Cash for Clunkers

As Sam told us in his morning round-up, Chrysler is to undergo a "surgical bankruptcy" process that will leave the United Auto Workers with a controlling stake in the company, with Fiat and the US Government as junior partners. In addition, as Dr. Rob Shapiro discussed Tuesday on Fox News, the federal government and the Auto Workers now own 89 percent of GM and on his 100th day in office, President Obama said that he wanted the federal government out of the auto business as quickly as possible. NDN has been following the automakers and their search for a profitable future for quite a while, so enjoy this backgrounder on the American auto industry.

• The Chrysler Bankruptcy: Don't Let it Happen to GM by Michael Moynihan, 4/30/2009 - Moynihan argues that the Auto Task Force and GM must work quickly to turn the GM challenge, in some ways more complicated than Chrysler, into an opportunity.

• Here in the Real World They're Shutting Detroit Down by Morely Winograd and Mike Hais, 4/30/2009 - NDN Fellow Winograd and Hais pont out that GM's problems come at a time when the inherent tension between the investor class and the country's manufacturing sector have never been greater.

• Should We Try to Save the Damaged Brands? by Simon Rosenberg, 4/30/2009 - Rosenberg asks if these mainstay, now troubled American brands - AIG, Chrysler, Citi, GM - can be saved by being propped up by the government or if their brands are permanently insolvent.

• The Administration Goes Out on a Limb for GM -- and the Rest of Us by Robert Shapiro, 4/29/2009 - Shapiro says that the Obama Administration's plans for General Motors are a dismal idea, except for all the alternatives.

• China, the World's Largest Car Market and the Future of the Electric Car by Michael Moynihan, 4/10/2009 - Moynihan argues that a robust American auto industry is crucial for the US to compete with China in the growing electric car market.

• Carbonomics by Michael Moynihan, 4/2/2009 - Moynihan looks at the connection between pricing carbon and the future of the American automobile industry.

• Cars, Banks and the Future of the Clean Economy by Michael Moynihan, 3/31/2009 - Moynihan argues that to rebuild the economy we need more engineering and less financial engineering.

• Lessons from Detroit: 10 Years Later, the Overhaul of the Domestic Auto Industry and Its Parallels with the Republicans' Problem by Morely Winograd and Mike Hais, 3/30/2009 - Winograd and Hais find the similarities between Detroit's failure to change and the Republican Party's woes.

• Sympathy for the Car Guys by Michael Moynihan, 12/5/2008 - Moynihan compares Capitol Hill's treatment of Wall Street CEOs to that the auto makers received.

• If Detroit Goes Down, Will It Take the Economy -- and the GOP -- With It? by Robert Shapiro, 11/19/2008 - Shapiro argues that the Bush Administration's mismanagement of the economic crisis has driven the auto industry into an impossible situation.

• With recent news that Congress and the Obama Adminsitration are interested in a "Cash for Clunkers" proposal, enjoy this video from a Green Project event on August 1, 2008 during which Jack Hidary speaks about this idea.