I don’t want to make too much of this. I mean, these people have to go on TV every week and defend the Obama administration. That is punishment enough. That said, Bill Press and Eleanor Clift did go on the McLaughlin Group and spin themselves into oblivion.
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, HOST: You say the auto industry is stronger than it ever has been?
BILL PRESS: Yes, it is.
ELEANOR CLIFT, NEWSWEEK: Yes it is.
If by “ever” they mean the day before they would have collapsed without a massive government bailout, then yes. Best. Shape. Ever. Well no, that’s not even true, unless they’ve always been this bad.
I’ve played this game before with stories about the auto industry…let’s play compare and contrast. 2010 was the worst year ever for Toyota. They recalled more than 8 million cars and suffered from one of the worst PR disasters of all time. They also suffered from the highly conflicted and uncomfortable government response and the media hysteria that followed.
So, how did Toyota do in comparison to GM/Chrysler last year? According to a leading national consumer magazines “Grading the Automakers” annual report, Toyota came in 3rd with an overall score of 71. GM came in 12th with an overall score of 56. Chrysler came in dead last with a dreadful score of 43. Which automaker showed the biggest gains in on-road performance and reliability? The one that didn’t need a government bailout, Ford (Overall Score of 67).
As Newsbusters points out, GM is now trading below its IPO price,
Interesting chart, especially if you consider that the government sold 45% of its ownership position in the stock already. At the time, some considered the move a head scratcher. After all, GM was on the road to recovery, at least that was the story. Why sell so soon? As Investor’s Business Daily noted in January,
The Congressional Oversight Panel reported Thursday that by selling 45% of the stock it had in GM, Washington has “‘locked in’ a loss of billions of dollars and thus greatly reduced the likelihood that taxpayers will ever be repaid in full.”
Bailout defenders had thought that GM’s IPO would show critics that the government could make money on the bailout. But when “Treasury received a price of $33 per share,” it sold “well below the $44.59 needed to be on track to recover fully taxpayers money.”
Looking back at the chart, and looking forward to the EPIC FAIL that will be the Chevy Volt, that may have been a good time for the Feds to sell, saving taxpayers billions more to the downside? In six months, we’re likely to see Press and Clift on McLaughlin touting the administrations foresight to sell early.
UPDATE: Two days after this post, whadda ya know…GM CFO Suddenly Resigns