General Motors is BANKRUPT!

**Danny** · June-01-09, 09:46 AM

Well folks, General Motors is BROKE! However the U.S Government officially owns 60% of the company and 20% from the U.A.W. More plants will be closed, several plants will be idle for the summer. Over 1100 dealerships will be close and several car brands like Saturn to Hummer will be defunct! This is sad day for Detroit and a victory from the Japanese and Europeans like the have beaten the Americans.

They probably having a party in their offices right about now.

**tetsua** · June-01-09, 10:39 AM

I think the sad thing about this for a Detroiter, is that we saw this day coming for a few years now. GM was simply too big, and not viable in that state. Hopefully it will be restructured, and have a better business model.

Buy American · June-01-09, 11:45 AM

This is to all consumers who purchased foreign automobiles.....

WHAT YOU DRIVE, DRIVES AMERICA!
OUT OF A JOB YET? KEEP BUYING FOREIGN.

If those words never meant a thing to any of you before I'll bet you're feeling the heat now.

Too bad that when it came time to purchase a new car, the perceived notion that "foreign is better" lead citizens to buy foreign instead of supporting an American industry, whether it be Chrysler, Ford OR GM.

What a terrible shame that it has come to this for the Country and especially for Detroit and Michigan.

**Dan** · June-01-09, 11:57 AM

I drive a Honda, it blows away my last car, a Mazda, I mean Ford Probe.

I bought my Honda because the price was right, and it was the safest car in its class, not to mention it gets 30 mpg, and it had rave reviews across the board. At almost 200,000 miles, it’s a work horse, and I have yet to have any major problems [[knock on wood). It is a great automobile.

If in 2000, when I bought my car, GM had a car with all those qualities I would have purchased a GM car, but that was not the case. [[That said my next car will be American made, either Ford or GM).

You cannot blame the consumer, GM has been out of touch with a large section of the market for years. Blame the leadership at GM for the mess they/we are in.

If GM still made the EV-1 they would be selling like hot cakes right now.

**mjs** · June-01-09, 11:58 AM

I'm looking at the Focus, Cobalt, Civic, and Corolla. Buy American, the only one thats not American made is the Focus. If Focus or Cobalt were on their third generation hybrid, rather than Civic, I'd buy one of those. If I want to buy what has the most profit for my American owned employer, I should buy the Corolla.

**Johnnny5** · June-01-09, 12:11 PM

Dozens of my friends and neighbors support their families by working for one of the Big 3 or their suppliers . I can count on one hand the number of people I know who builds, designs or is otherwise employed by Honda, Kia or Toyota. Everyone is entitled to make their own choices, but I would feel pretty low pulling into my driveway in a Toyota while my neighbor is packing a moving truck in search of work

**Dan** · June-01-09, 12:19 PM

I agree, I don't feel very good about driving a Honda these days, but I am not in a position to buy a new car yet. In the next year or two, I will, and as I said above I will buy an American car, but the writing has been on the wall for 30 years.

GM and their lobbyists bullied and bought their way into this situation, and they have never own up to their mistakes or their bad strategy, its always someone else fault [[the media, the Japs, consumers like me, the government for having "unfair" fuel standards, etc).

I love Detroit, and I am proud of our history. I hope the changes we are seeing will change the industry to ensure its survival.

**Det_ard** · June-01-09, 12:31 PM

Originally Posted by Johnnny5

Dozens of my friends and neighbors support their families by working for one of the Big 3 or their suppliers . I can count on one hand the number of people I know who builds, designs or is otherwise employed by Honda, Kia or Toyota. Everyone is entitled to make their own choices, but I would feel pretty low pulling into my driveway in a Toyota while my neighbor is packing a moving truck in search of work

Same here, but I also feel pretty disgusted being told to buy a car from two companies largely owned by the government and the UAW. Guess it's Ford for me.

**East Detroit** · June-01-09, 12:43 PM

Originally Posted by mjs

I'm looking at the Focus, Cobalt, Civic, and Corolla. Buy American, the only one thats not American made is the Focus. If Focus or Cobalt were on their third generation hybrid, rather than Civic, I'd buy one of those. If I want to buy what has the most profit for my American owned employer, I should buy the Corolla.

The Ford Focus is made in Metro Detroit.

$

The Ford Focus is engineered in Metro Detroit.

$$

Ford Motor Company's world headquarters is in Metro Detroit.

$$$

**mjs** · June-01-09, 12:54 PM

I'll probably get the Focus because of what Johnny5 says, but I hate knowing the final decision came down to guilt for something that isn't my fault and that that guilt is going to cost me $2500 extra for my second choice. Will my neighbors pay for that with the jobs they've kept? As for the suppliers, they also supply the foreign companies so count again.

