Fitting Irony: Detroit Mayor Bing's own auto supply company hurting and on the block?
No one is allowed to escape the grinding maw of Detroit's woes -- not even Detroit Piston extraordinaire and hometown mayor Dave Bing. The mayor owns an automotive supplier called The Bing Group that provides stamped parts for carmakers. The recession has put the company on such slippery footing that it told GM it couldn't provide any more parts, and it's looking to sell itself.As part of assuming the position of mayor, Bing stepped away from the day-to-day operations of the company by creating a blind trust. Or at least, he was supposed to -- Bing remains the registered agent for the company, and that makes him the first person the state would go to for information on the firm, which suggests that he should know something about how its currently run.
Regardless, Bing is still considering whether to sell and will decide early next year. GM has told the company that as a condition of GM's bankruptcy its suppliers are compelled to keep sending parts even if GM didn't pay them, but that didn't appear to take into account the supplier nearly going bankrupt without that money. In the interim, GM is moving toward paying its suppliers on a weekly basis, which should help The Bing Group (and others). Yet in spite of the talked-about economic rebound, Detroit still hurts.
[Source: Detroit News | Image Credit: Dave Hogg via CC2.0]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
paul34 7:15PM (10/18/2009)
Will the city of Detroit still exist five years from now?
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TigerMil 7:27PM (10/18/2009)
Yes....it is just as viable as Flint, MI.
Venom 7:52PM (10/18/2009)
Detroit will still exist down the road.
As a resident of Michigan and someone who has lived all over the world, it is a shame how Detroit and Michigan are wasted.
I own several properties around the state including one on a golf course and Michigan's golf courses are some of the best I have ever seen.
In addition to Charlevoix and Petoskey, the state has water on 3 sides which is rare and beautiful and even though the winter's suck, they are not terrible and the summers are nice.
What is holding Detroit back is the government, especially the City Council in Detroit.
If they could get rid of all of those guys and get real good people in there, they could really make something of the place.
Another thing that really hurt Detroit is the lack of proper public transportation. If they could get good bus lines and trains etc, that would really help in bringing corporations and talented individuals to the area.
I myself considered moving but now I am looking at a bigger house in Rochester Hills. The house prices are just so cheap now for what you get it is ridiculous. With the money I save, I could take off every month and go somewhere else for a trip or vacation.
ebleyes 8:22PM (10/18/2009)
Detroit and Michigan will prosper again hopefully, people keep forgetting that the Midwest's most valuable asset is water.
Patapon 11:35PM (10/18/2009)
"Another thing that really hurt Detroit is the lack of proper public transportation."
Do you think the Detroit 3 lobby may have something to do with that?
patrick 7:35PM (10/18/2009)
WTF!!!
"GM has told the company that as a condition of GM's bankruptcy its suppliers are compelled to keep sending parts even if GM didn't pay them,"
That makes no damn sense.
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Smegley 7:44PM (10/18/2009)
Patrick, that kind of crap only makes sense to the government. Just wait till they tell the doctors that they have to continue to provide health services even if Uncle Sam doesn't pay them (much).
It's called slavery, and when the government is involved, that is what we get. Just another reason I refuse to buy any GM or Chrysler product, even if they have some I find interesting. This behavior on behalf of government must be forced into failure asap.
Santosh Tiwari 12:24AM (10/19/2009)
I am all for GM and am a big supporter. But, I absolutely do not agree with this clause. The suppliers also have employees and therefore they also need to get paid.
In a typical car, roughly 30~35% value is added by the automaker (GM, Ford et al.) and remaining almost 70% value addition is by their suppliers and contractors and their suppliers and contractors and so on...
As much as I support bailing out GM, I would want to see a fair and equitable distribution.
FitFan 6:44AM (10/19/2009)
Smegley, Rush would be proud.
CaptPugwash 12:06PM (10/19/2009)
My thoughts exactly.
How can GM say we want protection from all the people we owe money to, and then demand those same companies that have just been stiffed to continue to send product?
Aznauto 7:24PM (10/18/2009)
It puzzles me why the Big 3 continue staying in detroit. Ford and GM are always welcome to move their HQ to the automotive capital of the world "Shanghai"
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daleam 5:35PM (10/19/2009)
STFU dumbass.
TigerMil 7:26PM (10/18/2009)
Hmm..how does that work?! As a condition of GM's bankruptcy its suppliers must continue to send parts even if they're not getting paid? The bankruptcy court can stop or permit GM to stop paying for parts, but it can't force delivery! Theoretically GM could have obtained agreement from suppliers but force, not so much.
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ChrisHS2000 8:46PM (10/18/2009)
So how is this "fitting" irony? Dave Bing became a politician about a year ago, he had nothing to do with the collapse of Detroit or the state...
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FitFan 6:40AM (10/19/2009)
I also fail to see any irony in this story.
joannchat 2:28AM (10/19/2009)
The collapse of Detroit occurred when the auto companies moved to the suburbs many years ago.
The collapse of the auto companies occurred because they pandered to stockholders eager for inflated earnings on a quarterly basis. This is operating without a vision to the future.
More profits should have returned to R&D and to retool factories. Big 3 engineers would have developed wonderful innovations (even a fuel-efficient SUV?) that could have kept American auto companies #1 worldwide.
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TigerMil 3:31AM (10/19/2009)
You fail to reflect the ruinous impact of labor negotiations/extortions over the last 40 years. When one party in the extortion (labor) can hold one company hostage to the profits of the other two, the hostage company WILL settle. The point is that the UAW would strike GM and allow Ford and Chrysler to continue to operate (and their employees to continue to pay union dues to support the GM strike) until GM caved and agreed to a 'pattern' settlement/contract. Four years later the UAW did the same thing to Ford vice GM/Chrysler. And so forth.
This was/is clearly advantageous to labor since the companies could not collude to shut out/force all the UAW to strike.
By the same token, no one activity or event can reasonably be argued to have resulted in the collapse of Detroit. Not even the institutional racism and eventual desegregation/integration and current corrupt administration that is Detroit can be blamed for it's failure as a city.
Luso 7:12AM (10/19/2009)
Detroit automotive industry suffered (and suffers) from "Bigger is Better" mentality. Would love to see it one day to its former glory. It would mean the automotive industry globally would be healthy once again. But the odds are slim.
Now bring in the BRICs.
http://www.carnorama.com
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tpfilm 8:09AM (10/19/2009)
Detroit can be saved, so can the auto industry.
DETROIT: stop politics as usual. Mayor Bing was supossed to remove himself from his company. Apparently, he didn't. Unless and until Detroit voters STOP electing the same people who have had power forever in that city and elect SANE people who actually want to help the city and not themselves... Detroit will always be the city chosen by Hollywood for post WW III movies.
AUTO INDUSTRY: dissolve the union contracts for GM & Chrysler. Allow them to re-negotiate the contracts from the position of a new start-up. The legacy costs? Well, we pay for those no matter what so take all monies already set aside and place them in some kind of managed fund (not a Wal St person so don't know.) Anyone 55+ will be covered by the fund and social security. 54 & below, money paid in put into 401k of your choice. Most importantly: get the government out of the car companies. ALL taxpayer money should be paid back before ANY other entity gets paid.
Making companies deliver parts without getting paid? GM? Can I take delivery of a new Corvette without paying you?
"I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today!"
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sitruc 2:52PM (10/19/2009)
He probably should have Googled it.
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