Next, Larry, please do a story on how Obama stuck his nose in the controlled bankruptcy, unilaterally overturned years of contract law and forced the bond holders and shareholders to get screwed, then gave the company to the UAW. Tell us how many investors were kicked to the street with their IRAs, mutual funds, their life savings in ruins. Not to mention the taxpayers who were robbed. Would not a legitimate bankruptcy proceeding have done more to give a "fair shot" to the investors who were doing more than their "fair share" to keep that company afloat without kissing the UAW's ass?

Hooray for GM and Obama!!

Sorry, I meant Ken, not Larry. Had a "senior moment" there.

Frankly, I will never buy a GM or Chrysler product. The UAW should be ashamed of themselves. When they could no longer rip-off the American consumer, they simply decided to rip-off the American taxpayer.

How can government take-over of any industry be considered a "success" story by anyone with any hint of understanding of how a free market economy operates?

Because of the fact that the BO Admin seized and stripped GM shareholders of their stock and gave it to the UAW leadership, I will never ever buy a GM vehicle!

May their profits plummet and they burn in helll for what they did!!

While I have learned over a lifetime of experience to never say never, I cannot see any circumstance that would cause me to buy another GM product. There are just too many good vehicles out there, at better prices, to make me want to buy a UAW/GM auto. As for building better autos, how about the Chevy Volt that apparently has a problem with catching fire after a collision, not to mention the fact that Obama is trying to bribe the American consumer with $10,000.00 to buy the over-priced POS. It will be a cold day in Hell before this old boy buys one.

Richard Ryan

Lamar,Missouri - Birthplace of Harry S Truman

Doc Ollie, and boomer8. Shame on you for blaming GM, when its our President that forced the bankruptcy, and the terms of that bankruptcy. Please remember, that there was NO private capital around, so GM and Chryslers hands were dealt!! Vote Obama out, and buy A GM or Ford vehicle.

Why does no one note the cost ? BOzo & gang gloss over the fact that taxpayers will NEVER recover all of the $82 Billion loaned the auto companies . At present the best guess is a loss of $25 Billion . This

plus the 'secured ' creditor stiffing is solely to reward BOzo's UAW cronies who helped get him elected . The uncertainty continues to

hinder investment and hiring by business ! Had GM & Chrysler gone

through legal bankruptcy no one in the world would have been unable

to buy a car and the economy would be stronger with more jobs . It's

easy to look profitable when you don't pay your creditors or taxes due to special deals . We will NEVER buy a GUMMINT MOTORS car !

The initial and post costs for "saving" GM and Chrysler is horrendously expensive, particularly, if you look at it on "saved job" basis. The whole process is so bastardized it isn't possible to fully share my disdain and rejection of it.

Adding any credulity to what happened causes me great disappointment in your perspective on this. It was second time around for Chrysler, and we will see GM go the same route, probably quicker.

detfan -- We'll never know what private capital might have appeared had GM done an actual bankruptcy instead of this sham. Perhaps they took a look at GM's books and contracts and said "No way" to what existed but might have jumped right in with a legitimate resructuring. Would YOU have invested in it the way it was run?

The title of Blackwell's piece is very unfortunate. Obviously, American carmakers got themselves into trouble with some poor leadership BUT the largest impediment they faced was Government Interference and the labor unions.

So, let's be clear, GOVERNMENT was NOT the solution, and neither political Party was part of the solution. THEY were the problem!

It's fair to say that the comeback is even greater because it was accomplished DESPITE government meddling and obstruction. I'm not just talking about the subversion of contract law and bankruptcy law and the screwing of private stockholders... I'm also talking about every day regulation, the unceasing regulation that demands airbags, sets mileaage requirements, defines fuel mixtures and a host of conflicting and complex requirements that simply raise the cost of vehicles for everyone.

Problem with these bailouts is that they DO work, which means we'll be doing them again and again and again. Remember Chrysler in 1980? What I'd like to see is an explanation of how the bail out was better than normal bankrupcy protection and reorganization like the legacy airlines have all gone through. What's been done institutionalized 'Too Big To Fail'. So much for accountability.

Buy a Ford. Good product and no taxpayer bailout money. Why reward propped-up failure?

@ Jim in WNC

Ford would have been in the same boat had they not secured some mighty timely private loans about a year before the other two failed.

Bankruptcy should have been the only option.

Bush, being his noble self, once again put the good of the country before politics and started the ball rolling. I didn't agree then or now. What he got for that was a backhand from Obama - but what can you expect from a Marxist Chicago cockroach-thug-community organizer-George Soros puppet?????

BTW-

Here we had a government go in a take over a private business.

THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED.

That is also called COMMUNISM.

It is also what the Nazis did in Germany in their takeover. I will never buy Government Motors, or GE for that matter.

I can only agree with you in part on this one. Bush started the bail out and it would have worked just fine without anything else being done.

Obama raped GM share holders when he 'restructured' the company, fired the CEO, and gave the union so much power.

GM may be solvent today, but it's basically under the same management (union) that it has been for the last 50 years.