Administration dallies while auto industry sweats it out

While Detroit's automobile companies burn through cash at a frightening rate of close to $200 million a day, the people in Washington, D.C., with the power to contain this wildfire are still sitting on their hoses.

Fiddling away, it would seem, as Detroit burns.

"We are not going to be rushed into it," White House press secretary Dana Perino said Tuesday morning about providing bridge loans to prevent the impending bankruptcies of General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC.

That's reassuring, eh?

Meanwhile, each day brings further warnings about the deteriorating condition of auto parts makers like Lear Corp., TRW and American Axle & Manufacturing.

Moody's Inc., the ratings agency, downgraded the credit rating of Lear on Friday, TRW on Monday and American Axle on Tuesday, citing severe production cutbacks and the possible bankruptcy of their major customers.

Key Plastics, a Northville-based auto supplier, filed Tuesday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The Washington-based Brookings Institution weighed in Tuesday with the latest study on fallout from the possible collapse of one or more of the Detroit Three automakers.

http://www.freep.com/article/20081217/COL06/812170401/?imw=Y

are bush, trembling about rethugs reaction to him doing the right thing.

they know that after january 20th the deal is going to be worked out.

moody`s is trying to kill off the entire industry by speculating on it demise. downgrading the suppliers to the auto industry...gee i wonder what toyota,honda, and the other auto assemblers in the usa think about that.how`s toyota going to get their parts from my daughters line if the banks do`t give her employer credit?

key plastics is a world wide corporation....!

i hope the hell that gm,chrysler,and ford can wait till jan 20th before making a decision....

between them, but without credit, people can't buy shit.

GM and Chrysler, I'm praying, wishing and hoping for.

Being in that fuzzy area where religious beliefs meets legal rights, I figured most would have mixed opinions or the rabid religionists would prevail. But no, the disgust landed squarely on the Republicans.

Here they're about to watch one or both iconic American brands die without lifting a finger. And cut myriad dependent businesses off at the knees. Even the most arch-conservative free marketeer is personally going feel the effects from this and it won't be good.

It's astonishing, but I don't think they truly know what they're messing with. This isn't tiger by the tail, it's wrath of God stuff. If they don't blink, it could be their Waterloo.

Every disaster in battle imaginable will befall the Thugs over this. And when the new Congress cuts off the pork barrel spigot to theses states, the Senators will get the blame, deservedly.