No more U.S. aid needed, says GM chief

Source: Washington Post

General Motors chief executive Fritz Henderson was in Washington on Wednesday visiting with the company's major shareholder -- that is to say, the U.S. government.

Under "any reasonable planning scenario," General Motors will not request more federal aid, Henderson said. "The amount of financing provided was sufficient."

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On whether the government will recover all of its $50 billion investment in GM, which is in the form of loans and equity:

"The loans are due in 2015. We are looking at all kinds of ways that would actually accelerate that. Then over time the question is, 'How do you realize a return on the equity?' That is a function of how does the company perform. If we get our job done, I think the government has an excellent chance of getting a return on its investment."



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/28/AR2009102802329.html?hpid=moreheadlines

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I know the Rush Limbaugh crowd has advocated a boycott of GM and Chryster, but if they can survive without further government aid, continue to employ American workers, and sell more fuel efficient cars, rather than devoting money to opposing higher fuel standards, then it the investment would have been worth it. I am just not comfortable with the idea of kissing the U.S. domestic manufacturing capacity good bye.

when he drives a 450,000 $ Maybach 57s

Unfuckin believable .

But that was when it was politically fashionable to do so. Meanwhile, it was largely red-state America that actually bought their stuff and kept the workers employed.

Now, when the government has given them $50 billion of taxpayer money, the former nasty crowd is all about them. (But still won't actually buy their products.)

The chance that the money is coming back to the Treasury is about the same chance that Darth Cheney is coming back to the Vice Presidency. For repayment to happen would require the stock valuation of the company to exceed the highest level ever reached in all of GM's history.

Riiiggggghhhhttt.

Now think about this: the government could have simply BOUGHT GM for about $2 billion, which was the total stock valuation a little more than a year ago.

And not the market cap of $2B when saying how much the government could have paid to buy GM.

JK ;)

You are, of course, correct.

And guess what, when fuel prices went up (and they will again), most folks avoid buying GM's gas guzzlers like the plague. Thankfully, the restructuring of GM includes incentives for the company to produce fuel efficient cars AND the auto industry actually agreed to higher fuel standards.

Heh heh. That's one word for it.

"actually agreed to higher fuel standards"

lol Agreed at gunpoint.

I just filled my Saturn's gas tank, and checked my mileage. 38 mpg. A true GM gas guzzler; thank God no DU spitters got saddled with one of these monstrosities.

Fuel prices will go up because oil is not getting any less scarce. Palin and company may think we can drill here, drill now, but car companies that are not prepared to offer cars that people want to buy as fuel becomes more scarce will be at a disadvantage.

I agree with you, and hope there's more in the new-product pipeline besides rebadged imports and expensive Chevy Volts.

That said, GM (much more than Chrysler) does have a wider range of good-mpg vehicles than most progressives realize.