Tag: Autos

Obama supported company gets U.S. Loan and builds cars…. In Finland

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This ought to be a lesson to every last Democrat who voted for Obama and Biden.

The Video:

The Story:

With the approval of the Obama administration, an electric car company that received a $529 million federal government loan guarantee is assembling its first line of cars in Finland, saying it could not find a facility in the United States capable of doing the work.

Vice President Joseph Biden heralded the Energy Department’s $529 million loan to the start-up electric car company called Fisker as a bright new path to thousands of American manufacturing jobs. But two years after the loan was announced, the job of assembling the flashy electric Fisker Karma sports car has been outsourced to Finland.

“There was no contract manufacturer in the U.S. that could actually produce our vehicle,” the car company’s founder and namesake told ABC News. “They don’t exist here.”

Henrik Fisker said the U.S. money so far has been spent on engineering and design work that stayed in the U.S., not on the 500 manufacturing jobs that went to a rural Finnish firm, Valmet Automotive.

“We’re not in the business of failing; we’re in the business of winning. So we make the right decision for the business,” Fisker said. “That’s why we went to Finland.”

via Car Company Gets U.S. Loan, Builds Cars In Finland – ABC News.

Here is the real-world translation to that last line in that story; we did not want to have to deal with the labor unions in this United States, so we moved our manufacturing overseas.

Take note my Democratic Party friends who happen to read this blog, all two of you.  This is what happens to the Democrats and their union counterparts, when they elect internationalist Democrats, who really do not give a care about what happens to American workers.  Internationalist Democrats and their Republican counterparts, the globalists — like Richard Nixon, who do not care about American workers, they are corporatists, who support crony capitalism.

This right here is a perfect example of why the relations between the Democratic Party and the labor unions are frosty at best.  That is because the Democratic Party for the last few instances that they have won elections, have been putting internationalist Democrats into the White House.  This type of a Democrat talks a nice game, and puts out platitudes to the American autoworkers and their representatives in the unions; but when the “Rubber hits the road” so to speak, things change.  They begin showing their true colors and start doing things to kick dirt in the face of the American worker.

I do not write this as a Conservative mocking the left, goodness no.  I write this as someone who has a father, who is a retired General Motors worker, who is a member of the UAW.  If anyone would know how the Democratic Party has treated the American autoworker in the last 30 years, it would be me.  There was a time in this Country, when the Democratic Party used to respect the American autoworker and would literally step in front a train to defend them.  Sadly, that time has passed, as the unions have lost their influence amongst the Democratic Party.

The loss of that influence in the Democratic Party is partially due to the actions of the internationalist Democrats, like Bill Clinton, who signed into law NAFTA and TAFTA.  Some of that loss of influence is also due to the declining membership roles within the UAW and other said unions.  Either way, it is sad transition in America, when our politicians in Washington D.C. put interests abroad before interests here at home.

Some of my readers, all three of you, might be shocked to see that I do not take a more mocking tone on stories like this and here is why I do not; Pat Buchanan said it best once, on one issue that I actually agree with him on — the American worker.  Pat once said, “As goes Detroit, goes the Nation,” and you know what?  Pat Buchanan is right about that, the United States of America used to be a manufacturing marvel.  We produced everything ourselves, and other Countries used to come here to see how we did it all.  Sadly, those times have come and gone, due to many reasons, a list of which is longer than the length of this blog entry will permit.

What is solution you ask, I know what it is; but most of the people who will come here to read, will not agree with it.  However, I will give the solution.  Firstly, the solution is NOT to bust up the unions, as they have as much right to proper representation, as the company owners have a right to make a profit.  The solution to the problem is to get rid of these idiotic so-called “Free Trade” agreements.  Secondly, the solution is to impose strict tariffs on EVERYTHING and I do mean everything that is manufactured overseas and imported into our Country.

These actions would do a couple of things; firstly it would protect the American workers from the globalists who want to undercut the American worker to make a quick dollar on the backs of cheap sweatshop labor in foreign countries like China.  Secondly, it would solve our Nation’s revenue problem by creating a reliable source of income; one of which we did have in this Country for a very long time, before the globalists ripped it out, in favor of trade agreements.

Further, the solution is in whom we elect; Republicans and Democrats alike need to elect those who put America’s interests first, and not the interests who those abroad.  To be fair, Republicans have done this too in this past and we as Americans need to watch what these new crop of Republicans really represent; do they represent the interests of the crony capitalists or do they have the American people’s interests in mind?  Supposedly, the Tea Party movement brought some of this “America First” type of populism to the Conservative movement, but as of late, it seems that the Tea Party was nothing more than a passing fad.  I just hope the people, who went to these protests, use the principles that were promoted at the Tea Party rallies, at the ballot box come November 2012.

Others: Michelle Malkin, New York Times, New York Magazine, The Heritage Foundation, Questions and Observations, Fantastical Andrew Fox, RedState, The Strata-Sphere, Hot Air, Sky Dancing, Conservatives4Palin, americanthinker.com, Big Government, Weasel Zippers, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, JammieWearingFool and Betsy’s Page

Ford caves to White House demand to pull ad ripping on tarp bailouts

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This is unreal:

For the only Detroit automaker that “didn’t take the money” of the federal auto bailouts, Ford Motor Co. keeps paying a price for its comparative success and self-reliant turnaround.

There’s no help from American taxpayers to help lighten its debt load, giving crosstown rivals comparatively better credit ratings and a financial edge Ford is working diligently to erase all on its own.

There’s no clause barring a strike by hourly workers amid this fall’s national contract talks with the United Auto Workers — a by-product of the taxpayer-financed bailout that General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC retain until 2015.

And there’s no assurance the Dearborn automaker can use the commercially advantageous fact that it didn’t “take the money” proffered by the Obama Treasury Department and use it in TV ads angling to sell cars and trucks. Not if the campaign takes a whack at its Detroit rivals and suggests that Ford no longer supports the Obama administration bailouts it backed in public statements and sworn congressional testimony.

As part of a campaign featuring “real people” explaining their decision to buy the Blue Oval, a guy named “Chris” says he “wasn’t going to buy another car that was bailed out by our government,” according the text of the ad, launched in early September.

“I was going to buy from a manufacturer that’s standing on their own: win, lose, or draw. That’s what America is about is taking the chance to succeed and understanding when you fail that you gotta’ pick yourself up and go back to work.”

That’s what some of America is about, evidently. Because Ford pulled the ad after individuals inside the White House questioned whether the copy was publicly denigrating the controversial bailout policy CEO Alan Mulally repeatedly supported in the dark days of late 2008, in early ’09 and again when the ad flap arose. And more.

via Columnists | Ford pulls its ad on bailouts | The Detroit News.

I would and could carp on about this one; but I will simply say this — this here, my friends, is why you do not elect totalitarian Presidential Administrations who are not too fond of criticism.    I know Bush did it too; to a point, but not nearly as bad as this bunch in the White House. This President is much worse. Further more, Bush’s issue was with the liberal media and never, ever with private business.

