[sgarnett]

The Senate, UAW, et al, just gave up (ie failed) on reaching a compromise a few minutes ago.

I don't know how GM will come out after bankruptcy (they just hired the bankruptcy lawyer), but the stock market futures are looking ugly tonight. It actually held up well through some dismal recent employment numbers, but I suspect tomorrow is gonna be ugly. Rebuilding my retirement is going to mean austerity and no new cars for a very long time, and I suspect that will be true for many others. That can't be good for any automaker.

I'll admit I wasn't convinced that bridge loans to March could solve the problems for GM, so I don't claim to know what the right answer was. Nevertheless, this is going to be a big kick in the teeth for the economy.

This post has been edited by sgarnett: Dec 12 2008, 04:07 AM

[marka]

Howdy,

I'd need to see the exact poll (and who paid for it, given the automakers wailing about it in the congressional hearings) before I put any credence into the result. Even taking it at face value "less likely" doesn't mean a heck of a lot. I'd be less likely too, all else equal.

The point is to make sure all else _isn't_ equal.

I wonder how many of those polled would be less likely to buy a domestic car vs. an import? Or who'd be less likely to buy a GM vs. a Ford?

And again, despite what anyone might want to believe, the success of walmart, Harbor Freight, and others proves that we as consumers will buy the lower priced option, even if it doesn't work as well, the customer service is worse, etc.

Mark