Right on, my brother.

Those failures need to cook burgers instead.

What an idiot! Ford is under new management and under an awesome turnaround plan as we speak! Now for the other two, Maybe.

Many have been expressing what Clyburn is saying waaaaaaay before is said it.

Congress should be fired first. Then we’ll talk the Big 3.

I’m so tired of hearing about this, but unfortunately it seems to be the only news concerning the big 3 that exsists. Lend them the f****** money and sort out the details later. I’m tired of these tuff guy politicians.

minus ford… i agree. & thats coming from someone who HATES ford. but they sound like they’re getting their crap together better than the other 2 unfortunately. sucks cuz i love dodge & think they have the most potential with their designs, etc.

We’re talkn cars, credit and a loan, and this douchbag is talking about the lions!

Hmmm… a congressman lecturing about how to properly manage a large organization? I’d fire Congress and get the Big 3 CEO’s to run Capitol Hill… bet they wouldn’t do any worse. (Oh, yeah… agreed, Ford does seem to have there act together, compared to the other two.)

On second thought, it’s kind of dumb to say “lend the money and sort out the details later.” That doesn’t make much sense…… Still hate tuff guy politicians though.

There is a bit of irony in the Big 3 CEO’s getting lectured by anyone in congress. The CEO’s are failures but, the approval rating of congress is around 17%. It would be a stretch to call that success. And, Ford should be given a little more slack than the other two.

Seriously, leave Ford out of the trash talk. They have a ton of great vehicles in the pipe, compared to GM who somehow think a $40k hybrid will save their asses, and don’t even get me started on Chrysler. Ford is the only company I see with a realistic chance of pulling through, sans government $$$.

Ford started earlier and cut deeper, so they do look better than the other two. But have no fear, Mark “Big Hair” Fields will find a way to screw it all up.

Mayer gets smartest post for the day!

ummm, didn’t congress just technically get hired? and it was Bush who got the 17% approval rating, not the congress. Either way, the CEO’s need to put up, or shut up, and then be fired, except of course for ford.

TDF! RMAO Who has been on the UAW’s teet for how long… Management of One has to answer to shareholders (equity is gone now) One to a Family Block (trust) and the odd One out a private holding company. You? The UAW membership?/!

DB9

Geez, I actually agree with Nagin!!!! Let’s vote this posturing SOB outta office and see how he looks in the dole line………………….

the guy is talking some sense, also agree on ford being an exception, though… much better quality, and yes they do seem to have their act a little bit more together to me as well

FYI: Bush has a really low approval rating (don’t know the number), but congress’ is actually lower.

zeeck-

No, actually, it IS Congress that went below 20%. And the best part is? The Democrats who were elected in 2006 to clean up the Congress have done all of squat and have now managed to beat the previous low of 18% (this is only the fourth Congress in history to be below 20%). President Bush cannot claim much better with an approval rating that often ties President Truman’s record low. So, zeeck, the point stands that one unpopular group has a lot of nerve to be making statements about the ineffectuality of other groups.

I am really pulling for the Big 3; but, I do not view Ford as much stronger. Yes, they have more cash on hand; but, as has been noted, it was at the cost of leveraging everything. If Ford does not have a win on practically everything they do then they are going to be just as desperate for a bailout within months. Mullally is still relatively new and whether the clean-up truly began before his arrival or not is unclear. As for Wagoner and Lutz, well, they have made some drastic moves in recent years (albeit while still earning too much) and there are lots of good vehicles in their product lineups and coming up as well (Malibu, Cruze, Volt, etc.), so we cannot say that Ford is the only American company successfully revamping its lineup.

Some of you may have forgotten, but back when Ford mortgaged everything the Leftlane threads were filled with dire predictions of the end for Ford. Sometimes, your bets pay off. Either way, to me at least, the issue is not so much the leadership as their compensation. The real story is that, as CNN noted, the top 32 Toyota executives make less than Mullally and Wagoner combined. There is no excuse for that. If Ford and GM survive (you will all note that I have not been touching on Chrysler) then all those execs will have earned some big bonuses; however, that is looking way too far into the future. For now, we al know that if the government does have to give Detroit a bailout/loans (depending on your perspective) then the government will have a right to reduce compensation. I just do not believe that the leadership has proven to be any worse than that in Congress and yet we all fawn over our own representative and senators. So, again, to me, the pot should quit calling the kettle black, though it may have a right to reduce the kettle’s compensation.

GM and Chrysler CEt fired? Yes. Ford CEO get fired? No.

Why?

Ford has done better job then either GM and Chrysler, all the new Ford new 2010 are totally different then what American will do. When you put both European and American design together you got GOLD, and that’s what Ford is doing right now.

It’s not fair to lump Ford into the mix on this one, I agree with most people on here. Mulally hasn’t been on the job long enough for him to impact the company in the way he can in the long term, Congress just likes stereotyping Detroit. Wagoner, eh, I like the guy and I think he could be a good CEO still, but probably needs to go for a PR change for GM. Nardelli is an a$$ so I really don’t care what they do with him, although he’s not been on the job for much more than a year, so you can’t tell me he has been able to really get a hold of that job, but still, he should go as a PR move as well and Jim Press should take the position he should have always had with Chrysler.

