As GM Celebrates Rebirth, Chrysler Stays Silent

The North American International Auto Show opens this week in Detroit. For Chrysler and General Motors, this is the post-bankruptcy auto show where the companies need to persuade potential customers that more than $60 billion in federal bailout money was well spent.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

The Detroit Auto Show opens this week, and today, reporters got a preview of what's coming to showrooms later this year. Joining the journalists are members of Congress, who are there to see how General Motors and Chrysler are spending tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer money. Robert Siegel talks to NPR's Frank Langfitt.

Taxpayers face losses on a significant portion of the $81 billion in government aid provided to the auto industry, an oversight panel says. Most of the $23 billion initially provided to General Motors and Chrysler late last year is unlikely to be repaid, the Congressional Oversight Panel says.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Three years after its bankruptcy, General Motors has had a record year. The company, meanwhile, is hiring again — adding third shifts to meet increasing demand for its cars. But Republican presidential candidates still insist the bailout was a mistake.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Daily Caller - When Chrysler announced at the end of April that it repaid most of its $10.5 billion loan from the federal government, Democrats seized on the opportunity to declare the unpopular bailout a success story. The Chrysler announcement, combined with General Motors’ (GM) previous claim that it had already paid back half of its $50 billion bailout, has put the auto companies in a unique position for the 2012 election cycle.

Chrysler repaid $7.6 billion dollars in loans, with interest, to the U.S. and Canadian governments Tuesday. Car sales are up and the company is profitable again. Many argue it's proof the bailout was worth the cost, but critics point out much of the government's initial investment was lost.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

GM roared back to life as a public company with one of the largest initial public offerings in history, offering $23 billion in new stock as the federal government sold off the majority stake it took last year in exchange for a taxpayer-funded bailout.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us