President Bush Authorizes Auto Bailout Package!

The New York Times (and other sources) just reported that President Bush just authorized a bailout package for GM and Chrysler to the tune of $17.4 billion. I'm still trying to process the details, but this does NOT look like the "soft-landing bankruptcy" plan that newspapers and blogs were talking about yesterday, which would have basically been government supervision in restructuring the companies. It also looks like all of the government oversight and company requirements have been watered down a bit. I’m afraid this will let the companies muddle along for a while longer without really changing anything much. Basically, GM needs to slim down, and they seem incapable of shedding brands or models. Will this money make them do what they have been unable to since the dawn of time? I sure hope so.