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145 Comments
- lebruf, on 05/29/2009, -3/+31Thank God we finally put an end to this gargantuan economic boondoggle.
We all know it's not the end of GM. It's the beginning of a much more efficient and competitive US Auto Industry. When we can't compete with foreign manufactures because our own costs for labor unions and legacy costs are through the roof, nobody wins.
I feel bad for those whose pensions and union contracts are now evaporating, but we can't prop up an industry giant that is failing because nobody in their right mind would purchase their product for it's higher costs and inferior quality.
Here's to the US Rebuilding a future as a world leader in Auto design and manufacturing! The phoenix can't rise from the ashes if it's kept on life support on the taxpayer's dime. - inactive, on 05/29/2009, -8/+36Good riddance.
- sjbdallas, on 05/29/2009, -0/+27I just can't help but wonder how Ford feels right now. They turned down government loans, so far have avoided bankruptcy, but now have to keep with 2 government backed car companies.
- NoSpin2009, on 05/29/2009, -2/+20I would like to see the government justify throwing billions of dollars at them when they were all syaing that GM needs this money to stave off bankruptcy. This is the exact reason why government has no buisness being involved with buisnesses. Obama has wasted billions and billions of dollars on GM (and Chrysler) to accomplish absolutly nothing more than a power grab. I think that this deal is atrocious giving the UAW a 20% stake in the company while the government takes 70%, because I am sure investors are really going to trust the government and a union to run a company. I do have a question though that I hope someone can answer. After GM restructures, what happens if GM still cannot make money and continues to lose billions? Will the government just keep pouring money into the company or will they let them liquidate like they should have in the first place?
- duewydo, on 05/29/2009, -1/+17It means that all that money they owe their debtors will be lifted off their back, old contracts become void with their debtors and they can re-negotiate. All their bad debt will be placed into a holding company, I think that will be backed by the government. From what I have been reading, a lot of black magic but all very standard practice... Did I get that right?
Either way, GM will still be in business after it is all done, just in a better position to compete. - keviniskool, on 05/29/2009, -0/+14*affect
- jamin, on 05/29/2009, -1/+14What business does the Federal Government have owning a car company?
- laim, on 05/29/2009, -2/+15wait, i thought they were going to lead the electric car movement!
- BlackJackJester, on 05/29/2009, -1/+12If they're run like any other government agency/company, Ford will be the only one who makes working vehicles. zing!
- LeadOffMan, on 05/29/2009, -1/+11Government Motors
- KSUdesigner, on 05/29/2009, -4/+14Why do you have it bad? If you still have warranty on your vehicle at that point, the warranty will be backed by another company, or by the government. You will still be able to find plenty of mechanics who will service your vehicle as well. I really don't understand why people think they are going to be screwed when the manufacturer of their car no longer exists. It isn't likely to affect you in any way.
- Gman1223, on 05/29/2009, -0/+9Maybe we should also thank the brain dead management who took millions and probably billions of dollars for paychecks while running the ***** company in the ground.
- amabaie, on 05/29/2009, -3/+12I got it bad. My wife and I both drive Saturns, a division to be phased out by 2010, from a company that won't exist by 2010!
- elcalrissian, on 05/29/2009, -4/+13UAW Contracts with:
GM
Diamler Chrysler
Ford
UAW DOESNT Contract with:
Toyota
Subaru
Honda
Hmmmm. I wonder what makes one car company porfitable and another not??? - duewydo, on 05/29/2009, -1/+10They crushed all the EV1s almost a decade ago, so no.
- SnowBladerX, on 05/29/2009, -0/+9Not unless you claim bankruptcy too
- BelatedHero, on 05/29/2009, -2/+10Yeah, ***** all those people that work at GM. They don't need jobs! /s
- Logan2784, on 05/29/2009, -6/+14I disagree- this is just capitalism at work. The weak don't survive.
- sjbdallas, on 05/29/2009, -1/+9More like a sponsored buyout.
- Wargala, on 05/29/2009, -2/+9Great, now where's my ***** stimulus money?
- Bloodwine, on 05/29/2009, -1/+8A company owned primarily by the U.S. government and UAW. That sure is a recipe for success!
- MrBrotato, on 05/29/2009, -5/+12If they didn't have to waste enormous amounts of money on unskilled workers? Yes, they would be much better off.
- Bloodwine, on 05/29/2009, -1/+8Ford is going down, it's just that GM and Chrysler were in a much worse position and went down first. Ford has said that it might need to borrow in the future, but they hope not.
About the only thing Ford has going for it is the new mindshare that, "Hey, Ford didn't take our bailout monies and didn't go into bankruptcy. If I have to buy American, I'll buy Ford". Granted, that may be all that Ford needs.
Ford also wasn't hit as hard as GM by the credit meltdown.
