GM-Chrysler: A Lemon Of A Deal

comment; I don't think its good for our government to give the money to GM to buy chrysler, if our government would give them the money then it tells me that our government is so stupid. That would make my mind up to move overseas. i wouldn't want to live in a country that a government cares if you live or not. I work at chrysler and i have given 110 % on my job. we have won two awards two years back to back. And now they say that GM wants to buy us. when Cerberus bought us they knew of the gas prices , why didn't they think and start making smaller cars to compete with the others. I know why, its because on trucks and suvs its more money in there pockets . Bigger bucks. now the ceo's and the other big boys have lined there pockets with cash and now they want to run.. what about us working people that helped them fill there pockets.. Doesn't anyone care about us....?????????? AND NOW WHAT WILL OUR GOVERNMENT DO ???????? Does our government care??????? We will see....

comment; I don't think its good for our government to give the money to GM to buy chrysler, if our government would give them the money then it tells me that our government is so stupid. That would make my mind up to move overseas. i wouldn't want to live in a country that a government cares if you live or not. I work at chrysler and i have given 110 % on my job. we have won two awards two years back to back. And now they say that GM wants to buy us. when Cerberus bought us they knew of the gas prices , why didn't they think and start making smaller cars to compete with the others. I know why, its because on trucks and suvs its more money in there pockets . Bigger bucks. now the ceo's and the other big boys have lined there pockets with cash and now they want to run.. what about us working people that helped them fill there pockets.. Doesn't anyone care about us....?????????? AND NOW WHAT WILL OUR GOVERNMENT DO ???????? Does our government care??????? We will see....

I don't see a future for Detroit in the U.S.. They should just hang it up here, and continue their more profitable overseas business. Maybe they can keep a couple of plants open here, in case some day they come up with some winning designs and can import them here from overseas, doing final assembly here to avoid the "chicken" tax. They have fallen way too far behind here to catch up. By the time the GM Volt comes out, there will be three competitors that outperform it for less money. The U.S. passed laws many years ago that will keep GM, Ford and Chrysler from ever being competitive on a worldwide basis if they continue manufacturing in the U.S.. Better cut it short and stem the flow of blood now, before they sink it completely.

Keith, if what the editors kept in the article is what you really think, then I must say you're quite shortsighted. This merger at the times of an economic downturn is the best time to acquire additional assets since they're underpriced. The merger will possibly create the biggest world automaker that could really rival Toyota.

As to too many SUVs, etc., if common management is inserted, then doubling models could be cancelled out and put out of production. As to credit crunch that everyone seems to believe in, there not any. Good projects gets financed anyway and the money is readily available with the government support of banks.

You also seem to forget that German Daimler keeps a stake at Chrysler and can use its good credit history with Deutschebank and Hypo to provide the cash, if needed. Europe is in much healthier financial state than the U.S. right now.

In addition to the positive effect and more jobs for the American market, the merger is also good for Tier 1 through Tier 3 suppliers. Both the car manufacturer and its suppliers will feel the economies of scale.

As to the economic downturn, it will last two years and will revitalize the economy by cleaning itself out of the weak and unhealthy. The fittest will survive. Don't forget that economic downturns are cyclical and happen every so often.

Best regards,

Alexandre Povolotski
apovolotski@aim.com

Hey ! here's a novel idea...Why don't a GREEN ENERGY company BAIL THEM OUT...then they could produce the EV-1 , the Volt, and TRUE HYBRIDS (HHO ,NG or LP and Electric ).
If GM and Chrysler could produce vehicles for the WORLD market ,made in the U.S.A. , PRICED for the middle class and rising middle class of the world, and , ECO FRIENDLY. They would not only be saved but would FLOURISH !

Hey! here's a novel idea ....Why don' the GREEN ENERGY companies..BAIL THEM OUT!....and MAKE them produce the EV-! ( again), Volt, and TRUE hybrids..(NG or HHO/Elect.)!
If GM and Chrysler can put it in gear (no pun intended) and start to produce vehicles in the U.S.A. that can be sold on the WORLD market, that are ECO FRIENDLY and PRICED for middle class and rising middle class people of the WORLD, they not only would survive ; but, they would flourish!

