Good-bye Chrysler...... (Video)

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Propping up General Motors a risky business

My take on saving GM, risky.

We are looking at 20,000 people losing their jobs, permanently. There will be permanent layoffs, these folks are gone for good. We are looking at 12 plants to close permanently. No one is calling you back for work to rev up the plant, it is gone. We are looking at 3 plants idle. What does that mean? To me, it means that if things look good down the road that these plants can come back.

Today is a sad day. Today is a happy day.

Sad because a name that everyone in America knows, General Motors, is no more. Happy day because the government stepped in to save GM and Chrysler, by saving this industry came the one thing this country invented, the automobile.

We all can argue about GM's lack of vision, clarity, along with their greed on producing gas guzzling cars/trucks only to be hit with gas rocketing sky high and the consumer letting these cars/trucks go to the wayside. All of the above is true, but the major factor is the poor management of GM that got them here today.

We all can argue about the Obama Administration stepping in and owning 60% of GM and forcing restructuring, retooling, etc. This argument is valid, but remember it was the automotive industry that came running to the government for a bailout, in doing so they have no choice but to do what the Obama Administration says if they want the money.

My take, this is all risky. We have propped up banks and are still propping them up. We have propped up AIG and they are not out of the woods, yet. Now we are propping up GM. It is easy to shake that finger, but many of us know people that work in the automotive industry and this is their life. This is it for them.

I don't know if this will work. Me, personally, I would not purchase a GM or Chrysler car at this time. My attitude is the wait and see. Wait and see if they will produce fuel efficient cars. Wait and see if they produce affordable cars. Wait and see if they will even be around in the very near future. Just wait and see.

President Obama has assumed a platter of headaches, each being put on his plate. If GM does not shake out by 2012 in the right direction, he owns it, and the Republicans will continue to let him know this. (even though the Republicans said send them to bankruptcy from the beginning)

Just risky.

Finally, read what Michael Moore has to say about the closing of General Motors, as we know it, here. Worth a read.

GM Plants to Close

Assembly plants scheduled to close:

—Wilmington, Del. Scheduled to close in July. Cars produced at the plant include the Pontiac Solstice, the Pontiac Solstice Coupe, the Saturn Sky and the Opel GT.

—Pontiac, Mich. Set to shut its doors in October. Produces the GMC Sierra, a sports utility vehicle, and the Chevrolet Silverado.

Assembly plants expected to be idled:

—Orion, Mich. Assembles Chevrolet Malibu and the Pontiac G6. Will halt production in September.

—Spring Hill, Tenn. Assembles Chevrolet Traverse. Will halt production in November.

Two new stamping plants, which mold sheets of steel into different auto parts, are set to close permanently:

—Mansfield, Ohio. Will close in June 2010.

—Indianapolis. Will close in December of 2011.

One stamping plant will be idled:

—Pontiac Metal in Pontiac, Mich. Expected to shut down at least temporarily in December of 2010.

Five plants where powertrain systems are produced are scheduled to close:

—Livonia Engine in Livonia, Mich. Will close in June 2010.

—Four other powertrain plants will close in December 2010: Flint North Components in Flint, Mich.; GM’s Willow Run Site between Ypsilanti and Belleville, Mich.; Parma Components in Parma, Ohio (near Cleveland) and Fredericksburg (Va.) Components.

Three service and parts warehouses and parts distribution centers are also on the closure list:

—Warehouses in Boston, Jacksonville, Fla. and Columbus, Ohio. Set to close on the last day of this year.

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Bad news for the car industry continues....

First and I am not shocked, was the news from Chrysler and the closing of almost 800 dealerships.

Now comes General Motors (GM) and the closing of about 1,100 dearlerships throughout the United States.

General Motors Corp. is telling 1,100 dealers across the nation their franchises will be shut down next year.

The cuts will come just a day after crosstown rival Chrysler announced it was dropping 789 of its roughly 3,200 dealerships by around June 9. Both companies have too many dealerships for too few sales are slashing costs as they race to restructure.

Dealers around the country had nervously awaited news Friday morning, with some saying they were in the dark about how they would be notified. In Richmond, Va., Royal Chevrolet co-owner Del Mugford was slightly relieved when he sifted through FedEx packages Friday morning and hadn't received any bad news from General Motors. But he knew his future could be determined by a phone call or a piece of mail.

\"This is absolutely nerve wracking. It's like a death sentence. It's the worst feeling in the world," said Mugford, 45, who bought the dealership with his younger brother in 2002 after owning an Oldsmobile franchise down the street. GM closed its Oldsmobile line of cars in 2004.

GM's dealer cuts are part of the company's plan announced last month to cut more than 2,600 dealers by 2010. The remaining cuts will come from closed Saturn and Hummer dealers, along with 400 dealers that the company expects will close voluntarily. Another 500 would be consolidated into other dealerships.

The GM dealer cuts are likely to have a much greater impact than Chrysler's. While many Chrysler dealers also sell other brands and will stay open after losing their franchises, a large number of GM dealers sell only GM vehicles. So if their franchises are revoked, they run a greater risk of closing for good. read more here....

My thing is this, if you have a GM car does it not make it more difficult for service? Another caveat, it makes selling a GM car easier because the competition from other dealerships are not as demanding. At any rate, this is tough all over and expect unemployment rate to shoot through the roof.

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Obama's Statement on Chrysler's Bankruptcy (Video)

This was the most glorifying news conference on bankruptcy I have ever watched....

Obama's main goal was to make the public's mind safe to purchase a Chrysler automobile. We will see what happens.

Chrysler to file bankruptcy
The New Chrysler

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Official: Chrysler to enter bankruptcy

I know the Obama Administration will try to paint this as a "good thing", but who is going to buy anything from a company, especially a high ticket price tag as a car, when you don't know if the doors are going to close on you for good. Especially, if you need to take the car back for anything and what about your warranty on this vehicle? I said from the get, we are not going to be able to save EVERYONE. And let's not even start to think about the folks who are in retirement mode, I know they are very worried right now.

Chrysler will file for bankruptcy protection after talks with creditors aimed at reducing its huge debt burden failed, officials said on Thursday.

The No. 3 U.S. automaker faces a government deadline of 11:59 p.m. Thursday to have deals in place with labor, creditors and Italian automaker Fiat. Two of the three pieces appeared to be in place. A small group of debtholders were the remaining obstacle, as they hold out for a better deal from the U.S. government.

Talks between Chrysler LLC's lenders and the Treasury Department to reduce the automaker's secured debt and keep it out of bankruptcy protection broke down early this morning, a person familiar with the talks said.

President Barack Obama is scheduled to talk about the auto industry in remarks at 12 noon EDT.

Four banks with 70 percent of Chrysler's $6.9 billion debt had agreed to erase it for $2 billion, or less than 30 cents for each dollar held. That left Chrysler's fate in the hands of about 40 hedge funds with about 30 percent of the debt.

To entice the hedge funds into going along with the banks, the government on Wednesday afternoon added $250 million to the $2 billion that the banks had settled for and gave the hedge funds a 6 p.m. deadline to work it out, two people briefed on the talks said.

Source

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