Auto Execs Fly Corporate Jets to D.C., Tin Cups in Hand

[nittanyalum]

The auto company loans were the right thing to do.

They better NOT, however, let Paulson touch one more dime of the TARP money. The other $350M should stay put and be dealt with by the next Congress and administration.

[Honeykiss1974]

Good grief, so GM wants the world to bail them out?

[AGDee]

I had really hoped the credit freeze would ease up, people would start buying cars and the auto industry would rebound. I'm less hopeful about that every day as the economy is tanking further daily. 2 million more people unemployed is going to be really scary. Hang on folks, it's not going to be a fun ride for the next few years.

[epchick]

I don't know if this has been posted somewhere else already, but apparently the White House has asked Wagoner to step down.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/gm_wagoner

General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner will step down immediately at the request of the White House, administration officials said Sunday. The news comes as President Obama prepares to unveil additional restructuring efforts designed to save the domestic auto industry.

The officials asked not to be identified because details of the restructuring plan have not yet been made public. On Monday, Obama is to announce plans to restructure GM and Chrysler LLC in exchange for additional government loans. The companies have been living on $17.4 billion in government aid and have requested $21.6 billion more

[ThetaDancer]

Originally Posted by epchick

I don't know if this has been posted somewhere else already, but apparently the White House has asked Wagoner to step down.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/gm_wagoner

This is so troubling, in my opinion.

[ISUKappa]

Dee, I really appreciate your perspective, especially since you live so close to the situation.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by ISUKappa

Dee, I really appreciate your perspective, especially since you live so close to the situation.

Well, keep in mind that I am biased My dad was a GM man and almost everybody in the city where I grew up worked for GM. When he had to go on disability, he was the head administrator of marketing for the parts division. Since he was always in either marketing or market research for parts (Delco, when it was still Delco), we had some interesting stuff around the house growing up. We had a massive Delco spark plug inflatable pool toy that three or four kids could sit on. We had a fly shooter, like a pop gun almost, but with a fly swatter type circle on the end so you could sit a distance away and shoot a fly on the wall that had Delco on it. Weird marketing stuff..lol.


GM raised me, I owe them my health, my dental care, my college degree, etc. I do have a fierce sense of loyalty. In fact, I admire the loyalty that our parents had to their employers and vice versa. That's lost in my generation. I don't think anybody starts with a company these days and expects to be there until they retire. And, there are few rewards for doing that. You tend to move up the ladder and make more money by changing companies. Then again, the demands put on my dad.. the crazy travel, the hours he worked, etc. greatly exacerbated his heart condition to the point that his cardiologist said "You're never going back to work again". He had his first heart attack while on a business trip to Arizona. Even after that, he would go on crazy 10 day trips to Sidney and Tokyo and back home. He traveled about 75% of the time and when he was home, he worked 60 hour weeks pretty regularly.

It's very hard, it's very depressing around here. Every day you hear about someone else who is laid off in all industries because we are so dependent on the auto industry. It's what we did in Detroit. I don't know anybody who doesn't qualify for the employee discount for one of the Big 3. And, we know it's not done yet. There's a part of me that wants it to just be over.. let's get the cuts done, let them file bankruptcy if that's inevitable at this point, let's get it over with. It's kind of like watching a cancer patient die a slow, painful death and you get to the point where you want it over so you can try to pick up the pieces somehow. And yeah, I want to know if my oil changes and car washes are still going to be free for my new Saturn!

[PiKA2001]

Originally Posted by AGDee

It's very hard, it's very depressing around here. Every day you hear about someone else who is laid off in all industries because we are so dependent on the auto industry. It's what we did in Detroit. I don't know anybody who doesn't qualify for the employee discount for one of the Big 3. And, we know it's not done yet. There's a part of me that wants it to just be over.. let's get the cuts done, let them file bankruptcy if that's inevitable at this point, let's get it over with. It's kind of like watching a cancer patient die a slow, painful death and you get to the point where you want it over so you can try to pick up the pieces somehow. And yeah, I want to know if my oil changes and car washes are still going to be free for my new Saturn!

Thats the problem with SE Michigan, the local Gov should have tried to diversify the local economy by trying to attract new industries decades ago as opposed to just the last few years when it became painfully/FRIGHTFULLY obvious the manufacturing industry was leaving. I doubt they play them in Michigan but out here they have commercials promoting tax cuts for new high-tech/medical orgs to come to Michigan..it's too little, too late in my opinion. It's sad for Detroit, but remember the saying "don't put all your eggs in one basket"? Waaayy too complacent with relying on just one major industry, and now it's biting everyone in the ass there.

[AGDee]

You're right, Pika. It should have happened in the late 70's. I'm actually quite impressed with the efforts that Granholm is making here. She has been working very hard to recruit some new industries, especially on the "green" front. There is a company that makes wind turbines that is starting up here and one that makes the batteries for hybrids, and another that makes solar panels. That's the big push here right now, along with the Life Sciences Corridor. On the the plus side, my department is benefiting much from the sitmulus package as there are lots of funds for research and great opportunities for our primary investigators.

[UGAalum94]

I saw a Michigan tourism ad last night. I don't remember ever seeing one before.

[KSigkid]

Henderson is on Meet the Press this morning if anyone's interested.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by LionInMI

I found this link in my inbox from my Dad before we even read it in the paper this morning -- Mitch Albom, "Hey, you senators: Thanks for nothing": http://www.freep.com/article/2008121...13055/1118/RSS

Well, if you wondered before, this seals it: Mitch Albom is a hack, a mediocre writer with a preternatural talent to swing for the sympathy fences with untamed gusto and a complete lack of shame.

Wow: "America isn't America without an auto industry." Oh. IF ONLY THE SENATORS HAD KNOWN THIS KEY FACT!

[preciousjeni]

Why so much hate toward foreign automakers?

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by KSig RC

Well, if you wondered before, this seals it: Mitch Albom is a hack, a mediocre writer with a preternatural talent to swing for the sympathy fences with untamed gusto and a complete lack of shame.

Wow: "America isn't America without an auto industry." Oh. IF ONLY THE SENATORS HAD KNOWN THIS KEY FACT!

Plus he has plagiarized in the past - which, you know, is the mark of a really honorable journalist.