I also have to wonder; how much of this was the Union’s doing? I wonder if Ford received a threatening phone call from the President of the AFL-CIO and was told, “You either pull that ad or you are going have a huge labor walkout on your hands!” I cannot prove that in a court of law. But I would be willing to bet money that is what happened.

Again, as I am prone to saying here, quite a bit. Remember this dumb nonsense come 2012; because no President or White House should ever, and I do mean EVER be able to pressure any business to pull advertising. We are a free Republic; and not some damned Communist dictatorship; this has to stop and I hope like the dickens that Republicans pick the right guy to beat Obama in 2012.  Because crap like this, has go to go and I mean go quickly.

Others: Hit & Run, Mediaite, Big Government, Ben Smith’s Blog, National Review, Patterico’s Pontifications, Wake up America, LaborUnionReport.com, Hot Air, theblogprof, Weasel Zippers, Weekly Standard, JammieWearingFool and Cold Fury (via Memeorandum)

Video: Quote of the Day

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We’ve been getting the low end of the electric-only range, usually between 23 and 28 miles, undoubtedly due to this winter’s deep freeze. The car’s electric range is very susceptible to cold weather, primarily because the heater runs on electricity. We also found that an extended highway cruise shortens the electric range.

The Volt’s appeal in terms of fuel economy depends largely on your driving pattern. The more often (and farther) you travel beyond the electric range, the closer your overall energy use drops toward 30 mpg. That’s what we’ve been getting when the gasoline engine is running.

Counting just the energy used, not its cost, the Volt has been averaging close to 2 miles per kilowatt-hour, which, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, is the equivalent of 65 mpg. But that’s for the first 25 miles or so, when the car is running on battery power alone.

It is typical to see artificially high mpg numbers on the car’s trip computer. For example, let’s say you make five trips in a week. Four of them are 25 miles without needing the gas engine. On the last trip, 55 miles, the car uses 1 gallon of gas beyond the 25-mile electric range. The trip computer would calculate 155 miles on 1 gallon of gas, or 155 mpg. That might contribute to the feel-good factor, but the figure is misleading because it doesn’t count the electricity used.

GM says that recharge times are about 4 hours with a 240-volt supply and 10 to 12 hours with 120 volts. Our Volt has been taking in almost 13 kWh in about 5 hours every time we charge. We suggest that Volt buyers purchase a 220-volt (or Level 2) charger.

At the national average rate of 11 cents per kWh, the Volt would cost about 5.7 cents per mile in electric mode and then 10 cents a mile beyond that (assuming gas is $3 per gallon). By contrast, a Toyota Prius costs 6.8 cents per mile, and a gas-powered Honda Fit subcompact costs about 10 cents a mile in gas. But its price is less than half of what the Volt costs.

In some regions, such as the Northeast, you might pay a lot more for electricity. In Southern California, where rates increase with higher electrical consumption, there are special plans for EV owners that lower rates to as little as 11 cents per kWh.

There are evident compromises in passenger comfort as a result of the Volt’s battery layout. Because the battery takes up the center rear-seat area, the car can hold only four people. Also, the rear seats are tight and the sloping roofline can make it easy to bump your head while getting in. Our engineers complained that the air from the heater was tepid, leaving them uncomfortably cold. The electric seat heaters help, but not enough. When the temperature dips below 26 degrees, the engine will turn on even during the electric portion of a trip to produce more heat.

The dashboard has a center screen that houses the standard navigation system, and slick graphics display various energy-use information. The center console consists of small, touch-sensitive buttons on the dash that control the climate and the radio. We found them hard to tell apart.

So far, the Volt works as an electric car with a gas backup, but it’s not really much of a money saver in many places. Cheaper electricity or more expensive gas could tip the scales in its favor. For now, it seems that owning a Volt is an expensive way to be green.

****

Let’s see… taxpayer money is being dumped into a car that the public can’t afford and/or doesn’t want. Demand for the expensive product is to be created by high gas prices combined with goading the public into buying one by scaring them with a mythical crisis pushed by an enviro-hypocrite who goes around in a private jet telling everybody the oceans are going to rise and flood the same coastlines where he recently invested millions in a seaside mansion. In a nutshell, the theme park impresarios who proposed “Six Flags Over Chernobyl” had a more solid business plan.

The Volt is in part the brainchild of politicians who expect everyone to believe that we need to spend money to keep from going bankrupt, so was the “economic sense” of the thing ever really in question?

They say it’s called the “Volt” because “Massively Expensive Union Bailout” wouldn’t fit on the hood. If the batteries continue to perform poorly in cold weather, don’t look for the Volt to be scrapped, but rather for several billion taxpayer dollars to be spent on a “Winning the Future” extension cord program.


Way too fast

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I say this, at the risk of sounding like a crusty old curmudgeon:

The Bugatti Veyron

The Bugatti Veyron is, once again, the fastest production car on the planet.

Bugatti says an orange-and-black Veyron 16.4 Super Sport achieved an average top speed of 267.8 mph at the hands of test driver Pierre Henri Raphanel. Stop and think about that for a moment. That’s more than 393 feet per second and almost 4.5 miles per minute. Even Bugatti’s engineers were surprised.

“We took it that we would reach an average value of 425 km/h (264 mph),” chief engineer Wolfgang Schreiber said in a statement. “But the conditions today were perfect and allowed even more.”

Raphanel made his record-setting run at Volkswagen’s test track in Ehra-Lessien, Germany, in the latest version of the greatest automobile ever made. He had one hour to make back-to-back runs in each direction. The speedo hit 427.933 km/h against the wind and 434.211 with it. That came to an average of 431.072, which by our math is 267.8 mph.

And that was more than enough to take the title back from Shelby Super Cars and the Ultimate Aero, which had held the record since peeling off an average of 256 mph in 2007. Raphanel set the record on June 24; Bugatti announced it on July 4. Bugatti says Guinness was on-hand to verify the record, and we imagine the guys at SSC will not take this sitting down.

As the name suggests, the Super Sport is a hot-rodded version of a car that already has too much of everything. The 16-cylinder engine has been tweaked and tuned with bigger turbochargers (four, count ‘em, four) and intercoolers. Bugatti says the engine is good for 1,200 horsepower and a staggering 1,106 pound feet of torque.

via King of All Cars Tops 267 MPH | Autopia | Wired.com.

I’m sorry, but 267 miles per hour is just way, way, waaaaaay too fast. I mean, I am all for the idea of going fast; in fact, I love going to Milan Dragway here in Milan, Michigan. But for a street car, 267 miles per hour? Hell no. Too fast. Reason I say that is because if you happen to be in one these contraptions, and you happen to hit an inanimate object going that fast — forget calling the ambulance; call the farking morgue. Be sure to tell them to bring a big spatula, to scrape your greasy spot off of whatever you hit.

Do not misunderstand me; it is a nice car — To look at and say, “Yeah, I bet that thing goes really fast!” 😉

Once again Andrew Sullivan shows that he is not a Conservative

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Andrew Sullivan is Astroturfing (or is it asshole-turfing? Most likely BOTH in Sullivan’s case! DohHypnotized)   for his fellow Liberals.

