Interesting. General Motors bondholders have rejected a company plan to swap 10 percent of the company’s stock for $27 billion in unsecured debt; now GM is all but a lock for bankruptcy.
GM actually could have sweetened the deal and offered bondholders 29 percent of the company stock, after the UAW said it would take 20 […]

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And here we just bought a Toyota:
Toyota is suspending production at all 12 of its Japan plants for 11 days over February and March, a stoppage of unprecedented scale for the nation’s top automaker as it grapples with shrinking global demand.
I understand the precipitous drop in demand for American cars - especially when consumers consider […]

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It’s happening, Bush to announce this morning that GM and Chrysler will get a total of $17.4 billion to keep on keeping on:
Under the terms of the plan, if the companies can’t demonstrate financial viability by March 31 the loans will be called and the money must be returned, the statement said.
Dunno exactly what that […]

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Might be the first time I’ve ever agreed with Dick Cheney:

That was the message Vice President Dick Cheney brought to a closed-door Senate GOP lunch Wednesday, reportedly warning that it’ll be “Herbert Hoover” time if aid to the industry was rejected, according to a senator familiar with the remarks.
I’m telling you, this is how it’s […]

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I owned a Saturn for nearly 15 years. Good car - with maybe no future:
General Motors hasn’t officially announced the end of Saturn, but in a restructuring plan submitted to Congress, the automaker said it would concentrate resources on four core brands — Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC.
That leaves Saturn, along with GM’s Pontiac, Saab […]

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With an eye on the astounding job-loss figures released today - 533,000 jobs cut in November, the biggest number since 1974 - I’m with John Cole:
When I see numbers like that, it really wipes away all the reservations I have about the auto bailout. I dont like it, and probably think they will p*ss away […]

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Because the auto industry, see, shouldn’t have to worry about fuel economy. According to conservatives.

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So, the general assumption seems to be that we should let Detriot hang. No bailout - let the automakers declare Chapter 11 and reorganize, free of the onerous UAW contracts and everything else.
But what if, in this case, bankruptcy doesn’t mean Chapter 11?:
In order to seek so-called Chapter 11 status, a distressed company must find […]

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Hm. Got an e-mail last night from a guy I know who apparently works for an auto dealer, who forwarded along this missive in favor of a bailout for Detroit.
No comment on this, right now. Make up your own minds:
I have been proud to work for GM for the last 18 years. You will also […]

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