Why GM Wants Chrysler and What it Means for the Domestic Auto Industry - Car and Driver

[aaronamerine]

lol a dodge ram with a vortec/deramax lol that'll pill of them dodge guys lol

[liveoilfree]

Looks like this is HISTORIC INTEREST ONLY, GM WENT BANKRUPT due to MANAGEMENT FAILURE and COLLUSION WITH BIG OIL and can't even buy a cuppa coffee.

[jasonxgg]

GM + CHRYSLER=MONOPOLY

[GuitarSnipper]

More people are looking for a car that lasts and is great on gas. GM has lost a big market to Honda. Nothing that GM has fits the same market as the Civic. The motors last forever if you treat them right. Most of the car is simple to fix. GM little cars don't last very long and have all kinds of gizmos that make them hard for a ower to repair or replace themselfs to save a few bucks. This is what the people want. With high gas prices and a bad economy.

[JBomber22]

what you ppl dont realize is that if the auto industry fails, then there goes 5 - 7 million jobs...how do you think that will effect the economy...you would never recover and possibly completely collapse your economy...they need this bail out, for the sake of the whole free world depends on it...why sell out to the foreigners, what happened to supporting your own country, you cant turn your backs on them

[Janusha]

Americans have supported their own country for many years by buying american cars. The pickup truck sales forexample has held the american car business alive for the last decade. Now that, for what ever reasons, financial or otherwise even the americans stop buying american cars, thats when it failed totally. But its been in steady decline internationally for decades because other countries has become accustomed to far better gas mileage and quality.

[emforty2]

come on GM file for bankruptcy dont be a wimp though u wr 'Like a Rock'

KB TOYS did !

[Cylar29527]

GM belongs to china now... there focus has shifted to china... GM is a threat to national security.

[dmax5678]

For GM and Cerberus the merger may work out. but i don't know if MI would ever recover. when Cerberus first bought the company they said they wanted to take the time necessary to bring it back. I pray they stick to that.

And not for one minute do i buy all this "there to small to survive" talk. in my view being small means that they can survive since they have less people and infrastructure to worry about.

[tamainemiller]

ohhh hell naw i will never drive a lame ass TOYOTA!!!!!!!! my dick is to damn big for a toyota!!!!

i will get a ford!!!!!!!!

[dmelkumo]

sounds like your dick is bigger than your brain.

[Zoidborg1]

tough situation for the people of the USA. The profiteers (Owners of the auto industry) put themselves in the middle of public prosperity and if the industry fails the people will suffer more than we understand. And if we the USA people bare the cost of a "bailout" we would be rewarding them for failing. Not to mention the only reward we would get is a under paid jobs.

USA auto workers have improved productivity the most since 1990 and are now paid near the least less than Ger,Jap,Kor

[theabomation]

Let the auto shops fail!

[ShinWR1]

What really happen? I thought they were so Great from all the big mouth that brags about it on the Net. I pity them all. LOSERS Big 3 bye bye. or just some Government bull shit again. My tax dollars better not go to some crap I'm never gonna drive.

[longlastting]

We should let the US auto industry fall then rebuild it; otherwise The US economy will fall in to deeper deflation.

[wildgift2]

Sorry, we wouldn't be able to rebuild it. There's too much global competition from Japan and Korea. India and China may get into it, too. Manufacturing is a business for up-and-comers.

[longlastting]

We should let the US auto industry fall then rebuild it; otherwise The US economy will fall in to deeper deflation.

[emforty2]

DUMB + DUMB =  DUMBER !!

[scarb0r0]

if gm acquires chrysler i think they will ruin the company. the quality of the cars will drop and the chrysler brand will have lost its identity

[jtlovett27]

lol chrysler makes quality cars?????

[sirberner12]

now they can make biger shit box's

[crazybob43]

It just goes to show how intelligent management is...

maybe a larger bonuses could help??

GM boasts about being the heartbeat of America......

guess what?

time for a massive heart attack, and DIE!!

[ToadHypno]

True story, a guy I know works for Chrysler, he and 3 other guys take turns sleeping in near complete cars, the lay the seats back and even play a little soft music while they get some zzz's...

Good night Big 3, sleep tight, you made your bed, now sleep in it...

[roodeey]

Its the free market and the public thinks Japan makes better cars. It almost seems as if the US car industry failed on purpose.