It's not that Ford makes better cars that buyers want, it's just that they were a little ahead of the curve in turning their company around and a bit lucky with their investments. - Bloodwine, on 05/29/2009, -1/+7The UAW will own about 17% of the new GM. If anything, GM will become even less competitive.
- zydeco, on 05/29/2009, -0/+6GM isn't GMAC.
- jgzman, on 05/29/2009, -0/+6Then what are all these banks still doing here?
- inactive, on 05/30/2009, -0/+6Obama's a fascist, which is really the same as a socialist the same as a nazi the same as a communist
- Dauntless1, on 05/30/2009, -0/+6@kaseycarbone
The only exploitation was being done by UAW, so let's not talk that particular brand of ***** becuase the only ***** who care or think UAW was ok are the talentless hacks that were getting paid 70 bucks an hour for a job the retard working at mcdonalds could have done. - brad3378, on 05/29/2009, -1/+7It's a temporary way to protect taxpayer dollars during chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring.
The government has no business in owning GM, however with literally Millions of downstream supplier jobs at risk of being pulled down with them, there's also a lot of lost tax revenue at risk as well as a risk of completely wiping out Unemployment coffers in many midwestern states. Every lost job at one of the Detroit 3 automakers translates into 8 lost jobs in the broader economy when you start adding up supplier networks, restaurants, gas stations, etc.
Pick your poison.
No matter what happens, there will be lost jobs, lost automaker tax revenue, & honest people getting screwed while the bankruptcy lawyers and accountants drag out the process to maximize their billable hours.
- NoSpin2009, on 05/29/2009, -4/+9I hope that this is a joke because do you really think that a government run company will seriously be able to compete with companies that actually KNOW how to make money and design cars? Call me cynical but somehow I do not think that GM will be any more competitive once the government and the union takes over.
- ken18, on 05/29/2009, -2/+7Well there goes the billions in tax money. Right down the toilet.
- WhiskeyLemur, on 06/30/2009, -0/+5Sounds about right - bankruptcy doesn't necessarily mean that they're "going out of business," as most people seem to think (although it can eventually lead to that as well). They won't be bound by previous contracts, which is particularly relevant when it comes to contracts with their unions (or at least that's the way the media has been presenting it - take it or leave it). It also means that creditors can't come after them for outstanding debts, afaik, all of which is basically meant to help the company get back on its feet, albeit with a totally fraked credit rating.
- lebruf, on 05/29/2009, -0/+5You raise a very good point, but all I am saying is that the Bankruptcy is, at the very least, a step in the right direction compared to EVERYTHING that the company has attempted at this point in order to stay afloat.
- wattersm, on 05/29/2009, -2/+7Sigh, I miss the days when the United States was a capitalist nation.
- angelschambers, on 05/29/2009, -0/+4I feel ya homie. But the US is the bait and switch capitol of the world. Capitalism was the bait.
- joltjake, on 05/30/2009, -1/+5Uneducated people making tons of money. That was a great idea.
- Bloodwine, on 05/29/2009, -0/+4I wonder if that makes your car payments tax deductible?
- inactive, on 05/29/2009, -5/+9 I wonder if that effect my car payments...
- sjbdallas, on 05/29/2009, -2/+6With any luck, they'll get spun off or bought. Saturns are great vehicles.
- Projektorboy, on 05/29/2009, -0/+4FTA: "Lutz also said he would like to see a continued presence of the auto task force in the future, giving GM the same type of continued government support Japanese automakers have long enjoyed."
This is ***** INFURIATING! I have two words for you: "Chicken Tax." Suck on my *****, Lutz. - sjbdallas, on 05/29/2009, -1/+5I'm sure they're try, just as soon as they get out from under all the debt they owe.
- inactive, on 05/30/2009, -0/+4This is the beginning of the end for gasoline-powered cars. World oil reserves will be depleted before 2100! It's only gonna get harder for any carmaker still focused on combustion engines, not easier.
- BelatedHero, on 05/29/2009, -3/+7Unskilled?? My uncle works at a Toyota plant and I doubt he or any of his co-workers would appreciate being called "unskilled". Many of them are highly skilled and make damn good money.
- vsujohn2, on 05/29/2009, -3/+7So why did we give them all that money again?
- brad3378, on 05/29/2009, -0/+3How do you know the color his father's collar?
- Nosyn, on 05/29/2009, -0/+3No.
- bdbr, on 05/30/2009, -1/+4The company will still exist. Companies emerge from bankruptcy all the time. They were quite a mess before; if anything they might have a better chance of being around in 2010 than they would without bankruptcy. The amount that the government is loaning them is only a few months of their current revenue.
- TheNyquilKid, on 05/29/2009, -0/+3will
- BelatedHero, on 05/29/2009, -0/+3Does your business employ tens of thousands of people and have a market cap in the hundreds of millions? Didn't think so.
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