NOTE: Any and all comments concerning the Jeff Bridges / Hyundai topic have been excerpted from JeffBridges.com
Jmuskus@huffingtonpost.com | HuffPost Reporting
GM Bankruptcy:
Best Bet For The Taxpayers’ Investment?
Could Jeff Bridges have made a difference ?
Could Jeff Bridges STILL save the day by disavowing Hyundai ?
Detroit couldn’t be allowed to collapse. It was one of the very few things the Obama transition team and the outgoing Bush administration agreed on in December and January.
“I believe our government should provide short-term assistance to the auto industry to avoid a collapse, while holding the companies accountable and protecting taxpayer interests,” then president-elect Barack Obama said in December, shortly before a bid to help bail out the sinking car companies stalled in the Senate. A week later, Bush’s Treasury Department granted General Motors. and Chrysler $17.4 billion in emergency loans. GM wrangled another $2 billion from Obama in April.
Now that both companies have filed for bankruptcy, will the taxpayer lose out on that gamble? The government has agreed to invest another $30 billion in GM and $8 billion in Chrysler during and after their restructuring. Would the better move have been the one conservatives were calling for, just to let the companies go in December?
Given the far-ranging economic impact of any closures in the auto industry, most experts answered no. Or, at least, not exactly.
Money & Business
FlowChart: Behind the Business Decisons That Affect You
How To Tell If You Should Buy an American Car
June 01, 2009 04:57 AM ET | Rick Newman | Permanent Link | Print
America’s bankrupt automakers have an unusual pitchman: President Obama. “If you are considering buying a car, I hope it will be an American car,” Obama said earlier this year. That might sound patriotic, but Obama has an ulterior motive. The government now owns a big chunk of General Motors and Chrysler, so it wants to make sure the struggling automakers move the metal.
It’s not a desperate plea. Even as GM has tumbled into bankruptcy, its products have improved and now include a few of the industry’s top-rated vehicles. Chrysler’s product lineup is still weak, but all-American designs like the Dodge Charger and Jeep Wrangler have a kind of timeless appeal–and might suddenly be cheap. Ford’s cars are getting better, too, and as the only American automaker that’s not on the government dole, it may be the obvious choice for buyers who want to buy from a U.S. company without risking trouble. Some Americans who have shunned domestic cars may even want to help out the home team. Here’s how to decide whether to go domestic:
The rest of the story…
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/flowchart/2009/06/01/how-to-tell-if-you-should-buy-an-american-car.html