On October 13th of last year, when TTAC’s Bailout Watch clocked in at a mere 115 entries, GM’s then-CEO Rick Wagoner and board members Erskine Bowles and John Bryan approached the Treasury for a “temporary” bailout. Not that we knew it at the time. “In this period of continued uncertainty in the markets, you really can’t rule out anything,” said GM spokesfolks at the time. “Stand by for another big public investment in a failing firm,” warned TTAC. As subsequent events proved, the rush to bailout had already begun. Funny then, that we’re only now learning some of the most crucial details of the chaotic maneuvering of late 2008, thanks to a Detroit News investigation. Though the industry’s disastrous hearings before congress nearly derailed the deal, the initial strategy of approaching the White House would prove to be the key to the eventual bailout. In fact, President Bush was ready to provide $25b to GM, Chrysler, GMAC and Chry-Fi on December 19, only to have talks with the two finance firms break down. Instead, GM and Chrysler were given $9.4b and $4b respectively, with GMAC getting $7b 10 days later and Chrysler receiving $1.5b in January.
Tagged as Bailout, Bush, Chrysler, Fiat, GM, GMAC, Obama, TARP
Recent Comments
28-Cars-Later - Well put.
28-Cars-Later - I agree its a bit crazy, but if you look a whats out there for families none of it is very fuel efficient.
highdesertcat - Thanks for bringing up the loan covenant and DIP financing. I didn’t want to get that explicit since someone would have taken exception to my comment and...
oldowl - If you live near Ft. Myers I sympathize. The Kia dealer there is ultimately obnoxious. And always on.
indi500fan - Excellent analysis. The clear coat is coming off like a lot of late 80s GMs that were factory painted with early versions of...
jimbob457 - If you don’t know what a loan covenant or DIP financing is, you are clueless as a baby about what really happened in 2008-9. It was effectively not a bailout,...
highdesertcat - Buickman, doc’s not wrong. He just has a different perspective on the matter. He’s looking at it from the top down. We’re looking at it from...
Scoutdude - Hatchback = Cheap/Econobox/Penalty box is a large amount of it IMHO.
Ron B. - Another serious cult car!especially here in Australia. When first released they sold out immediately (only 1000 were imported) the...
jimbob457 - This beauty needs the toilet seat on the rear deck to suit me. The 1963-4 Valiant was one of the most reliable vehicles of its...