PLEASE google Toyota engine sludge if I hear another idiot say Honda Toyota blah blah blah I want to suck on a barrel. Last I checked only one maker has a Lifetime warranty and they are local. Chrysler just said they have 3 electric cars, one will be here next year, and I bet not one of you import lovers will bother to buy one because of some lame reason you have to dream up. The great ship America is floundering and all Keith Naughton can come up is the same old drivel that the media throws up any time they over eat at the import bar. Your father would be ashamed.

PLEASE google toyota engine sludge if I hear one more Toyota Honda blah blah blah blah I'll go suck on a barrel,and I think one stupid company has the guts to offer a lifetime warranty???? this ship is sinking and all Keith Naughton is scream from the bridge how great import are. What a rube.

This supposed merger would have its plus and minuses. In the long run though it would be one of the worst blunders in automobile history. It would be different if Dodge was shedding away from Chrysler and was attaching itself to GM. Then GM would have a real muscle-bound car company on its side. And for those of you who blame this financial blunder on McCain...OPEN YOUR EYES. Its everyone, Democrats pushed mortgages on those who couldn't afford them (Obama was one of them); Republicans pushed for more lax lending laws (McCain was one of them); all these banking and lending companies gave loans to anyone who had a heartbeat; oh yeah...there are also the idiots in America who think they need 500k to 1 million dollar homes right out of college, then the max out on half a dozen credit cards, and then they can't pay anything. So before you point fingers, find the facts. This whole statement comes from a 17 year old, high schools senior. So if I can get all that on my own... the rest of America should follow suit.

This supposed merger would have its plus and minuses. In the long run though it would be one of the worst blunders in automobile history. It would be different if Dodge was shedding away from Chrysler and was attaching itself to GM. Then GM would have a real muscle-bound car company on its side. And for those of you who blame this financial blunder on McCain...OPEN YOUR EYES. Its everyone, Democrats pushed mortgages on those who couldn't afford them (Obama was one of them); Republicans pushed for more lax lending laws (McCain was one of them); all these banking and lending companies gave loans to anyone who had a heartbeat; oh yeah...there are also the idiots in America who think they need 500k to 1 million dollar homes right out of college, then the max out on half a dozen credit cards, and then they can't pay anything. So before you point fingers, find the facts. This whole statement comes from a 17 year old, high schools senior. So if I can get all that on my own... the rest of America should follow suit.

I own a GM car and the quality of it is great. If GM and Chrysler merged I would have to think twice about buying a GM car because of Chrysler's very poor reputation for quality. I would not want to buy a GM-Chrysler blend. GM could get more for its money by starting an operation "from scratch" than whatever GM would get by buying Chrysler. Here is the proof. Go to a used car lot. Look a the prices of comperable Ford, GM and Chrysler products. The prices of the Ford and GM products will be similar while the Chrysler product will be much less. Remember, quality is enjoyed long after price is forgotten.

The Big Three become the Big Two and then I'm sure Ford will be found dead on the road and have to become part of the Big One. So much for competition giving us more choices and lower prices. This is all the fault of McCain and the repugnant ones for voting down every mileage efficiency increase since the last gas shortage in the 70's. It was McCain that voted for the accelerated tax depreciation of SUV's to help keep Detroit from facing the reality to build smaller more fuel efficient cars and hybrids or CNG cars. Now Detroit has to come begging us taxpayers for a $25 billion bailout because they would not face reality back when it could have mattered.

The problem with these two auto makers is quality. If we want to compete in the global car market we need to build higher quality goods. Why is Toyota/Lexus out performing us? Quality! You pay a little more up front for a Toyota but you save a lot of money over the life of the car because it costs less in repairs and the vehicle can go many more miles before you have to replace it.

Don't we already have an oligopoly on our hands in the car industry?? I think there is more competition in the oil industry than there is in the car industry, and I think it's pretty obvious we have price fixing going on there already. The worst thing that happens in an oligopolistic or monopolistic market is the lack of incentive for innovation (alternative fuels) and a sluggishly slow response to consumer demand (fuel economy). I realize I am taking a relatively high-level view of this, but how would this not be a violation of the anti-trust laws?

This same sort of merger happened before; in 1968. It was the combining of British Motor Corporation and Triumph-Leyland that created the huge albatross called British-Leyland. Anyone who is interested in cars knows all too well what happened within a few years when the British government had to nationalize the company in 1975 to keep it from sinking, although it ultimately did thirty years later in 2005 (called MG-Rover by then) with a meager .02% of the market. Perhaps we can take this example and learn what a stupid idea it is!!