Rick Newman

One Cheer For the Detroit Automakers

April 24, 2010 RSS Feed Print

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Ford is profitable again, and General Motors and Chrysler look like they're turning a corner. But proclamations of a comeback are premature. I recently discussed prospects for the Detroit 3 with CNN's John Roberts on American Morning. Here's the clip:

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We must never forget about all the money lost in the bankruptcy process. Thousands and thousands of people lost their money. To flaunt this profit stuff is smoke and mirrors. Only true financial management and mindful spending will make companies survive.
We should all be so lucky to lets our debts disappear and start making profit the very same year.!!! What a sham...

Gil of CA 2:07PM April 29, 2010

American car makers pulled a little too much on the rope, conned the public and got kicked in the butt by the Japs. Great ! This is competition !
This being said, it seems there is a vast conspiration to depreciate US automobiles... BS baffles brains. Like our snobbish intellectuals buying Volvos and pretending they last 30 years.
Japs cars are not miraculous or breakdown free and are not so vastly superior compared to American brands. They are generally honestly built although more fragile.
I always wondered why we like so much to flog ourselves this way. And don't tell me the pseudo experts are not greased by foreign manufacturers.
An old automotive engineer

"Mohawk" Morgan of VT 12:28AM April 28, 2010

IBEW/CWA/TWA member of FL -
No- this is structured well to maximize the opportunity for the American taxpayer to come out whole in the end.
Ford didn't need help. GM did, but is in the black in 2010 and has paid off its loans. The shares we own in GM will cash out in a year or so, and they will end up owing the taxpayer nothing. Chrysler is finally showing an operating gain...
There is no fancy footwork here - that is the beauty of it. The unions had to cut a lot of perks they had, the dealerships had to cut back to realistic numbers, and GM had to cut duplicative lines and come up with some real cars we want to buy.
This economy would have been much worse off if these companies had shut down. Instead - bankruptcy with reorganization means we have viable carmakers, keep the jobs, cut back unreasonable union demands, the taxpayer covers less unemployment benefits, the taxpayer owns part of these companies, and then will profit when the Taxpayer's share is sold. Just like TARP.
You just sound bitter and unrealistic. Did you want this country to fail and have more debt? Your proposal would have resulted in that.
You were right to be unhappy with the wreck the unions and car companies made. But fixing the problem is better than letting half the US industry collapse. Read up on economics, then maybe you'll get why you need to drop all the hard-headed rhetoric. Times have changed - and yes we can - yes we did.

DeeToo of SC 11:39PM April 24, 2010

One Cheer For the Detroit Automakers

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