The artificially inflated oil prices has made US gas guzzlers obsolete. This has all been orchestrated to fire the union workers whose packages cost too much to stay competitive. Good ol' USA free market capitalism- sell GM to Honda, Ford to Toyota.

We wanted to buy US cars everytime we buy new but they're always crap compared to foreign.

[xioda07]

Just because the big three build crap.

Just because the big three can't sell their crap.

Just because nobody has money to buy their crap.

[kentwd]

in 2007 12 of the top 20 selling Vehicles in North America were Domestics, (Ford, GM, Chrysler) GET rid of the UNIONS, all companies will survive, and by the way Toyotahas closed plants and shut down assembly at all plants for 4 days, Honda sales dropped 35%, it is a world wide issue.

[coddeGT]

i dunno my chevy silverado just lasted well into the 300k miles and no maintanance besides: 2 alternators, 2shocks frt,3 sets of belts, and regular oil and trans fluid changing. i think gm has some good quality truck never needing anything else...

i cant buy this lead made import stuff its sickening and they are poisining us but noone cares!

[Rickdeckard2020]

Good idea!

GM's too Big to fail! so we need all to borrow from China an extra 50 billions that taxpayers will have to pay back so GM can be even Bigger! And we'll dismantle Chrysler to give to the overpaid executives that have done such a great job at running GM into the ground. Killing the EV1 and throwing the NiMH pattent to Chevron was a good move, like focusing on the short term profits from gas-guzzlers. Screw ethics, the environment, long term strategy, hourra for next quarter profits!

[jvrsy86]

he forgot to mention GM and chrysler cars are fuel inefficient, ugly, bad quality, some are fuken expensive as hell (escalade hybrid), unreliable, ......etc, and no one wants them anymore. perfect example: buick. who the Fck likes BUICK?!!?!?

don't get me wrong. i like some cars

-CTS V

-Cobalt SS (it's very ungly but at least it's fast and good value)

-corvette

-fin

[trawickim]

Does this mean that GE/Mopar will still build mediocre cars for Walmart America?

[Janusha]

He keeps talking about securing a 30% segment of the american car market. Those 30% are die hard American patriots that will never trade in their pickups for any japanese car for as long as they live. They want to secure that market and keep serving the american public inferior quality until they have run that segment to the ground aswell. 15-16 million cars are sold in USA a year and they fail to make money of it. its simply incredible. Blame the union all you want but MAKE BETTER CARS -

[LDK]

continued from my other post...If governments continue to bail out these companies who continually lose money, they are frankly, making bad fiscal decisions. Why not eventually let the car companies be cut down to the size business that would succeed and not lose so much money and reinvest that money into other avenues of the economy which will create jobs that will be around for a long time i.e. green jobs, etc.

[LDK]

I understand why the government needs to bail out the car companies...again, but i completely disagree with the argument. The american car companies are a joke and have been going under for a good amount of years now. For those who don't know, one of the big 3 was already bailed out here in Windsor Ontario because it was going under. The governments are doing nothing to help the economies with bailing out these car companies who make inferior products.

[Janusha]

Because they keep making very bad business choices at top level. There seems to be a notion that smaller cars = smaller profit. And there is alot of "ok its not great.. but its cheap" Being cheap is ok but when it feels cheap and falls apart after 3 years its not so cheap anymore. And if anyone showed up in Europe now with leaf springs and steel frame in a new car they would be laughed at. Maybe they should let Chrysler and GM run themselves into the grave and let a new generation take over.

[JoeLounsbury2004]

Like everyone else on here, you are making highly uneducated guesses and assumptions. SUVs are out selling cars for december right now. Secondly Toyota is posting a loss. THIS WHOLE PROBLEM IS THE FINANCIAL CRISIS. As for leaf springs and steel frames, lets see a unibody coil over IRS system pull 12,500 lbs. When you design a brick and a pillow, you use differnt engineering strategies. A pillow you want comfort, a brick strength, a truck is more like a brick and a car is like a pillow....

[djbengineer]

Support these lackies??? the first 3000 bucks of a car go to there pensions!! screw them!! Bail out?? what a joke!! Job Loss?? what experience do you have sir?...I put on bolts sir!! ha ha ha !!! get a real job! If they built real cars and stopped sucking the company dry maybe just maybe they would compete with the asian makers!!

