U.S. Automaker Crisis continued...

Following up on the post I made on Thursday, U.S. Automakers are appearing to continue a business as usual mode. This may or may not be a great example, but something that I found interesting and wanted to share with everyone.

I watched both the Colts-Bengals and Steelers-Cowboys games today and noticed a lot of the same commercials time and again. The ones that appeared the most was three separate Cadillac commercials advertising their CTS and Escalade models but all three advertised their "Red Tag" event and exclaimed how this was a first ever for Cadillacs. "The price you see on the Red Tag is the price you pay, not a cent more (taxes?). See your local Cadillac dealer today for great deals."

The most curious part of these great deals? The CTS had an all-new, low price of...over $43,000 dollars. The Escalades? Over $57,000. Remember, this is not including taxes.

Wasn't GM one of the automakers pleading and begging for money the past several weeks from our government? Yet, they still advertised overpriced, gas guzzling vehicles. The only brand General Motors has that is comparable or more expensive in price is their Corvette line.

The other commercials weren't much better. To GM's credit, they did advertise a 37 mpg Chevy Cobalt at the beginning of the Colts game but I don't recall seeing the commercial after that. The Cadillac commercials were approaching 12 advertising time slots when halftime approached the Steelers-Cowboys game. Cadillac also sponsored the Colts game.

Ford only advertised trucks (specifically their "new" F-150). The truck commercials proudly boasted having an astonishing 21 mpg while still increasing horsepower. Another truck commercial exclaimed about the new pull out step to reach your cargo hold, like having a boost is the rage for trucks all the sudden. I don't remember seeing any other car companies besides Ford and GM.

The point I'm trying to make is it looks like these companies are making no effort to save cash they so desperately need and are not changing the way they do business at all. I read an article just minutes before reading this about how backed up inventory for ALL automakers is here in America ( http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081207/us_nm/us_autos_ports). If your average American can't even afford a Corolla, Aveo, Cobalt, Civic, Fusion, or any other common Sedan, how the fuck are they going to be able to afford a Cadillac CTS or an ESCALADE? If someone doesn't have enough cash to drop on a new vehicle that costs less than $15,000 how will they have enough to buy one that costs $45,000 or MORE???

The best article I read by politicians is the one that Barack Obama and Chris Dodd (the guy I just got done blasting, I'll eat a plate of crow later if it proves I'm wrong about him) commented on the futures of executives of American automakers (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081207/ap_on_go_co/congress_autos).
Apparently there are plenty of people, even some who are rich and powerful, who think these people should lose their jobs and have little if any compensation if they lose them (why should someone be compensated for being fired anyway? When someone is fired at a restaurant, they don't compensate them a dime).

If these companies need cash so bad they would pull a lot of their advertising and save it there. I wouldn't give them any money at all if I were voting in Congress. Remember, Rick Wagoner and any of the other auto executives don't care if they go under. They already raped for their millions.