On Saturday, Congress approved a $25B package for U.S. Automakers

WASHINGTON -- U.S. automakers will be able to modernize their plants to build more fuel-efficient vehicles thanks to Uncle Sam.By as early as next spring, GM, Ford and Chrysler will be able to tap into a $25 billion low-interest line of credit from the government. The Energy Department will parcel out the 25-year loans approved by Congress Saturday as part of a giant spending bill. The department said it will take at least six months and possibly up to 18 months to get the program running. Car companies said they'll use the money to offer a broader array of gas-electric vehicles, more fuel-efficient engines and plug-in electric cars that could be on the market within two years.

The loans are expected to carry an interest rate of around 5 percent, considerably lower than they might otherwise have to pay.Cars.com reported that Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama’s spokespeople said the candidates want to speed up the loans, which the automakers say they need much sooner than 2010.
Federal Loans To Automakers Could Flow In 6 Months - Automotive News Story - WCVB Boston

"... to subsidize the retooling of plants and development of technologies to help U.S. carmakers to build cleaner, more fuel efficient cars. The 78-12 vote sent the $634 billion measure to President George W. Bush, who was expected to sign it ... oil companies won elimination of a long-standing ban on drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as the Senate passed a sprawling spending bill Saturday "
Spending bill OKd with billions for automakers -- chicagotribune.com
(read the rest of the article to learn more about the budget)

 

I'll read your 28-page PDF "book" later on, when I get some free time. Until then, could you briefly summarize it?

*Today, while on my lunch break, I was driving north-bound on the 5 Fwy, and I saw 6 to 7 "big rig" trucks of automakers, heading up to Anaheim for the beginning of the OC Auto Show, beginning this Thursday. All of the trailers were advertisements in themselves, and one caught my attention more than the others: "The all new Mazda CX-7 ! .... Ford partner." Did I read that correctly? After a quadruple-take, I sure did. It was a Mazda advertisement that said "Ford partner" on it. Did I miss some news a few weeks or months ago? Are Ford and Mazda partners now?

Update, from Ford's profile on Yahoo Finance: "The company has joint ventures with Mazda."
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=F

WHOA!!!! I just found this:
"Bill Heard Enterprises, Inc., the largest U.S. Chevrolet auto dealership, sought bankruptcy protection, citing a declining automobile market after it ... eliminated more than 3,200 jobs last week. The Columbus, Georgia-based company listed both debt and assets of $500 million to $1 billion in the Chapter 11 filing yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court"
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601209&sid=atfvbLaqZKkk