Bailout Watch 205: GM Blackmails Dealers
Detroit’s slow-mo meltdown has been rife with tipping points for years now. As bad decisions piled upon bad luck, we’ve seen the signs become increasingly ominous. The light at the end of the tunnel has become so faint now that each new misstep comes hard on the heels of the previous one, each taking on ever more existential significance. Perhaps though, we have reached a new low in the news coming out of GM today, as Automotive News [sub] reports that GM will delay incentive payments of $302.4m to its dealers for two weeks. If this decision was made based on GM’s liquidity crisis, it means that GM can’t come up with $300m until December 11: A stuffed stocking of not good. On the other hand, if it’s another twisted ploy to generate political support for a bailout, it’s some inspired stuff. Based on the letter (after the jump) sent by GM VP of Marketing Mark LaNeve, it’s looking like a little of both. After all, blackmail has always been a crime of desperation.