GM gets its $4 billion, Chrysler still waiting
On Monday, December 29, Chrysler and General Motors were supposed to get the first installments of its allotted funds from the $17.4 billion dollar bridge loans. On Wednesday, GM got it's $4 billion. Chrysler, on the other hand, is still "finalizing the details of our financial assistance." The U.S. Treasury – the body disbursing the funds – didn't have much to say beyond that, either, merely reiterating that it wants to get the deal done within a timeline that satisfies Chrylser's funding needs.
While we wonder what the holdup is, we have no reason to believe that Chrysler won't get its money. It is unlikely that anything has happened in the past three weeks to make the government go "On second thought..." We also wonder how Chrysler plans to meet the next deadline: by February 17, GM and Chrysler need to have submitted plans to demonstrate their long-term viability; on March 31, a putative "car czar" will decide whether those plans are actually worth anything. The idea that Chrysler can demonstrate sound health over the long-term in just 45 days is a head-scratcher, but hey, some folks didn't even think Chrysler would still be here, so that's got to count for something.
[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
meh 11:32AM (1/02/2009)
And in related news, GM head honcho Rick Wagoner announced his resignation today.
This shocking twist came on the heels of Wagoner accepting a $3.5B early retirement package from the GM board of directors.
As he left the GM corporate office, he was heard muttering: "whew! that was close!...."
He then climbed into his prototype V-18 powered Chevy Appalachian SUV, and sped off while exclaiming: "Hahahah! thanks suckers! so long!"
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snp 11:35AM (1/02/2009)
Hey, let's try to get everybody we know to boycott Chrysler goods. They aren't even car enthusiasts anymore. The firm is owned by a hedge fund out to make the most money for themselves. Cerberus is run by some of the most politically influential people in the world. Nardelli sure as hell didn't do great work at home depot. But he's CEO now cause he did his elite investors good. Cerberus will definitely walk out of this with a ton of their invested cash back in their pockets and possibly even a profit. And even if the taxpayers gets paid back, I doubt the employees, dealers, retirees will get anything good out of this. Now finally, the longer Chrysler stays alive pumping out their garbage at discount rates, the more GM/Ford will be hurt and the more the US auto market will have too much supply. I hope all the employees at Chrysler are sending out resumes like crazy. And I hope Tesla/Fisker along with some import firms and possibly Ford/GM can pick up some pieces of Chrysler and salvage some jobs. Chrysler sold over 225,000 RAM pickups from Jan08 to Nov08. Imagine how good Ford/GM would be doing if they were out of the picture. Sometimes you gotta amputate your foot to save the leg. In our case, the US auto would be much stronger if Chrysler would die faster.
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oZ 12:02PM (1/02/2009)
Please go jump off a cliff. Some of us are still rooting for Chrysler.
snp 1:31PM (1/02/2009)
@oZ
Read Jens' post below. To give you a more close up idea of what Cerberus is about and what you support.
On top of that Cerberus is run by former US VP Dan Quayle, Bush's secretary of treasury John Snow, etc. They buy companies and squeeze them for profits. If there's no profits to be squeezed, they hollow out the firm and fatten their pockets, then dump the remains on another firm. That's why you're a fool to support Chrysler, they have no interest to support the american economy, they dont care about the jobs, or the cars produced. They dont care who buys this company off their hands.
If american auto must survive then choose Ford/GM. In this situation, you cant have it all. Chrysler has to go so others can survive. And for 2-3yrs after Chrysler dies off, we'll see new names coming into this industry. Offerings from China, improved electrics from Tesla/Fisker. I want to see what'll become of the Viper/Ram/Jeep brands.
Randy 1:36PM (1/02/2009)
I second that.... Jump
I will forever be a fan of the current Dodge Charger, Chrysler 300 and Dodge Challenger (even though I'm a Ford guy at heart). I have a Charger R/T and am looking now to add a used 300 or another Charger to my stable just because I love the styling so much! The 300 and Charger remind me of late 40s and early 50s Mercury's, which are in my "favorite car" list. So it's the closest I can get!
