Money Beat

The US auto companies have only themselves to blame. Poor quality, lousy reliability and overdependence on giant SUVs did them in. Didn't the Japanese teach tem anything? NO BAILOUT!!

I am not surprised that the car manufacturers are close to bankruptcy. The standard of English in most of the comments here is shocking.

What these automakers need much more than cash is to stop making Navigators and Excursions and Yukons and Hummers and Aspens, and start making smaller, more fuel-efficient and alternate-fuel vehicles. Why does Chrysler have an Aspen Hybrid, but not a hybrid PT Cruiser or Sebring? The workers need relief: the execs need to get their heads where the sunlight is and face reality.

ME TOO! I need cash now and I cannot wait till next year.. BAIL ME OUT Ms Pelosi!!!!!

well, lets think about it, 5,000,000 jobs, that are related to the auto industry, 240,000 union workers, how much do these folks make? say $60000 on an avg. thats billions of dollars gone from the us economy. think your 401k sucks now, wait until that happens. if your not affected by the auto industry, some how , friends , family, you have no life. i guess you would rather bailout the few ceo's in the world than the millions. and guess what the ceo's still have their money even if the gov't didnt help them.

They can just move jobs overseas and get cheaper labor.

this is bs. it all started with lending people money who couldn't afford to pay it back and then letting these oil companies run up gas prices. i'm no politician but i can certainly see that the rising gas prices directly affect our economy. gas is a NEEED not a luxury. wake up washington!

Maybe the government should just buy the auto companies and make the cars themselves. Then all tax payers can be given a standard government-issued car every few years.

These are the same automakers who lobbied in cahoots with the oil industry throughout the 90's when they should have been concentrating on improving fuel efficiency instead of selling trucks and SUVs. If there's to be a bailout then there have to be conditions for that bailout. Those conditions would include hiring only American (and perhaps Canadian) workers, a mandate to improve gas mileage across the board of at least 25% over the next 10 years, and a requirement for their corporate executives to cut their salaries at least in half while investing another half in the company. Far too much sacrifice has been given by the average auto worker and far too less by the executives they work for. If these executives are not willing to make the sacrifice then it's obvious they are more interested in themselves than making a sacrifice to save one of America's greatest industries.

I went into debt this year with over 100k in medical expenses, After the heart attack came the stroke of lawsuits for payment. Too tell you the truth it would have been cheaper for my family to just die, Where the hell is my bailout, any help at all? Let the Big three burn and go down in flames , They all practice fraud tactics with selling vehicles from past insurance claims, FORD is the worst with this scam.

Pelosi, Reid, and Obama got a lot of handouts to give. Look even pro-teams are looking to get there sign on bonuses this year so they can avoid obama's tax hike.

We shouldn't be bailing out ANYBODY. You make poor decisions, you lose. That's capitalism and the free market economy. Our government is prolonging the pain of this economic downturn by providing these shady executives with the means to keep receiving their obscenely lucrative paychecks for running their companies into the ground. When you were a kid did you yank your bandages off very quickly and wince a little from the smarting, or did you slowly peel them off, agonizing over the pain of each little hair that got yanked along the way?

Having lived in Detroit for 35 years and worked for the Auto Industry, I can tell you the Industry is a bunch of arrogant, greedy, wasters of all types of resources, not just money. The comparison of them to Wall street is a good one, but not because it's a different industry I have to say the comparison isn't totally fair.
From the inside I saw ineffeciencies and waste that would make the laziest slobs of the world cry. That is what they need to fix. Giving them a handout does not help them, but keeps them complacent in their own condition. This is why Japanese companies are kicking their hindquarters. The Japanese know how to control waste, manage and keep their resources (including their workers! - WITHOUT UNIONS!) and actually want to prevent the same problems from happening over and over again. How many Japanese companies have been bailed out? And if you can tell me they have, the numbers won't be even close.
I think we have to stop the thinking that the "foreign" car companies are criminals that prevent our companies from succeeding, swallow our pride, and start REALLY learning something from them.