[twgwe123]

i have a hyundai excel for 20 years..still works perfectly and my son just bought the genesis...so those hyundai haters shhh...

[jayr545]

We had 2 Hyundai's & they were terrible; so you shhh....

[twgwe123]

jayr545

yeah me too we had 2 cars from detroit and were terrible so u shhh.. :)

[jayr545]

Go sit on a needle, your Hyundai sucks donkey dick. Hyundai is the worst fucking car company on the PLANET, you fucking lying dipshit. Anyone considering buying a Hyundai should instead save a shit load of money and buy a shopping cart & put a lawn mower engine in it...LMAO my Elantra was worst than that!!!

[twgwe123]

jayr545

yeah go get raped by your car prick! :)

[artisan7471]

I think you are all missing the point. Poor product is only part of the reason for Gm's problems. The Union leaches are sucking the company dry. These union employees are making 100K+ to turn bolts.  And then on top of that they get pension with health care for the rest of their lives. This is what is killing Gm. If Gm cant get rid of the union parasites they will surely die.

[cochranexyz]

Nice answer. Nice simple answer--have you been listeing to my dad? I call bullshit. How many years have American car companies been making gas-guzzling behemoths?

[LDK]

the argument that the caw union is destroying the car companies is valid but not completely true. How long have the car companies been running with those unions? It is a major part of the reason but surely not the only one.

[JoeLounsbury2004]

You are correct, the main problem with the car companies is firstly the financial crisis. Secondly the automakers were weak but not broken before the crisis. They were weak because they've been around so long that nearly 2 million people haven't died when the actuaries calculated them to. So this leads to the big 3 in having higher legacy costs than the new commers.

[05EVORS]

Ohh yhea....I used to own a '00 Silverado SEMA show quality truck, 2 Camaro's(1LE and 5.7IROC running 12's), 442 Cutlass, Buick T-Type...currently a Trailblazer SS and a Mitsubishi. GM Didnt make cool cars from '03-'05(Vettes and Holdens dont count) FWD Monte Carlo SS? JEEEEzzz. CHINESE get a RWD Buick! Carlos Goeshn needs to get in there and get our factories building American Muscle again

[worthlessdollar1]

"I used to own a '00 Silverado SEMA show quality truck, 2 Camaro's(1LE and 5.7IROC running 12's), 442 Cutlass, Buick T-Type...currently a Trailblazer SS and a Mitsubishi. GM Didnt make cool cars from '03-'05(Vettes and Holdens dont count). Carlos Goeshn needs to get in there - get our factories building American Muscle again."

No more trucks. No more "muscle cars".

GM and Ford need to build armies of 100 mpg family cars - or they are history. And we're talking bankruptcy in 3-6 months.

[05EVORS]

If GM built upcoming '10 Camaro in '04 and brought not only the Holden Monaro(GTO)/G8 (ST and Sedan) line over @same time they would have won alot of buyers then that have split to Allied cars for AWD/RWD performance. Current middle class 300C/SRT8 owners on 20-24" wheels are the 'shoulda-bens' driving REAR WHEEL DRIVE Monte Carlo SS's, 442 Cutlass and Turbo Regals? 2little 2late. Suburbans/Escababalade factories from '99-'08 were GM's quick fix(profits)meth labs

[flushdraw78]

My point was the possibilty of Toyota having less problems is by no means slim...

[ewhaddix]

Chrysler needs dissolved anyhow. They started sucking beyond compare long before the cab-forward movement. 1973 was pretty much the beginning of the end. "Don't you buy no ugly truck."

[nthfinity]

I wish the car-rag's had the guts to take on the politicians who are killing the Domestic Automobile through over regulation. The 2007 CAFE legislation is has caused more lay offs then, closures, and uncertainty than $140/ barrel Oil did.

Csaba, I wish the rags would also take Michigan's own government to task. There is very little I've seen offered to the domestics; while MEDC has given "squillions" to Hyundai and Toyota. There is no incentive from the domestics. Lets leave green to the grass

[speedie2295]

At least ford has a good outlook they can just pull over models from their european branch and sell them with better success and a lot less effort needed to do redesigns and all the engineering needed, but i really hope nissan/renault get chrysler somehow some way that way the viper charger/challenger ram would survive and chrysler could use nissans engines in cars like the avenger and chrysler could use their small car platforms, they did in brazil a rebadged versa as a dodge, idk my 2 cents.