BUY AMERICAN and STOP SUPPORTING FOREIGN COUNTRIES
Beastage 11:45AM (1/02/2009)
Chrysler are dead... just split them 50/50 with Ford and GM and give their share of the loan to GM
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tragedy 12:30PM (1/02/2009)
Who writes these articles? Third graders? How could you sleep at night with grammar like that? "GM got it's $4 billion." There is no apostraphe in "its" if it's possessive. Oh, and these little quote bubbles aren't funny anymore. Autoblog is just trying too hard.
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jv2k 12:43PM (1/02/2009)
Take the pole out of your ass. This isn't a term paper.
happy_penguin 7:20PM (1/02/2009)
But it is supposed to be written by a professional writer.
However, the tone of this comment could use a bit of work.
jens 12:31PM (1/02/2009)
Chrysler should not receive a penny. They were doomed the moment they were bought by Cerberus.
Cerberus will do to Chrysler what it did to Mervyns (retail chain here in California) last year. Mervyns was a stable profitable business when first taken over by Cerberus. Cerberus execs quietly channeled over $400 million in cash out of the company, sold all the land that the stores sat on to its friends - only to lease the stores back and sticking Mervyns with a $8million rental bill to lease land that it once owned.
Long story short, the deal gave Cerberus hundreds of millions in cash, its exec received huge bonuses, Mervyns went into bankruptcy providing Cerberus a huge accounting loss and an obscenely large tax saving. Cerberus got its big payday, its friend got the valuable commercial real estate, its CREDITORS GOT STUCK WITH THE BILLS. Worst of all, 14,000 people were suddenly unemployed just before last Christmas.
Unfortunately, I can see this scenario being repeated with Chrysler. Cerberus has no intention to keep Chrysler running. Its probably too late to save the jobs but at least lets not get suckered into sticking more cash into Cerberus' pockets before their inevitable killing of Chrysler.
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Iridium 2:57PM (1/02/2009)
Love that picture. You can just see the scum they are made of.
Those three guys should be forced to line up for target practice. Every GM/Ford/Chrysler employee gets to take a shot.
Those guys couldn't run the only lemonade stand in town on a 100 degree day. They would be very good at hiding losses from the lemonade stand in the limeade business though. Give inside information to rich investors so they could make a killing selling the stock short.
You could put a 6 year old in charge of GM and they would have done a better job.
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big L 3:08PM (1/02/2009)
Balloons are too funny. Chrysler needs to look in mirror for the money.
Cerberus is triple-loaded.......
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JB 1:07PM (1/02/2009)
Three heads on Mt. Flushmore (taxpayer money down the drain!)
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Tagg 11:47AM (1/03/2009)
How much tax payer money has Mullaly flushed?
mark 12:27PM (1/06/2009)
SNP, Jens, You two are members of the mediea, right? Thats the only reason I can see for you to continue spewing this moronic, doomsday Nonsense. Only the Media profits by selling the "end of the world" scenario, as that causes more idiots to read the garbage they report, in a self perpetuating cycle of Doom and Gloom. LOL, I love it when people like you contnually quote "sources" without disclaiming who they are or what their qualifications are to even HAVE a quotable opinion.
Chrysler sold so many trucks,, because to those who actally DID the research, the Ram IS THE BETTER TRUCK! OOoooh! didn't do any yourselves did you?
New product releases from Chrysler in 09 NEW Ram truck, more power, better economy best in class warranty and design....Road and Track, Jan 09, Dodge Journey, Best in class safety and convenience, with class median economy, Car and Driver, Oct 08, Challenger, award winning design, widest range of power availability, ...ummm, ( means More choices)American MuscleCar Dec 08,
Aspen and Durango Hybrid, Best in class value, median economy, best warranty
Aol evaluation of 9 hybrids 3 days ago!
Again, Your biases are Showing!
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mark 1:13PM (1/08/2009)
SNP one question. How much Tesla/Fisker stock do you own?
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