Several of our Best and Brightest are not happy with the Nancy Pelosi-mobile post. Wolfx14 and y2dkcar protested that it highlights the inadvisability TTAC’s bailout– I mean, “federal bridge loans to Detroit”– coverage, both in terms of stance and quantity. I’m fully aware that there’s been a surfeit of bridge loan-related posts in the last 12 hours. And there’s no question that Eddy, myself and most of our writers believe that these are bridge loans to nowhere. In TTAC’s defense, the loans are a huge mistake. And there hasn’t been this much bridge playing since The Big 2.8’s execs flew into DC on their big ass jets to beg for billions. Still, we’ve been alternating money and car coverage pretty well since the last time the B&B upbraided us for out mondo-beration of the pols and execs feasting at Uncle Sugar’s bailout buffet. See? There I go again. Well, this IS the biggest story in American automotive history. And we HAVE been monitoring the situation before most people thought there WAS a situation. But I want to give you, our not-so-gentle readers, a chance to vent again on TTAC’s editorial choices. So let rip without [much] fear of deletion or amendment. Meanwhile, if anyone wants to write a[nother] pro-bailout diatribe, let me know (robert.farago@thetruthaboutcars.com). Thanks.
67 Comments on “Is There Too Much Bailout Coverage on TTAC?...”
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Keep it coming. What more is there to write about actual cars? Every day something else gets cancelled (G8 ST, Toyobaru coupe, Ford RWD), and I’d like to know why. If the financiapocolypse is taking away my cars, I want to know the ins and outs.
The more data I have, the better I can predict the sweet spot time for picking up some new metal on the cheap.
I also like some extra interventionist grist for my Austrolibertarian mill.
Since the Big 3 have less cars coming out, I guess there are less editorials about those cars and we have to fill space with Bail Out coverage.
The truth is, TTAC gets the bailout news days before the networks – especially the overseas networks (like CNN). >:)
Keep it coming.
We have nationalized our failing car industry, in the worst possible way by just handed over the money without strings or accountability. Those who claim that Congress will hold Detroit to the terms of the December payments are dreaming.
We have rewarded incompetence and criminal negligence by bailing out the owners of D2.8 (Looking at you Cerberus) who failed again and again to run a successful business.
We have burdened our children with the expense of paying for a failed business because we didn’t have the courage to do the right thing and let them fail in order to be reborn.
That is huge news.
I’ve always seen TTAC as more of a car business blog than a car blog. The bailout coverage here has been outstanding and much needed. No one else is parsing the BS they way TTAC does. Keep it coming.
Nope-keep it coming. There are million sites that just review cars; this site is more about the business of making them, which, in some ways, is even more facinating.
Keep it coming. Unfortunately for all of us, the bailout IS the truth about cars right now.
As for the Detroit focus, well, if Toyota’s new gambit doesn’t increase their sales, you may get to start a at least a “sickbed” watch for them too.
The bridge loan to nowhere bailout coverage is outstanding and one of the main reasons I come to the site often. It’s not your fault there is so much fodder, and the commentary is appreciated. There are post on other topics I occasionally do not load the page of. Folks who see “Bailout Watch *** don’t have to load up the entire page. The only qualm I ever had was “TTAC Called It,” not because of the content of those post, but because of the title.
Keep it up.
The bailout ship has sailed.
It is dreadful public policy and a waste of taxpayer money, but so are most politically motivated spending programs. Taxpayers can scream, shout, stamp their feet and go away, or just go away. The latter is probably psychologically healthier.
Keep it up, the bailout/car industry status is very important. But I’d also enjoy more capsule reviews, they’re always interesting. Either way I’ll still be visiting the site.
Keep it up.
And BTW, the Pilosi is hilarious!
This is not Autoblog. I expect you to cover the industry with the same fearless tenacity (and veracity) as you apply to the cars themselves. Right now, that means bailout blogging. So keep on it, full speed ahead.
If this is open season on TTAC, I will suggest that you get some help in editing your posts for minor typos and content goofs. I understand that you’re trying to post quickly, but I’m the type of person to whom these errors are like nails on a chalkboard.
This morning I’m of two minds on the subject. One the one hand, the coverage is important and essential. On the other, there’s just so much bad news one can stand before it becomes necessary to begin tuning it out.