Andrew Sullivan says:

welcome2insanity(2)Here’s another example. There’s a groundswell of grousing on the right about the cash-for-clunkers program, because the feds were caught off-guard by its popularity. The argument is that if the government can’t run cash-for-clunkers, how can it run healthcare?

To which one might respond: but cash-for-clunkers is one example of the government actually doing something right, helpful and popular. It’s the kind of pragmatic experimentation that FDR tried repeatedly. So you have a practical, targeted measure that seems to have helped abate a deeper recession in the auto industry, and the right is obsessed with the ideological abstraction of “government.”

What conservatives have to do, in my view, is not demonize government, but to champion limited government. If government can do tangible practical things that help everyone, while balancing its budget, it’s doing what conservatives think it should. Smart, practical initiatives that address problems that the private sector has failed at: what else is government for? The rest is ideology – and it seems to be all the Republicans have left.

Can someone tell how the Government affecting the Markets is doing something right? I mean, Ron Paul knocked out of the ballpark, when he said in his video that, while the “Cash for Clunkers” program might help those who are able to buy cars; but that it would damage the market for the poor people who buy those older so-called “Clunker” cars.

Reason Magazine’s Matt Welch weighs in:

I’m nobody’s conservative, but I’m pretty sure if I was telling conservatives how to think I wouldn’t admonish them for failing to champion limited government within two sentences of praising FDR’s pragmatism. It’s like, I dunno, lecturing the Labour Party about demonstrating their pro-union bonafides while praising Margaret Thatcher’s centrism. Sounds a bit off.

[….]

Sullivan is dead right about one thing: Cash-for-clunkers is indeed very “popular.” So is the home mortgage interest deduction, the prescription drug benefit, and any number of federal programs that siphon from the diffuse pool of tax revenue+debt and blast out concentrated benefits to the broad middle class. The standard for judging these things shouldn’t be popularity–Richard Nixon’s wage-and-price control spasm of 1971, to name one of many historical measures now widely and rightly considered asinine, was hugely popular at the time–but whether they make sense in both the short and long term.

Cash-for-clunkers amounts to a rounding error in Tim Geithner’s nose-hair at this point, which is probably why at least some liberals seem so genuinely baffled by the disproportionate criticism it has drawn. But for some of us it’s also a nearly perfect symbol of economic statism run amok. The federal government is taking from the many, giving it to the less-than-many, destroying functional cars, funneling money to an auto industry that it already largely owns (at a hefty taxpayer price tag), then taking multiple (and multiply premature) bows for rescuing the economy and the auto industry in the process.

I understand, and even appreciate, that not everyone interprets things this way. But what I don’t understand, and ultimately don’t respect, is the weird urge to react to yet another Obama administration brainfart by rounding up its opponents and putting them in a metaphorical holding pen marked “ideologically obsessed.” Particularly after eight years in which the only detectable ideology was taxcut-and-spend, and otherwise do what parties in power always do: look for creative new ways to bribe the middle class.

I happen to like that last part about bribing the middle class. Is not that the honest truth? I mean, the Republican Party does it, and so do the Democrats. Bribe the middle class for their vote. I tend to believe it happens on the left more; but honestly, both sides do it. This program is an example of that.

James Joyner weighs in as well:

Piggybacking on WSJ’s point, it strikes me that the “clunkers” aspect of this arrangement is morally dubious. Glenn Reynolds‘ 2004 Mazda RX-8 is a clunker that, were he so inclined, he would be eligible to trade to the government (indirectly) for $4500.  It would then be scrapped.  Doesn’t this remove a perfectly good used car from the market that some person of modest means could otherwise have purchased, either upgrading from an older, less reliable vehicle or none at all?  And doesn’t doing that mean the price of other used cars will increase accordingly?

Which is exactly what Ron Paul said in his video. Here is another area that this program will hurt. Auto Mechanics; these guys are the ones who keep those older cars going, thus creating a living for themselves. Which, in case the liberal socialist left have forgotten; does contribute to the economy. Which proves to the this writer, that the socialist far liberal left, in their quest to further their so-called Green agenda, which is basically a big scam, that is only going to benefit big business; they have left the most important people behind —- their constituents, that are the poor and lower middle class in this Country.

Graphic Credit: McGurk @ Ace of Spades

The begrudgingly obligatory GM goes bankrupt posting

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Yes, I know about the bankruptcy of General Motors. No, I will not be commenting on it. As I have a policy, as a blogger not to comment on issues that I personally am involved in and biased towards or against.

Here’s the facts, Via Keith Hennessey:

Process

* GM’s bankruptcy filing was expected to be at 8 AM EDT in NY Southern District in Manhattan. (CNBC)
* Obama and GM CEO Fritz Henderson are scheduled to hold back-to-back press conferences beginning at noon today. (CNBC)
* They are using the same Section 363 process that Chrysler used. The new GM buys the good parts of the old GM. The old parts are liquidated. (White House fact sheet)
* “… would allow a much smaller GM to emerge from court protection in as little as 60 to 90 days.” (CNBC) (This is a guess/spin. How optimistic is it? GM is much harder than Chrysler. –kbh)
* “Al Koch, a managing director at advisory firm AlixPartners, will be appointed chief restructuring officer in charge of liquidating those GM assets” (CNBC)
* “Autos task force will stay in business – shifting to an investment manager role”(CNBC)

In “the new GM,” ownership is:

* 60% of equity goes to the U.S. Government. USG also gets $8.8B in debt and preferred stock.
* UAW’s retiree pension/health plan (the “Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association”) gets 17.5% of equity, plus:
o warrants to buy another 2.5% of equity;
o a $2.5 B note (three installments, ending in 2017); and
o $6.5 B in perpetual preferred stock (9% coupon).
* Approximately 12% of equity goes to the Canadian (and Ontario?) governments. They also get about $1.7 B in debt and preferred stock.
* Bondholders of old GM get about 10% of the equity, for giving up $27.1 B in unsecured debt. This was approved by bondholders representing 54% of unsecured debt. The other 46% are the biggest risk for the bankruptcy filing. (CNBC, WSJ)
* “Bondholders could take up to 25 percent of GM if it recovers to be worth what it was in 2004, before it began round after round of cost-cutting in what proved to be a failed bid to make up for lost sales.” (I need to understand this better.)
* Secured bondholders expect to be paid face value. (WSJ)

Governance of the new GM

* UAW’s VEBA can select one independent director, but cannot vote its shares or other governance rights(!) (White House fact sheet)
* “Canadian government will have the right to select one initial director.” (White House fact sheet)
* “The U.S. Treasury will also have the right to appoint the initial directors other than those that will be selected by the VEBA and the Canadian government.” (White House fact sheet)

GM gets about $40 B of new cash to help pay its bills during bankruptcy. This is called debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing.

