Obama suggests some auto execs should lose jobs

Monday 08th December, 06:44 AM JST

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

› Login to comment

Latest 15 of 60 Total Comments Show All

Madverts at 05:57 PM JST - 8th December

Silly little Peugeots, Chevy?

Heh, I guess you slept through the 1980's when European cars with tiny turbo-charged 4 cylinder engines cleaned up at the prestigeous Pikes Peak event.

The only good thing about Euro governments over-taxing fuel meant that the market demanded more economical ways of burning the damned stuff. That's why Europeans have cutting-edge engine technology and DIESEL's powered race cars winning Le Mans for pete's sake, whilst you can buy a nearly new Hummer right now for about $9000, if you can afford to fix it when it breaks down.

:D
Madverts at 06:01 PM JST - 8th December

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJsHlugRls4

For "toolonggone".

Heh, I don't call that silly. Green with envy more like ;)
Madverts at 06:06 PM JST - 8th December

Nah, that's generally the owners of said cars that see kids rioting and decide to get an insurance payout by torching the car they've been trying in vain to sell....

But the disposable thing is a valid point I'll grant, and something all car manufacturers are guilty of. Back in the day cars were built to last - these days, if they get to the end of the warranty without a glitch it's a bloody miracle.
TooFarGone at 06:10 PM JST - 8th December

Obama suggests some auto execs should lose jobs

Talk like this just causes uncertainty, and markets react badly. Obama's handlers need to be more prudent when his pronouncements affect millions of lives.
romulus3 at 07:54 PM JST - 8th December

If I was Toyota I would buy GM. Waiting for them to die was a mistake because they have not died. If they bought them, they own the US auto market.
sailwind at 09:18 PM JST - 8th December

sailwind - even the Gremlin had a small block V8 if I remember rightly.

And a Levi's interior! Cool little car to boot. I liked the Pacer also, AMC forever!

Serious note.....The Government of the U.S also has to much to do with where we are as far as the big three. Years of regulations and lawsuits had made it impossible for any small dreamer with dreams of making an economical car and see into production impossible. He or she could never afford the start costs even if they could get enough venture capital to even try.

Let's not forget that, if the market was flexible enough without Government regulation through the years to really compete in the U.S you could very well be driving a model made by Sailwind motors, driven by windpower through turbine blades in the front powering the electric motor.
ca1ic0cat at 09:52 PM JST - 8th December

If the execs from the auto companies have to come cap-in-hand to the government then it is an admission of failure of their management. The unions can be blamed but management gave in to their demands. While Honda and Toyota were expanding their offerings to both big pickups AND hybrid cars the big three concentrated on building a bigger land barge. There has been no expansion of the line to introduce new technology. They have been plucking the goose that laid the golden egg. Their bonuses looked great, I'm sure.

The board of directors of the companies involved should sack the senior management for their abject failure but they won't; it's the old boys club after all. Since they won't it will have to be a precondition of any loans that the losers hit the pavement. And bounce twice.
Sarge at 11:17 PM JST - 8th December

"Time to dust off the old plans for the Pinto, Gremlin and K car again"

Har! I had a Pinto and two of my buddies had a Vega and a Gremlin. All of them sucked, especially the Vega!
romulus3 at 12:57 AM JST - 9th December

Sarge,

My buddy had a Lada and I had a Fiat Bambina. We both dreamed of US V8s in those days.
ca1ic0cat at 04:09 AM JST - 9th December

Talk like this just causes uncertainty, and markets react badly.

If the punters are so stupid as to think that the auto execs have been good stweards of their funds then they deserve a few more lessons at the school of hard knocks. Maybe once their stock is worthless they will start braying for heads to roll.
unscrejects at 12:06 PM JST - 10th December

romulus3 : Toyota buy GM? With what? Make belief money?
kenjinakasone at 02:06 PM JST - 10th December

who would want to buy gm? it's bankrupt.
bcbrownboy at 07:12 AM JST - 13th December

C'mon Obama, get some b*lls. A "suggestion" is far to weak. Scream at the top of your lungs, "FIRE ALL THOSE IDIOTS!"
bdiego at 12:21 PM JST - 13th December

Every Honda and Toyota I've owned has lasted twice its warranty before being sold used. There are some good American cars, but they're sadly the exception. Not to mention 50%-80% of their parts are foreign.
mtimjones at 03:58 AM JST - 14th December

They should fail, but Democrats won't let that happen because they are in part funded by the UAW (union). Corruption continues -- where's the change Obama promised?