“Even as Detroit’s Big Three teeter on collapse,” The Detroit News [finally] concedes. “United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger said Saturday that workers will not make any more concessions and that getting the automakers back on their feet means figuring out a way to turn around the slumping economy. ‘The focus has to be on the economy as a whole as opposed to a UAW contract,” Gettelfinger told reporters on a conference call, noting the labor costs now make up 8 percent to 10 percent of the cost of a vehicle. “‘We have made dramatic, dramatic changes and the UAW was applauded for that.'” And speaking of applause, GM CEO Rick Wagoner ought to give Big Ron a big hand; the UAW boss is towing the party line on the Motown meltdown. “”We’re here not because of what the auto industry has done,” Ronny G said. “We’re here because of what has happened to the economy.” But wait! More high fives to follow. Gettelfinger dismissed any talk of a GM (Ford or Chrysler) Chapter 11 with a Wagoneresque “Would you buy a car from a bankrupt automaker?”

We’ve already reported that the White House isn’t keen on Democratic plans for a Motown bailout. As Automotive News [sub] reminds us, George W. doesn’t want the dems to appropriate the $700b appropriation earmarked for bailing out America’s financial system. As an alternative, the Prez signaled Pelso, Reid & Co. that he’s OK with the idea of “diverting” some of the Department of Energy’s $25b no to low-interest retooling loan program to bailout Chrysler, Ford and GM. Only the Democrats do not, I repeat DO NOT, want to be seen to be watering-down their commitment to encouraging forcing The Big 2.8 to build fuel-efficient vehicles. So… Nancy Pelosi told the press today that the U.S. automobile manufacturers need to restructure “to ensure their long-term economic viability.” Huh? Sorry, I got distracted. I mean, WTF does she mean by “restructure” and do we really want a politician deciding how Motown goes about it business? Right. OK. Nancy is digging-in, sticking with her TARP usurpation strategy. Here’s the money shot [via Bloomberg]:

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According to Canada’s Financial Post, Toyota and and Honda are freaking-out about the potential failure of Detroit’s three car companies. “We’re very concerned” about a Detroit meltdown, ToMoCo spokesman Mike Goss told the Post. “In the past couple of days I’ve been asked ‘Wouldn’t it be great for Toyota if others fail?’ We think the opposite is true.” Toyota is concerned about a Motown meltdown’s catastrophic effect on its NA supplier base; “The vehicles Toyota builds in North America contain an average of 75% domestically sourced parts and systems, and Toyota is reliant on many of the same suppliers used by GM, Ford Motor Co. or Chrysler LLC. The Japanese automakers are working to identify which suppliers have the biggest exposure to the Detroit firms. They are also developing emergency plans in the event they need to replace a company providing them with parts. “Everything’s on the table about what we might have to do,” Mr. Goss said. Meanwhile, the industry shills at the Center for Automotive Research seized on the comments to predict, you guessed it, carmageddon…

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Political analysts are having a field day with this bailout business. Do Democrats want the multi-billion dollar automakers’ rescue pack to fail along partisan lines, so they can blame the fall-out on Diego the Republicans– before there are no Republicans left to blame? Are the Republicans stonewalling the bailout because they’re against the bailout on principle, or because they don’t think it will work, or so they can blame the Democratically-controlled Congress? Or even, God forbid, the lame duck President? (Praise be to GM for dropping Washington into the legislative soup between regimes.) I don’t pretend to know what’s in the hearts of our elected representatives, assuming that this vital organ even exists within their cash-padded chest cavities. Anyway, the AP reports that White House “Spokeswoman Dana Perino says the Democratic proposal [to tap into the existing Wall Street bailout fund] would lead to partisan gridlock because the $700 billion rescue package was never intended to help automakers and shouldn’t be now. For that reason, she told The Associated Press that the White House is now actively asking Congress to accelerate loans it first approved in September.” WTF?

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My colleague is hard at work debunking a GM-funded poll. It’s the latest weapon girding The General’s belt as it bolsters its claim on bailout billions. As several of TTAC’s Best and Brightest have already pointed-out, Motown’s strategy in this bailout push has been an enormous mistake. By publicly lobbying for taxpayers’ funds– without a concomittant PR campaign explaining their survival strategy– The General and the not-so-dynamic duo are advertising their incipient insolvency. In other words, if GM CEO Rick Wagoner’s right and “no one buys a car from a bankrupt car maker,” isn’t it also true, Mr. Wagoner, that only a slightly larger percentage of American consumer will buy a car from a carmaker that’s ABOUT to go bankrupt? To wit: “Do you believe that America’s automakers will face bankruptcy without government loans?” the Peter Hart poll asks. Sixty percent say yes, 22 percent say no and 18 percent don’t know. So 78 percent of respondents have a damn good reason NOT to buy an American automakers’ products. So why NOT file Chapter 11?

I can’t remember the last time Automotive News [sub] unleashed an email alert for an editorial. Hell, I can’t remember the first time they did it. As in this is it: the first time. You see how stunned I am? Well, no prizes for guessing which side of the bailout issue Crain’s boys fall. They unleash the argument that’s become the de facto Detroit defense: a bailout sucks, but not bailing out Motown sucks even more. They fucked-up but YOU will suffer. So YOU should pay. NOW. BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE! Hysteria and hyperbole? You don’t know the half of it. Well, not yet anyway…