[mrcutfish]

If GM would build a car like the Honda Fit,it's sales would start to rise. Not everyone is looking for leather and lots of cup holders. Basic transportation is what folks need,not tired designs and ugly styling. The nation needs a car that will last more than past the warrenty. Give us something we can work on when it breaks down. Or better yet make something that won't fall apart, and we'll buy it.

[ewhaddix]

GM should abandon the market that the fit and other subcompact and midsize cars are in. GM makes awesome heavy duty trucks and sells very well. GM makes nice Luxury cars in the Cadillac line. The Corvette is hands down best bang for the buck supercar out there. Abandon the Cobalt, Impala, Malibu, Pontiacs of all varieties. Most people who drive small and midsize cars are happy-homeowner people that have no clue and just buy what the media tells them to.

[Toyotaminivans]

Yeah.... GM sucks at economy cars!!!!

TOYOTA BITCH!!

[worthlessdollar1]

"Yeah.... GM sucks at economy cars!!!!

TOYOTA BITCH!!"

Careful what you wish for. Once the Japanese totally dominate the market, they will no longer face a significant threat from soon-to-be-bankrupt competitors like GM and Ford.

Thus, they will be able to raise prices and maybe even relax about the quality of their machines because, after all, the game's already won.

Monopolies are usually bad news for customer choice. Do we really want Toyota to become the new Wall Mart?

[LDK]

I would welcome toyota becoming the wal-mart of the car companies. If I can buy a quality car that will last me 10-15 years without problems for cheaper than they are now, why not?

[Janusha]

you have alot of good points there. What USA needs to do to save their car industry is simply to make better cars that people actually want to buy that. Forget environmental cars and alternative fuel for a few more years. people got the money and they want to buy american if they have the option. Like you say now.. that isnt really an option because everyone in their right mind will buy something european, japanese because its modern, stylish and a better quality product.

[djbengineer]

I totally agree!! slam the door of a honda or toyota.silence...slam the door of any north american pce of shit!! deafening!! Garbage!! when will they learn!!

[Toyotaminivans]

You really are stupid

Toyota will never give up their legendary quality because they are still some slow-selling Jap brands (Subeau, Nissan, Mazda, and Suzuki). AND THEY WILL DOMINATE THE PICK-UP TRUCK WORLD.

MU HA AHAHAH!!

[mic01]

I see you have no idea on what the auto industry is all about. I work at Toyota here in Cambridge for 20 yrs since day 1. I can tell you that you may think that its such a great car but, all the parts that goes into a Toyota goes into a GM/Ford/Chrysler.(same parts diff box) We need these 3 to stay alive to help the industry as a hole. I do agree that the union is not helping the situation. So please before you make remarks like that..do your homework.

[TrustGodMankind]

WOW !!! You are kidding aren't you. Learening something today. How can that be ? That it is just the exterior that is different ! Please can you expound on this...? Thank you

[TrustGodMankind]

WOW !!! You are kidding aren't you. Learening something today. How can that be ? That it is just the exterior that is different ! Please can you expound on this...? Thank you

[JoeLounsbury2004]

What mic01 is talking about is toyota and the big 3 share parts. An easier thing to compare this to is computers, you got DELL, HP, ACER and even APPLE. All these computers SHARE A ton, NVIDIA, ATI, INTEL, AMD BROADCOM PNY etc. If lets say DELL and HP went out of business, everyone else would be screwed because intel or nvidia may take a hit.

Things like powertrains are assembled of parts from suppliers that are in common. Steel mills make steel, part stampers stamp parts for all the big 6.

[Boomx2Brian]

Face it. Domestic cars just suck. Statistically break down more.

[ewhaddix]

False statistics. Independent mechanics will tell you otherwise.

[Boomx2Brian]

Dont think so buddy. Do your research. A 7 year old toyota will be taken to the shop for problems the same amount of times as a brand new Chevy. The info is out there.

[ewhaddix]

99% of statistics are made up.

[Boomx2Brian]

Trying to use humor to ease out of a situation where you got caught with your foot in your mouth. Original.

[ewhaddix]

Domestic cars do not break down more. Toyota's are great cars don't get me wrong. But they are not the only import car company. British cars suck on reliability, Italian cars like to catch fire, German cars are notoriously fidgety and super expensive to maintain. The Japanese got it right, but that doesn't mean that the Americans have it all wrong. The Japs do what they do very well. They make high quality tinker toys very well. If I want a little econo box to get from point A to B I buy Jap.

