RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Politics and Current Events Democrat Leaders Want Automaker Bailout

Gee, I can't wait until they are in charge of my healthcare too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was talking to my fiancee about this all week.

Sorry but your ignorant of the fact that the majority of secured creditors backed the deal. That has been the rule for quite a while.

DETROIT — It had been a dismal July in dealer showrooms — as bad as every month so far this year.

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House Votes for $2 Billion Fund to Extend ‘Clunker’ Plan (August 1, 2009)
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Uli Seit for The New York Times
Dozens of clunkers have been dropped off at A&J Scrap Metal in Richmond Hill, Queens.

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J. Emilio Flores for The New York Times
Trade-ins have kept Brian Allan, a manager at Galpin Motors in Van Nuys, Calif., busy.
But then the federal cash-for-clunkers program kicked in six days ago, igniting the kind of sudden interest in car shopping not seen since zero-percent financing revived industry sales after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Analysts predicted Friday that July sales of new vehicles, which manufacturers will report on Monday, would be about 11 percent higher than June sales. Most of that jump will be owed to the cash-for-clunkers program, they said.

“I don’t think anybody expected the program to be this popular,” said Greg Martin, a spokesman for General Motors. “There’s no doubt it has jump-started sales.”

The program provides up to $4,500 for the purchase of a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle, provided the trade-in is old enough and qualifies as a gas-guzzler.

The annualized sales rate, used to calculate the strength of the market, could top 11 million vehicles in July — that would be the highest rate since auto sales began plummeting late last year.

The $1 billion program, which can finance about 225,000 clunker trade-ins, may receive another $2 billion in government funding.
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...Brian Allan, a manager at Galpin Motors in Van Nuys, Calif.,...

That's pretty funny that you'd try to claim all my sources are biased right wing editorials right AFTER I posted a link to the Huffington Post to source my point about newspapers and ad revenue.

Just one more example of why you ought to actually read the threads (and what people write in them) before you try to respond.

General Motors is spending more money where it counts: Latin America.

The Latin American market has been generous to the struggling automaker despite struggles at home. Today, GM announced a $1 billion plan to expand its vehicle lineup in Brazil.

"We believe the Brazilian market will be very strong, will continue to grow at a rate of at least 5 percent a year and we also believe in the prospects for exports of the new models," Jaime Ardila, GM's chief executive for Brazil and the Mercosur region of South America, said in a statement.

Ardila added that GM showed record profits in Brazil in 2008 despite an global economic slowdown.

Reuters reports that GM will build two new compact models and expand operations at its Gravitai factory in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. The two new compacts could also be exported to African countries and other places, boosting GM's presence elsewhere.

The $1 billion investment is part of a larger spending plan across Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay that began in 2007.

Eh? Is Glenn Beck notoriously off base about stuff?

No more than the other political entertainment talk show hosts.

Considering that the foreign automakers have plants in America, such as Toyota, wouldn't increased sales lead to more jobs for American plant workers?

Not according to MEM. He said that the only way to save the US auto industry was to bail out GM and Chrysler. We're just following his lead.

Considering that the foreign automakers have plants in America, such as Toyota, wouldn't increased sales lead to more jobs for American plant workers?

Not according to MEM. He said that the only way to save the US auto industry was to bail out GM and Chrysler. We're just following his lead.

G-man is an asshole who can't actually do the honest debate thing

If it's a case of a bailout that saves the our country's auto making industry & they go on & be sucessful again I think it's worth it.

Yeah the foreign auto companies were smarter but is it in our best interest not helping our country's auto makers because they messed up?

Considering that the foreign automakers have plants in America, such as Toyota, wouldn't increased sales lead to more jobs for American plant workers?

See I knew Snarf had a brain in there.

Really? Let's look at how MEM originally framed the debate:

....Free Republic....

Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Department of Transportation is advising consumers taking advantage of the “Cash for Clunkers” program not to sign contingency agreements promising to pay back up to $4,500 if dealers don’t receive payment from the government.

