Liquidation means they will no longer be around to slam, which means this website will lose it’s reason for existance.

This has finally reached the “terribly obvious to all” stage. Truly sad.

Yeah, this is kind of eerie to see what we’ve always known and spouted off about for some time actually be in the MSM. I guess the next thing to impress me would be the talking heads to ask if Wagoner and crew really deserve their pay (Wagoner “earns” more than the entire BOD of Toyota combined!).

That said, as a buyer of used vehicles I would be interested in a slightly used Ford for next to nothing. Maybe a Fusion or MKZ for $10k or less. Not a terrible car and if the price is right I’d buy. No hope for GM or Chrysler, I long ago wrote them off at any price.

Hate to say we told them so…

And it appears that the company is asking for 10 billion, out of the potential 25 billion kitty.

Suddenly, we’re looking at less than 1,5 million dollars/dealership. This is just to keep the number in perspective – I’m certain the dealers are bleeding more. In other words, GM alone would require multiples of 25 billion just to stay afloat, due to its irresponsible bloat.

The thing is, TTAC has been reporting this for three years and everyone looked at this site as if it were a mad prophet raving on a sidewalk, wearing nothing but a tattered rag fashioned into a diaper. Where are the props?

Rarely props given for telling the truth in business, Demetri. Too many stakeholders defending positions.

TTAC has had its access to products and shows curtailed, and Robert’s actually had less advertising sent his way for “being against American cars.” Farago has in reality fought FOR the US auto industry, by warning of what will happen if it doesn’t change its ways.
Now it’s happened.

“Crock’o’shit”* Lutz and his best buddy Wagoner managed to run GM clear off a cliff, and it didn’t have to happen.

When I began writing for TTAC in 2005, I was fairly fresh out of banging my head against the wall of GM irreality, and I was concerned. Really couldn’t see how the company could keep making a rational appeal to the market.
Put together this little thing in one of my later editorials – which I called The Disconnect: most automakers were aiming for the top of the market, but GM as the biggest volume company couldn’t do that, yet that was where their focus was.
Does not compute – and now we know for sure.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/the-disconnect/

(* “Global warming is a crock of shit!” Bob Lutz)

Seems as if Ford’s gotten in place the most flexible and responsive organisation of the three. Chrysler is just a ploy by Cerberus; while GM is off in La-La-Land and will remain there until the top management and board have been kicked out on their asses – they have too many bad decisions to defend to be willing to face reality.

Almost exactly two years ago, I had an editorial up with this section in it. Wish I was this prescient in all matters:

But Mulally is a self-professed disciple of The Way and if Ford’s resources don’t run out first, he’s the man who can give it the best shot. Who would you rather have making the effort: Wagoner and Lutz in their constant states of denial, or someone who’s actually hit the bullseye already?

Mulally is already applying his knowledge to the task at hand. For example, he knows that Ford must align itself more closely with its suppliers’ best interest. FoMoCo’s suppliers are wobbling with fatigue, having been squeezed dry by their overlords. They’re so fed up they’ve started to squeeze back, exploiting the weakness of the rulers up at the Castle. Hopefully both sides will see the light before they force one another off the field of battle. Ford’s already seeking a more constructive relationship with its key suppliers, so don’t think Mr. Mulally is simply holding Thursday chat sessions.

Mulally’s also begun realigning his forces in the field, making the various divisions understand they’re answerable to High Command and that the brandmash has got to stop. That’s going to be the tough one. There are hundreds of stakeholders who will be resisting any transfer of power back to the corporate mothership. I suspect this is why Mulally insisted on being co-director along with Bill Ford. A fly on the wall would have heard this: ”I’ll do it, but only if you’re willing to rain hell on the holdouts that will be fighting my changes. You and me Bill, we’re in this together.”

Also, can someone explain how GM dying will kill Ford? Yes, suppliers will go under, but isn’t Ford large enough on its own to sustain enough partners to continue building cars? Seems to me that Ford then becomes the sole relevant domestic company with great products on the horizon.

I’d say that Ford joining with GM and Chrysler is hurting its image. Ford needs to let people know that it’s the domestic company that doesn’t need a bailout. It’s the only way to escape the sales bomb that the other two will experience.

“Please give GM money. If they go down, we go down with them.”

One must die so the others may live. You choose.

Sure as can be, big change is indeed happening. I wonder what we will have to talk about this time next year?

“Consider the Ford Focus, … It’s the best-selling compact car from a Detroit brand. The typical Focus currently sells for about $15,500, … It’s also $3,371 per vehicle less than the average selling price of the Honda Civic, the benchmark in this class in the U.S. market. …

“General Motors Corp. has a similar problem. Its best selling compact car, the Chevy Cobalt, sells for $4,192 less than a Civic, …”

Another Interesting tidbit from the Journal:

“U.S. Car Makers Fail to Improve Resale Values: Honda Retakes Lead Position In Kelley Blue Book’s Top 10; Bad News for Gas-Guzzlers” by Mike Spector in the Wall Street Journal on November 19, 2008

Kelley Blue Book, … plans to announce Wednesday its annual ranking of the top 10 brands for projected resale value — and not a single one will be American. … [resale value is the % of a] vehicle’s sticker price … retained after five years … The typical Chrysler car, for example, is expected to retain just 24.2% of its original cost. By comparison, the top-rated Honda brand’s vehicles are expected on average to retain 44.5% of their value.

* * *

Chrysler LLC’s portfolio of Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler brands retain only 27.8% of their value. General Motors Corp.’s eight brands collectively retain 30.3%. And Ford Motor Co.’s brands, including Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Volvo, retain 30.7%. The five individual vehicles with the worst residuals were all big cars or trucks with large V-8 engines, including Ford’s Lincoln Town Car and GM’s GMC Savannah van.

* * *

For buyers, resale value disparities mean it often costs less to own a more-expensive car if it holds its value better over time. Consider the Honda Civic EX automatic sedan, one of America’s top-selling small cars and among Kelley’s top resale models. According to Kelley, the Civic, which lists for about $20,675, should retain about 55% of its value over five years. Meanwhile, a Chevrolet Cobalt LT automatic sedan, which lists for $17,295, retains only 32% of its value. At the end of five years, the cost of the Civic minus its projected resale value would be about $9,304, while the initially cheaper Cobalt would end up costing about $11,761.

* * *

The Toyota brand, which is expected to retain 42.7% of its value, rose in the resale rankings this year, helped by the inclusion of hybrids like the Prius and subcompacts like the Yaris. Those vehicles’ relatively high resale values helped offset lower residuals from Toyota’s SUVs.

BMW’s Mini brand and Toyota’s Scion brand both carry residuals exceeding 50% but weren’t ranked by Kelley because they don’t offer more than four models in their portfolios. …

Chrysler’s Jeep Wrangler ranked as the best SUV resale pick, retaining 42% of its value. GM’s Cadillac CTS bested all full-size cars. The Ford Focus, which has surprised even Ford executives with its increased popularity, boosted its resale value five percentage points to 36%, not far behind some Asian and European makes.

But domestic models like the Ford Expedition SUV [19%] and the Dodge Durango SUV [20%] dominated Kelley’s list of worst-performing vehicles in terms of resale value.