**mjs** · June-01-09, 12:57 PM

Originally Posted by East Detroit

The Ford Focus is made in Metro Detroit.

$

The Ford Focus is engineered in Metro Detroit.

$$

Ford Motor Company's world headquarters is in Metro Detroit.

$$$

I got it mixed up with the Fusion I was considering, which is made with the Milan and MKZ in Hermosillo. I feel a little better now.

**exdetroiter** · June-01-09, 01:02 PM

Originally Posted by mjs

I'm looking at the Focus, Cobalt, Civic, and Corolla. Buy American, the only one thats not American made is the Focus. If Focus or Cobalt were on their third generation hybrid, rather than Civic, I'd buy one of those. If I want to buy what has the most profit for my American owned employer, I should buy the Corolla.

After this Bankrupcty shakes and trickles down, you will be checking into the Malibu Hybrid.

**exdetroiter** · June-01-09, 01:44 PM

Whenever people travel out of Michigan, we typically don't see as many American made automobiles as we see here, but every state will feel this bankruptcy in one shape, form or fashion.

GM-dependent Tennessee town left to uncertain fate

**mjs** · June-01-09, 01:48 PM

I already looked. The Malibu Hybrid gets the same mpg as the Cobalt and at that price, I could have a similar equipped Cobalt and a $10,000 upgrade to my kitchen or family room.

**Mikeg** · June-01-09, 02:33 PM

Interesting take by Robert Reich on what he thinks President Obama's main goal is for investing taxpayer money in the GM bailout and bankruptcy:

......it seems doubtful that taxpayers will even be repaid our $60bn. But getting repaid cannot be the main goal of the bail-out. Presumably, the reason is to serve some larger public purpose. But the goal is not obvious.

It cannot be to preserve GM jobs, because the US Treasury has signalled GM must slim to get the cash. It plans to shut half-a-dozen factories and sack at least 20,000 more workers. It has already culled its dealership network. The purpose cannot be to create a new, lean, debt-free company that might one day turn a profit. That is what the private sector is supposed to achieve on its own and what a reorganisation under bankruptcy would do. Nor is the purpose of the bail-out to create a new generation of fuel-efficient cars. Congress has already given carmakers money to do this. Besides, the Treasury has said it has no interest in being an active investor or telling the industry what cars to make.

The only practical purpose I can imagine for the bail-out is to slow the decline of GM to create enough time for its workers, suppliers, dealers and communities to adjust to its eventual demise. Yet if this is the goal, surely there are better ways to allocate $60bn than to buy GM? The funds would be better spent helping the Midwest diversify away from cars. Cash could be used to retrain car workers, giving them extended unemployment insurance as they retrain.

But US politicians dare not talk openly about industrial adjustment because the public does not want to hear about it. A strong constituency wants to preserve jobs and communities as they are, regardless of the public cost. Another equally powerful group wants to let markets work their will, regardless of the short-term social costs. Polls show most Americans are against bailing out GM, but if their own jobs were at stake I am sure they would have a different view.

So the Obama administration is, in effect, paying $60bn to buy off both constituencies. It is telling the first group that jobs and communities dependent on GM will be better preserved because of the bail-out, and the second that taxpayers and creditors will be rewarded by it. But it is not telling anyone the complete truth: GM will disappear, eventually. . . .

Read his full opinion piece in the Financial Times [[registration required).

**turkeycall** · June-01-09, 04:46 PM

Quote: "I also feel pretty disgusted being told to buy a car from two companies largely owned by the government and the UAW. "

I cannot speak to the issue of Chrysler ownership. However, the UAW is not an owner of General Motors. The VEBA, a negotiated health care trust fund for the General Motors hourly retirees, has a stake in General Motors. It is really not much different than a pension fund having shares of a company - any company - in its portfolio. That should - but probably won't - clear up any misunderstanding about UAW ownership of General Motors.

As far as government ownership, it's your tax dollars at work. YOU own a portion of General Motors. Now, contact your Representitive or Senator if you have a problem with that.

**Cincinnati_Kid** · June-01-09, 05:00 PM

Good post ^^

**R8RBOB** · June-01-09, 07:55 PM

Originally Posted by Danny

Well folks, General Motors is BROKE! However the U.S Government officially owns 60% of the company and 20% from the U.A.W. More plants will be closed, several plants will be idle for the summer. Over 1100 dealerships will be close and several car brands like Saturn to Hummer will be defunct! This is sad day for Detroit and a victory from the Japanese and Europeans like the have beaten the Americans.