No contingency agreement is required to participate, the Transportation Department, which administers the $3 billion Car Allowance Rebate System, said on its Web site.

The Minnesota Automobile Dealers Association has a form on its Web site that members can use as part of a new-car closing. By signing the form, the buyer agrees to reimburse the dealership the incentive amount if the dealer is unable to obtain the credit from the government “for any reason.” The consumer can also return the car to the dealership and pay “a reasonable charge” for use of the new vehicle, according to the form.

Consumers signing the agreement also acknowledge their trade-in vehicle may have been destroyed and can’t be returned.

Dealers may be acting improperly by asking consumers to keep their old cars until credits for their vehicles are approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Transportation Department said on its Web site. If the new car is in stock, the dealer must allow the buyer to take possession before the paperwork for the credit can be submitted, the department said.

Cash Demands

In some cases, dealers are demanding $4,500 in cash to avoid reporting the car as stolen when the government credit doesn’t arrive, said Rosemary Shahan, president of Sacramento, California-based Citizens for Auto Reliability and Safety.

Gloria Sharp of Woodbury, Minnesota, traded in her Jeep Grand Cherokee for a new Honda Accord and said she was called a few days after the deal closed and asked for more money. The government rejected the credit, but the problem turned out to be on the dealer’s end -- they had mistakenly applied for $4,500 instead of $3,500, she said.

“They said if we didn’t give them the money, they wouldn’t submit the paperwork,” Sharp said.

San Francisco-based Consumer Action joined Shahan’s group at a news conference to ask the Department of Transportation, which administers the program, to prohibit dealers from forcing consumers to sign agreements that promise payments if the reimbursements don’t show up.

‘Bait and Switch’

“These practices are a form of ‘bait and switch,’” the groups wrote in a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today. “Car buyers are particularly vulnerable to the dealers’ pressure because they have surrendered their traded-in vehicle and lack access to reliable information about whether or not the deal was approved by the government.”

Minnesota Automobile Dealers Association Executive Vice President Scott Lambert said the group would continue using the contingency form. The government hasn’t said the form can’t be used, and dealers have to protect their interests with so much uncertainty about the program, he said.

“I don’t think it’s NHTSA’s job to get between the customer and the dealer,” Lambert said. “If the consumer doesn’t want to sign the agreement, they can walk away.”

The state’s 250 participating auto dealers have submitted about $42 million in unprocessed credits, Lambert said. Deals are getting rejected by the government on technicalities and about 10 percent of Minnesota’s dealer claims have been accepted, he said. For the entire country, it’s about 2 percent, he said.

A Mess

“This program is administratively a mess,” Lambert said. “The dealerships are having a terrible time.”

“Getting approval for dealer reimbursement requests is still facing significant hurdles,” said John Lyboldt, vice president for dealer operations for the National Automobile Dealers Association in McLean, Virginia, in an e-mail statement. “NADA is currently working with NHTSA to streamline the process and help dealers get paid in a timely manner.” LaHood, in a statement today, told consumers they are eligible to buy cars under the program that haven’t been delivered yet to dealer lots. Earlier this week, two Michigan lawmakers asked the Transportation Department to offer buyers under the program vouchers toward future purchases given declining dealer inventories.

The program is intended to spur new car sales and help revive the ailing auto industry. The program’s initial $1 billion was exhausted about a week after it formally began and President Barack Obama signed a bill approving an additional $2 billion on Aug. 7.

According to the Associated Press, Asian Carmakers Doing Especially Well Under Cash for Clunkers: Government data shows that eight out of 10 of the top-selling vehicles carry Japanese or South Korean nameplates.

Government data shows that 54 percent of the top 10 vehicles were manufactured domestically. Many foreign brands, including the Toyota Corolla, are made at American plants.

You're thinking of zzap. But I guess all straight people look alike to you.