Hearings 'more hostile than expected,' says Wagoner
Detroit News 3 hours, 40 minutes ago
(Newser)
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Two grueling days of congressional hearings on a bailout for the auto industry were "hostile" and the wait for an answer is "nerve-wracking," General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner told the Detroit News yesterday. GM is ready now to show Congress detailed restructuring plans to convince lawmakers to hand over billions in aid. Legislators are requiring plans from each of the Big Three automakers before they'll agree to a rescue package.
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OPINION
Flip-flop on Detroit shows McCain was right not to pick Romney as running mate
Boston Globe Nov 20, 08 3:43 PM CST
(Newser)
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Mitt Romney is speaking sideways when he talks about Detroit these days, Joan Vennochi writes in the Boston Globe . The man who promised he would “not rest until Michigan is back” in the Republican primary is now urging bankruptcy for Detroit automakers. “If the auto industry could reinvent itself as quickly as Mitt Romney,” Vennochi writes, “it wouldn't need a bailout.”
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Detroit News Nov 20, 08 3:05 PM CST
(Newser)
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After failing to strike a deal today on a possible bailout for the Big Three automakers, Congressional leaders offered the firms one more chance to push for the $25 billion lifeline they've requested, the Detroit News reports. Lawmakers will wait until December and require concrete plans for the money before proceeding. “The best way to proceed is to give them another opportunity to make their case,” Harry Reid said.
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The South is home to eight foreign auto plants and more are on the way
Wall Street Journal Nov 20, 08 8:32 AM CST
(Newser)
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Is Greer, SC, the new Motor City? With execs from the Big Three getting a frosty reception to their efforts to wrest $25 billion from the federal government to stay solvent, the home of BMW’s North American operations—as well as other Southern communities that are home to foreign car factories—could rise as Detroit slips, reports the Wall Street Journal.
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OPINION
Legislators put screws to extra-shiny tin cups
Washington Post Nov 20, 08 7:49 AM CST
(Newser)
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Take three auto execs, add the private jets each took to a Capitol Hill hearing to beg for a federal bailout, and you get a recipe for the heaping helping of humble pie legislators served up, writes Dana Milbank in the Washington Post. "There's a delicious irony in seeing private luxury jets flying into Washington, DC, and people coming off them with tin cups in their hands," said one New York congressman at the disastrous hearing.
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Nissan unveils new 2009 city car
Wired Nov 19, 08 10:22 PM CST
(Newser)
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As embattled US automakers shook their tin cups in Congress, Japan's Nissan unveiled its latest threat to Detroit. The Cube gets more than 30mpg—exact numbers will be out before it hits showrooms next fall—and "is nothing more than a box on wheels," writes Chuck Squatriglia in Wired . Nissan offered a peek at the Los Angeles Auto Show, aiming for the same group of "urban hipsters" who snatched up the Scion XB.
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Bloomberg Nov 19, 08 7:07 PM CST
(Newser)
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The CEOs of Detroit's Big Three automakers left Capitol Hill today with bleak prospects of getting $25 billion in emergency loans, Bloomberg reports. Negotiations continue, especially among lawmakers of automotive states, but Republicans and Democrats are deadlocked over where any such aid should come from. Senate leader Harry Reid canceled a vote on the issue scheduled for tomorrow.
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Plan would repurpose $25B fuel-efficiency carrot already passed
Detroit News Nov 19, 08 1:47 PM CST
(Newser)
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Senate Republicans are crafting legislation that would repurpose an already-approved $25 billion Energy Department initiative to bail out struggling automakers, the Detroit News reports. The plan is at odds with Democratic efforts, which would use money from the $700 billion Wall Street bailout to help Detroit. The Energy money was originally intended to spur an increase in fuel efficiency.
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OPINION
And what the bailout might look like
Washington Post Nov 19, 08 10:14 AM CST
(Newser)
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Barack Obama isn’t in the Oval Office yet, but he’s already passed his first presidential test “with flying colors,” in Steven Pearlstein’s book. With Democrats ready to roll over for the not-so-big three, and Republicans stonewalling, Obama broke the stalemate with just the right bankruptcy-then-bailout. Shareholders, the companies, and unions must be forced to come together to restructure the company. Here’s what that might look like:
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OPINION
Bankruptcy, not bailout, will save the American motor industry
New York Times Nov 19, 08 7:26 AM CST
(Newser)
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If you want to maintain an automotive industry in the US, writes Mitt Romney, giving the Big Three a bailout is the last thing you should do. In an op-ed for the New York Times , the former Massachusetts governor (and Michigan native) says that GM, Chrysler, and Ford need a managed bankruptcy followed by radical restructuring. A bailout will only encourage the industry's worst excesses, and in a few years "you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye."
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Country's carmakers look to Beijing as slowdown puts the brakes on sales
New York Times Nov 19, 08 4:01 AM CST
(Newser)
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China's automakers are looking to emulate a new Detroit invention—a bailout, the New York Times reports. After years of rapid expansion, the industry has been hit by a sudden slowdown as confidence crashes both home and abroad. Executives are now quietly pressing Beijing for a US-style rescue package to boost demand and fund research into greener vehicles.
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ANALYSIS
Clamor over bailout obscures some truths about Big Three
Detroit Free Press Nov 18, 08 2:45 PM CST
(Newser)
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Misconceptions and half-truths abound in the discussion over giving Detroit’s big three carmakers a chunk of federal bailout cash. Mark Phelan, in the Free Press , clears up six myths: Nobody buys GM, Ford or Chrysler anymore. Fact: The three combined sold 8.5 million vehicles domestically last year—GM alone beat Toyota’s sales by 1.2 million. Their cars are unreliable. Fact: Consumer-advocacy groups now rate cars from the Big Three as equally dependable as those from Japanese or European brands.
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