Litigators use yes/no questions to focus witness testimony and prevent dodging, weaving and long-winded evasiveness. Here are 20 direct questions for Wagoner, Mulally and Nardelli. No doubt TTAC’s Best and Brightest have their own questions which they would like to have answered under oath.
1. Did you bring with you complete and current financial statements, including a balance sheet and financial projections?
2. Are all these financial statements and projections submitted to this committee also available to US taxpayers?
3. Have your financial statements and projections been shared with the UAW?
4. Have they been given to any of your bondholders?
5. Are your financial projections based on the “worst case” scenario?
6. Do you have other models/scenarios for financial projections? For example, is there a best case scenario?
7. Have you provided us with a written statement of all the assumptions you relied on in preparing the financial projections?
8. Did outside consultants/advisors assist in the preparation of your financial projections?
9. Based on the balance sheet presented to us, do your liabilities exceed your assets?
10. Have you spent more than $1 million in 2008 lobbying Congress for financial aid? More than $10 million? More than $20 million?
11. Have you had discussions with your largest bondholders about forgoing interest and principal payments until any taxpayer loan is repaid?
12. Have you asked any bondholders to convert their unsecured debt into common shares?
13. Have any bondholders agreed to convert their debt into common shares?
14. Have any of your bondholders formed a negotiating committee?
15. Do you intend to renegotiate your current labor agreements with the UAW?
16. Do you intend to reduce your dealer network?
17. Have you retained investment bankers to assist you in selling any assets?
18. Do you have collateral to secure repayment of any loan made by US taxpayers?
19. Do you personally have an employment agreement?
20. If your employment is terminated, are you entitled to a severance payment?
Wagoner is too smart to really answer these questions. Same response to be expected as for the privat jet last time: long silence.
21. In the event of a bankruptcy, will the severance agreement still be effect?
22. Are there monies set aside in any bankruptcy remote fund/financial vehicle to pay severance?
23. Is the amount you’re asking for today the final amount? If not, what is the total amount?
Mr. Wagoner, for a long time your market share has been declining by a percent per year and is now down to only 20%. Is your viability plan still viable if that trend continues?
The public asking of ten, five or even two of the above questions would indicate a reasoned, intelligent pre-loan inquiry.
Which this ain’t.
24. Mr Nardelli, why should the taxpayers loan money to a private company owned by a hedge fund?
25. Mr. Wagoner, your plan does not include any specific products passed the 2011 model year. What is your product replacement schedule for current products, and which product do you intend to end production of?
26. Mr. Mulally, if these 2 bozos go bankrupt, which suppliers do we need to loan money to so they and you don’t go bk also?
As a Congressman, I would also demand to personally see the state of design for each of the future products mentioned in these reports. I don’t care if the car is still in sketch form with an approved list of attributes, I want to see that the words in the documents aren’t total bullshit. If Chrysler really has 24 new products coming – prove it and show me! If GM really has 15 new hybrid vehicles coming, name them and give me their intro dates. Let me drive the prototypes. Ford’s EV sedan and van – show me! if they are coming in 2011, I should be able to drive the mule and see the finished clay design.
Mr. Mulally, why should the taxpayers loan money to a company that is for intents and purposes owned and controlled by one family?
Mr. Nardelli: Your company is owned by a hedge fund which is one of the wealthiest organizations in the world. Why isn’t your owner fronting the bridge loans you require?
Great thoughts!
But….A tad bit late! The great American heist has already taken place!!! Anything more is just the frosting on the cake!!!!
Cheese and rice, if they actually asked them all these questions it would be, well, almost as honest as getting my first mortgage.
Anyway,
27. assuming that this is just the first round of requests and that you’ll be back to ask for more several times, can you guarantee that 50 billion each is the absolute maximum you’ll need to become profitable again.
(hope this isn’t a double post)
Mr. Nardelli, why isn’t someone from Cerebrus here to answer questions why Chrysler’s owner would rather use taxpayer money instead of its own to shore up Chrysler?
Great comments all, but we’re all going to be treated to another round of Kabuki theater tomorrow.
Good times.
Gentlemen, instead of talking about the cuts you will make if taxpayers give you money, why haven’t you made them already? This includes the UAW. If you are really serious about saving your company, these seem prudent steps to take regardless. Why only now do you come up with these ideas? What other ideas have you not yet come up with? If you have come up with new ideas in two weeks, why won’t you have even better ideas in January?
EJ_San_Fran :
December 3rd, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Mr. Wagoner, for a long time your market share has been declining by a percent per year and is now down to only 20%. Is your viability plan still viable if that trend continues?
Actually, the plan is not viable if the trend continues. GM admits so much. Its own plan assumes that it will even have a market share growth of 0,5% in the next two years. LOL