Comments on: Chrysler liquidation could result in 38,500 job losses

By: shaver

shaver — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:40:59 +0000

I’m all for some “Liquid Chrysler”.
My prayer goes out to those who are about to get done. And that some execs at the helm of all these fallen giants (financial, wall st, mortgage, banking and auto) get some sort of recognition for their fine work.

By: carstuff

carstuff — Mon, 04 May 2009 10:53:46 +0000

In my experience I see your comments as pretty darn naive. What is your definition of rich? top 5%? top 1%? From my experiences, at least in the top 3%-5% (in other words not top 2%) these are very humble folks, church going, charity giving-both financial and time. I cannot speak for the ultra rich since I do not know any of them. And of course I can only speak for those around me in the area I live in.

But since we are only speaking from our own experiences this is a dead end line and has zilch to do with autos:)

By: Borat

Borat — Mon, 04 May 2009 01:01:24 +0000

carstuff – I am not perfect, I do say/write silly things. But the gist of what I wrote is that rich (at least those who I observed) are not concerned with borders and religious matters. Just like John Lennon suggested.

By: elviososa

elviososa — Mon, 04 May 2009 00:51:28 +0000

I agree with Borat although very few of them really care.

By: carstuff

carstuff — Sun, 03 May 2009 16:30:58 +0000

Borat, you just said the silliest thing I ever heard. “People with money are less concerned with border and religion then poor bastards who spend based on some foolish beliefs.”

By: orangecones

orangecones — Sat, 02 May 2009 03:55:31 +0000

@jay… I was just giving an example, tried to simply things as much as possible, and just sorta randomly picked numbers. And even then the margin in my example is significantly larger than $100, if you will $100 is what will end up as compensation of top level execs @ home base. Margins by definition is revenue – variable cost, and in my example I also accounted for some fixed costs (and retained earnings on the dealer, factory, supplier, national hq, corporate hq levels), therefore $100 is if you will “foreign income” (again, guessing the numbers here, but justifying why $100 isn’t too far off).

By: jayjc08

jayjc08 — Sat, 02 May 2009 03:31:14 +0000

I’m sure these big execs have many homes. Orangecones, I’m not sure where your getting your data but the margin is larger than $100 or else the business would be turning a very, very small profit (on the order of $3 million a year). In reality it’s somewhere around $500-1k per car, considering profit margins on each vehicle made and subtracting a few one time expenses.

Anyways, point is the funding goes back into the pockets of foreign companies, and goes to further advance a foreign company. Great, but it’s not the same as funding an automaker like Chrysler who bases their company in the United States.

Back to the article though. It’s too bad to see this happen. Better than the four million they were predicting though, but it still hurts to see the effects. Chrysler got too big too fast, relied on rental companies a bit too much and ended up coming out with some subpar products and abandoning some very good ideas.

By: Borat

Borat — Sat, 02 May 2009 00:37:49 +0000

fuzz40, read article about Chrysler execs trying to sell everything to anyone who would buy.
About our famed captains of auto industry: how do you know that they have homes only on US soil? Are you sure that they don’t have villas in Mediterranean, Caribbean, Pacific Rim? Wagoner received 110 millions for his fine work of putting company out of business and then another 20 mils to leave the office. For that scratch he can own real state very far away from yours. Or you see him in your supermarket on weekends? People with money are less concerned with border and religion then poor bastards who spend based on some foolish beliefs. And if will start mixing patriotism with $$$, take a look what our troops are driving: most of Air Force and Navy bases has plenty of foreign hardware. They are hardly traitors.

By: Borat

Borat — Sat, 02 May 2009 00:15:06 +0000

DetroitWatcher, all those companies are traded on NYS stock exchange and owners of those companies maybe living next to you. In difference to domestic auto manufacturers foreign management did not rob their shareholders (owners) blind. There is some value in those stocks. In addition to robbing shareholders, GM and Chrysler went after Treasury (or actually were welcomed by 2 administrations to help themselves).

By: DetroitWatcher

DetroitWatcher — Fri, 01 May 2009 23:12:38 +0000

@ Jake66

True, but eventually profits are taken off shore to the parent company/country. It’s a slow burn.

Still, I wouldn’t buy domestic strictly due to nationalism… The product would need to be competitve. Fortunately, a few good cars are finally being produced by Ford and GM.

