Seems as thought our confiscated money was wasted bailing out Government Motors and Chrysler. Ford, which took no money is showing a profit for the fifth consecutive quarter. And as a former die hard GM guy I won't be buying any of those vehicles any time soon. Here I come Ford.

Ford said Friday that it made $2.6 billion from April through June, its fifth straight quarterly profit. The company, which reported record losses in 2008, now predicts it will end 2011 with more cash than debt.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/23/ford-profit-2q-2010-autom_n_656836.html


Government isn't the solution. It's the problem.

[deadwolfbones]

Seems as thought our confiscated money was wasted bailing out Government Motors and Chrysler. Ford, which took no money is showing a profit for the fifth consecutive quarter. And as a former die hard GM guy I won't be buying any of those vehicles any time soon. Here I come Ford.


Ford Profit 2Q 2010: Automaker Posts Huge Quarter On Brisk Sales


Government isn't the solution. It's the problem.

So you'd rather that Chrysler and GM had gone under?

Do you only buy products from profitable companies?

I'm not really understanding the logic here.

So you'd rather that Chrysler and GM had gone under?

Do you only buy products from profitable companies?

I'm not really understanding the logic here.

They should have gone under. Or gotten their finances in order like Ford did. Without being taken over by the Obama.

I do believe in rewarding a company that pulls itself together and makes a go of it. Like Ford did. And to think I never liked Ford before. Guess I was mistaken.

[reeftool]

There is certainly logic in not buying a car from a company that may not exist in a year or 2. GM is still very shaky. Chrysler even more so. How will these company's be holding up a year down the road without a cash for clunkers program? IMO I think GM will survive as long as they don't have any major recall issues such as what Toyota is dealing with right now. I wouldn't touch a Mopar before the bailout, much less now. One serious recall problem could push either company over the brink and back into bankruptcy, ending all warranty's. I doubt that the govt. will get away with bailing them out a second time.

[deadwolfbones]

They should have gone under. Or gotten their finances in order like Ford did. Without being taken over by the Obama.

And what about the 106,500 US employees who'd lose their jobs if that happened, or the economic ramifications that would come as fallout?

And what about the 106,500 US employees who'd lose their jobs if that happened, or the economic ramifications that would come as fallout?

Do you think the remaining companies could handle the cars GM would have sold without ramping up their own production? And hiring more people? And maybe utilizing some of GM's own suppliers? Or increasing the orders to their own suppliers who in turn would have had to hire?

Or did those who where going to buy GM just not buy a car?

[séamuis]

GM may be shaky, but Chevrolet is on the up and up, and the quality of the cars the brand is putting out right now, is second to none here in the US. don't believe me? take a serious look at the current Chevy offerings in comparison with the japanese giants who still rule the american roads. I dont know about Chrysler, but I think in time, GM will be doing ok, if they keep up what they are currently doing. they have the japanese on their toes, particularly now that the volt (finally) is just about ready to launch. we bailed them out, why give up on them so quickly? give them an actual chance to try and get back on track. it takes time to win people back over, or win them over for the first time. that being said, ford is also putting out some seriously good cars and trucks at the moment. but didnt ford get rid of a lot of employees to help with the profits? (more than GM?) admittedly, I dont keep up with all of this too well, but I dont think fords current success is all due to genuinely excellent cars and sales.

[deadwolfbones]

Do you think the remaining companies could handle the cars GM would have sold without ramping up their own production? And hiring more people? And maybe utilizing some of GM's own suppliers? Or increasing the orders to their own suppliers who in turn would have had to hire?

Or did those who where going to buy GM just not buy a car?

They'd buy Japanese or Korean.

GM may be shaky, but Chevrolet is on the up and up, and the quality of the cars the brand is putting out right now, is second to none here in the US. don't believe me? take a serious look at the current Chevy offerings in comparison with the japanese giants who still rule the american roads. I dont know about Chrysler, but I think in time, GM will be doing ok, if they keep up what they are currently doing. they have the japanese on their toes, particularly now that the volt (finally) is just about ready to launch. we bailed them out, why give up on them so quickly? give them an actual chance to try and get back on track. it takes time to win people back over, or win them over for the first time. that being said, ford is also putting out some seriously good cars and trucks at the moment. but didnt ford get rid of a lot of employees to help with the profits? (more than GM?) admittedly, I dont keep up with all of this too well, but I dont think fords current success is all due to genuinely excellent cars and sales.

