Nobody knows how to talk deals like the auto salesmen… Yesterday however, General Motors (GM) and Chrysler were hawking restructuring plans, not cars. (Although while researching this blog post, we at USDemocrazy somehow got talked into a lease with extended warranty.)
To understand why the automakers were in sales mode, let’s voyage back a long long time ago, to a galaxy far far away… (Actually, it was just the end of 2008 in Washington DC.)
The big wigs of GM and Chrysler visited the nation’s capital asking for a small bailout (their idea of “small” ended up being about $17.4 billion in loans). These loans were granted… but with strings attached. The nice men and women on Capitol Hill told the the Detroit big wigs to drive (not fly) home and figure out strategies to make their companies competitive in the 21st century (not the 20th century where the companies has been languishing).
Well, these plans were due yesterday. Both GM and Chrysler submitted their own (albeit nearly identical) sales pitches and waited to see if Congress was going to buy…
Key topics included the need to cut labor costs and update their car designs (apparently Americans have discovered they don’t need cars that are bigger than their garages).
GM and Chrysler also came seeking more money (the “paltry sum” of $30 billion and $9 billion respectively).
“Heck, it’s only about $40 BILLION!” GM and Chrysler exclaim. Should they get their teensy-weensy bailout… let’s see if our chums in Detroit stick to their plans. Your eagle-eyed team at USDemocrazy will be watching…
