[prasadee]

Originally Posted by gt_mustang

ok i have to ask this
is it true that GM is selling their cars at a huge discount in the states??

Actually everyone is selling at huge discounts. Toyota has filled up the LA port with their unsold cars. Dealer lots are filled up as well. GM, and Ford were barely getting by, when the slump started, now they are puffing, and panting.

I am doing my part to help..... I just got a Saab 2.0 turbo. Pics in the garage. I am hoping the swedish/european govts will save my beloved Saab.

[VIPER_SRT]

Originally Posted by gt_mustang

ok i have to ask this

is it true that GM is selling their cars at a huge discount in the states??

In Florida a dealer has a deal, buy one get one free offer. Lots of customer are thinking that its another tactics used by car dealer. The dealer eventually came open and said there's one catch only. If you buy the first at MSRP you get the second one free, just registration and title needs to be covered.

[prasadee]

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

About Saab and Volvo: Sweden government is trying to rescue them. They are plannig $3.4 Billion aid.

Source : Sweden unveils $3.4 billion aid plan for auto makers - worldcarfans

A merger with Volvo, and a swedish rescue would be the best thing to ever happen to Saab in a long time. Saabs are almost entirely assembled in Sweden, free from flaky US labor. For a company that designs fine cars inspired by jets, GM would bring too much distress. The best option is for GM to go through bankruptcy, and let Saab free.

Same deal with Volvo and Ford.
-Prasadee

[paranoidAndroid]

I think the US lawmakers were right in blocking the passage of the bailout package for the 3 automakers. All of them have been making bad products with shoddy quality for way too long now. They have been selling off brands they owned in order to show a not so bad balance sheet (ex the JLR deal with Tata). Which means the rot had set in long back and its not completely a result of the current economic slowdown.
If they couldnt get their act right till now, i seriously doubt they can pull it off by Mar 31 of next year. The Big 3 are just big bloated companies which dont know how to do business (except in a few places. I believe that the cars Chevy sells in India are actually decent). And i know that in the short term this is probably going to hurt the economy really bad but i feel this is required to cleanse the system, to make a room for a better, more efficient company which might replace these.
There are other options, suggested by Michael Moore. Linky: Let's Buy the Big Three - The Daily Beast

I guess we will see how this folds out soon enough. The process of natural selection works in economics as well.

[Dippen]

Originally Posted by prasadee

I am doing my part to help..... I just got a Saab 2.0 turbo. Pics in the garage. I am hoping the swedish/european govts will save my beloved Saab.

hello prasadee

welcome to the NRI SAAB-team!

Both Saab and Volvo has support from the Swedish gov,however everything depends on if GM ,Ford will get cash from TARP-fund.

[Dippen]

Can Anyone here that can explain how the TARP-funding works? Does decision for using TARP have to go trough Congress again?!

from trollhattansaab:

Here’s something I didn’t know.
The TARP fund from which the US government intends to provide loans was $700 billion in total. That fund was divided into two sections. The first section of $350billion has almost been exhausted. There’s only $15 billion left (I never thought I’d use the word ‘only’ in reference to $15billion).
The elephant in the corner of the room is the fact that in order to hand out funds from the second batch of $350 billion, the government has to get their reasons past the US Congress. We all know how well that worked last time.
So if the Whitehouse doesn’t get these emergency funds out of the remaining $15billion, things will look rather messy for the Detroit guys.

Wednesday Night Snippets | Saab Cars - Trollhattan Saab

[RacingForIndia]

These companies can never become profitable. Their labourers get paid close to $60 an hour for not working, figure that out.
Even if the bail out comes through, they will ask for more money once they have spent it. Best is to ask the Unions to run the company and take care of the employees or to start off with investments in green fuel and infrastructure development using their existing resources.

[VIPER_SRT]

Mods ! Do you think you can merge these two threads "Do the Big three deserve a second chance???". I guess both are having the same discussions.

[53BHP]

need i say more than this.What is really perturbing is news of the best company in the world being in trouble- toyota.

[psp62in]

Source: PTI
Toyota says will run into loss; first time in 71 yrs.

Hit by declining sales and soaring yen, Japanese auto major Toyota Motor expects to post its first-ever operating loss in 71 years, at 150 billion yen for the fiscal 2009. Revising its results forecast for the second time in less than two months, Toyota on Monday said it expects an operating loss of 150 billion yen for the year ending March 31, 2009.
Unquote

My comment:
I wonder how TataMotors is going to cope with this situation, with their high cost acquisition of Jaguar.

[Dippen]

The Times West Virginian - Truck, SUV sales on the rise


some good news (even if i dont like SUVs) but question is what happens when global economy kick starts again and oil prices starts to go up?

[amoghmasur]

Super caption by 53BHP !!! Sums up the nonsensical bailout plan...Why should GM be rescued even though its failure is because of its own stupidity??

[jasher26]

A very interesting article and an insight into how GM has been functioning

The Auto Industry Bailout: Thoughts About Why GM Executives Are Clueless And Their Destructive “No We Can’t” Mindset

Bob Sutton: The Auto Industry Bailout: Thoughts About Why GM Executives Are Clueless And Their Destructive “No We Can’t� Mindset

Note from Team-BHP Support: Thread MERGED. Please use the search feature before creating a new thread on a topic that might already exist. Please continue your discussion in an existing thread. This will keep all the relevant information in one place and make it easier for readers in the future.

[jasher26]

another article on Ford!

Bob Sutton: The Broken Culture in the Auto Industry: A Comment from a Stanford Student Who Tried to Work at Ford

[sam003]

General Motors Corp.'s auditors have raised "substantial doubt" about the troubled automaker's ability to continue operations, and the company said it may have to seek bankruptcy protection if it can't execute a huge restructuring plan.

more here GM auditors raise the specter of Chapter 11: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance