NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Shares of U.S. automakers surged sharply in premarket trading Monday as Congress appears to be leaning closer to throwing the companies a financial lifeline, but attached to a potential aid package are growing calls _ including from a key senator _ for the chief executives to step down.That's a bit open ended... especially the part that goes "overhauling the top management of Ford, Chrysler LLC and GM is necessary...."General Motors rose nearly 22 percent, while Ford gained nearly 18 percent.
Sen. Chris Dodd, D- Conn., chairman of the Banking Committee said Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America" that overhauling the top management of Ford, Chrysler LLC and GM is necessary as a gesture of good faith with the American public.
Several analysts are speculating that GM, and Chrysler and Ford will receive the funding, but with additional strings attached. Key Banc analyst Brett D. Hoselton said in a research note Monday that there's a 50 percent chance the federal government will grant aid, providing Senate Republicans get onboard.
It seems pretty obvious that GM and Chrysler need to dip into the trough, but I'd like to see Ford Motor Company and their CEO, Alan Mulally who has done an exceptional job in a tough situation, be able to thumb their noses at the penance plan by not using any of the Federal money. Of course, that will depend a lot on whether the $700 billion largesse to the financial institutions begins to loosen up the credit and the economy in the next six month.Congress has been making the domestic auto industry the economic goat for the government's misguided and disastrous meddling into the housing credit market and mandating excessive automobile regulations. Now it wants to make the auto manufactures' CEOs sacrificial lambs.
I'd also like to see Toyota and Honda do a little arm twisting in Alabama when the massive financial incentive period there runs out by hinting at the need to move to another state that wants to give them billions of dollars in new incentives. That would be poetic justice for the ultimate hypocrite, Sen. Shelby...