They probably having a party in their offices right about now.

What you should have said was the old General Motors was BROKEN. Sure they were bleeding through money but they were broken from the hub and it expanded to the plants, to the dealers and finally to the comsumer.

GM's fall from the penhouse to the basement has been in the works for years. We as Americans could not believe a corporation such as GM could collapse. The warning signs were everywhere but GM didn't believe it would fall and we believed GM.

As for the government owning GM, well it was either that or liquidation.

**Det_ard** · June-01-09, 08:44 PM

Originally Posted by turkeycall

Quote: "I also feel pretty disgusted being told to buy a car from two companies largely owned by the government and the UAW. "

I cannot speak to the issue of Chrysler ownership. However, the UAW is not an owner of General Motors. The VEBA, a negotiated health care trust fund for the General Motors hourly retirees, has a stake in General Motors. It is really not much different than a pension fund having shares of a company - any company - in its portfolio. That should - but probably won't - clear up any misunderstanding about UAW ownership of General Motors.

As far as government ownership, it's your tax dollars at work. YOU own a portion of General Motors. Now, contact your Representitive or Senator if you have a problem with that.

I understand the technicalities of GM's new ownership. On a practical level it's clear however that the government and the union will have a very large voice in GM's future decision-making. Why was GM forced to commit to another small car plant in the US without first establishing that it's needed? If Opel is capacitized for 200,000 units at a plant in Germany and their market only needs 150,000, GM can't make another 50,000 in Germany and ship them to the US to sell. Due to UAW and government meddling GM must build a small car plant in the US and run it at whatever paltry utilization the market dictates instead of using the excess [[free) capacity in Germany.

The company is already being run to benefit the UAW and further Obama's political agenda.

**DetroitArmy** · June-01-09, 08:51 PM

http://www.gmreinvention.com/

www.DetroitArmy.com

**mwilbert** · June-01-09, 10:28 PM

I think that GM committed to a new small car plant for two reasons:

1) The US wants this as a fig leaf for giving them more money.
2) Chances are that they will need it with the mileage standards getting bumped up.

Assuming Opel even has any connection to GM once the the bankruptcies are done is questionable--as far as I can see they aren't going to be related by ownership. And there is a reason GM hasn't imported a significant number of Opels in the recent past--they are too expensive for the US market. Maybe if the dollar climbs a lot against the Euro, but otherwise I don't think so.

Blarf · June-01-09, 10:31 PM

Originally Posted by Buy American

This is to all consumers who purchased foreign automobiles.....

WHAT YOU DRIVE, DRIVES AMERICA!
OUT OF A JOB YET? KEEP BUYING FOREIGN.

If those words never meant a thing to any of you before I'll bet you're feeling the heat now.

Too bad that when it came time to purchase a new car, the perceived notion that "foreign is better" lead citizens to buy foreign instead of supporting an American industry, whether it be Chrysler, Ford OR GM.

What a terrible shame that it has come to this for the Country and especially for Detroit and Michigan.

Where is your TV made? DVD player? Cell phone? Common house hold appliances? Dishes?

Oh yeah, out of the job yet? Keep buying foreign.

**MikeM** · June-01-09, 10:49 PM

Originally Posted by Buy American

This is to all consumers who purchased foreign automobiles.....

WHAT YOU DRIVE, DRIVES AMERICA!
OUT OF A JOB YET? KEEP BUYING FOREIGN.

Even Gettlefinger admonishes his membership about this rant, reminding them that many are simply foreign name-plate autos built by Americans in America. He hates those bumper stickers.

lilpup · June-01-09, 11:33 PM

Originally Posted by Blarf

Where is your TV made? DVD player? Cell phone? Common house hold appliances? Dishes?

Oh yeah, out of the job yet? Keep buying foreign.

If Steve Jobs and Apple are such effin' geniuses, why can't they find a cost-effective way to assemble iPods and their other products in the US using US labor?

**reddog289** · June-02-09, 12:00 AM

I got the biz on another thread about the purchase of a U.S. built Toyota vs a Korean built Chevy.I got to thinking the bottom line of GM benefits form a Korean built Chevy. Yet if a US built Toyota benefits Toyotas bottom line and there workers. No matter how reliable either vehicle is. If I were presented with that choice and had to buy a new vehicle.I would say Ok to a Ford!!