Late Thursday evening, the U.S. automaker bailout bill failed to pass through the Senate. The legislation is dead and there are no plans for another bill to go through the process until the end of the year. To quote Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, this will be "a very, very bad Christmas" for many Americans. Over the past day, Senators have tried to resolve the House-approved bill so it could pass Senate Republican muster, but reports suggest that the UAW was unwilling to accept GOP demands that workers agree to parity in pay and benefits.
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Cerberus Capital Management shot off a nine-page letter to investors outlining ways that Chrysler could sink, while also pointing out that they believe Chrysler's on the track for success. Some of the possible failure scenarios include a nasty recession, an extreme slowdown in the car market, or a further credit downturn. Credit is already looking green around the gills, and the potential for a widespread domino effect that starts with an implosion of the teetering mortgage business would be catastrophic for Chrysler Financial and GMAC, of which Cerberus owns 51 percent. As easy mortgages and equity go, so goes willy-nilly new car purchasing, and we're probably already seeing the results of that adjustment. Cerberus believes that it can weather a mild credit downturn, and even a mild recession, just fine.
One way to attain success is to declare it, and changing the definition doesn't hurt, either. Cerberus optimistically declares that there's no need to be heroes to earn a good return on their investment. It sounds a little bit like they're saying it's okay to tread water. Stating that it's not necessary to build Chrysler up, even though that's the underlying hope, Cerberus thinks that just hanging in there should be good enough to earn a return. All of Chrysler's employees must feel great knowing that Bob Nardelli, Jim Press, and Tom LaSorda can essentially just keep the company coasting along until Cerberus sells Chrysler off so it can collect that mythical return. Chrysler's performance is so far outpacing expectations, and the company does have cash on hand. Those are actual, concrete good signs that Chrysler could yet emerge from its chrysalis.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating Saab's 9-3 Aero after five complaints were filed claiming that the Swedish sedan suddenly lost braking power. No injuries have been attributed to the defect, however, a low-speed crash might be the first recorded incident involving the 9-3.
The affected Saabs include the 2006 and 2007 9-3 Aeros equipped with the 2.8-liter turbocharged V6, some 49,932 vehicles. Alan Adler, a GM spokesperson, said that the automaker is cooperating with the federal agency, but at this point an official recall has not been filed.
That the R-Class has not been the most successful vehicle in the history of Mercedes-Benz is no big secret, but after staunchly espousing its virtues for year, the automaker has finally admitted it. And as any recovering addict could tell you, admitting you have a problem is the first step on the long road to recovery.
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