Quote:
Originally Posted by headpunter
but the popular alternitive is putting money in the big 3 when people dont want to buy cars because the economy is down. THe better coarse of action is lowering CAFE projections and forcing lesser contract obligations on behalf of the UAW.
|
The cost-differences between GM's workforce, and say...Toyota's...is virtually nothing now. Or else it will be in 2010 thanks to a new contract that was signed in '07. Somebody...somewhere...said it was even less expensive than Toyota's labor costs...now, I don't know about that...but they have decreased the gap there to almost zero.
And CAFE, however much we hate it...isn't doing a whole lot to hurt them compared to the economy. Especially not since they have (or are in the process of getting) access to an already-approved 25 billion
specifically for fuel-efficient vehicles. In fact, that money was part of the CAFE legislation in the first place...
This thing is being called a "bridge loan" because that's what the automakers want it to do: carry them over to 2010, when they shed all these crazy-ass costs and the economy is partially healed. Suddenly; poof! They're profitable. No...it's not that simple...but that's the idea. 2010 is the magic year for the automakers...if they can get there; they'll be *almost* home-free.