Ford would have shut without GM, Chrysler aid, Rattner says

I find this article very interesting.  Ford, at the time of GM and Chrysler's bailouts, did not request help but supported the federal government in the bailouts of their competitors.  The reason being that if GM and Ford were to disappear they would also lose some of their suppliers.  I assume the result of losing suppliers would be a loss of competitive bidding and higher production costs for Ford.

An update to the bailouts is that Chrysler has repaid all of its debt to the federal government with all the interest due.  They did not renegotiate any of the debt.  I believe GM has repaid most or all of their debt.  Today the big three are doing strong business with great profits and are the leading industry in the recovery from the recession.  Article below is from Automotive News:

Ford would have shut without GM, Chrysler aid, Rattner says Angela Greiling Keane  October 9, 2012 - 11:20 am ET

DETROIT (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co., the only large U.S. automaker that didn’t receive a U.S. government bailout, would’ve failed along with General Motors and Chrysler if President Barack Obama’s administration hadn’t rescued the industry, said Steven Rattner, who headed Obama’s auto task force.

“Ford would have closed because it wouldn’t have been able to get parts, because the parts industry in this country was in arguably worse shape than the assemblers,” Rattner said today at the Center for American Progress in Washington.

Rattner, now chairman of the Willett Advisors LLC investment firm, led the $63.4 billion bailout in 2009 of GM and Chrysler, which he said would have fired all their workers and ceased to exist without the bailout.

President George W. Bush, who preceded Obama, “did the right thing” by beginning the bailout process, giving $17.5 billion to GM and Chrysler in 2008, Rattner said.

The auto bailout has been a point of contention in the presidential race between Obama and Republican Mitt Romney as they compete for votes in swing states including Ohio, home to U.S. automaker and parts-supplier plants. Romney opposed the government bailout.

Ford's view

Ford CEO Alan Mulally last month concurred with Rattner’s view, saying he testified before Congress in support of taxpayer support for his competitors because it also saved Ford.

“We think about that a lot, should we have gone back and testified on behalf of our competitors who were bankrupt,” Mulally told reporters Sept. 18 in New York. “I would do the same thing again today.”

Mulally said he agreed with the assessment of “the economic advisers of the Bush administration and the Obama administration that if GM and Chrysler had gone into free fall, they could have taken the United States from a recession into a depression.”

The U.S. government was the only entity that could save the domestic automakers because no one, including banks that were dealing with their own financial crises, was willing to put private capital into GM and Chrysler at the beginning of 2009, Rattner said.

“If you can’t pay your workers, if you can’t pay your suppliers, if you can’t pay your electric bills, then you have to liquidate,” he said. “This is what government is set up to do.”

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20121009/OEM/121009878#ixzz28rgEbSVR

Its Car Show Season Again!

Its Jume and the car shows are off and running.  This Saturday, June 9th, is the 19th Annual Volksfest at Concours Motors and the BMW Clubs Show at Concours BMW on North Green Bay Road.

19th Annual VolksFest This Saturday!

Presented by Concours Motors & The Milwaukee-Area Volkswagen Club!
Saturday, June 9th, 2012; 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
at Concours Motors (back parking lot), 1400 West Silver Spring Drive; Glendale, WI 53209
(414) 290-1400 http://www.concoursmotors.com/
SHOW IS FREE TO ALL SPECTATORS & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Car Show * Swap Meet * Auction * Music * Food * VW Toys * Merchandise * MKE Mustangs
Car Show Entries: Must drive on to lot to qualify for trophy. Day of show registration ONLY. $10 per vehicle.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Call MAVWC Hotline: (414) 290-1525
http://www.mavwc.com/

The South Shore Water Frolics Sunday, July 15th at South Shore Park in Milwaukee 10 am to 3 pm.  Also a great Art Show that day 9 am to 5 pm.





My Fiat X1/9 at the 2008 Frolics Show



 And the Milwaukee Masterpiece Concours d'Elegance August 25th & 26th with Fiat and Mercedes Benz as featured Marques. Milwaukee Masterpiece Link

Who Makes Fiats?

Its the question I get a lot when driving a Fiat.  "Who makes Fiats?"  Usually asked innocently by someone, and occasionally asked with snickering undertone by rednecks.  I think the rednecks thought Fiat was bought out by somebody a long time ago and put to death.  Kinda like AMC, MG, NSU, DAF, Packard, Studebaker, Rover or Triumph.

My is response always: "Fiat makes Fiats!"  The innocent usually look a little confused.  The rednecks start to realize this might become a conversation and try to avoid it.  I explain that Fiat Group is one of the largest producers of cars in the world like Ford, Nissan, Honda or VW.  In fact they make more cars than Honda.

