Henry Payne for June 08, 2011

Get a Jolt from the Volt.Send your royalty checks to Rockngolfer.

Ford didn’t need a bailout.

I remember the local ZA variation of that slogan: "Braaivleis, Rugby, Sunny Skies and Chevrolet " from the ’70s. ahem, sorry, carry on.

The horror, Obama’s bailout saved GM, the horror, right cons?

I miss the old slogan as well, and I actually work for GM (still). Things are finally turning around, though. Maybe some of that UAW bailout money will trickle up to the engineering offices, we’ll have to wait and see.

Eryx and pirate,How about the fact that the federal government helped a private company compete against one that didn’t need to be bailed out? (Ford)

You have still avoided the point of my post. The government helped one private company and not another.

Why let me answer, the fifth.No. Why? Because Circuit City going under would not cascade through the economy like the GM or Chrysler.

You’re welcome.

Kitty,That STILL isn’t the point. The government helped Ford’s competitors when Ford did everything right.

^6 Eryx Traditionally it is Fix Or Repair Daily.The opposition would rather walk and carry a Chevy hubcap than drive a Ford.

The reason to bailout GM is because of the ripple effect. They make parts for nearly everyone else, including Toyota, and thus GM collapsing would cripple the manufacturing sector. Instead, we saved a LOT of jobs, kept the sector going, and GM has finally started to make some changes they should have made years ago and are starting to pay back the loans, though I think they would have done better to fire the top three layers of leadership and start over rather than recycle an old CEO. Their problems were clearly visible 40 years ago, they just got lucky in the interim.

Circuit City didn’t actually manufacture anything. They just sold at retail stuff they bought, from America to start with, Taiwan and Japan , then China. I bought stereo equipment from Dixie HiFi which was the original name of the company that became Circuit City. I think they were overcome by the competition because it was a crowded field with shrinking profit margins.GM went through those terrible times when bean counters decided which cars to build, and did the designing based on costs. GM is better now. The best GM car I have personally driven is the Cobalt.Correct me if I am wrong but the Cobalt apparently has a Saab engine. One tough little car.

Circuit City failed in part because it invaded the perceived territory of a competitor with a much better business model and the competitor retaliated. Circuit City isn’t the first competitor Best Buy has burred.

So you are encouraging large buisnesses to do whatever they want because the government will bail them out. Please take a long walk off a short pier. This isn’t the first time this has happened with the auto industry.