Comments on: The Car Makers' Excuses

By: TOM

TOM — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:38:37 +0000

I’d like to see someone take a tally on the types of cars our elected officials drive. While I am not defending the top of the food chain at the auto companies, it does strike me as somewhat bein hypocritical for the congress to criticize them for their flying habits. The congress spends and wastes a hell of a lot more of our money than all of the car companies combined and they don’t think twice about it.

By: Kent Aabye

Kent Aabye — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:09:26 +0000

My new bail out plan….ok so these are loans (that’s what we were told by the folks on tv) so here is the new plan:

The goverment i.e. the tax payers i.e you and me will loan 1000x’s the amount the workers loan the auto makers, 100x’s the amount the ceo’s lend the company, and 10x’s the amount the union pension funds loan the auto companies.

I think it’s only fair that if you want our money to save your job,company,labor union you (the people who work for the company and directly financailly benifit from it) should put up your money first. Look at it this way they are putting a cash”down payment” on the loan ( we won’t be giving them a version of a sup prime mortgage ). If we (the tax payers loose) than you (the employees, ceos, unions) loose. I bet they figure a way out real quick to get cost and contract under control then.

By: Pat

Pat — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:15:37 +0000

Make the BIG THREE ACCOUNTABLE for every cent they receive from a bailout. Also, the unions should be made to re-negotiate their contract. Where as, the the big three payroll will decline a little.

By: Rusty H

Rusty H — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:02:40 +0000

This is a good article, but keep in mind a whole lot of the trucks that Detroit makes helps build America. One definite wrong that the US carmakers face is the cafe standards. They have to factor in the mileage of their trucks when, for all intents and purposes, the foreign carmakers don’t make trucks!! Toyota does make a truck, but sell very few and definitely not for work trucks!! This forces auto makers to discount small cars to basically cost, just to maintain the average. Ford especially has some very good products on the horizon, as their current fleet’s quality is on par with any manufacturer, foreign or domestic. However, to be competitive, they will have to remove the UAW contracts and bankruptcy may be the only way to achieve that. That is why the bailout will go through at some point, because the Democrats will not let the union go down and lose probably their largest contributors!!

By: Ginger

Ginger — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:48:09 +0000

Let them figure out. The first way they can save some money during the reorganization is to cancel health care benefits. It’s my understanding the “The One” is going to grant free health care to the masses. That should save a big chunk of change! (no pun intended)