I want to point out to all of you that say this does nothing for the American people, what about all the AMERICANS that work for the big three auto makers? Many dealerships are going out of business losing jobs making our economy worse! These companies need help to sustain their business and keep jobs here in America. So those who gloat about buying foreign cars are part of this problem. So much for patriotism.

Posted by: greg b "well, lets think about it, 5,000,000 jobs, that are related to the auto industry, 240,000 union workers, how much do these folks make? say $60000 on an avg. thats billions of dollars gone from the us economy. think your 401k sucks now, wait until that happens."

That is the same old argument industries give whenever they need a tax cut, a bail out, or any other type of government favor. The reality is that yes, jobs will be impacted if the company fails - but other industries will replace those jobs. It might be time to finally admit that as a nation, manufacturing is no longer our strong suit because labor is cheaper elsewhere. Retrain the out-of-work laborers in jobs that are understaffed right now - we're in the midst of a nursing shortage, did you know that? Border Patrol is hiring - and lots of other industries are still strong.

By the way - my 401K is invested mostly in T-bills and bonds so is not impacted by the stock market - if you are still invested in energy or industry, I strongly urge you to cut your losses and invest in something more secure.

Taxes will rise for all, just wait.

My husband just got layed off of his job at a local newspaper. Where's yout bailout?

The three American auto corporate elites will not recive any type of billion dollar bail-out because America is almost bankrupt, and can't afford to continue to make money which is woprthless. America is looking more and more like Nazi Germany, which was run by the National Socialist Democratic Party. The leader of Nazi Germany was a "white God," name Adolph Hitler, and now the name of our American Colored God, is Barrack Hussein Obama. Will America suffer the same fate as WWII Nazi Germany?---High Inflation, worthless currency---leading to World War III?

Howdy
I made all my mortgage payments, but with the economy I am falling behind. Do you have a plan where I could miss a few payments, like about 6 months.
What the h... is Pelosi up to, is this her responsibility???
Somebody fill me in..

CEO's and Upper Management... are the problem, in most major companies, NOT The workers. The Workers are actually doing the work of 3 people while These Corrupt Fat Bloated SOBs Run the company into the ground while giving themselves Bonuses and pay raises.

Disgusting!

Buy American! - Yes, dealerships are going out of business, but the automakers have had centuries to adapt their product line to make a successful product. The airline industry is suffering - they are surviving by forming alliances with each other and international airlines. US automakers received a bailout in the 1970s - they should have learned their lesson then. They did not. It's not the consumer's fault that foreign auto makers market a better product - you can't guilt car buyers into buying an inferior product. Where's the logic in that??

Well, this is what all of these big companies and corporations want, an easy way for them to get more money and profit. Is any one of them caring about if consumer (the general public) can afford their product or not?? Definitely not; so i think until they start working with the consumer (us) with honesty and financial concern, then they will deserve some help.

Buy American! - sorry, my previous post should have said the automakers had "decades" not "centuries" to improve their product line.

American car companies have been devoid of soul since the early seventies and have been run into the ground. American automobiles used to be pieces of art, the products of amazing creativity. They have turned into bland, disposable pieces of crap AND they want us to bail that out?!! I would say they had better come up with an extremely dynamic business plan with severe penalties for the heads if things fall through!

I have no problem with lending the auto manufacturers more dollars provided that the funds are used to re-tool for gas efficient vehicles, only. As for operating costs, the unions are going to have to give a little pertaining to benefits and salaries. A 20% pay cut (across the board) is better than unemployment, and full insurance and lifetime insurance coverage is not a market rate/term any longer. The auto industry was in bed with the oil industry, and look where it got them. When gas prices soared over $4/gallon, car sales slumped. The market for big cars and SUVs is not going to come back, no matter what gas prices drop down to; Americans are too smart for that. Its time the auto industry cut their umbilical cord with oil and stood on their own. I say let the oil industry collapse; let's work with the auto manufacturers, provided the really listen to America's needs, which are not big, expensive gas guzzling tanks.