Chrysler Fiat News-Obama praises autoworkers, says Chrysler deal uncertain

President Barack Obama said today he did not know whether a deal preventing a collapse of Chrysler LLC would be done before Thursday's deadline, and praised American autoworkers for their sacrifices to the industry's survival.

Speaking at a town hall meeting in Missouri marking his 100th day in office, Obama said his auto task force sent Chrysler and General Motors Corp. back to redo their business plans because their initial sustainability plans were not realistic. GM has until June 1 to deliver its new plan.

As for Chrysler: “We don’t know yet whether the deal is going to get done.”


Chrysler and the administration reached an agreement with large Chrysler debt holders to swap $6.9 billion in secured debt for $2 billion in cash. But 40-odd investment firms and hedge funds have to agree in unison to the swap, or the government will take Chrysler to bankruptcy court to force it into place.

Chrysler must also complete a deal with Fiat S.p.A., which appears close at hand.....More

Obama auto task force to come to Detroit next week

WASHINGTON -- Leaders of President Barack Obama’s auto task force will travel to Detroit next week to meet with industry and labor officials worried about an imminent collapse of several companies absent federal aid.

An administration official said final details of the trip were still being worked out, but the task force visitors will include advisers Steven Rattner and Ron Bloom.


The task force has been conducting a string of meetings over the past two weeks to gather information and assess the depth of the problems facing the industry. General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC have said they need a total of $7 billion before the end of the month to avoid bankruptcy, and several suppliers are also on the brink.


Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne met with Rattner, Bloom and other members of the task force for two and a half hours today to discuss Fiat’s proposed alliance with Chrysler. Fiat has said it would take a 35% stake in Chrysler in return for sharing vehicle designs that could be used for several new Chrysler models.

Bailout-Obama suggested more help for auto industry

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - President-elect Obama suggested to President Bush that the administration immediately provide extra help to struggling U.S. automakers, aides to the Democrat say, in their first face-to-face meeting since Election Day.

Obama's aides said the president-elect brought up the issue with Bush during their two-hour White House talks on Monday, expressing his view that action is needed now, not just to help the U.S. companies but also the broader economy, because of their enormous reach. Obama raised the idea of an administration point person on autos with a portfolio aimed at improving the long-term health of the companies.

Bush repeated his position, recently stated by staff, that he is open to helping the automakers.

Also, amid discussions over whether new economic stimulus spending is needed, Obama focused on his desire for it while Bush stressed that his main priority for any postelection action out of Congress is approval of a long-stalled free trade agreement with Colombia, said people familiar with the conversation between the two men. The sources declined to be named publicly because of the private nature of the talks....more

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Polls:Obama Leads McCain

Don't Forget to Get Out and Vote!

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain in six of eight key battleground states one day before the U.S. election, including the big prizes of Florida and Ohio, according to a series of Reuters/Zogby polls released on Monday.

Obama holds a 7-point edge over McCain among likely U.S. voters in a separate Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby national tracking poll, up 1 percentage point from Sunday. The telephone poll has a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.

Obama heads into Tuesday's voting in a comfortable position, with McCain struggling to overtake Obama's lead in every national opinion poll and to hold off his challenge in about a dozen states won by President George W. Bush in 2004.

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Polls:Obama Leads McCain

Don't Forget to Get Out and Vote!

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain in six of eight key battleground states one day before the U.S. election, including the big prizes of Florida and Ohio, according to a series of Reuters/Zogby polls released on Monday.

Obama holds a 7-point edge over McCain among likely U.S. voters in a separate Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby national tracking poll, up 1 percentage point from Sunday. The telephone poll has a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.

Obama heads into Tuesday's voting in a comfortable position, with McCain struggling to overtake Obama's lead in every national opinion poll and to hold off his challenge in about a dozen states won by President George W. Bush in 2004.

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Obama: I'll meet with Detroit automakers immediately!

Gordon Trowbridge / Detroit News Washington Bureau

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said Thursday he would immediately meet with the heads of Detroit's automakers and union once he takes office, telling NBC News, "We do need American cars."

Obama's comments came in an interview with anchor Brian Williams to air later Thursday on NBC's "Nightly News."

"My hope is if I'm elected, that I'm immediately meeting with heads of the Big Three automakers, as well with the United Auto Workers," Obama told Williams. "And to sit down and craft a strategy that puts us on a path for an auto industry that can compete with anybody in the world." ....More



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Obama: I'll meet with Detroit automakers immediately!

Gordon Trowbridge / Detroit News Washington Bureau

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said Thursday he would immediately meet with the heads of Detroit's automakers and union once he takes office, telling NBC News, "We do need American cars."

Obama's comments came in an interview with anchor Brian Williams to air later Thursday on NBC's "Nightly News."

"My hope is if I'm elected, that I'm immediately meeting with heads of the Big Three automakers, as well with the United Auto Workers," Obama told Williams. "And to sit down and craft a strategy that puts us on a path for an auto industry that can compete with anybody in the world." ....More



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