Ford Refuses Bailout Money, Makes Profit
Jan 28, 2010 Political
Ford Motor Company was the only US big three auto maker to trun down the government’s offer of a bailout. The company was in financial trouble just as Chrysler and GM were but decided against taking taxpayer money.
GM and Chrysler took the money and their companies became government property with labor unions owning part of them. Neither has shown a profit and they both continue to bleed money. It is hard to see how they will survive and how taxpayers will ever get their money back (well, the banks will have to pay for it with a fee).
Ford showed a profit of $2.7 billion, its first annual profit in four years.
The company took action in the tough market and worked on a business plan that allowed it to make money, on its own and without politicians, (few of whom have business experience) running the show.
This is what happens when the free market is allowed to work. Ford would have failed on its own or succeeded on its own and that is how it should be. No business is too big to fail.
[note]One could argue Ford benefited from the cash for clunkers program but all auto makers had equal access to that program[/note]
I don’t think that Congress will catch on and neither will the progressives because they do not care about success, they care about control.
I love my Jeep but will not buy another. I will not buy a vehicle from a company that took my tax dollars and I really don’t care if they go belly up. I will buy from a company that was responsible and did not take tax dollars.
Looking at the financial status of the big three, it looks like I am not the only one who feels that way.
Ford makes some nice SUVs…
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Tags: bailouts, chrysler, ford, gm, government, taxpayers, unions
Hope And Change For The Car Dealers
Jun 11, 2009 Political
Where is the hope and change they voted for?
Evidently 25% of the car dealerships in this country will be hoping for a paychek and changing the work they do. The government has taken over General Motors and Chrysler and now Obama has car company CEO as part of his resume. But it appears as if some of the closings were based on politics.
Say it isn’t so.
There was an earlier report that many stations that were owned by Republicans were closed down and those that contributed to Obama were spared. I don’t know how one would prove that without a direct admission because there are many variables. Small businesses are more likely to be owned by Republicans and there are geographic considerations that play into the mix.
But were politics involved?
Gretchen Carlson of Fox News Channel’s show Fox and Friends is telling about her parents who owned a GM dealership and were sent a pink slip. There were evidently criteria as to how a dealership was selected but those were not explained. Since the dealership made 103% of target then sales must not have been one of them.
But Big Dog, this does not mean politics were involved. Are you trying to say that because she is on Fox her parents were targeted?
Though I would not put it past this administration, I do not think they were targeted because of Gretchen. It is possible and that would certainly fit the profile of a Chicago thug politician and Obama is certainly one of those. But there was some reason and politics certainly played into it.
You see, another dealership in the area was closed int he first round of closings and it was evidently a dealership that was not doing as well as the one owned by Carlson’s parents.
“Many, they all had a meeting yesterday in the state of Minnesota, but here is the ironic thing – there was a dealership that was closed in the first round in the metro area of Minneapolis. That person was able to get a meeting with GM executives last week for an hour and a half. And lo and behold Monday night, that dealership is back in business. Now you tell me this isn’t about who you know and who you can speak to.”
The article goes on to say:
According to the Jun 9 Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., intervened in the shutdown of a dealership outside of Minneapolis – Bloomington Buick Pontiac GMC, owned by Paul Walser. Following her involvement, GM had reversed it decision and determined the dealership would remain open. News Busters
So a person with political connections has a Senator intervene and presto, the dealership is allowed to reopen. And let us not forget that Barney Fwank made a call to GM about a parts warehouse in his district that was scheduled to close. It was removed from the chopping block.
Politics plays a big part in this decision. I know some who will say how wonderful that is but if they want the companies to be profitable again then the business decisions need to be made based on business circumstances and not on how many votes it will get.
I wonder how many of the people who owned dealerships that were closed voted for Barack Obama. Is this the hope and change you thought you were going to get?
If you voted for him and were shut down then you deserve it because you were warned about him. You are getting what you asked for so quit crying.
Those of you who did not vote for him and were shut down without cause, now you understand that any government big enough to give you something (a bailout to keep your parent company afloat) is big enough to take it away.
Change you can believe in.
Unbelievable.
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Tags: chrysler, Obama, political influence
Are THESE Saved Jobs?
Jun 10, 2009 Political
Today’s the day- oh boy, I’ll bet the workers at the Chrysler dealerships who voted for Hussein are feeling a bit betrayed by the beloved leader. Oops— his bad. Yep, today, at least one third of all Chrysler Dealerships, with their salesmen, repair crews, make ready and body repair people, all are out on the street. Hussein must be so proud. Yes, in one bold stroke, he put another several hundred thousand people onto welfare. Democracy at work, as he does that voodoo he does so well.
As of today, those dealerships may not operate as Chrysler new-car showrooms, nor may they provide warranty service.The two courtroom triumphs were clear wins for the automaker, which filed for bankruptcy April 30 and has been blazing through what can be a drawn-out process.
They are also a victory for the Obama administration.It has lent Chrysler $8.6 billion in bailout funds and has pushed the automaker’s bankruptcy on a fast track, arguing that time is of the essence in ensuring the company stays in business. Under terms of its deal with Fiat, the sale of Chrysler into a new entity must be completed by Monday.
latimes.com
This is a total of 789 dealerships, and the reasons given are murky at best, and completely dishonest at worst. The fact that the dealerships have to actually buy the automobiles makes this a case of the government hindering commerce, something that should be unthinkable in a free market system, but as we have seen, Hussein wants to redistribute the wealth. You could see it in the way the government restructured the bankruptcy of Chrysler, and that of GM, giving the unions first grab at the candy, and shorting the creditors who by contract law rights, should have been first in line.
