By TOM KRISHER and KIMBERLY S. JOHNSON, AP Auto Writers Tom Krisher And Kimberly S. Johnson, Ap Auto Writers – 28 mins ago
DETROIT – The speed at which General Motors Corp. exits bankruptcy protection would depend a lot on the shape the company is in when it enters. GM has three more days to tidy up.
Bankruptcy experts say the more operational, labor and financial concessions the automaker gets lined up in advance of its likely Chapter 11 reorganization, the faster the ailing automaker can emerge a leaner, stronger company — one that will be nearly three-quarters-owned by taxpayers.
More pieces started coming together Thursday after a bloc of GM's biggest bondholders agreed to the Treasury Department's sweetened deal to wipe out $27 billion of the automaker's unsecured debt in exchange for company stock.


This is some scary stuff. The captain of this ship has never been off of dry land and the entire entourage of Washington business masterminds has nary a paper route as experience between them. In simple terms, the taxpayers will collectively “own” the largest auto maker in the world the same way we “own” the largest government in the world. That means we will support yet another floundering part of government that will be support by our higher taxes, not customer confidence. (let us not forget the $2,000 toilet seat) This will guarantee pay raises, tenure, and the best health plan our money can by for a product nobody wants. Yep, the car industry will be a new form of working welfare. Combine this with the fact that the government will dictate what type, size, fuel type (and color) of cars that can be built it is easy to see they will quickly run the independents out of business. Couple that with the ability to sell product at a loss (a government specialty) and capitalism will quickly leave the building.

Will we take a cue from the Russians that produced such great basic black cars as the GAZ, ZIL and VOLGA? I for one am not looking forward to marching rank and file to a government that preaches the Constitution and practices Marxism. Make mine red, white and blue, please.