[Boomx2Brian]

If domestic cars dont actually break down more often than lets say toyota. Tell me why the resell value for domestic pale so much in comparison?

[ewhaddix]

Toyota does not represent the entire import market. They are only one manufacturer. Arguably they are currently the best manufacturer of autos out there. Just because they are amazing doesn't make Domestics automatically junk. Just because Michael phelps won 8 gold medals doesn't mean that all the other competitors were poor swimmers.

Toyotas have a high resale because of an excellent brand image. That's a no brainer.

[Boomx2Brian]

Then why buy the product thats going to be worth less down the road? Thats just bad investing.

[ewhaddix]

Cars are not good investments, few people actually make money off of collecting and selling them other than dealers.

I never buy new cars and the ones I do buy I usually get for ridiculously low prices.

My daily driver is an 2000 Infiniti G20, my wife drives a 1998 Escort ZX2 and I have a 1993 Chevy G20 Van and a 1995 Mercedes S600 Coupe as spares.

I would just like to note that out of all of these cars the Mercedes has been the least reliable and the Escort has been the best. :\

[Boomx2Brian]

Its common knowledge all cars are bad investments, but that wasnt my point. My point is if your going to buy a car why not a car that is going to have a better resale value.

[ewhaddix]

Well, in my case, it is because I am the one paying for the car at it's resale value. By the time I am done with a car it is generally not worth anything to anyone besides a crusher. I buy whatever I can get for the least amount of money and drive it until I give it away or take it to the scrap yard. I never bought into the life expectancy of a car being so short nor do I get bored and toss them aside when a newer shiny model comes out.

[Boomx2Brian]

Not everyone chooses to drive it that long. Doesnt that mean that if someone is planning to trade in several years that they should go with toyota? Also resale values say a lot about the car durability and longevity, wouldn't you agree?

[ewhaddix]

I agree on all your points.

[worthlessdollar1]

"By the time I'm done with a car it is generally not worth anything to anyone besides a crusher. I buy whatever I can for the least amount of money."

My mother's ex-boyfriend had a similar outlook. He'd never buy a car for more than £300 ( about $500 ). He was more than happy with old rust buckets.

He once drove 600 miles - from the top of France, down to the South of Spain - in an ancient Ford Fiesta. When he got there, he was doing a u-turn and the steering wheel came off in his hands.

[ewhaddix]

Well the cars I buy usually aren't rust buckets, they just need a little TLC. LIke maybe a new engine or transmission.

[blaxpear]

GM Management are useless. Buying Chrysler is another poor strategy. GM should have accepted the offer to join the Renault-Nissan consortium several years ago. Renault and Nissan are doing very well. But it goes to show Bob Lutz has his head up his arse. While the rest of the world has been looking forward, GM has been stagnant. Honda and Toyota are already releasing their 3rd gen hybrid. Meanwhile chrysler has been selling HEMIs -60s tech that was long forgotten for good reasons. So what gives?

[whatthehallbetch]

PLUS- their "HEMIs" are'nt really HEMIs. they dont really have hemispherical combustion chambers

[ewhaddix]

They are hemispherical compared to typical wegde shaped combustion chambers. They aren't as hemispherical as the true originals but they flow better by design so its moot point.

[ewhaddix]

Yet, GM has been leading in global sales for 76 years and only last year were caught by Toyota. I think they are still doing pretty good wouldn't you say?

[Boomx2Brian]

If bleeding 1 Billion dollars a month is good. Sure.

[ewhaddix]

If Americans would stop buying foreign cars that might change. Unfortunately people care more about their wallets than they do pride in their own country.

[Boomx2Brian]

Damn straight. Pride has nothing to do with the issue. If you make a better product people will buy it. Period. If you are saying we should buy an inferior product simply because its made in the US, that is extremely narrow minded.

[ewhaddix]

Buying products made in the US isn't being narrow minded, its being thoughtful of American workers. A Chevy might have to go in for an alternator a few years before a Toyota but that is a $150 part I am willing to buy if it means keeping my neighbors employed at GM.

[Boomx2Brian]

Well if you want to reward crappy craftsmanship go ahead. I'm not going to tell you what to do with your money. Although you will the one who is stranded along the road while I get to my desintation.

