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Strategies & Market Trends : The Epic American Credit and Bond Bubble Laboratory -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TH who wrote (99212)	10/25/2008 11:34:13 AM
From: MoneyPenny	3 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110194

From the Freep. Chrysler leader: Be grateful -- and be afraid BY TOM WALSH • FREE PRESS COLUMNIST • October 25, 2008 The latest bizarre bombshell from Chrysler LLC was posted at 10:09 a.m. Friday on the Auburn Hills automaker's internal electronic bulletin board, under the grandiose heading, "Messages From Our Leaders." This communique came from The Leader himself, Chief Executive Officer Robert Nardelli. It began with an opening paragraph larded with scary adjectives: • The times for the auto industry are not just unimaginable, but "truly unimaginable," he wrote. And also "challenging," he added three sentences later. • The current economic period is not just difficult, but "the most difficult any of us can remember." • Consumer confidence is not only declining, but "continues to weigh on the economy." • Financial markets are "troubled." This ominous phrasing was intended to make it clear that The Leader has been confronted with so many evil external obstacles that despite his extraordinary, benevolent efforts, he simply cannot protect and feed all of his precious people any longer. So he must send 25% of his salaried subjects away, to the barren landscape outside the boundaries of Chrysler. "As always" -- a telling preface indicating that The Leader has much experience with such matters -- "we will strive to do this in a socially responsible way, with respect and gratitude to those who have contributed so much to our company over the years," he wrote. The Leader is not merely generous, but truly magnanimous. In addition to sending 25% of his subjects away with respect and gratitude, he has promised future exiles who take voluntary buyouts "enhanced benefits," including cash, a half-year of health care coverage and new-vehicle vouchers worth up to $25,000 toward the purchase of a new Chrysler. It's hearing about goodies such as the vouchers that will make Chrysler's unwanted subjects grateful that they are being dumped by an automobile company as opposed to, say, a newspaper company, where the voucher might be for only a paid newspaper subscription. As just one more incentive to persuade subjects to sign up for the buyout, The Leader pledged that it will still "be necessary to have involuntary separation actions at the end of December." So, dear subjects, sign up for the voluntary buyout now. Otherwise, take your chances on getting the ziggy right after Christmas, when the company might be controlled by General Motors Corp. or Nissan-Renault or the Sultan of Brunei. The Leader also had inspirational words for the 75% left behind when the exiles are gone: "We need to work harder and more diligently to control every expense," he wrote. Sounds like fun. Good luck to everyone in Auburn Hills. You'll need it.

To: TH who wrote (99212)	10/25/2008 2:27:56 PM
From: Broken_Clock	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 110194

Did you happen to catch the recent Frontline? Called"Heat" i think. talked about global warming but was mostly about how the US(and world) economies are stuck on coal, gas guzzlers, etc. very good, ino. They were interviewing a lady VP from GM(I think). One topic was why they are staring from scratch with the Volt when they had an electric car that worked a decade ago and was scrapped. She literally could not answer the question. They pointed out that GM is getting a $1bil gift from the US gov't to develop an electric car. They tried to film a test drive of the Volt. It couldn't go up a 5 degree hill then just died. The GM rep told them to speed up the film so it would look like it made normal speed. I don't think it would be wise to have my son go into the US automotive industry as a career.