* U.S. Government: $30.1 B in new debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing. (WH fact sheet, CNBC)
* Governments of Canada & Ontario: $9.5 B

NewCo / OldCo

* “Today GM is announcing its intention to close 11 facilities and idle another 3 facilities.” (White House fact sheet)
* “[GM] has not provided an update target for job cuts but had been looking to cut 21,000 factory jobs from the 54,000 UAW workers it now employs in the United States.” (CNBC)
* “While the “new GM” is expected to emerge quickly from court protection, the automaker’s shuttered plants, stranded equipment and other spurned assets would be left to liquidation in bankruptcy.” (CNBC)
* Previously announced: “closing more than a dozen factories and shedding the Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and Hummer brands.” (WSJ)
* GM will “shutter 2,600 dealers.” (WSJ)
* “The new GM will also pursue a commitment to build a new small car in an idled UAW factory.” (WH fact sheet)
* GM will shed more than $79B in debt. (WSJ)
* “GM at the last minute also found buyers for some unwanted subsidiaries, including German-based Opel, which is being acquired by a consortium led by Canadian auto-parts supplier Magna International Inc., and the Hummer brand, whose buyer remained undisclosed.”

Future

* “The U.S. Treasury does not anticipate providing any additional assistance to GM beyond this [new $30.1 B] commitment.” (White House fact sheet)
* “As a result of this restructuring, GM will lower its breakeven point to a 10 million annual car sales environment. Before the restructuring, GM’s breakeven point was in excess of 16 million annual car sales.” (White House fact sheet)
* “The administration said the goal of the restructuring was to help GM be profitable in a year when the industry sells 10 million vehicles, versus the 16 million it sold in 2007.” (CNBC)
* “GM will continue to honor consumer warranties.” (WH fact sheet)
* GM is being removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average 30 (“the Dow”), along with Citigroup. They will be replaced by Cisco and Travelers. (CNBC)

As you all can well guess; there is a great deal of sadness and a great deal of anger in this household today. I will give you all a fair warning. ANY sort of stupid or abusive or troll-like comments left in the comment section will result in your comment being deleted and your IP address being blocked from even viewing this blog. You just don’t insult my family. Period.

Others covering this story, their color codes should clue you into their political stances:

The Atlantic Business Channel, The New Republic, Above the Law, Gawker, The Stimulist, protein wisdom, Daniel W. Drezner, Wake up America, Mainstream Texas Conservative, Colorado Independent ,Gateway Pundit, The Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal, DownWithTyranny!, The Big Picture, Kausfiles, Runnin’ Scared, The Caucus, ProPublica, The Moderate Voice, Wall Street Journal, Say Anything, Wonk Room, Hot Air, USA Today, Reason, CFR.org, The BLT, RedState, Ben Smith’s Blog, The Politico, TPMCafe, Democracy in America, The New Republic, Crooks and Liars, DealBook, The Nation, Law Blog, The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room, Boston Globe, Libertarian Republican, The Foundry and Betsy’s Page

The Southern Avenger says “Partisans Make Us Less Safe”

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How support for both “financial security” and “national security” reveal partisan hypocrisy and make us less safe.

Video: They’re Shutting Detroit Down

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In this music video, which features Mickey Rourke and Kris Kristofferson, you will see the plight of many in this area.  In this Video are actors, But the situation being portrayed in this movie, is the reality of many in this area.

How anyone can watch this, and still say to themselves, let them fail. Does not have a damned soul.

They say, politics is local; That does not even begin to cover it. 😡

Enjoy the Video:

The Southern Avenger on “The Mexican Flu”

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How the news coverage of the swine flu isn’t so much indicative of any serious crisis, but the mainstream media’s corporate and government, PC sensibilities.

Updated: Communism Unleashed: The White House threatens Chrysler investors

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Now this here is a bunch of Bull. My Dad’s a Union man, But, I think even any Democrat, that even has an ounce of a brain. Would think something is wrong with this.

The relevant part is around the1:30 mark: (H/T to Island Turtle)

[podcast]http://wjrpodcasts.com/podcasts/frankbeckmann/Lauria-050109.mp3[/podcast]

Lauria: Let me tell you it’s no fun standing on this side of the fence opposing the President of the United States. In fact, let me just say, people have asked me who I represent. That’s a moving target. I can tell you for sure that I represent one less investor today than I represented yesterday. One of my clients was directly threatened by the White House and in essence compelled to withdraw its opposition to the deal under the threat that the full force of the White House Press Corps would destroy its reputation if it continued to fight. That’s how hard it is to stand on this side of the fence.

Beckman: Was that Perella Weinberg?

Lauria: That was Perella Weinberg.

Now, let me be clear here; I am all for saving of jobs. But communist-style strong arm tactics, is just damned wrong. Of course, you’ve got your liberals who arm dismissing this. But folks, this is serious. What if you had a contract or an investment and it was ripped away from you? I suspect many of you would be ticked! I know I would be. Of course, our feckless Liberal media is not touching this, at all. Not that I am surprised.

If this is what the next four years is going to be like, I fear for this country. 🙁

Update: Via Jack Tapper: The White House is now denying the charges:

A leading bankruptcy attorney representing hedge funds and money managers told ABC News Saturday that Steve Rattner, the leader of the Obama administration’s Auto Industry Task Force, threatened one of the firms, an investment bank, that if it continued to oppose the administration’s Chrysler bankruptcy plan, the White House would use the White House press corps to destroy its reputation.

The White House said the story was false.

“The charge is completely untrue,” said White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton, “and there’s obviously no evidence to suggest that this happened in any way.”

I do not buy that at all, sorry. Neither does Ed Morrisey over at HotAir.com:

No evidence?  What about Lauria’s personal testimony?

Meanwhile, Tommy Christopher — who actually reports from the White House — dismisses the charge:

As far as the “threat” Lauria alleges, it sounds an awful lot like someone told his client that public opinion would not likely be favorable to people who would obstruct a fair deal to save Chrysler. That’s not a threat, it is a reality. It’s no more a “threat” than John McCain’s campaign promise to make earmarkers “famous.”

Apples and oranges.  McCain threatened to make public officials “famous” for wasting taxpayer money.  The Obama administration allegedly threatened to use the WHPC to destroy the reputations of private citizens as a punishment for not relinquishing their contractual rights for having helped float Chrysler.  There’s a huge difference between the two.

Indeed, the White House just got caught with it’s proverbial “Britches” down and now they’re spinning and denying. Kind of like the stuff that President George W. Bush used to do, but now it is on the other side. The difference is this. Had this been Bush’s White House and the person being threatened was a Environmental company? It would have been front page news. But because it is a big old mean “Rich” investor, it is a Conservative story. Oh, the irony and hypocrisy of it all.

Others:Politics Daily, Hot Air, Political Punch, , Pajamas Media, Gateway Pundit, Reason, Clayton Cramer’s BLOG, NewsBusters.org, Instapundit, Nice Deb, Founding Bloggers and BizzyBlog

Local Auto News: Chrysler looking at Bankruptcy

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A pretty sad thing to wake up today. However, I am sorry to say this, but I knew it was coming. Chrysler never was able to get their act together; unlike G.M. and get a resolution together.

The Report comes via the Washington Post, I won’t quote the whole thing and I kindly ask that you go over and read the whole thing. But rather, I will give some my impressions from the interesting stuff.

