GM Edges Toyota in Global Sales in 2007 (x-post from GD)

[ben_meyers]

DETROIT — General Motors retained its global sales crown in 2007 — just barely. It reported worldwide vehicle sales last year of 9,369,000 vehicles, just 3,000 units more than Toyota's total of 9,366,000.
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=124...

GM posts record loss of $38.7 billion for 2007

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/12/business/12gm.ph...

Toyota 2007 Operating profits grew even more, rising 19.2% to $18.7 billion

http://www.businessweek.com/autos/autobeat/archives/200...

And yet we are going to bail out the losers? Somebody please explain this! I'm not smart enough.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4624511

I guess nobody in GD could figure it out, I'll try here.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

1. Because we're going to bail them out one way or another.

What do you think happens to the millions of people who are thrown into unemployment? Who gets to pay for their and their families' health care when they no longer have that benefit? What happens to the retirees, their pensions and health care? What happens to the federal, state, local, and FICA taxes that are no longer being collected by these wage earners? Who replaces them?

And when we let our biggest manufacturing facilities go fallow, what happens when we have a national defense emergency? Do you think China is going to sell us weapons and tanks if we are at war with them?

[madrchsod]

2. why...american car companies carry more debt due to all the ...

health care and retirement costs. the rest of the first world car manufactures do not have health care costs because their societies are enlighten enough to provide universal health care. as for pensions the american auto companies signed agreements/contracts to provide retirement benefits for their workers. i have no idea if the japanese auto manufactures in japan provide retirement plans. the ones here do not. in fact new hires in the american plants received no retirement benefits.

if the us auto manufactures would drop pensions and retirement the price of the cars would`t go down. only the profit margin would go up.

gm and ford make cars that are just as good or better than toyota and honda. the ford sedan is the safest car in the usa. chevy has the car of the year that has better fuel numbers than honda or toyota. losers? far from it.

the weak sister is Chrysler yet they have the most efficient and productive auto workforce in the usa.

toyota`s plant in california is a union shop.

the us automakers are far from losers. if these manufactures were in any other country in the world there would`t be a problem seeking a --loan--.

Australia loaned it`s gm division money because the government refused to let the company stop production.