And now comes the flood- stuff flows downhill, and the dealers are at the bottom, and if you think Hussein cares about the dealers, think again.
The original motion to reject the dealers’ contracts was, in our view, extremely overreaching and appeared to preempt multiple state franchise laws,” said Stephen Lerner, an attorney representing roughly 340 of the targeted dealers.He and other lawyers argued for several hours Tuesday that the automaker’s decision to eliminate a quarter of its dealer body was capricious, unwarranted and arbitrary. Further, they contended, the automaker had not shown that doing so would improve its financial situation.
On May 14, the automaker notified the dealers slated for elimination that it would use the bankruptcy process to terminate their franchises Tuesday. Chrysler argued that its network of roughly 3,200 dealers was far too large, affecting profitability and customer service.In response, dealers sought to nullify the terminations or at least extend the deadline, giving them more time to unload inventories of vehicles and parts. But the bankruptcy judge, Arthur Gonzalez, soured those hopes. His ruling dictated that as of close of business Tuesday, those dealers would no longer be allowed to sell new Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles, perform factory warranty service or display signage indicating that they are Chrysler retail showrooms.
latimes.com
This is just another in the series of “Let’s see just how badly we can run this Nation.” Between this action, and the “Czars”, people Hussein appointed, who have noone but Hussein to be accountable to, we are on the way down the hill, with Hussein greasing the slide.
What will now happen, is that the jobless numbers will increase, and Hussein will use this CRISIS OF HIS OWN MAKING to ask for more power and more money, so he can do other stuff that doesn’t work either.
The man isn’t a man- he is ignorant, he is spineless (Yes, Virginia, he DID just tell Iran they could have nukes), and he is dedicated to the destruction of the Capitalistic system in this country. If you do nor believe this, just ask any dealer of American cars today- if they are not out of business, they are scared that they will be next.
And they will- no doubt of that- it’s only a matter of time.
On Friday, the automaker sent those dealers contracts guaranteeing reallocation of their remaining stock — amounting to roughly 26,000 vehicles as of last week, according to spokeswoman Carrie McElwee.But the automaker will charge dealers $350 for each car and truck that is reallocated, and in some cases the loss on the vehicles could be larger than that. McElwee said that closed dealers also would have the option of selling any remaining new cars on their own, but that they would not have access to any sales incentives, nor would they be able to advertise as Chrysler dealers.
But because dealers had been scrambling to unload vehicles, many had sold cars for a larger loss, leading to frustration among those selected for closure.
“We had another dealer come by who basically wanted us to lose 10% of invoice price on every car,” said Gary Kihs, general manager of Larry Menke Inc., a Chrysler dealer in Seaside, Calif.
latimes.com
Don’t you just love it when the government orders you to lose money on YOUR cars- talk about arm- twisting- I can tell that Hussein simply must have our best interests in mind when he hurts us so lovingly.
He amputates our businesses with all the subtlety of a Civil War Surgeon using an axe on someone’s leg.
At least give them something to bite down on.
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Obama The Car Salesman
Mar 31, 2009 Political
When people describe the sleaziest workers they usually mention a used car salesman or a snake oil salesman (of which Obama is both). Looks like Obama has made the government the new car dealers for America. The government has so much interest in two of the big three that Obama basically fired the head of GM and most of the board. I am not saying they did not have to go but the government should not be in this business. BTW, did Obama fire any leaders of the UAW? Bet that will never happen.
The government involvement in the auto industry is troubling. We have forked over billions of dollars and now the sainted one says he is Ok with them going into bankruptcy. They could have done that last year and saved us billions of dollars. It would also have brought about renegotiation of the union contract. That is something that needs to be done. Everyone should be feeling the pain at the automakers.
Obama laid out a bunch of things with regard to how the automakers would run. It seemed to me that he was in charge of the companies instead of the country. Oh yeah, the country is in charge of them because we own part of them. I hope this enlightens other companies that are considering asking for taxpayer money. If you don’t want Obama and the government in your knickers just say NO.
One of the most troubling parts was when Obama said:
It is my hope that the steps I am announcing today will go a long way towards answering many of the questions people may have about the future of GM and Chrysler. But just in case there are still nagging doubts, let me say it as plainly as I can — if you buy a car from Chrysler or General Motors, you will be able to get your car serviced and repaired, just like always. Your warrantee[sic] will be safe.
In fact, it will be safer than it’s ever been. Because starting today, the United States government will stand behind your warrantee[sic]. UK News Yahoo
This is troubling in two areas. One, have you ever known the government to run anything well? They are backing warranties and have no idea about what is involved. Under the Socialists in the Obama administration the backed warranty might mean you get a new car every time some little problem occurs.
The second issue is when he says the government will back the warranties. No, the taxpayer will back them. If this involves any money then that money will come from the taxpayer.
Not only are we paying for banks, insurance companies, Wall Street, reparations studies, rebuilding Gaza, Palestinian training camps, everyone’s health care, other people’s houses, other people’s children’s college education, and abortions around the world, now we are going to pay for warranty work done on cars manufactured by automaker employees who are members of the UAW.
Talk about incentive not to do a great job.
What else will the taxpayer have to pay for Mr. Obama? What else will we guarantee? How stinking far into our pockets are you going to reach?
One day you are going to reach too far and that hand is going to be removed.
Forget throwing tea in the harbor. Let’s throw all the politicians in the harbor.
Better yet, let’s throw them in the ocean with lead filled life vests.
Related:
Wall Street Journal
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