Back at the beginning of March, GM and its camp supporters were touting the fact that they could go all the way ’til April without a fresh infusion of federal funds—sorry, “loans.” See? Things aren’t as bad as they seem, GM CEO Fritz Henderson pronounced. Cuts are paying dividends already! Deeper, faster, oh baby! Yes, well, as we said at the time, bullshit. The actual reason for GM’s small push away from the bailout buffet: GM’s outgoing CEO had sucked a cool half a billion dollars from The General’s Canadian subsidiary. And now it turns out that current CEO Fritz Henderson’s prediction that GM would need “between $2 and $4 billion” to get it to June 1 misled taxpayers by a billion dollars. “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.” Are we really at the point where the left hand doesn’t know what the other left hand is doing? Where a billion dollars can get lost in the back of GM’s proverbial couch? I don’t know if it’s ridiculous or frightening. I’m thinking both.
a billion plus or minus… it really doesn’t seem to interest anyone anymore. Government just printing money… and over the next years we will have to pay huge tax or de-value our currency because someone will have to pay for all that.
If TTAC had a $13-15 Billion monthly budget/revenue/overhead and the Banks and the Feds were dipping into their Sugar Bowls to help you make up the $1-2 Billion in cash burn shortfall you might suffer each month, why Hell Yeah a Billion or two might get lost in between the couch cushions sometimes.
I’m not sayin’…I’m just sayin’.
The title of this blockbuster Hollywood hit says it all.
This one’s for you GM:
http://www.amazon.com/I-Spit-Your-Grave-Millennium/dp/B0002CHIJW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1240283933&sr=1-1
NO one is mentioning the Warrantee Commitment program. $1.5 billion to be paid by the feds says the Detroit news link. They say its in the case of bankruptcy now? Treasury is backing off from this plan it seems. Anybody else notice that the Treasury website doesn’t link anymore to the 3/30/09 Obama announcement of the Warrantee Commitment Program, but if you search the domain you can find the pdf. Seems like something is amiss. (or the Treasury has a crappy website). I can’t get Chrysler or Treasury officials to comment on that new program. Just a snippet and copy of that original pdf announcing it.
Face it Washington, keeping them afloat is pointless, most people (average income of 40K) cannot afford to buy a new car, if the average transaction price is 27K, especially not when the economy is in the pits and the car market had been fueled by easy credit. The car bubble burst too… Got to kill these companies (and get Obama out of the car making business).
@lawstud – Nail – head – hit.
“Face it Washington, most people (average income of 40K) cannot afford to buy a new car, if the average transaction price is 27K”
Please, you who are in control of the nations purse strings and media (both in the US and UK), stop saying the current situation results from a lack of consumer confidence when it is clear that it is the lack of disposable wealth that is stopping people purchasing (and thereby continuing to help the economy to tank), it is NOT just a lack of frikkin consumer confidence!!!!
Rastus hit the nail on the head, not only with the title of the film he suggested, but with the films that Amazon recommended, which include, “Irreversible.”
Rastus, you deserve a cigar. Can we get those from Cuba, yet?
If the PTFOA had a plan to put GM into CH11, why this?
Does anyone honestly believe that GM won’t need another $1B around May 12?
guyincognito
Just to keep the lights on.
The UAW payoff will continue.
UAW lobbies Obama to back workers
http://www.freep.com/article/20090420/BUSINESS01/90420068/1014/BUSINESS01/UAW+lobbies+Obama+to+back+workers
On Sunday I visited the Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac and GMC dealer where I bought my ’08 Vibe in January ’08. I would say that he has about half the cars that were there in ’08. And this is going into the spring selling season.
He hasn’t moved his ’09 Vibes. I counted 7 on the lot. He had no GMC Canyons at all. He had two G3s with sicker prices of over $17,000.00.
GM simply is not getting the cash flow coming in it did last year and is spiraling ever downward on all the bailout and bankruptcy talk.
Curious-I’m not experienced in these matters, but is it possible to get drunk enough to pay 17k for a G3 and still be able to sign the paperwork?
Bunter
Bunter: I’m sure they’re desperate enought that you just need to be able to put an “X” somewhere in the general vicinity of the dotted line and the turd is yours.
petrolhead-maybe GM needs to “invest” some Obamabucks in some serious liquid refreshments at the dealerships. More than a few partiers have woke up in the morning and found that they brought home something regretable.
;^D
Bunter