My wife and I were talking about this this morning. She’s on the verge of turning off all the news. She’s had enough. I’m not far behind her. We’re both still working and at this point we’re both likely to keep our jobs. If so, we have nothing to worry about as the other aspects of our lives are going very nicely. It would be a shame to let external forces cause us to worry those good times away. Given that we can’t control them, what we can control is our own happiness and obsessing over things is just counterproductive.
There WAS too much bailout coverage, when coupled with all the deathwatches. The balance is fine now, with entertaining capsule reviews on top of the regular reviews, pictures of concepts, a few funny items to lighten our days, and the product reviews.
I agree with what TTAC says in its coverage of the bailout. Keep the balance as it is now, as far as I’m concerned.
I really miss the daily podcasts.
Keep it up. TTAC is the best source of news on the subject available. It is my money the feds are giving away and I get a kick out of the anti-southern comments stuck in 100 year old rumors and stereotypes I have read in replies.
Do not sweat the minor typos or minute innacuracies. It gives some a reason to go on with life.
I have no problems with the volume of coverage. This IS big news, particularly when looked at from a historical perspective. I also don’t mind your point of view, although I don’t always agree with it. My beef is when TTAC starts sounding like a shrill, knee-jerk screed from some hard-right group. Blow the dog whistle and watch all of the true believers gather round and howl. Do I even need to say that a Drudge Report editorial tone can cultivate a rather unpleasant group think? (Uh, yeah.)
When I teach, I let my students know where I stand, but I also try to be careful to cultivate robust debate. Even so, sometimes I am surprised when students come to me and say that I wasn’t sufficiently open to a differing opinion. That’s when I look hard at whether I need to pay more attention to how I communicate.
Given how passionate you get about these issues, that’s not a bad exercise for TTAC.
Keep it coming. If someone runs into “information overload” they can just tune out for a few days. My hope is that someone (ANYONE!?!?) from our government may be checking out the coverage to get a feel for what the taxpaying public thinks about this whole fiasco.
Don’t fix what’s not broken.
If it’s news, report it. Sometimes the bailout reporting does dredge up things that could be considered unimportant enough to simply wait and roll it into a different story, later.
On the whole, however, it’s useful information, well presented.
I say stick with it. I know im interested in the stories, and I dont hear that much from the mainstream media that doesnt sound like prepackaged crap.
Long time reader and recent member. Joined just to say I appreciate the editorial comments and am not at all offended by the presence of humor.
Please keep up the good writing.
Best Regards,
This is history in the making. I rely on TTAC to guide me through the bailout maze. If you don’t who will? The MSM? Don’t stop….TTAC ROCKS!!
One more thought: Is it time to begin thinking about the positive changes that will inevitably come once this mess starts to wind down?
For instance, if the volume of new car sales drops permanently, won’t that ultimately have a positive effect on resale values?
The engineer in me sees this as a time when our society is going through a form of process re-engineering. It’s painful as hell, but I can see possibilities of a future that works better. For example, one thing might be a more honest pricing model where real costs aren’t ignored or shifted to others, but are built-in to every purchasing decision at the point of sale.
It’s just a thought…
By all means, keep it up. I know of no other site that is doing such a thorough job aggregating bailout news in one place.
Like you say, it is a tremendously important story, no matter one’s opinion on the matter. To ignore it would be to poke a finger in the eye of this site’s raison d’etre.
Can’t put it better than has already been said– TTAC’s niche is the business behine the industry, and as far as I know this is the only site that gets down to that level. And that’s why I check this site several times a day.
Yes.
The loan/bailout/gift is the central issue in the current US automotive economy. Less coverage would seem to me at least to be a disservice to your readers.
Short answer: Yes.
Long answer: Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!
Keep it up.
I would like to see you lay out various scenarios that might play out over the next couple of months.
The Nancy Pelosi-mobile post was a good tonic on a Monday morning. Not quite as hilarious as JC driving his small car through the corridors of the BBC, but funny all the same. Maybe a larger summary of bailout events once a day would leave more room for car news. What we don’t need is any more Larry Flynt semi-porno.
The bailout is the truth about cars. I am sorry that news is bad. But we need to face up to it.
Haven’t read the comments (I’m sure they’re fine) but when I saw the headline, my immediate thought was….
It’s not that there’s too much bail-out coverage (it is a HUGE issue) it’s just that there isn’t enough car stuff around it. Fair enough?
