This really is a “gut wrencher” for several reasons. The federal government should not be in the car business as a matter of course. I could certainly support an exception for a real war time emergency to redirect production to military vehicles or factory retooling to address a true national emergency – but poor management by GM and Chrysler could have been better dealt with by no government intervention and allowing the consumer to dictate which automobiles will be supported in this country. While the initial impact would have been severe, the long term outcome would have been a leaner automotive manufacturing entity that produced cars and trucks that people really want as would be evidenced by what “get’s sold”…

As it is, we are being force fed a product that represents a small segment of the American people who will always embrace the “politically correct” agenda and trust the government to take care of them. I am not at all opposed to energy efficient automobiles but I would like to choose without the government providing me “several choices” none of which I want. As most on this site, I remember being able to choose between a 140 cubic inch Ford Falcon or a dual-quad Mercury Marauder. If you want a hybrid Toyota, great – I may want a different car that does a “bit more” – like haul a 7,000 trailer or my (heaven forbid) four of five kids in relative comfort and safety.

Steven Rattner is probably a criminal. He’s not yet been indicted, but as of March 10th, per New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, he (Rattner), “remains under investigation in his office's long probe of the former New York State Comptroller, Alan Hevesi.” What made Rattner even remotely qualified to decide on the ultimate fate of General Motors and Chrysler defies logic and his calculations that show GM bringing money back to the American people are just not correct.

Barron’s Magazine, which has pimped GM as the “hot IPO of 2010,” agrees that taxpayers will not come out ahead, i.e., “Even if the debt rallies, bondholders will fare the worst, reflecting the restructuring of GM by the Obama administration that favored the union over bondholders despite their similar legal claims. The union is also apt to do better than taxpayers, based on its sweet deal.”

The same Barron’s report cites a JP Morgan analyst’s “aggressive” valuation of GM at $63 billion, with $50 billion given as a more conservative valuation. Considering GM was functionally worth nothing prior to the bailout, and was revived to the tune of about $50 billion (not counting GMAC, retooling loans, etc..) the $50 billion valuation is probably closer to reality.

The Chrysler dealers in general, were hosed – plain and simple. It will be interesting to see if the current arbitration efforts will result in any of them being able to stay open - might be hard after a year of being beat to death and shunned by their corporate headquarters.

I rarely put any faith in Snope’s after they have been outed as a left-leading husband/wife team with little to no real research capability. I’m far more inclined to go with the Wall Street Journal’s opinion (right wing it may be, but with one of the best records for reporting truth) than anything Snope’s may say.

Check out this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thR-lVuztIY&NR=1

Passionate posts concerning the manner in which the government of this country is destroying the automobile industry has nothing to do with what one eats – it is a reflection of what one believes and is willing to stand up for.

Thanks, Richard, et al, for sharing your passion and expressing your opinion. Last time I checked, that was still okay in America.

Just my 2 cents
Glenn