My impressions:

The Obama administration last night planned to send Chrysler into bankruptcy, replace chief executive Robert L. Nardelli and pump billions of dollars more into the effort, all in hopes the company can emerge from court proceedings as a reenergized competitor in the global economy.

Government officials clung to 11th-hour hopes last night that bankruptcy could be averted, but talks broke down with Chrysler’s creditors. A bankruptcy filing could happen as soon as today.

The U.S. government’s attempt to save the automaker amounts to another extraordinary intervention in the economy and a landmark event in the history of the American auto industry.

Under the administration’s detailed court strategy, ownership of Chrysler would be dramatically reorganized, the leadership of Italian automaker Fiat would take over company management and the U.S. and Canadian governments would contribute more than $10 billion in additional funding.

Company and government officials had feared that a bankruptcy would stain the brand, shake customer confidence and erode sales, but the administration said it would seek to use the process to create a new Chrysler company. Its ownership would be divided, with the company’s union retiree health fund receiving a 55 percent stake, Fiat would claim as much as a 35 percent share and the United States would take 8 percent. The Canadian government would receive two percent.

Basically this is what General Motors did voluntarily. Minus the Fiat equation, of course. It is a tough break that the creditors, bond holders, and company management could not come together to an agreement.  The main and good thing is, that the automaker, itself, will be saved, and that American jobs will be saved.

Now comes the part that will make people like Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin, and the rest of the far right wing people howl at the moon:

The automaker’s current majority owner, the private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, would have its holdings wiped out.

Now, to be fair; I will report the truth about this holdings company. This company, from what I have read and have been told; is notorious for buying up struggling companies, like Chrysler and shutting them down and selling off the assets to make money. They have done this in past, from what I told. So, while I hate to see anyone lose their money. I actually am glad to see Chrysler being taken away from this company.

Let me also say this. As an Conservative, who believes in “America First”, and believes that business sometimes have to fail; I am not exactly jumping for joy, when it comes to fact that this auto company is having taxpayer dollars being pumped into it. Nor am I happy at the fact, that a US automaker is having a foreign auto company’s management taking over its operations. However, I believe we must be realistic about such matters. We are not living in the 1950’s any longer, we are in a economic recession of monumental proportions, and if we do not drastic measures quickly, we could see a total collapse of the American auto industry. I also know that there is a undeniable truth that “as Detroit goes, so goes America.” Pat Buchanan and I, have been saying this all along; if allow the big three or in this case, the big two to disappear our Nation’s economy would go into free fall. I shudder in absolute horror at the thought of the far reaching implications of such an event.

I will say, as a devout Paleo-Conservative; If we would have rejected the globalism of the Rockefeller-type conservative types and would have imposed strict trade restrictions on Japanese and other such foreign automotive products, these auto companies would not be in the position that they are today.  It is because of the Rockefeller-type, Madison Avenue, Neo-Conservatives, whose mantra is “screw the American middle class”, is the reason we are in this position today.  Further more, it is the reason that the world is also partaking in our recession as well.  Perhaps President Obama will see the state of our globalist economy and will rethink his position on NAFTA and TAFTA and the rest of those toxic free trade agreements that are in place; and impose strict tariffs on imports that are bleeding our economy dry.

Realistically however, I highly doubt that President Obama will do any of that, because he is trying to run as a centrist, or as I like to call it; he is sucking up to the Neo-Conservative right, as they are his biggest supporters, strangely, after trying so very hard to defeat him in the election. Of course, we Paleo-Conservatives know why this is; because the only difference between a Neo-Conservative and a Democrat is the letter next to the name.

The Worry in my Father’s Eyes (A Personal GM Posting)

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As many of you know, I am the son of a retired General Motors worker.  Ironically, I am also a Conservative.  No, I am not a Republican; or even a formal Libertarian.  I am someone that believes that the less Governmental interference in my life, the better.   However, there is a place, where my politics ends and a genuine concern for my family begins.

I see that General Motors is going to be taking more money from the Government, and is desperately trying to salvage what is left of that company:

Quote:

General Motors Corp. will get up to $5 billion and Chrysler LLC $500 million in short-term aid, according to a 250-page government report obtained Monday by The Detroit News.

The Detroit News reported Friday that GM would get about $5 billion and Chrysler $500 million, citing an Obama administration official, which prompted a denial from the White House.

The short-term aid figures are disclosed in the report from the Treasury Department’s Inspector General on the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The report was obtained from a congressional source late Monday.

Meanwhile General Motors is is doing its damnedest to rid itself of waste:

General Motors Corp. has started notifying about 1,600 white-collar workers — most of whom work in southeast Michigan — that they will lose their jobs this week as the cash-strapped automaker cuts costs that could help the automaker qualify for up to $16.6 billion in additional federal aid.

The announcement was made by GM North American President Troy Clarke in an e-mail sent to employees today, spokesperson Tom Wilkinson said.

“This is part of really restructuring the company to a smaller, leaner company, one that can, as the (Obama) administration requested, be profitable on an ongoing basis,” Wilkinson said.

While this might be a good thing, there are those out there that believe that this is too little too late:

It’s ironic enough that Italy’s Fiat Auto could end up being the savior for Chrysler. After all, former Chrysler President Bob Lutz once likened Fiat to a dead bride when his old boss, Lee Iacocca, wanted the company to join up with the Italian carmaker. Now, Lutz is at General Motors until he retires in December, and Fiat may help his current employer.

Yes, the Italian carmaker is reportedly in talks with GM about forming a partnership with its European and South American businesses, says Automotive News. How ironic is that? Well, in 2000, GM bought 20% of Fiat Auto for $2.4 billion. Back then, GM was healthy and Fiat was in serious financial trouble. The Italian company was wracked by quality issues. It was so bad that GM actually paid another $2 billion a few years later just to avoid a put option that would have made GM the sole owner of Fiat. GM’s board didn’t want that kind of headache.

But now, after Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has fixed the company, he could help save Chrysler in the U.S. and GM in Europe. GM lost $1.5 billion in the Olde World last year, with its Opel and Vauxhaul brands suffering mightily with too many factories. GM is actually doing very well in Latin America, where the auto giant earned $1.3 billion last year. Fiat is pretty strong there, too, so they could make a powerful pair down there. The only catch is that Fiat doesn’t have any cash either. But the alliances will help be getting each company jointly-engineered vehicles and sharing parts.

The bottom line: Fiat is not a great carmaker by any stretch. But Chrysler and GM are in so much trouble that anyone could help at this point. Even Fiat.

Which brings me to my point; have any of you really looked at your Father?  I have.  I see worry in his eyes.  I see worry in both my parents eyes.  The questions my parents are facing, as they enter into their golden years are unfathomable, for someone my age.  Will my parents lose everything that my father worked hard to obtain?  We are talking 31 years worth of blood, sweat, and tears.  My Father earned every damned last penny.  I dare some idiot beltway type to say otherwise.

I have been a critic of the Obama Administration for much, as of late.  However, I will give him credit for one thing.  The President is looking out my Father.  I just hope he does not throw my Father under the bus, as he has many others in his short time in the White House.

