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Nov 18, 2008 6:04 pm US/Eastern
S. Fla. Car Dealers Ask For Help On Capitol Hill
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President Bush has been facing mounting pressure over making funds available to support the Big Three auto giants, GM, Chrysler and Ford, from collapsing under poor economic conditions.
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Members of Congress continue to debate how the bail-out money should be spent. At the same time, they're also considering what –if anything- should be done to save the "Big Three" automakers. Some South Florida dealership owners headed to Washington D.C. to try and get lawmakers to see things their way.
Car salesmen are among the loneliest people around these days. At Maroone Dodge in Pembroke Pines, the one customer CBS4 Reporter Michael Williams ran across wanted a used car rather than something new. Even more striking, they wanted an Infiniti, not a Dodge!
Maroone is part of Autonation, the nation's leading auto group. With industry sales down 30 percent over the past year, CEO Mike Jackson spent Tuesday in Washington, sharing a sobering message. "It's 3 a.m. in the morning for the nation's economy. Is anyone going to answer the phone?"
The Senate is now debating at $25 billion loan request from Detroit automakers, who say the economy is crippling sales their balance sheets.
Critics say unsustainable labor contracts and poor-quality products are Detroit's problem, and because of that, they don't deserve the help. Mike Jackson, who's criticized Detroit before, says the Big Three have made major strides on all fronts: quality, labor deals and fuel efficiency.
Jackson also says the Big Three are falling prey to the financial wreckage that was sparked on Wall Street; if they fail, it could have a disastrous domino effect. "I compare it to the wildfires in California. It'd be like throwing instead of water, gas on the fires."
A car from one of the Big Three used to be as American as apple pie and the red, white and blue. Now saddled with red ink, the Big Three are a reminder of the nation's economic crisis, as they beg for a financial life ring.
Business/Economy
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