Alternate Route

Jul 9, 2009 - Cipherin'

So I'm reading a story about how GM is getting ready to emerge from bankruptcy and that the "new" GM will come out of the chute with $48 billion in debts.

Now I know this is going to take some high level mathematics and some cipherin' that would test Jethro Bodine's limits, but flash back to yesterday's blog entry and Ford's situation. The article in the NY times said:

Ford, meantime, has some $26 billion of debt. It will soon have $6 billion more in loans from the Department of Energy to develop fuel-efficient cars, and it owes $11 billion to a union health care fund. Factor in losses for the rest of 2009, and Ford’s liabilities may head toward $40 billion, according to Breakingviews.

Remember, that was the debt that was going to put Ford at a disadvantage versus the new GM and Chrysler. Maybe it's that my slide rule is bent, but it sure seems like $48 billion in debt is a lot less than $26 billion, and that's even without the "trying to recover from the stigma of bankruptcy" factor. Perhaps the NY Times guy should have waited a day before he wrote his piece.

3:14 am | Categories: automotive news, ford, gm Permalink | Alert Administrator

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