[ewhaddix]

Again, American cars are not crappy craftsmanship. Toyotas are great, but American cars are not inherently unreliable. I have news for you though, Toyotas can leave you stranded just like any other car.

[Boomx2Brian]

We are talking what is better and what is worse. If you have the option if picking one or the other, which one are you going to pick. Of course theres a chance the Toyota can leave you stranded, but which is more likely? Do you stop never because theres a chance u might get run over? No. We are doing a comparison. Which is better. No one wants a 99 if they can get a 100.

[ewhaddix]

If Toyota made a single car right now that I found attractive I might consider buying it. Although they are pretty dang expensive and the extra cost doesn't outweigh the slim possiblity of it having less problems. My wife's Escort is 10 years old and all I have had to do to it is replace a tie rod end once. My Infiniti is 8 years old and is already on it's second motor. My Toyota pickup managed to rust itself into a pile of dust in only 5 years. :shrug:

[flushdraw78]

"...and the extra cost doesn't outweigh the slim possiblity of it having less problems."

I have owned 4 Toyotas in my life and all of them I literally drove into the ground, 200,000 miles+. I will probably buy only Toyotas for the rest of my life. I have never been stranded in one of them either, except for a tire which isn't the car's fault I think you would agree. It's all a matter of taste really. Any make of car can be expensive, but the quality of Toyota is what brings me back.

[ewhaddix]

I have owned a few Toyotas myself. I loved them. 200,000 miles in not running them into the ground around here though. My Chevy Van has 200,000 miles on it, my Dad's Ford Van has 378,000 on it, My Infiniti has 264,000 on it, My Mercedes has 184,000 on it. Hell, most of the cars I buy already have 200,000 on them.

[flushdraw78]

It is in California...

[ewhaddix]

Gotta keep up with those Jones's, rofl...

[emforty2]

my 11 year old toyota rav4 has + 217K miles on it never had any problems and everything original except the tires, batt, plugs

the escort and the chevette is one of the crapiest crap pile small car detroit has ever made.

but i think its time for me to buy a new car but why would i risk my money on companies that are going bankrupt?

[dallaspolo]

Benz only sold 80% of Chrysler. They would never allow GM to buy there stock. GM need to hire a new designer. Every car looks the same. You can't tell a Buick from a Chevy. I think after the Camero released there profits will rise. The military still uses the hemi's in alot of stuff. Good Try General Motors

[wavefool]

CHRYSLER DESIGN CENTER.

[ewhaddix]

The two biggest problems is the perception of American cars buy the consumer and the high salaries paid to the union workers. American cars are not behind imports in quality or innovation. GM invented far more things on cars than any other company even Mercedes. I have seen small block Chevy motors with 350,000 miles on them and I have seen Toyota V-6's pop head gaskets at 80,000 and Mazda V-6's split transaxle housing in half at 40,000 miles. It's more about who drives it than who builds it.

[you1x2007]

Love the Talking Points.

Know the Facts-

Americans CHEAP LABOR.

Business brings more foreign labor IN, to

create MORE CHEAP LABOR.

The American Dollar is nearing WORTHLESS.

George stated on a weekend news dump-We, created the financial crisis.

The European Union (countries placed together) is the richest. China is or is going to pass us financially soon. Military, except for a blue navy, is the biggest.

The worst cars made currently: US and Korea.

Facts instead of shilling.

[ewhaddix]

Nice Propaganda.

US cars are NOT the worst cars or even close. This is a lie. Show me any non-american car company that gets 300mpg out of a $27,000 car? Show me any non-american company that gets 505HP and 25mpg out of a car? I speak from firsthand experience. I have worked on 1000's of cars over the years and I have done just as many major repairs on imports as I have domestics.

Americans are cheap labor! HAHAHA! $35/hr to put a wheel on a car is not cheap.

[whatthehallbetch]

300mpg? is that a typo or are you a retard? no 27,000$ internal combustion engined car gets that.

[ewhaddix]

Check out the Aptera

[ewhaddix]

I never said internal combustion powered btw.

[NorceCodine]

ewhaddix, it is cheap labor. German auto workers make 3-times that. (Plus 8 weeks paid vacation). But again, you will not be putting on wheels at Volkswagen if you were a construction-worker a month before, or as a matter of fact a year before.

