Below The Beltway

Apparently, two days of begging from the Big Three CEO’s hasn’t accomplished very much:
WASHINGTON — Detroit automakers will probably leave Washington on Wednesday without the $25 billion in federal aid the companies contend is critical to their long-term survival.
After two days of testimony, the chief executives of General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Chrysler were [...]

Exhibit A — imported cars sitting unclaimed at American ports:
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Gleaming new Mercedes cars roll one by one out of a huge container ship here and onto a pier. Ordinarily the cars would be loaded on trucks within hours, destined for dealerships around the country. But these are not ordinary times.
For now, [...]

Take it as a sign that the worst is yet to come:
Shares on Wall Street closed at their lowest levels in five years on Wednesday as hope dimmed in Washington for an emergency bailout of the auto industry.
The late-day sell-off came in frenzy amid growing fears of deflation.
The Dow Jones settled below 8,000 for the [...]

A car dealer in Maryland is giving away 100 shares of General Motors stock if you buy a Cadillac.
Personally, I’d rather have a free oil change, at least it’s worth something.
H/T: Club for Growth

I’m really beginning to like Fox News Channel’s Shepard Smith:

H/T: Jason Pye

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, whose father once headed the now defunct American Motors Corporation, argues that the Detroit Big Three must be allowed to fail:
IF General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye. It won’t go overnight, but its [...]

The unbridled arrogance of the politicians advocating that we pour money down the Detroit sinkhole is demonstrated quite clearly in this exchange between Fox News Channel’s Neil Cavuto and Michigan Republican Congressman Joe Knollenberg:

Incidentally, and perhaps appropriate, Knollberg was defeated in his bid for re-election; although he was likely replaced by a Democrat just as [...]

I’ve only ridden in a 350Z once, but it was a pretty cool ride.
Now, Nissan is releasing the 370Z:
Nissan 370Z Reveal before LA Autoshow
H/T: The Truth About Cars

Peter Schiff on what a Big Three bailout really means:
With the Big Three auto makers now in a plainly visible death spiral, the automotive bailout debate is kicking into overdrive. The disagreement hinges on whether a bailout is necessary to support an important industry or whether the unprofitable dinosaurs of the past should be allowed [...]

The heads of the “Big Three” automakers were on Capitol Hill today making their case for a Federal bailout:
WASHINGTON — The heads of Detroit’s Big Three automakers and the United Auto Workers union testified Tuesday before a Senate committee that the domestic auto industry could face collapse without an emergency infusion of federal funds.
And at [...]