some are calling for the removal of the CEO's of the Big3.

Are these relics of a business all the fault of one person at the top or is this simply a symbolic gesture to Americans to show how tough Congress can be?

Does it make sense to invest $15 billion in a company then terminate the CEO?

Can't we assume the management culture at the Big3 are rotten to the core? Just like a dead fish, they rot from the head down but the entire fish stinks!

The failure of the Big3 is not about one person...the CEO...it's about the entire corporate structure.

Financially and strategically a better action would be to terminate the unions...

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Did you know both our problems and the solutions can be found simply by looking in our mirrors...and...Never confuse the extraordinary stuff I think and write with that of a well-balanced person...

Exactly, the failure of the Big 3, in my opinion is based on three major problems....

1. The Union
2. The Union
3. Non- Competitive Cars

The Union has driven these corporations into the ground. They refuse to make any adjustments in their argreements, which should, and will result in the loss of thousands of jobs to their employees. Pensions and benefits for these employees for their entire lifetime cannot compete with Yao Ming who makes Hondas for a third of the cost.

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Yesterday I listened to a panel on NPR talking about the Big3 bailout issue and more than once was stated something referring to 'the failure of the US auto industry'.

Now I'm thinking there are a dozen or more auto manufacturing companies in the USA and the only ones who are asking for a bailout are the Big3. And if the Big3 fail, this in no way is the end of auto manufacturing in the USA. Ten other companies will continue to produce cars in the US and if the market is active, these ten companies will eventually produce as many cars as the current 12-13 companies produce.

I have not appreciated the lies and deceit from many economists and politicians who are either ignorant or using fear tactics to protect the Big3 at all costs. Why would Ford, Chrysler and GM all fail at the same time? I'll bet anyone a steak dinner if GM closed its doors or downsized by 50% that this action will not lead to a depression. If Chrysler closed its doors I doubt there would even be a hiccup in the economy. If Ford and Chrysler reduced operations by 50% and merged, the economy would barely skip a beat.

Here's my question of the day; If the USA is so unhealthy that it cannot withstand the failure of GM, or AIG, or any of the buffoons who are being bailed out, then what does this really say about our economic condition???

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Did you know both our problems and the solutions can be found simply by looking in our mirrors...and...Never confuse the extraordinary stuff I think and write with that of a well-balanced person...