Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Detroit Three clownwatch: They present their "plans"
The CEOs pf the Detroit Three automakers conveyed themselves to Washington by various means, this time brandishing their plans for restructuring if only the government will give them the billions they say they need to avoid Chapter 11. If the press accounts are accurate, these plans amount to nothing more than pie-crust promises. Promising to sell assets into a non-existent M&A market is not a strategy.
Anyway, here's my question: Why did it take Nancy Pelosi -- are you kidding me? -- to tell these guys that they needed a plan to save their companies? Why haven't they been working on it -- never mind executing it -- for months, years, and decades? Any plan to restructure General Motors that was not available two weeks ago but is now simply cannot be worth the paper it is written on. Is there no better evidence that the managements of the Detroit Three need to go than this?
3 Comments:
By 
Assistant Village Idiot, at
Tue Dec 02, 08:46:00 PM:
Their old plans involved making and selling things. They weren't that effective at it, but at least it's honorable. The new plans now include asking for other people's money. $25B. You could buy every family in America a $15K car for that.
By 
, at
Wed Dec 03, 09:55:00 AM:
The plans WILL be instructive in that they will demonstrate that the UAW will be asked to contribute only on a minimal level. The auto makers would love nothing more that a process that would let them step aside and have the UAW "negotiate" with Congress.
By , at
Thu Dec 04, 06:17:00 PM:
Re the prior post. If you assume 100 million US familes, $25B gets you $250.
Still, I'm sure every American family could find something to do with $250 ... and I would expect the $25B ... which has already been raised is only a downpayment on a Big Three bailout.
