If they want our tax money, our government should have most of the say in what they'll be producing from now on. There's no guarantee that the Federal Government will force Ford and GM to build affordable eco-friendly vehicles, but there's certainly a greater chance than in the past.

We've stood by for too long watching these companies produce inefficient vehicles while shipping their eco-friendly hybrids and EVs overseas. Vehicles that whose research, development, and production were all funded by hard earned U.S. dollars. It's time they listen to the increasing aggravation of the Amercian public, and head the call for greener technology, and vehicles that run off a fuel source that's readily available within the U.S.

I'm not willing to pay for a sub-quality product--no matter how patriotic I am.

That being said, I do not want two tons of three-legged one-eyed charm to be what I'm relying on in a crash, or for gas mileage, or reliability, etc.

While i do have sympathy for the workers and all those around them--EVERYONE is suffering from the current state of the economy. Trying to put a bandaid on a
hemorrhaging, gaping wound does not work. I dont have the answers, but neither does anybody else. Just because the bailout is the only current answer doesnt mean its the right one.

Why are these not being sold in the usa?

If there was no bailout, millions would be affected, at least that is what we are being told.

In the end, it's always the little guys that do get hurt.

The ripple effect of a company like GM going under can't really be completely anticipated or underestimated. The people that work directly for GM are just simply the very very tip of the iceberg. The effect goes all the way out to the guy that delivers the bread to the restaurant where a employees of a supplier to a supplier to GM eat lunch. People who may not even realize how they are connected to the auto industry.

On one hand people are very aware that the big three are very very dysfunctional, and maybe need to be wiped clean and restarted. But we also can't begin to estimate what it could do to every single person in the state. It's like being a mouse that lives in the basement of a dangerously unstable office building, you know it needs to come down, but you don't want it to come down on you.

Scary Stuff.

If so, you will lose your stock share money if the company goes into bankruptcy, which they will do if they don't get the loan.

They don't get the loan = YOU lose.

They act like the US is the only country that matters, and chose the path of least resistance. This why their sales outside the US are so low. And now as the economy crumbles, they don't have the international revenue streams to support them.

That's not to say that the other companies aren't facing hard times, but at least for them, they are able to adapt to the new environment, and are planning for a future beyond it.

I really love what Toyota are doing in the US:
http://edgehopper.com/what-toyota-knows-that-gm-doesnt/

I used to be a Ford fan, but those days are becoming few and far between.

Also:

According to CNN, GM has 74k employees in the US. Crysler's website claims 100K. I can't find any information on ford domestic employment; I found a site claiming 87k employees, but it does not indicate if that is world-wide.

So even if you invested $100,000 in each of these workers, it would be chepaer than what they're asking for in the bailput.

On the other hand, who has big bucks right now? And who's been in bed with the car companies for too long? That's right, the oil companies. Exxon Mobil has had record earnings the last several quarters; maybe *they* should bail out the Big 3.