Bailout Madness: Should Bad Auto Loans Be Bailed Out Too?

I was waiting for somebody to mention that the corporate bailout plan for the Wall Street elite seems to be a done deal. But a seemingly smaller request for aid was instantly shot down (by the President) months ago. If any of the financial houses begin to really fail, there will be investors that will step in to prop them back up (See Buffett-Goldman deal). Phil didn't discuss the issue like I thought he would though.

We should consider if any of the Big 3 were to file bankrupt and was then sold in parts to the highest bidder(s), many of their (outstretched) facilities would be shuttered leaving 10s of thousands jobless in an instant...not to mention the various supplier industries that support the larger corporations manufacturing efforts. Whole cities and town would be hurt within months of such an event.

I say this to indicate that auto companies are just as important to the US economy as the financial companies that basically bet big with American mortgages and lost even bigger on the gambling floor by ignoring clear indications that it was time to stop and walk away.

— dumpsty (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2008 12:45:36 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -2   

Bail out or no bail out, this economic downturn will not bode well for us. More and more car companies will stall development plans and offer “safe” marketable cars that will not take risks. The same thing happened during the early 80’s post 70’s downturn. The early 80’s was a terrible time for car design. In fact, the 80’s in general was a terrible time for car design.

Get ready to see a lot of “ecco” cars that will downsized with some sort of electric-internal combustion drive. Outside of the Tesla, what the other car companies are offering are laughable. The proposed Audi A1 electric and the BMW electric Issetta look like toys. The fact that BMW is considering brining back the inline 4 on the 3 series for the US market is great for polar bears but a step backwards for the automotive world. Don’t get me wrong, the ecco revolution we’re in is critical to the well being of the planet. Let’s hope we’re not stuck with a bunch of cars that have nothing but small wheels and bubble profiles.

— E36er (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2008 1:00:37 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

This must be one of the most stupid postings at Autospies ever.

There should be absolutely no bailout of auto loans. People need to live with the decisions they made and reap the rewards or face any consequences as the case may be. If somebody couldn't afford a vehicle, they should have bought used or not bought.

There also should be no bailout of the 'big 3' US automakers. They have been mismanaged for much of my lifetime (I'm 40) and their poor labor negotiation skills and poor product planning skills have driven them to where they today rest. Similarily, if the 'big 3' ran a credit check on somebody and gave them a loan even if they were not creditworthy - they the automaker loan officer needs to deal with it. Its their problem.

Sorry to be harsh.

— nybimmer (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2008 1:09:51 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

time to rethink lending as a whole. are regulations REALLY scarier than anarchy?

— 1995e34 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2008 1:28:35 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

Corporate bailout is already costing us over $10k for every man woman and child alive today which means future generations will be burdened with more than 2 trillion, and that's not counting the 9trillion of debt that has accrued under Bush's reign and decades of tax cuts for the rich and private corporations. These bandaid solutions are not sustainable for future health of the US economy. The temporary lift in markets as a result of these cash injections are gonna be nothing compared to the continuing weakening of the dollar and overall instability of the economy.

Enough already, taxpayers should not be held responsible for the irresponsible investment decisions people have made.

— sector (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2008 1:37:47 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

Is that the Lexus loading dock in the picture with all the new IS and ES models?

-00J

— Agent00J (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2008 1:53:34 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

HELL NO!

— Need4Speed (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2008 4:28:04 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

If they do it for one they should do it for all...

— silver1 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/24/2008 4:47:17 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

Not only no but HELL NO!

— enp83 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/25/2008 11:01:04 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Let'em all crash and burn, they were stupid for marketing to people to enable them to live beyond their means (be it houses or wannabe cars).

The FDIC will insure people's money won't be lost (normal people have less than $100,000 in the bank), but Bush and the Democrats just want to funnel the money through the banks first to ensure their buddies stock holdings don't become worthless.

The market needs a correction and watching the housing market collapse (followed by oil prices) is what should've been allowed to happen a few years back.

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/28/2008 12:04:57 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1