Now it is 2012 and Fiat Group owns Chrysler Group.  They have nearly 60% ownership in Chrysler Group and the shares are growing.  The first totally new Dodge under Fiat Group is the Dart, just unveiled at the Detroit Autoshow.

So I will rephrase the question: "Who does Fiat make?" Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Maserati, Chrysler, Dodge, Ram and Jeep.  They also make Vespa/Piaggio, Aprillia, Case International Harvestor, New Holland and more.

2013 Dodge Dart

The Super Bowl Car Ads

In case you missed them, here are the best auto ads form the 2012 Super Bowl.  I watched most of the game but for some reason missed many of the ads.

Autonews article and Videos click here
Fiat Abarth Video click here

Acura's "Transactions" with Jerry Seinfeld is great.  Close runner up is Fiat (not considered a Super Bowl ad because it was run before on other shows).  The Audi and BMW are good - yes, I agree a heated steering wheel must be a good thing.  Cars.com ad is disturbing. Chevy "Joy" gets the cute award but VW gets runner up cute.  At the beginning I thought Chrysler's was a political commercial but it wasn't - or was it?  Chrysler did pay back all of its bail-out money last year (with interest paid to the US) and made a profit for the first time in several years.

Rental Car Surprise!

After my plane landed in West Palm Beach I had to go to the Budget counter to pick up my “economy” class car.  Unfortunately it was a late flight; but fortunately the shuttle bus drove me directly to the near site airport office.  I saw Budget’s inventory as the bus was pulling in the lot and noticed a few Fiat 500 Sports.  When I got to the counter we started the paperwork and I thought: could it be that the 500 is an economy car and I may possibly get one?  I asked him what they had assigned me – it was a Chevy Sonica.  Now, not bad for the least expensive rental car, but it is no Fiat.  I asked him what it would take to get a Fiat 500.  After some sweet talking and a trip to his manager he came back and asked me which color I wanted.  He did inform me that the 500 was not classified as an economy car, but in the same class as a Camaro or Mustang – and at this location a Mini.

For future reference I asked how I could guarantee I get a Fiat 500 when I come back.  He mentioned that I must call the store location where I am going to rent.  Going through Budget corporate will not work.  Their website does not even say they have Fiat 500’s or Mini Coopers.  He also mentioned that the 500’s and Mini’s are very desirable and can be hard to reserve.

The car was great to drive and absolutely loved it!  When I test drove the Fiat 500 for the first time I was at the Milwaukee location (on the northwest side) and the roads there are in terrible condition, frost heaved.  The scenery was also depressing – it detracted from the test drive.  I had a couple days driving the car on nice roads with beautiful scenery – I really love the car.  It has extremely tight, direct steering with a comfortable ride and of course great handling.  All the controls were excellent and the interior quality was first rate – even better than current VW’s.  The car felt like a short solid brick as nothing flexed or creaked.  The car had almost 10, 000 miles on it so if there were going to be creaking, rattles or anything being loose they would be there by now.

What I like about the 500:

1. Short, nimble with extremely tight turning circle.

2. Instrument layout with everything directly above the steering wheel including clock and trip computer.  The radio station and the name of the song even read out in the same location.

3. High seating position, comfortable seating.  Controls all easy to reach.

4. Fiatisms: All the lights including the headlamps turn off with the ignition key.  There is an idiot light telling you that you have your headlamps on (helpful reminder during daylight).  I assume there is a low fuel warning light.  Great fuel economy.  May not have highest horsepower in class but definitely has acceleration even on the highway.  That great Italian steering with immediate response.

5. High tech everything – USB connectivity, Bluetooth, satellite radio, all the safety gizmos and computer/electric assists.

6. The wiper-washers – Fiat figured it out!  The washers spray with misting the whole window first (completely covered) than the wiper moves, same for both front and back.  It works excellent and fast.

7. Steering wheel controls for trip computer, radio and Bluetooth – the tactile buttons for the radio channel and volume are hidden on the backside of the steering wheel.

What I didn’t like:

1.      The manual shifter part of the six speed automatic is backwards intuition – shifting it down is actually up shifting and vice versa.

2.      The power windows don’t have auto up.

Like the Milwaukee Metro area, there were other Fiat 500’s driving around the West Pam Beach area and I noticed most of them were not rental cars.  Many people, like spectators, looking with curiosity giving thumbs ups and OK signs.  Sometimes I forgot what I was driving and than reminded when I see people looking at the car and smiling.  Just like a collector car, curious people will speed up on the road to look and than hang out in your blind spot for a while watching the car.  I expect that in one of my vintage Fiats but didn’t expect it to happen while driving a newer car.  The reactions were not as extensive as driving an vintage Fiat 500 or 600.  When I used to drive my 1964 Fiat 600 people would try to follow me more and it is not possible to stop at a gas station without answering a bunch questions.  I was able to put gas in the rental Fiat without anyone asking me.