Some of you might look at this posting and call me some sort of a hypocrite.  That is your right as an American.

However, if you could only see my Father’s eyes; you might just might be able to understand.

Is the Obama Administration letting G.M.’s New C.E.O. do it’s dirty work for them?

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Full Disclosure: My Father is a Retired General Motors Worker and U.A.W. Member.

——-

It sure as heck looks that way to me here.

The reason I ask this question is because a new report from CNBC that the new C.E.O. of GM is essentially saying that bankruptcy is the only option:

General Motors’s new chief executive told CNBC that filing for Bankruptcy may be the best option for the struggling automaker.

In a taped interview to be aired tonight on NBC Nightly News, Fritz Henderson said that because of greater demands from the Obama administration to restructure, GM is considering the bankruptcy option. The auto giant previously had ruled out such a move, saying it would discourage people from buying GM cars.

Henderson’s comments came after President Obama bluntly rejected turnaround plans by GM and Chrysler and demanded that both companies make fresh concessions in order to get more federal aid.

Henderson, who was GM’s president and chief operating officer, was named the new CEO after the government forced the resignation of CEO Rick Wagoner on Sunday. GM’s board is also being restructured.

Henderson told reporters that the company would still prefer to restructure outside of court, but the level of support Washington is offering would help the company quickly restructure through bankruptcy.

Henderson says GM  needs to work faster and go deeper to get more concessions from bondholders and the United Auto Workers union. President Obama has demanded that GM come up with a better restructuring plan in 60 days in order to qualify for more government aid.

I find it very interesting that President Obama, instead of doing the dirty deed himself, ousted the CEO of G.M. and basically has let the new G.M. head honcho be his fall guy for basically screwing the bond holders and also the unions. This way, Barry comes off clean. It is a strategy that is quite slick, quite risky; but none the less slick.

The Wall Street Journal has more:

Inside a windowless, ornate room Thursday just across from the Oval Office, President Barack Obama and a group of senior economic advisers began the job of remaking the American automobile industry.

The first order of business: Oust General Motors Corp. Chief Executive Rick Wagoner.

It “wasn’t the hardest decision,” said one government official.

Steven Rattner, a former investment banker who is heading the administration’s auto restructuring; chief economic adviser Lawrence Summers; and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner were among those gathered around the polished wood table of the Roosevelt Room in the White House’s West Wing. They were there to decide under what conditions the government would continue to prop up once-powerful Detroit car companies GM and Chrysler LLC.

In the post-World War II boom, they were at the pinnacle of a quintessentially American industry. At Thursday’s meeting, once the Obama administration concluded the pair were running out of money, their effective dismantling began.

Beyond seeking Mr. Wagoner’s resignation, the officials also gave failing grades to GM and Chrysler for the restructuring plans they submitted to the government Feb. 17. They also set a deadline — one month for Chrysler, two months for GM — after which the government might force a bankruptcy restructuring of both companies and break up two of America’s business icons.

Many of GM’s problems didn’t start during Mr. Wagoner’s term, and most predate the economic downturn that sent car sales slumping, such as union contracts and the costs of paying for retiree health care. GM made a bad situation worse with huge bets on trucks and SUVs that piled up on dealer lots amid soaring gas prices last year.

While I will be the first to tell you, that General Motors has had its own share of issues. What Barack Obama did to G.M. and by proxy to the Union members and Employees of the company; was just flat out cowardly. Instead of forcing General Motors into bankruptcy himself.  Obama is allowing the new head honcho of the company and his Auto Czar; do it for him. This way Obama does not burn through his political capital as quickly and more or less comes out looking like the hero. Of course, President TelePrompter will say that he inherited this mess, and by rights he did. But to pass off the basic executing of a company and it’s people to someone else, is quite the cowardly move in my book.

Hey Barry, If you ever happen to read this; Grow some freaking Gonads,will ya? I mean, come on. If you going to screw the American worker; why not do it yourself? Instead of letting your damned patsies do it for you. Just a thought.

President Barack Obama asks G.M. CEO Rick Wagoner to resign

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Full disclosure: My Father is a Retired G.M. Employee and a member of the United Auto Workers.

I have known about this for a while. I’ve just been waiting for as much info as I could get, before doing a post on it.

Originally Via the Politico:

The Obama administration asked Rick Wagoner, the chairman and CEO of General Motors, to step down and he agreed, a White House official said.

On Monday, President Barack Obama is to unveil his plans for the auto industry, including a response to a request for additional funds by GM and Chrysler. The plan is based on recommendations from the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry, headed by the Treasury Department.

The White House confirmed Wagoner was leaving at the government’s behest after The Associated Press reported his immediate departure, without giving a reason.

General Motors issued a vague statement Sunday night that did not officially confirm Wagoner’s departure.

“We are anticipating an announcement soon from the Administration regarding the restructuring of the U.S. auto industry. We continue to work closely with members of the Task Force and it would not be appropriate for us to speculate on the content of any announcement,” the company said.

The surprise announcement about the classically iconic American corporation is perhaps the most vivid sign yet of the tectonic change in the relationship between business and government in this era of subsidies and bailouts.

Reaction from the Conservative Blogsophere has been predictable negative. Also I have observed via the local media, that some auto workers are not happy about the President asking a C.E.O. to resign.

I have an opinion on this. It is simply this. I want to wait and see what happens. I do not want to pass judgment upon this until I see what is going to happen. This could be a bad thing and then again, it could be a very good thing. I shall, like many from this God-Forsaken part of the Country are playing the wait and see game.

Reaction to this from the Editorial board of the The Detroit Free Press is not a good one:

The risk was there from the start.

The federal money flowing to Detroit to help struggling automakers was always going to come with strings.

But there’s a fine line between holding General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC accountable for a pile of taxpayer cash and inappropriate government efforts to actually run the companies.

President Barack Obama’s Auto Task Force may have crossed that line over the weekend when it reportedly asked for GM Chairman Rick Wagoner’s resignation as part of a plan to get more aid to the struggling automaker.

It’s hard to see how canning the chief executive is far shy of actually running the company. And if that’s the case, if GM’s federal overseers are stepping up their efforts to actually manage GM through its restructuring, this sets an awful precedent, both on general principle and in this particular instance.

The principle at stake says government shouldn’t manage private businesses. GM has a board of directors that, no matter its many mistakes, is accountable for the company’s fate. The government should ensure the board doesn’t squander taxpayer funds, but that doesn’t include selecting the company’s leadership.

It didn’t for banks, mortgage companies or insurance outfits like AIG. Why should GM be treated differently?

Something tells me that there is going to be a huge blow back from this and it might just cost Obama a reelection, should be try and run in 2012.

Additional Coverage:

Blogs:

An Interesting Movie

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I post this because I believe that it is interesting. Alex Jones has always struck me as a kook. Someone amongst the “Tin Foil Hat” crowd. However, it is something interesting to watch.

Enjoy…

What do you think? Do you think that there is any truth to this?

