Ford Motor

Now that Bob Lutz advocates the gov'ts "auto task force" I think that Ford is the last vestige of hope for American car companies. I certainly hope the "auto task force" keeps its hands off of Ford Motor. Ford did it alone and does not need to be messed with. I tried so hard to stick with GM (have had five new GM vehicles) but I am sick of all the shenanigans. I'm not saying I won't buy another GM, but it must be designed here and manufactured here in the U.S. We do not need the government dictating what vehicles should be built.

GM - 4

An important point. A small percentage of bondholders (I think 10%) hold Credit Default Swaps (Derivatives) & I think they will make more money if GM goes bankrupt than if GM is reorganized out of court. I think this is one of the problems with the bondholders and the out of court settlement. It only takes 10% of bondholders to accept or reject an offer. We are talking about an extremely important decision about GM, a huge American corporation, and it could be made because of unregulated CDS.

GM - 3

U.S. workers (both union and salaried) are needed to keep General Motors an American company. GM's management must use ways to keep and employ these U.S. workers. There are financial wizards that can calculate the most complicated formulas, therefore they should be able to figure ways of not only keeping, but employing more workers here in the U.S. when times are better.

It is absolutely imperative that GM does this in order for them to keep American pride and be proud of its heritage.

ALSO, it is of extreme importance to have a manufacturing base here in the U.S. From design to production, auto manufacturing is an extremely complex process. It involves many complicated facets, from rigid engineering to the finest production facilities. America desperately needs this and it is a necessity for a strong nation.

GM - 2

GM needs to employ more workers here in the U.S. The white collar and blue collar workers have diminished too much.

Once GM is back on its feet, and producing more vehicles again, it must hire workers from the U.S. This outsourcing is not good for the reputation of GM. And many jobs can be created here when new vehicles come out and are selling.

GM is an American company because of its workers and labor force. This is the reason that some (maybe many) purchase a vehicle from them. It must be understood that to relegate jobs from the U.S. to foreign countries, has a negative effect.

Yes GM can make an excellent product, and yes they are struggling for their corporate life, but without U.S. labor, it is not the same GM we once knew.

GM -

GM should do a complete makeover in the styling of its vehicles. More angles and edges and less of the jelly bean roundness.

This doesn't mean GM doesn't have nice looking cars, and vehicles. It's just that all vehicles look the same today. There isn't much delineation between different makes. All look like they came out of the same mold.

If GM were to start sharpening up their vehicles shapes, it probably would boost sales. Having the same look as other makes, isn't going to win sales. A radical change in design will win sales.

And if GM's sales increase, they could employ more citizens here in the U.S.

GM And Other Possible Failures

If GM were to go bankrupt (forbid) there is a lot at stake. Not only will the private sector lose, but I think medium to big banks may have a problem.

I think GM has 30 billion dollars in loans with these banks, and this obviously would cause more banking problems.

That 30 billion dollars could be used as part of the $48 billion the U.S. Government could loan GM (as mentioned in a previous article).

The ramifications of GM's pains is obvious to other sectors of the economy.

Saving GM

The U.S. Government should loan GM 48 billion dollars! Since their inception, the Japanese and South Korean governments have protected their industries and particularly their car industry. It is now time for the U.S. gov't to help out our car industry.

This loan by the U.S. gov't should be supplemented with another assist mentioned in a previous article. (That is if someone purchases a vehicle from GM, Ford or Chrysler, they should receive a 20% rebate of that vehicle's MSRP from the U.S. gov't).

Japanese and South Korean Governments have put up barriers to imported automobiles. This not only helped their auto industry to flourish, but the U.S. allowed practically all the cars they could manufacture into this country. A modest tariff of 5% should be put on all Japanese and South Korean automobiles, including their autos made here in the U.S.

It is imperative that these steps be taken to aid these U.S. companies, otherwise there may be little left. And the thought of an upstart auto company is unrealistic. Car manufacturing is far too complicated and is done on a massive scale. It would take far more money than suggested above to start an automobile company from scratch.

Revitalizing GM

The U.S. Government has to do something about GM and Chrysler. For these two industries to go down, would be a mockery of our capitalist system. I propose that the U.S. Government offer 20% rebates on the MSRP of a purchase of any vehicle from GM, Ford, and Chrysler. In other words, if a consumer buys a GM vehicle with an MSRP of $20,000.00 they would receive a $4,000.00 check from the U.S. Government.

I think this could save the companies aforementioned from collapsing during this treacherous recession. The stakes are too high. This is not favoritism. It is survival.

The Japanese and South Korean governments practically do not allow imported vehicles into their country. This is not globalism. The U.S. is by far the most global Democratic country in the world. We take every other countries goods and there is not reciprocation on their part.

Finally, Toyota had a bad year too. I think the Bank of Japan is loaning them a billion dollars. Just what we should do, in a more creative way to stimulate GM, Ford, and Chrysler sales.