[ewhaddix]

Oh yeah that makes perfect sense?!? $35 is not cheap labor in America. Regardless of what they may make in another country, $35/hr is a nice middle class income level. If you think that $70,000 a year isn't a good income then you must be wealthy.

[10761106]

The whole problem is that these companies took Americans for granted, that we would buy the crap that they were putting out. They had the market in the 30's to late 70's. They are too late now in terms of trying to save themselves. The New Malibu great car that they got right NOW!!!!Where was this car eight years ago..But it is ok we will give them more money just like we did two weeks ago for 25 billion....That's ok my next car will be a Honda!

[jasonlittlejohn89]

Actually its not GM acquiring Chrysler, but the holding company of Chrysler which is Cerberus Capital management which is also a 51% stakeholder in GMAC financing that is likely behind all of this. This might be a way for both of them - GM and Chrysler to survive - at least for now...

[wavefool]

Congrats, You got it in one.......

[ionosphere1]

How did Chrysler do after they bought American Motors? Not convinced that the merge is going to help GM. I hope Ford can keep up, because that's what I have.

[thetruth5003]

ha Ford's worse off then Chrysler.

[kkjk7]

the big three have been destroyed pathetic

[videoaccess001]

Once again we the people might pay to bailout a company that did not manage the market right. Hundreds of thousands of people bought their damn cars and now they want to charge us more through a federal bailout. The CEO Rick Wagoner makes 8.5 MILLION a year(forbes). The people running these failed companies need to be the ones footing the bill. Sure we need the jobs but the government is telling them it's fine to make as much as you want, don't prepare for tough times, and we'll bail you out!!!!

[thetruth5003]

Ok for one thing, the 700 Billion dollar bail out plan was for exactly what the man said, 'money pushers' THEY don't do much. Also, it's not that they don't 'manage he market right' it's that mentality that everyone has that says imports are a better investment and are better qualty, when if you work on fixing these cars you'd know that isn't true

[epoch707]

My prediction for the future is that GM will eventually become bankrupt. The unions have the company by the balls, and the cars lack the innovation that the foreign car companies have. Customers have a bad position about GM compared to Toyota, Honda, Volk. The only hope now is that the Chevy Volt will BE the success of the next decade, spawning a whole new generation of electric vehicles. Im still skeptical though

[bagey63]

It's funny that everyone here is saying that the merg would be good. But everyone is missing the point; american auto has been lead poorly and gave away the lot to the unions. GM and Ford will be gone - as a US company - in 25 years if they don't turn the whole business model completely around. Very sad.

[chopperhead2011]

I wish GM and Chrysler good luck, as well as Ford, because Ford is going to need it against competition as good as GM AND Chrysler...

[bajabusta]

I completely understand the reasons, but I still don't like the idea. I wonder besides his jag, what does Csaba drive?

[thewilhelm]

I'm tired of GM taking over Chrysler. How about Chrysler buys out GM and closes down GM brands and Chrysler has about 1/3 of the american auto industry?

[ReSanSax]

lame...

[chopperhead2011]

How about no, because GM makes MORE cars and they make BETTER cars than Chrysler?

[SlowCountry]

Don't touch Jeep, please! :)

[chopperhead2011]

No, Jeeps can use improvements. Mainly in quality.

[SlowCountry]

Indeed. Quality can always be improved. I was referring to the possibility of selling off some brands -- I don't want them tossing Jeep out is all.

[paulstewartcrane]

Viper name sold to private firm,person, you name it. Hummer to be sold, but no takers.Only low bids so far.Now Jeep is a different story. Worth more than Hummer in Name alone. Minivans a Keeper. Ram gone if Not eventually on G.M. Platform

[RedlineNRG]

What's going to happen between the Corvette and the Viper?

[sgman92]

the audi r8 was made to rival the 911 and now look what happened lol

[hvissotz]

Well I think the Viper is already dead, and GM said this week that they have cancelled any changes to the corvette line into 2012 at the earliest, so not much will change there. The better question I think is what will happen between the challenger/charger and camaro.

[chopperhead2011]

3 of the greatest muscle cars in the world made by the same company...YAY!

[ewhaddix]

Who cares about the Viper. It's a boat anchor with horrible everything. You have to run the A/C in the winter in those stupid cars because of the catalytic convertor heating the floor. They get piss poor mileage and make pathetic HP considering the size of the engine.

[turbochevynova]

totaly true!