REPORT: Fed predicts it will lose $30B on auto industry bailout

Chris Shunk — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:27:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Chrysler, GM, Earnings/Financials

2009 isn't quite over yet, but we're pretty sure most automakers would rather forget that it ever happened. And while General Motors and Chrysler suffered the pain and humiliation of bankruptcy and workers lost thousands of jobs and many plants and dealerships closed, the good news is that the General and the Pentastar are now more fiscally healthy than they've been in ages. The bad news is that it cost U.S. taxpayers an estimated $82 billion to save what has been called hundreds of thousands of jobs.

The Detroit News is reporting that after wading through the wreckage of the auto bailout, the Obama Administration only expects to get back an estimated $52 billion of its original investment. That's horrible news, right? Not so, says Gene Sperling, the senior counsel to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. He said the $30 billion estimate is better than the $44 billion the government thought it would lose a few months ago. And with the perceived stabilization of the auto industry, Sperling feels the numbers could improve.

The DetNews reports that President Obama stressed during a speech on the economy that while the bailout of the auto industry wasn't politically popular, it was absolutely necessary to save "hundreds of thousands of jobs." The president then added "these were not decisions that were popular or satisfying; these were decisions that were necessary."

There are signs that at least GM will start paying the government back $6.7 billion as early as the end of the year. Chairman and interim CEO Ed Whitacre has reportedly intimated that the company could pay the money back in one lump sum. And once the auto industry is in a little better shape, the government could recoup much more cash when the General goes public. For the moment, though, Uncle Sam (e.g. the U.S. taxpayers) still owns 61 percent of the new GM.

[Source: The Detroit News | Image: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty]

REPORT: Fed predicts it will lose $30B on auto industry bailout originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cadillac One: Details on president-elect Obama's new limo

Chris Paukert — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:33:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Cadillac, Specialty

One of the perks of being the Commander-in-Chief is getting to ride in the back of a presidential limousine. And while certain presidents have had hand-me-down chariots, President-Elect Barack Obama is set to get a brand-new, high-tech model.

Looking much like a standard Cadillac DTS stretched to the limits, Obama's new ride is an altogether different beast, with the highest levels of protection, technology and luxury a presidential limo has ever seen. Described as "a rolling tank with windows," word is that the limo is actually not a Cadillac, but rather something built on a medium-duty truck chassis.

Spy shooters have captured the limo testing alongside a pair of GMC Topkick pickups, and keen observers have noted that the wheels and rubber appear to be dimensionally identical to those found on the big trucks (the limo sports 19.5-inch Goodyear Regional RHS tires). Bystanders even contend that a the limo sounds like its sporting a diesel engine underhood.

The exterior is an amalgamation of various Cadillac bits, with Escalade headlights flanked by Caddy's corporate grille and a set of taillights pulled from the STS. It's doubtful that all this kit -- and the massive fender flares -- will find their way onto the model bound for the White House car port, but the ultra-thick doors should provide a presidential-sized barrier between POTUS and the outside world. The only question left is whether Obama's code name (Renegade) will carry over when he moves into Pennsylvania Ave. on the 20th, or if it the Secret Service will change it to Caddyman.

Hit the jump to view a video of Obama's new ride in action.

Continue reading Cadillac One: Details on president-elect Obama's new limo

Cadillac One: Details on president-elect Obama's new limo originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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