By: leftwingagenda

leftwingagenda — Fri, 01 May 2009 23:11:05 +0000

fuzz40 you couldn’t be more wrong, on a variety of levels…you seem to want to create some enemy abroad to rally your “us vs them” argument around, but that just doesn’t cut it in a global economy…it’s cave man mentality, and nothing more…it’s not even logical…you’re saying, “well, even though honda employs lots of americans, and pays lots of taxes to the american cities and towns where they have plants, and build cars like the accord out of mostly american parts (this is a fact, google it if you like), and as jake said, have executives here in the states, that since japan is ‘over there’ we shouldn’t buy their cars”…

take the camaro…they’re assembled in canada, by canadians, who are managed by canadian GM executives who undoubtedly make more (in canadian dollars, of course) than you…does that mean that canadians should campaign to have nobody buy camaros? of course not…because the profits from the camaro don’t just end up here in the US! the success of the camaro will help canada…just as the success of the accord helps americans…

i find it odd that you’re so willing to overlook the hard working blue collar americans that work at foreign car plants just for the sake of trying to stick it to some fictional executives in another country…we know for a fact that the american worker is facing a tough time…any job right now is a good one…whether at a honda plant or a GM plant…just stop your nonsense and get a grip…

By: orangecones

orangecones — Fri, 01 May 2009 22:53:02 +0000

fuzz, buyusa, and hangonbig3, you are all wrong and very protectionist (which is also wrong). There is nothing wrong with buying an “american” car if you really like it, but as the buyers have voted, not too many would want to buy an “american” car w/o feeling like they settled (or got a really great deal, like a free PT).

Buying a US-built import keeps 90% of the money in the US. Say you buy a Sonata at your local franchised dealer. The dealer pays its sales force from the profits and the dealer owner (a US citizen) gets a paycheck. Because demand for Sonatas went up / inventory went down, the dealer owner will order more Sonatas from HMMA, and pay them for their product. HMMA hires US workers and pays them a wage, as well as they buy US-sourced parts from US-based suppliers. Part of the profit goes to HMMA execs and managers. Now HMMA needs to pay their cut to Hyundai of North America (at this point we are looking at maybe $1000 left after everyone takes their cut), so all the US corporate execs, marketing department, and HMFC take their cut (again, US labor), and of whats left, maybe $100 from a $20k car gets sent to the big boys in South Korea.

By: JakeK66

JakeK66 — Fri, 01 May 2009 20:58:21 +0000

Except, fuzz40, those companies do have their North American HQ where their executives live. Take a look at Toyota when Jim Press was in charge, he was in the US and making the money. Toyota hires many US workers and has plants that use just as much US parts as the next guy. In today’s market with companies losing money, it also means their home governements have to flip the bill and loan them money, unlucky for us, all but Ford is doing so here, but we don’t have to worry about Toyota and Honda – Japan does.

By: fuzz40

fuzz40 — Fri, 01 May 2009 20:17:54 +0000

This idea of buying a foreign car that is built in america keeps american dollars at home is just dead wrong. While the car is built in america by americans where do the profits from that vehicle go? Back to the executives in what every country the company is from. So when those executives buy there nice homes and expensive toys they sure are not buying them here in the states.

By: johnnycanuck

johnnycanuck — Fri, 01 May 2009 20:05:59 +0000

A4, have you priced one lately? They’re not far from that as it is.

By: A4

A4 — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:55:00 +0000

….free PT Cruisers for everyone!!!

By: JakeK66

JakeK66 — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:34:04 +0000

These job losses are assuming no one will be there to pick up the pieces of Chrysler which is pessimistic. One can assume someone would take up Ram production, as well as Grand Caravan and the Wrangler. You know how much it costs to develop automobiles and to pretty much get them for pennies? If I were a Renault or Tata, I’d be at the auction block trying to get me some cheap assets, that’s all I’m saying.

By: hangonbig3

hangonbig3 — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:26:47 +0000

Buy American and don’t feel like you “settled”. There are some great cars and trucks out there, that will enable you to keep your dollars right here in the states. It does not have to be the right thing to do….automobiles are not investments they are appliances, and we design and sell some of the coolest appliances out there.

By: BuyUSA

BuyUSA — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:17:52 +0000

Buy American. It’s the right thing to do.