Big Three Seek $34 Billion Aid

Detroit’s plan for survival includes a lot of our money:

Detroit’s Big Three auto makers presented turnaround plans to Congress on Tuesday that indicate both General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC could collapse by the end of the month unless they get billions of dollars in emergency government loans.
As part of a renewed bid for a bailout, GM said it needs an immediate injection of $4 billion to stay afloat until the end of the year, a fact it hadn’t before disclosed. In total, the company said it needs $18 billion in loans — $6 billion more than it said it would need just two weeks ago.
Chrysler’s 14-page summary of its presentation to Congress requests $7 billion, and it said it needs the funds by Dec. 31. Chrysler also wants $6 billion from a Department of Energy program aimed at promoting fuel-efficient vehicles.
Ford Motor Co. seeks a $9 billion line of credit from the government, though it adds it may not need to tap it. In addition, Ford wants $5 billion from the Energy Department program.
All three makers said they will consolidate operations and accelerate production of higher-mileage vehicles. In addition, GM and Ford plan to trim their brands.

I’m not political strategist, but I don’t see how a bailout could pass. The financial bailout was a special situation. But here, the car companies are just going broke.

Posted by on December 3rd, 2008 at 10:44 am


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