@Lionwithoutpride, zeeck is slightly uninformed about the approval rating of congress. Good post clearing that up.

Some of you guys don’t know all that much about politics and government do you? Please do not confuse Congress with the current administration..which is what it seems you’re all doing. Review the topics you’re talking about before hitting the “submit” button, please.

I agree with almost all of JakeK66, except for the part about Wagoner having to go. You can see a new GM since he’s taken over in 2000. GM’s cars finally have quality, designs are looking pretty good, and he helped negotiate the new contract with the UAW.
Good news all around.

I’m growing really tired of this “Trash the Big 3″ talk. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR. Seeing one or more of the U.S. auto companies go down will pull all of us down with it. GUARANTEED.

By the way, at the L.A. Auto Show, Ford’s exhibit was really abuzz. Lots of traffic. For sure, a lot of people were there to see the 2010 Mustang, but they generated more interest than the GM area (sort of quiet) and Chrslyer’s (sort of dark due to the lack of any money spent on lighting).

its about time!!!! now if this could only happen right away. i feel sad saying that. And also, i have been a gm fan for as long as i can remember, out of all the cars we’ve owned, 2 were my all time favorite and i still regret getting rid of them. those 2 were a 2000 chevy express Starcraft conversion van, anda 2003 fully loaded chevy suburban lt. i miss those so much… but in all honestly, i think the ceo’s of gm and chrysler should be fired and only be allowed to flip burgers at burger king(mcd’s is too good for them). i think ford has actually been doing much better than before and is just stuck in a bad position with a bad economy. with all that said, i think chrysler and dodge needs to COMPLETELY dissapear!!!! their are such a waste of everything. their vans are useless cuz vw has them now. their suvs suck A$$ just like their trucks compared to the other 2.

JoshyLofty: I admire your honesty. I honestly feel the same way. Too bad so many in the U.S. fail to see the importance of the Big 3 for the nation’s economy.

If if if if if if if if. editors please. IF

that being said. Politicians should really just shut up for the next 8 years and HOPE TO GOD the country turns around because the dems have been talking a big game since mid term of Bush term No.1 and they keep missing the target and digging themselves deeper and deeper, and they seem to think hot air will save rather than hard work and a little sense. Let’s hope they figure out that the people in america want actual leadership not posturing and rhetoric.

What a DOUCHEBAG! So we can bail out some BANKS and some WALL STREET instuitions to the tune of over a TRILLION dollars, but the BIG 3 CEO’s catch HELL over 25 billion in low interest loans… This guy is a JACKASS!!! Did anybody hear that we’re going to BAILOUT CITIGROUP for the grand total of 300 billion???

bwilliams, your 100% right.

the things that bwilliams say is SO TRUE! i wish the people could decide who gets what and etc.

Your Mr. Clyburn may be a Whip but he sure doesn’t sound like the right person to be holding the reigns for the horse and buggy industry.

WOW… for the most part we all “ALMOST AGREE”……. almost….

Ford: No, they’re in the best shape
Chrysler: No, Cerebrus has been chopping through inefficiency like a crackhead with a machete. If they can get enough money to generate new models, they’ll be in good shape
GM: Absolutely. The decision to delay new models is suicidal and shows their only hope is a bailout. Send these welfare queens packing.

Also, in politics there are three simple rules:
1. Follow the money.
2. All politics are local.
3. Every vote matters.
In Clyburn’s case, BMW and Honda have plants in his district. Guess who pays his bills?

Fired??? That’s letting the CEOs off lightly.

I think Alan Mulally is the smartest out of the them all. He’s done the best job out of the big three to bring their company up from the dead. And like others said, they’re in the best shape so far and have the brightest future so far.

I agree with the congressman.

Fired them all !

…and for the rest of you Ford supporters, if Ford has such good product in the pipeline, they shouldn’t be asking for money then.

IDIOTS!

This guy is a smart cookie ! fire’em all ! and then go fire all the Bank CEO’s too ! and then fire Bush ! And then you’ll be getting somewhere.

Ford isn’t, technically, asking for money.

Also, let’s not cloud the feelings of people richer than you losing their jobs with facts:

Wagoner came to the helm of GM in 2000. And the products that GM has released since then (starting in 2005, which would be the first products designed completely under Wagoner’s tenure) have been quantum leaps forward, many class-leading, and most of them with fuel economy superior to their (Japanese) competition. Yeah, his head should totally roll for investing the company in the pantheon of fuel-saving and alternative fuel technologies, all the while negotiating a far better labor contract, globalizing GM’s vehicle development, and hiring “car people” to be in charge of GM products again. He should TOTALLY lose his job for helming a company in the midst of massive restructuring, while bad energy policy, foreign policy, and fiscal policy created a market so bad that the only vehicles GM could make money on because of the legacy costs, were no longer in demand, and short-sellers drove the stock into the dust, creating the liquidity issues you see today. OFF WITH HIS HEAD!