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A New Parody “Barry’s Farm”

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Here’s the Original Song:


Update: It seems that some Fascist Socialist Liberal twit keeps going around getting my video yanked. No biggie, if they yank it. I will find it elsewhere and put it up. This is America and not fascist Germany and I have the RIGHT to express my opinions about the President and his fascist polices. You liberals don’t like it? TOUGH SHIT! 😡

History about the song and concert

New Lyrics:

Barry’s Farm

(Sung to the tune of Maggie’s Farm by Bob Dylan)

Written by Paleo Pat

I ain’t gonna work on Barry’s farm no more.
I ain’t gonna work on Barry’s farm no more.
Well, I wake up in the morning,
Fold my hands and pray that I might keep my gain.
I got a bill full of Taxes
That are drivin’ me insane.
It’s a shame the way he makes me tip the whore.
Naw, I ain’t gonna work on Barry’s farm no more.

I ain’t gonna work under Barry’s Law’s no more.
I ain’t gonna work under Barry’s Law’s no more.
Well, he hands you a Dollar,
Taxes you a dime,
Looks at you with a grin
While robbin’ you fuckin’ Blind,
Then he taxes you every time you open the door.
I ain’t gonna work under Barry’s Laws no more.

I ain’t gonna be a slave for Barry’s Government no more.
No, I ain’t be a Slave for Barry’s Government no more.
Well, he puts a Tax Bill
in your face just for kicks.
His White House
It is made out of Bricks.
The Secret Service stands around his door.
Ah, I ain’t gonna be a slave for Barry’s Government no more.

I ain’t gonna work for Barry’s Bitch no more.
No, I ain’t gonna work for Barry’s Bitch no more.
Well, she talks to all the people
About Equality and Race and Law.
All the while the workin’ people
Are payin’ for other peoples bad calls
She’s a lying thief, but she says her honesty stands tall.
Naw, I ain’t gonna work for Barry’s Bitch no more.

I ain’t gonna work on Barry’s farm no more.
I ain’t gonna work on Barry’s farm no more.
Well, I try my best
To do the best I can,
But everybody wants you
To pay thier bills for them.
They eat steak while you slave and I just get bored.
I ain’t gonna work on Barry’s farm no more.

Another Boneheaded move from the Obama Administration….

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Another smooth move from the Harlem Globetrotter Administration. This time towards Michigan, The Detroit News laments:

President Barack Obama’s proposed cap-and-trade system on greenhouse gas emissions is a giant economic dagger aimed at the nation’s heartland — particularly Michigan. It is a multibillion-dollar tax hike on everything that Michigan does, including making things, driving cars and burning coal.

The president is asking for a system of government limits on carbon emissions. The right to emit carbon would be auctioned off to generate revenue for more government spending programs.

The president’s budget projects receipts totaling $646 billion through 2019 from the sale of these greenhouse gas permits.

The goal, according to the president’s budget outline, is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide to 14 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.

Doing so will drive up the cost of nearly everything and will amount to a major tax increase for American consumers.

Such a tax will hit the Midwest particularly hard, which is why House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, told the New York Times, “let’s just be honest and call it a carbon tax that will increase taxes on all Americans who drive a car, who have a job, who turn on a light switch, pure and simple.”

The carbon tax will be paid by energy companies, manufacturers and public utilities, who will pass the cost on to their consumers. Michigan will be especially targeted. It gets 60 percent of its electric power from coal plants, and the state’s economy is still reliant on heavy manufacturing such as car and truck assembly and auto parts production.

Michigan will lose as carbon tax money is shifted to states with a greater presence of high-tech and service businesses.

The proposed tax would take effect in 2012 and has the very real potential to throw the nation back into recession, if indeed the expected recovery has arrived by then. It’s impossible to raise costs for such basics as manufacturing and energy production by more than half a trillion dollars over a decade and not have the effects felt across the economy.

The nation’s gross domestic product contracted at an annualized rate of 3.8 percent in last year’s fourth quarter — the worst economic record in nearly three decades. Is this really a good time to be talking about a carbon tax? How will such talk impact investment decisions?

Obama promises to use some of the revenues for tax relief for certain workers and some of the rest for subsidies for alternative energy. But that won’t make up for the damage this huge new tax will do to the economy, especially in Michigan.

I would be willing to bet that many people here in Michigan, who voted for the magic moon bat are having a bad case of buyers regret today. This is what happens when you run a Presidential Administration that caters to special interests on the far, far, left and basically tells the rest of the Country to go to hell.

The liberals once made a movie called “Who Killed the Electric Car?” Pretty soon those same Liberals will be making a movie called “Who Killed the Detroit Auto Industry?”

Grim Local News – GM, Chrysler seek more money and will cut more jobs…

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Kind of a depressing local story for me:

Video:

The Story:

Billions of dollars in government loans to prop up General Motors and Chrysler won’t be enough. The companies, which have received $17.4 billion so far, filed plans with the government more than doubling that request to a staggering total of $39 billion.

The requests, made in government-required restructuring plans filed Tuesday, were accompanied by plans for thousands more job cuts, slashing of models and brands, union concessions and the prospect of even further expense cuts.

In a dramatic acknowledgment that conditions in the U.S. auto industry have grown significantly worse in just two months, GM alone said it would cut 47,000 jobs globally by the end of the year — 19 percent of its work force. It also said it would close five more U.S. factories, although it did not identify them.

Chrysler said it will cut 3,000 more jobs and stop producing three vehicle models.

The grim reports came as the United Auto Workers union said it had reached a tentative agreement with GM, Chrysler and Ford Motor Co. on contract changes. Concessions with the union and debt-holders were a condition of the government bailout.

GM said it could need up to $30 billion from the Treasury Department, up from a previous estimate of $18 billion. That includes $13.4 billion the company has already received. The world’s largest automaker said it could run out of money by March without new funds and needs $2 billion next month and another $2.6 billion in April.

“We have a lot of work to do,” General Motors Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said. “We’re still going at this with a great sense of urgency.”

via The Associated Press: GM, Chrysler seek billions more, to cut more jobs.

I think I’ll just refrain from public commentary on this one. There’s family, my family involved here; so, I’m totally biased. I just do not think those Conservatives who opposed this money to these companies really get it. All I am going to say. Anyone that’s read this Blog, or wants to know what I think. Do a search on “Tarp Loans” and you’ll see why I feel the way that  I do.

Breaking Local News – G.M. to offer buyout packages to all union employees.

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This is interesting…:

General Motors Corp. will offer buyouts to all of its hourly employees, a spokesman confirmed Tuesday, as the troubled automaker continues to slash costs.

GM spokesman Tony Sapienza said the buyouts will mainly target GM’s 22,000 retirement-eligible hourly employees, though any union employee can take the offer.

News of the buyouts first broke on Monday. A union official told The Associated Press then that GM would offer $20,000 in cash and a $25,000 car voucher for workers who retire early and those who simply leave the company. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because workers were not yet notified of the packages.

via GM To Offer Buyouts To All Hourly Employees — WDIV Detroit.

Just another sign of the times. For the record, G.M. has done this in the past, when times were bad. Hopefully some of the guys that have been with the company and are about ready to retire will take this buy out. Hopefully, this will help the problem and G.M. will become viable.

