Toyota chairman predicts government hand-out for GM

Stating that "the auto industry is a symbol of the United States," Toyota chairman Hiroshi Okuda said yesterday that he believes that the government won't let General Motors suffer too much longer without a hand-out, despite President George Bush's statement to the contrary last month. When asked for a response to the chairman's comments, GM CEO Rick Wagoner shrugged it off, saying he hadn't seen a check yet and that the government wasn't part of the company's restructuring plans (but that they'd take the money if someone was offering).

It's interesting given an estimate by Jerry York that GM will run out of cash in 1,000 days at the rate things are going during York's recent stab at GM while speaking at the Society of Automotive Analysts. That's actually just three months shy of three years, making this a possible 2008 campaign issue and an opportunity for G. W. to either make or break the Republican party candidate.