As President-Elect Obama rolls out his national security team Monday, the Big Three automakers are preparing for their second plea to Congress for money. You may remember their first trip to DC didn't turn out so well. Not only did they come to then nation's capital in private jets, they came without a plan about how they'd spend the money if they got it. The money in this case is $25 billion dollars.
Reports say GM, Ford, and Chrysler all worked feverishly through the weekend to come up with plans to restructure the way they do business. At the top of their list ought to be how to create a quantum leap in fuel efficiency for their vehicles. A recent online article made the point that miles per gallon figures in Europe and Japan far surpass even the best projections of Detroit. What's ironic is several of the cars mentioned in that article are made by Ford yet are unavailable here in the US.
One silver lining in Detroit's cloud is the willingness of he United Auto Workers to offer concessions in an effort to convince the Congress to come up with the money. UAW president Ron Gettelfinger says the union will do its part if they see sacrifices on the part of management. One can hardly see how the bigwigs can say no to that. After all, a cap on executive compensation is something Democratic members of Congress will demand.
The down side is that the carmakers will be coming to Capitol Hill on the same day sales results for last month will come out. They expected to only be marginally better than October, when sales were at a 25 year low. The crucial question is whether the plans, which vary somewhat among the three automakers contain enough detail to sway those members of Congress who thus far have been less than inclined to help. There are still some lawmakers who see Detroit's problems as being of their own making, which, to be blunt, they are.
However, if Ford, Chrysler, and GM come to the table Tuesday with a plan that makes sense, they should get the money they are looking for. What do you think?
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Michael Moore just sent out an email to his list (that I got on by asking for notification of the free video,"Slacker Uprising" which I watched online and liked)about the big 3. He lives in Michigan (and ran for the board of education at 18,won,too). He says, as I recall, that the 3 should get money if they only make cars not dependent on oil...and other demands that make sense and will continue jobs...It's on his website. Michael Moore is a native of Flint.
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