While we’re at it, let’s do the same thing for Ford CEO Alan Mulally, who arrived at Ford way, way back in September 2006 from Boeing, and has managed Ford in such a way that its need for the bailout isn’t as immediate. Not to mention that, under his watch, Ford’s vehicle quality has improved so much that it’s at parity with Toyota’s. Mulally has TOTALLY taken a company that was headed for the sky in 2006 under Bill Ford, Jr.’s command, and driven it into the dust in just 2 years! OFF WITH HIS HEAD, TOO!

And then there’s Bob Nardelli, who came to Chrysler from Home Depot at the antebellum date of January 2007. He should lose his job, too, because Deter Zetsche (sp?) left Chrysler in SUCH a strong state when Cerberus took over. I mean, Chrysler’s products were world-class in every way until the Hound of Hell put Nardelli in charge. And now they’re a suckfest. And it’s all because of Bob Nardelli, who has been at Chrysler just long enough to find the copy paper. OFF WITH HIS HEAD, TOO!

Folks, the decisions that were made with regard to the unions and product mix were made by the former leadership teams…the ones that aren’t there anymore. Focusing on CEOs getting fired is ridiculous while the current teams have been doing their level best to turn things around and do it all sustainably for the future.

Bob Lutz will rule you loser Jap and Nazi germans. My Cobalt will outlast your Corolla and Civic.

Yeah, inline6 is right. Heck, didn’t the CEO take a pay cut anyhow? Sure, he still gets benefits and crap, but at least he admits it.
I just hope Mazda survives this.

I wouln’t waste any time feeling bad for Nardelli. When the Home Depot Board ousted him in 2007, he left with a $210 million golden parachute. If he’s lucky, he didn’t spend it all in one place.

The Japanese execs have worked for their companies all their lives. They start out with Toyota/Honda and start work at the bottom. They eventually move up as they get more experience and age. They understand how the company works and have seen the shape it takes over years and years. The CEOs in US companies get the job for a few years and then move on to another company. The structure needs to change. The Japanese see long term, the US companies see short term, because if things fail, they jump ship and move on. They get their large pay check and move on. A lot more needs to change within US companies than just the CEOs.

Did the CEOs of the bailed out Banks get fired? No, I don’t think so. BS double standards as usual.

Change congressional salary to a buck a year too!

Spoken like a true moron that he is. Clyburn is too dumb to realize that the current CEO’s are not the ones who got the Big Three into this mess. They’ve been working hard to get them out of the mess they’re in (except for Chrysler’s CEO – I don’t trust that guy).

If the future of Congress were up to me, Clyburn would be fired before he could say “Duh”.

Alelieuah brother. Right on.

I guarantee that the Big Three can get higher approval ratings than this useless-liberal-communistic congress.

That sounds like a good idea… $1 a year for congressmen, especially this idiot!

On another note, I’d like to blame Donald Petersen and Jacques Nasser for getting FORD into their current mess with acquiring the PREMIUM EUROPEAN brands (Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin, and Volvo), which all turned out to be money pits. I’d also like to throw William Clay Ford II under the bus, this guy didn’t have enough insight to pull the company out of a downward spiral after 5 YEARS. In my humble opinion, Mulally has been the best CEO in 20+ years…

@ Inline6: “Mulally has TOTALLY taken a company that was headed for the sky in 2006 under Bill Ford, Jr.’s command, and driven it into the dust in just 2 years!”

Are you kidding me? Please tell me what amazing cars Ford came out with under his leadership? And don’t say the Five Hundred… or the Montego (J Mays DISASTERS). If he was so great, and so intuitive, then why didn’t he have the insight to bring a Hybrid to the market to compete with the Prius, and I don’t want to hear anything about the Escape hybrid…

Jim Clyburn is just pandering.

“We need to have new leadership. That’s what we would do if we had this kind of failure on a football field.”

and he’s skilled with cliches, too!

mayer_ray_nagin: “Congress should be fired first.” We have a mechanism for doing that, but not the guts.

hateful83: “I’m tired of these tuff-guy politicians.” Yeah, especially the phony ones.

procrastinate now: 10 trillion in debt? who should be talking to whom about proper money management?

Lionwithoutpride: If you want to elect someone to clean up the Congress, stay away from the Republicrats!

bwilliams: “So we can bail out some BANKS and some WALL STREET instuitions to the tune of over a TRILLION dollars, but the BIG 3 CEO’s catch HELL over 25 billion in low interest loans…” Maybe his donor records will reveal something.

Need More Money for GM: Don’t confuse “Germans” with “Nazis.” I’ll bet your Cobalt will outlast a Corolla or Civic, though. Problem is, not as many people buy Cobalts.

oldraven: “Did the CEOs of the bailed out Banks get fired? No, I don’t think so. BS double standards as usual.” See my response to bwilliams.

$1 a year for congressmen would mean only independently wealthy folks could run … last thing we need.

bcjohnso99: “The gov needs to make unions illegal.” That’s an incredibly dumb comment. Maybe you want the minimum wage gone, too? The government needs to make universal default and the BCS illegal.

If you or I did a lousy job where we work, we would bet the boot faster than spit through a trumpet. the same should apply here.