Detroit's Delusion

Why isnt anyone addressing the Trade Deficit?
Stop the imports!

NO Bailout! I think the best thing for them is to reorganize under Chapter 11 bankruptcy and break the death grip of the unions. American car autoworkers are vastly overpaid compared to other autoworkers in this country. This cost is either passed on in the price of the car or they have to cut corners to make it... resulting in an unreliable car with poor resale value. Sound familiar?

Let them fail....I despise modern American cars, have done so all my life. Oh, they were good until about 1957, but after that....all downhill. The Japanese, Germans and Italians have wiped the floor with them for 3 generations of cars. Let them fail - and good riddance. I HATE their ****** trucks masquerading as cars, so that I , who drive an ordinary car, can;t see over their **** ugly noses at traffic light intersections. Good riddance to disgusting rubbish. And may the unions rot in hell - a union aimed at maintaining salaries in line with other production is one thing - but I am amazed that you crazy Yanks have sponsored Raw Unadulterated Communism in your Capitalist back yard !

You are buying a new car and deciding between 2 blue sedans. The one that costs $27,000 has all-wheel-drive and will go 100,000 but will need the following repairs done in that time (many under warranty): a new transmission, a new radiator, a new wiper switch; new computer; new fuel injectors and the oil pan gasket replaced twice. The blue sedan that costs one costs $26,000 does not have all-wheel-drive and it will go 100,000 miles and need no repairs at all. Which sedan is the Dodge Avenger and which is the Honda Accord?

Where do some of you get your facts? What do you honestly think a UAW worker makes? What lucrative contracts are you talking about? Those are long gone. Retirees are no longer getting their benefits covered by the Big 3. They are being taken careof for their many, many years of service, by the UAW. Seems like people are jealous, that there are still companies that are loyal to their long time employees.
I wonder how many of you know that most foreign imports are subsidized. That's right for years Japan intervened in the currency market to keep the yen weak. (Estimates of the impact of this subsidy generally range from $3,000 to $14,000 per car.) This is like Uncle Sam helping one of the Big 3, by paying for the sunroof, alloy wheels, remote start and premium stereo on your American made car! Another little known fact... the foreign transplants that build in the south are subsidized by the their government and then they get HUGE tax breaks from these southern states with no state or local taxes paid for sometimes up to 10 years! They get the land for free or for such a minimal price that General Motors, Ford and Chrysler could only dream about. How can the Big 3 compete on such an uneven playing field?
And, for "tumbleweed97" hate to break the news to you, but if the Big 3 fail, there won't be a door number 3 to open! Everyone, including YOU, could be on the unemployement line!!!! This could be the next great DEPRESSION!!!

It is very sad that so many people aren't for the LOAN. Yes, it is a loan. Too many people are only worried about themselves. They don't understand the big picture. I am a school teacher with a master's degree, as well as a proud card carrying union member. Unions do not ruin America. They are what protect the middle class jobs and give workers a voice. It is easy for some to say don't lend them the money, but those are the people that don't realize how catastrophic it would be to our country's economy. For every one American autoworker, there are 10 additional non-related jobs attached to it. These can be accountants, secretaries, printers, truck drivers, railroad crew members, restaurant employees, etc. We are all connected in the food chain of jobs!!! How could we afford to have that many people unemployed? The US manufacturing jobs are the backbone of our country. If we let them fail, we will all fall. .GM alone employs more Americans than all foreign automakers combined. Ford employs as many Americans in just one of its plants as Hyundai and VW together employ nationwide. There have been estimates that a collapse of the American Car Companies would cost up to 3 million Americans their jobs and devastate the economy in terms of social security, taxes and transfer payments, a loss of $60 billion in the first year alone by the U.S. Government. Don't forget these companies pay a lot of local, state and federal taxes, which go for schools, roads etc. Without them, be ready to pay higher taxes to recoup this loss. This is truly a crisis that will touch everyone! These companies, unlike their foreign competitors, have always been there for America in time of crisis - 911, Katrina etc. Not it is our turn to help them out.

Do any of us deserve a mortgage LOAN on our homes? It's not about deserving money. It's a loan. To be paid back. With interest. Does Citibank DESERVE it's BAILOUT?? Not to be repaid, no interest earned? I'm so sick of hearing the media and American people not supporting an industry that drives (literally) so many other industries that make this country what we are. Do you think if Nissan were going down that Japan would just sit back and watch? Probably not....they'd probably do what they can to help them survive. Because Nissan is Japan. Just as the Big 3 are the US.

How many people sitting in Congress drive American cars? If they don't, they shouldn't get to vote on whether or not this country survives. Also, the millions of jobs that will be lost if the Big 3 go down...well, Congress, those are millions of re-election votes you may not get....think about this decision long and hard before you just write the Big 3 off as a lost cause. Give them the money, take the millions in interest you will "earn" off of the loan. Let this country survive.

I see alot of people blaming the big 3 for building trucks and suv's in defiance of the rest of the world and that's what got them in this situation. Have you ever wondered how GM was the leading seller in the WORLD without ine car in the top 5 in sales. It's because we were all buying trucks and suv's instead of cars. The japanese had no choice but to focus on fuel efficient cars, they had no chance in competing with the US in truck and suv sales. Also, who is going to make a truck big enough for contractors to tow their equipment (Tundra doesn't count only towes 10k)? What is going to keep the Japanese auto industry from mutualy raising prices now that there is no competition in the US auto market (German cars don't count already twice as expensive)