They may have shed jobs. So? It would have been better to have kept all the jobs and gone under? Ford has increased its market share. That's the best way to be profitable whereas GM is "paying back the bailout" from escrowed funds not from sales.

In the past year, Ford has gained a bigger share of the American market, the equivalent of about 154,000 cars and trucks. Rivals Toyota, General Motors and Chrysler have all lost ground

---------- Post added 07-27-10 at 11:14 AM ----------

They'd buy Japanese or Korean.

And they employ American workers. They could also be buying Fords. That's what I would be doing.

[Parallax]

They may have shed jobs. So? It would have been better to have kept all the jobs and gone under?

George, unions are the only ones that think 100% of nothing is a better deal that 75% of something.

[johnmflores]

Do you think the remaining companies could handle the cars GM would have sold without ramping up their own production? And hiring more people? And maybe utilizing some of GM's own suppliers? Or increasing the orders to their own suppliers who in turn would have had to hire?

Or did those who where going to buy GM just not buy a car?

Sounds simple on paper, but it would have taken Ford years to ramp up to fill the void. In the meantime, as others have noted, Japanese and Korean and European makes would have taken share as well.

Don't get me wrong - I applaud Ford for what they have accomplished. A credit to everyone from the executive office to management to the production line and suppliers.

Unfortunately, GM and Chrysler did not have the pieces in place to engineer a similar turnaround. GM knew for years that it had to realign their resources for current market realities but over the past decade they got drunk on the hefty margins from SUVs and didn't think far enough ahead.

Do I hate my tax dollars going towards an underperforming company? Yes.
Do I realize that the economy would be even worse than it is now had GM and Chrysler gone under? Yes.

[Ratmagiclady]

How much of that 'confiscated money' was actually paid, and how soon was it paid *back?* In fact, the auto companies have paid back or are paying back just as much as they can as fast as they can to get fully under their own control again.

Bank bailouts and tax cuts for the rich are one thing: preserving the nation's industrial capacity is something that's very important, worthwhile not just to preserve jobs, but also the factories and ancillary manufacturers and service industries and all that goes into them. It's not easy to put back once dismantled.

Sounds simple on paper, but it would have taken Ford years to ramp up to fill the void. In the meantime, as others have noted, Japanese and Korean and European makes would have taken share as well.

Don't get me wrong - I applaud Ford for what they have accomplished. A credit to everyone from the executive office to management to the production line and suppliers.

Unfortunately, GM and Chrysler did not have the pieces in place to engineer a similar turnaround. GM knew for years that it had to realign their resources for current market realities but over the past decade they got drunk on the hefty margins from SUVs and didn't think far enough ahead.

Do I hate my tax dollars going towards an underperforming company? Yes.
Do I realize that the economy would be even worse than it is now had GM and Chrysler gone under? Yes.

So if your company was in a similar situation we should bail you out? Or did you get your bailout in the mail and not tell us?

It probably wouldn't have taken as long as you think. And of course all of the companies would have benefited from GM's failure. So be it.

[johnmflores]

So if your company was in a similar situation we should bail you out? Or did you get your bailout in the mail and not tell us?

It probably wouldn't have taken as long as you think. And of course all of the companies would have benefited from GM's failure. So be it.

It sounds like you don't believe that any company is too big to fail? True?

[Nesster]

Detroit management is an exhibit in the dictionary next to 'dinosaur'. The auto industry was the backbone of the US economy for years... and Detroit grew fat and lazy thinking this.

GM didn't really learn the lessons of NUMMI, for example, their jv with Toyota. The plant started out as GM's worst, but with Toyota it turned around big time. Did GM manage to implement similar systems in their other plants, in the 80s? nope. In the 90's, surely? Nope. This is what's known as not watching your own main business. The UAW did have a role too, but in the end, it is management willpower that counts. Willpower is the main energy spend when you're in management, it's what you get paid for. GM managment failed.

Another thing, GMAC, the financing arm... guess what they got into just before the bubble burst? Do you remember Ditech? guess who bought them?

The freeze up of overnight cash in the system was what brought Lehman and Bear down, and the freeze up is what prompted TARP. The car companies and their suppliers are/were a big user of overnight/short term financing. They, like many other companies, pumped up their borrowing hoping to ride out an ordinary recession... only this one's not ordinary. This one's led by the lack of liquidity, a banking recession...

Ford is fortunate its finances permitted going it alone.