I don’t think there’s been too much bail-out coverage here on TTAC. At one time, the focus on the DW series was criticized as being too much, but obviously TTAC was ahead of the herd on that one given recent developments. I would actually expand on the coverage of the subject a bit, but move away from the current formula, which works more like a blog post with follow-on comments (kinda like this thread).
More articles that dig into the nitty-gritty of the political dance between all the concerned parties would be interesting. We can all look at the balance sheets and proclaim Doom. But given the fate of these companies is a political question, balance sheets don’t mean anything anymore (ask Citigroup). But real articles instead of more blog-posts.
One thing that I see on the horizon worth getting ahead of the curve will be the confluence of the Detroit-bailing and Card Check (Employee Free Choice Act) into a single political debate on the current status and future of union labor in this country. With the Democrats firmly in control, Big Labor sees its chance to finally ram this card-check bill down the proverbial throat. But one thing Dubya had right (maybe the only thing) was the notion of limited political capital that you had to expend judiciously to get what you wanted (invade Iraq, for instance).
Card-check is a hugely polarizing issue, and Big Labor wants it bad, really bad. Trouble is, as the year progresses more and more checks will have to be written for the General, and maybe Chrysler. GM’s problems will not go away, but instead show up every business quarter or so through this year as another Crisis needing some sugar to make the pain go away. Bailing isn’t popular now with the public, and will become increasingly unpopular as the electorate realizes the futility and open ended sinkhole these particular bail-outs really are by about the fourth time GM’s at the trough (they’re working on Number Two already, Number Three is in February, Number Four I would guess is a May-ish date).
Trouble is, the Big Labor crew has enough political capital with their Dem servants to get Card Check through, or keep the General (and maybe Ford or Chrysler at some point) on a sugar-IV, but not both. Given the polarizing nature of Employee Free Choice, its backers know the only chance it has is an off-election year with a vast Donkey majority. That would be this year, so they will have to throw this thing down the field in the next six to nine months for the proverbial touchdown. But GM’s intractable problems and the perception of Big Labor being perhaps the most intractable part of those problems will converge with Card Check into a single issue this summer when GM wants crack-pipe hit number five or so and Employee Free Choice is brewing in the House Labor committee. This year could see a pivotal referendum of sorts on the future of organized labor in the American economy via that converging debate, and I see a big opportunity for TTAC to get ahead of the journalistic curve on informing and framing that debate.
The car stuff on this site is almost a tasty bonus at this point, instead of the meat and potatoes.
What amazes me is the fact you keep using the word ”
BAILOUT” and that’s not what it is.
Even in that picture of the F-16, the idea of a BAILOUT is to escape from a crashing “vehicle” – or possibly to get water out of a drowning boat.
The Ship is STILL CRASHING! Throwing money at it doesn’t change that.
This is a “bridge loan”
No, there is not too much bailout coverage. As other people have said, this is an incredibly important time in the history of the American automotive industry. Not covering the bailout because the truth hurts some people’s feelings would be a mistake.
What is being done now is going to have a huge effect on the future of the automotive industry. If the industry is perpetually bailed out the result with be American Leyland, producing the Pelosimobile.
It is important, in the editorials, to also keep the focus on what should be done instead, not just on the fact that what is being done is horrible.
If it ever comes down to posting something about the historic bailout, or posting something like this, choose the bailout.
Keep up the great bailout coverage!
Robert,
You are obviously very passionate about the auto business and your opinion about the way it is being run is valuable. I do not know anyone who immerses himself in it as much as you do (you were updating your site at 11 pm last night and 7:45 this morning… yea, i’m addicted) You are doing something that you enjoy. That is excellent in my book. Keep up the good work!
You know, it’s nice to have an obsession, a pet peeve, an all-controlling fixation that completely dominates every aspect of your thinking and feeling – but that doesn’t mean it’s interesting to other people to the same degree.
I don’t think the problem is that you cover the “bailout” too much, but that you cover your own obsession with it too much. If you can’t see the difference, well, then that proves my point.
After a bit, TTAC just starts sounding like one of my old uncles at Thanksgiving, yelling back at CNN about Vietnam.