Toyota is feeling the pinch too.

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So much for that stupid  Neo-Con line saying that the slump in auto sales is the automakers fault.

Via the New York Times:

TOKYO — Toyota Motor will idle its plants in Japan for 11 days in February and March to reduce output in the face of steeply declining global vehicle sales, the company said Tuesday.

The Japanese auto giant said the suspension would affect production at all 12 of its directly operated domestic plants, which include four vehicle assembly plants and also factories that make transmissions, engines and other parts. The closings are in addition to a three-day shutdown this month at these plants that Toyota had already announced.

The move is unusual for a company that just a few months ago seemed unable to keep up with voracious global demand for its fuel-efficient vehicles. But even strong players like Toyota have failed to escape the drastic slowdown in the global auto industry.

The company said it would idle the plants to reduce stocks of unsold vehicles amid a relentless slide in sales, particularly in the United States, its biggest market. Last month, Toyota’s sales there dropped 37 percent, a larger decline than at its struggling American rivals General Motors and Ford.

Plunging sales and a stronger Japanese yen, which reduces the yen value of overseas profits, forced Toyota to forecast last month its first annual loss in 70 years at its vehicle-making operations.

Toyota did not say how many vehicles would be affected by the suspension announced Tuesday. The company said its four domestic assembly plants produced 1.5 million vehicles in 2007, the most recent year for which the company has figures. Toyota-brand cars are also made by other companies in the Toyota group.

The company had already announced that it would shut down truck production at two United States plants for three months

Its American rivals — General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler — have also idled plants across North America in response to the slowdown.

For once, I am in agreement with a Liberal, and yes, it is the same knuckle-headed liberal that insulted Conservatives. Hey, I am one that praises when it’s due and bitches when it’s due too; At least I’m fair. 😉 😀 😛

Matthew Yglesias Weighs in:

This is the conceptual problem with efforts to “save” the car industry through bailouts or union busting or whatever you like. One assumes demand for cars will get higher than it is right now, but the industry has a whole just has more capacity to build cars than there is demand for new cars. Which is fine. When you look across the developed world and try to take stock of the medium- and long-run problems facing the OECD nations there’s just no way you’re going to reach the conclusion that an automobile shortage is a big concern. But obviously it’s not fine for the companies that make cars. There’s going to be a need for some shrinkage.

Yeah, I know, most likely some of the Conservatives who are basically scraping my blog for content are going to try and deride me as a fake conservative, because I stick up for the middle class and because I happen to be the son of retired General Motors Worker and U.A.W. member. Well, I got two words; screw you and the rest of the asshole Madison Ave. Conservatives. 😡

Anyhow, I happen to agree with Matthew here, I live here in the Detroit Area. If the auto industry dies, so does this area. That will cause my parents to suffer, they need the health insurance, as they are both diabetic and the amount of medications that they take is staggering.  Anyhow, this article above disproves and basically strikes down the “Meme” that was going around in the Conservative Blogosphere that the issues with the auto industry was the fault of the automakers. Which I totally dismissed as abject bullshit of the highest order. It was the fault of President Clinton for putting pressure on the loan companies to give those toxic subprime loans to those who were considered high risk. That is what started this whole thing. Of course, equal blame can be given to the Republican Congress of 2003 for not changing the laws, after all, they were warned by the Bush White House to do something; and they did nothing at all.

Best thing they could do, was have a hearing, of which the CEO of Freddie Mac pulled the race card, and congress backed off. So, all the blaming of the Auto Companies was nothing more than a feeble attempt by the Republicans at scapegoating the wrong damned people.

Here’s hoping that Japan’s auto industry totally collapses and people, both American and otherwise, have to buy American products, for a change!

Funny Video: Sponsor an Executive

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This was sent to me by the smartest Democrat I know………………My Mom.  😀

President Bush authorizes $17.5 Billion Dollars in low interest loans to Automakers

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Better late than ever, I suppose. To listen to some Conservatives talk, the loans are open ended and there’s no accountability. Which is, of course, wrong. Waiting

From The Politico:

President George W. Bush stepped in Friday to keep America’s auto industry afloat, announcing a $17.4 billion bailout for GM and Chrysler, with the terms of the loans requiring that the firms radically restructure and show they can become profitable soon.

"If we were to allow the free market to take its course now, it would almost certainly lead to disorderly bankruptcy," Bush said at the White House, in remarks carried live by the national broadcast networks. "In the midst of a financial crisis and a recession, allowing the U.S. auto industry to collapse is not a responsible course of action. The question is how we can best give it a chance to succeed."

Bush said that "bankruptcy now would lead to a disorderly liquidation of American auto companies."

"My economic advisers believe that such a collapse would deal an unacceptably painful blow to hardworking Americans far beyond the auto industry. It would worsen a weak job market and exacerbate the financial crisis," he said. "It could send our suffering economy into a deeper and longer recession."

The money will come from the Wall Street bailout passed by Congress, a reversal for the White House. President-elect Barack Obama and Democrats had long advocated that course, and Bush had resisted it.

Of the total, $13.4 billion will be paid out in December and January, administration officials told reporters in a briefing. The last $4 billion is contingent on release of the second installment of the Wall Street bailout funds by Congress.

As you can see here, there is accountability, there are conditions on the loans, they are not open ended, and if the auto companies do not get their acts together, the loans will be recalled.

Of course, that is not good enough for some Conservatives like Michelle Malkin, who says that someone should sue the Government over the loans to the Auto industry. Yeah, Michelle, like that will really work. Rolling Eyes  The Party that you are a cheerleader for, is already in the minority, has been driven to the wilderness; because of that beady-eyed bastard in the White House, why not just drive a damned stake through the heart of the party?  I think Michelle needs to seriously look into going to the hospital, because I believe that "Sickness" that she has, is going to her brain. Silly

Yeah, I know, defend Malkin one day and whack her on the ass with a wet towel the next, it’s all about Equal Opportunity around this Blog. TongueWinking

Anyhow, some also believe that this will soften Bush’s image a bit, The Moderate Voice’s Joe Gandelman Notes:

It will help add a positive note to the legacy of Bush who, at best, will be considered a highly flawed President and, at worst, rank as one of the worst in American history. The Republicans in the Senate, acting on ideology, regional politics and anti-union sentiment, had scuttled the bailout — giving the GOP an image once again of a party stuck on ideology.

I agree and I disagree; it might soften his image a bit amongst Independents and some moderate Democrats who did not like that guy, but amongst the hard left, I suspect that President Bush will be the most hated President ever.

Personally, I think Bush did what he felt was right, he put his Party politics aside for a change and did what was right, I commend him for it. I just hope that the auto industry uses this money for the proper purposes and gets their damned act together. Our Government has done the right and proper things, now it is time for the Auto Industry to do theirs. Many people are pessimistic about this; I, on the other hand, try to remain positive about this and hope like bloody hell that G.M. does get their act together. For the sake of the retirees, for the sake of all those who have families that work for those companies, for the sake of all the employees of the local and not so local suppliers and their families.