I like the range of postings here, the last few weeks have seen a better balance I think between financial and car stuff. One thing that might be nice is a little attention to what these industry changes will mean to good cars, and not just the companies that make them. Also, I’m really interested in any indication of how cars are changing to react to CAFE standards and the current crap-times.
Please continue with the “bailout” coverage. I am more fascinated with “carpocalypse” than with the actual cars right now.
I only recently joined TTAC, but have been a long time reader (lurker?) and this is one of the sites I try to read on a daily basis. Please don’t alter your focus too much.
I don’t think there is too much bailout coverage. It’s why I joined, to be able to post in these blogs. What I would like to see though is some speculation as to what will replace the big 3 soon. It seems to me that everyone is confusing “An American Auto Industry” with the 3 companies that currently exist. Just because they cease to exist does not mean that there will be no domestic car industry, it will just be a DIFFERENT domestic industry. No new car company has been started in this country in decades, because everyone knew you couldn’t compete with the big 3. When they go, someone is going to start at least one new car company, I would like to see some discussion on what sort of cars we think they will probably make, what would make them different and hopefully better than what we have now. For instance, what market segment do you think they will target first?
Robert,
When did our relationship start, oh, deathwatch…why? I knew nothing about a deathwatch for the 2.8 until catching your posts (iGoogle gadgets), especially Chrysler as I do like and was trying to be optimistic about their product. Now “Bailout” caught my eye because I do not think that “We the People” need to be financing the 2.8’s lack of foresight. You and I both know these Exec’s are supposed to be the best and brightest. The Fortune 100 Company I work for started cost cutting measures over two years ago and we are still cutting back. All the while 2-3 billion dollar corporate building projects are on-going.
So when you get time do a post on the “2010 Ford Taurus Large Sedan” as I have not searched TTAC for it yet.
Keep it coming. Best coverage on (or off) the ‘net.
Such fixation on GM and Chrysler’s loan packages that we’ve seemed to have forgotten about the other $343B doled out to everybody not based in Michigan.
Give me a buzz when you folks start bitching about having to bail out investment banks due to their greed and lack of scruples. Until then, I’ll get my news info from other less obsessed sources, even if those sources come from the mainstream.
Nope , Keep on truckin’ !!!!
It was a link here, http://www.econlib.org/library/Bastiat/BasEss1.html
where I read one of the Selected Essays on Political Economy by Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850) The idea of the state moving money from successful industries to unsuccessful companies to satisfy their political agendas.
Lately, I realized the slippery slope that North America is moving on, away from the democratic constitution. I have been told by someone who lived in eastern Europe that because the State took upon itself the responsibility of finding every one a job it was often necessary for the state to support otherwise failing companies and fund the production of goods – that nobody wanted – in order to secure those jobs. It’s been said that had they, instead, made food a priority, then probably the Iron curtain would still exist. As increasing numbers here are depleting the foodbanks I can’t help feeling that history will repeat.
The effects of out of control production are already becoming visible, as was pointed out in TTAC, in Canada since we have the decommissioned Downsview airbase being used to store hundreds of unwanted Dodge Challengers. Many more will be arriving soon, this time courtesy of the federal and provincial governments, as Cerberus feeds from the $400m of taxpayers dollars to keep plants and suppliers alive – because investors and the banks won’t. All the while We The People have no voice in this with the gates to Parliament continuing to be locked. Parliament is currently shut down until Jan 26th – “prorogued” they call it . That’s right, To heck with the economy, our recently and legally elected politicians won’t agree to work together inside a minority government at this very important time !
Yes we need to be informed and continue to stick our nose in the doings of those close ties between our government and private business. Certainly not to walk away. What’s that old saying ? That evil triumphs when good men (or women) do nothing.
quasimondo
People on this site constantly compare the auto bailout with the bank bailout. Make no mistake, I was/am against the bank bailout as well. But you have to admit that the bank bailout make much more sense. The banks product is MONEY, giving them more of that directly improves their business and gives them more of a product that customers want. The auto companies make cars, giving them money does not improve their business at all. They are still making a product no one wants to buy. That is a huge difference between the two.
@njdave
“I would like to see some discussion on what sort of cars we think they will probably make, what would make them different and hopefully better than what we have now.”
This is a great idea!
It doesn’t matter what cars are “coming down the pipe” if their respective car company doesn’t survive the carpocalypse.
Job well done…and keep it coming.
2008 Capitalism RIP