Bush: No Bridge-Loan Regrets
George W. Busch says he was philosophically opposed to the $17.4 billion in credit to General Motors and Chrysler, but approving those bridge loans in the waning days of his presidency was the right thing to do.
And more than three years later, he still thinks so.
“I believe the marketplace should decide (your fate). If you make a bad decision, you ought to pay,” he says in a question-and-answer session following a short keynote speech at the close of the 2012 National Automobile Dealers Assn. convention here (Las Vegas). “The marketplace makes us better. The problem is, sometimes the circumstances get in the way of the philosophy.”
Bush recalls how the preceding crisis on Wall Street led to “week-end after weekend of financial hell,” for the country in the final months of his second term. He said he expected to “ride off into the sunset.”
When the auto industry hit the ropes, his advisors, chiefly Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, warned him that ignoring Detroit’s plight could put the economy into a second spin.
“The first question is, do you believe (the advisors)?” Bush says of the decision process surrounding the initial financial-sector rescue. “But if you don’t believe your advisors, why are they there? So the next question is, do you want (to ignore their advice) and gamble? Do you stay true to your principles? I didn’t want to gamble.
“If not for the bridge loan, the gains we had made could have been affected and confidence in the country destroyed.”
Bush urges the dealer group here to keep pushing its political agenda and pressure Congress to start thinking longer term. Presidents, he says, look further into the future.
Big Trucks Start Off the Year Up in the U.S.
The market for medium- and heavy-duty trucks in the U.S. lost some steam in January from December’s 40.6% rise, but nevertheless begins 2012 a healthy 35.9% ahead of year-ago, WardsAuto data shows.
Big-truck makers delivered 24,471 units during the month, compared with 18,001 prior-year.
As was the case throughout most of 2011, Class 8 trucks powered the gain, although other classes saw increased sales as well.
Class 8 deliveries rose 52.9% from like-2011, as all but Volvo Truck’s namesake brand, down 5.2%, posted gains.
January U.S. Inventory Back on Track
U.S. light-vehicle inventory resumed a more normal 67 days’ supply in January with an additional 187,552 cars and trucks reaching dealer lots, up from December’s weak 51 but less than prior year’s outsized 71.
Overall, unit stock rose to 2,541,222 in the Jan. 31 count, climbing 8.0% from the prior month and 4.5% ahead of 2,432,566 year-ago.
The increased inventory was welcomed by sellers of Japanese brands that had been struggling with a dearth of stock for the past seven to eight months as a result of last year’s natural disasters in Japan and Thailand.
However, the good news was not universal. Five brands’ supply grew to more than 100 days,’ compared with December and prior-year counts. Two other brands, already suffering from bloated inventory, saw their stock rise even further, not including dying Saab, whose daily inventory has fluctuated widely given its ultra-low selling rate.
The Detroit Three’s combined LV inventory increased 6.0% in January, with days’ supply moving to 86, above the 6070 range considered average. It also was up from December’s 64 and prior-year’s 75.
Saab aside, Lincoln dealers, at 142, posted the highest January days’ supply of any brand, followed by Fiat’s 132.
For Asia/Pacific brands, an influx of 113,891 additional units nudged their collective days’ supply to 53. While still subpar, it was well ahead of 40 at the close of December. Hyundai and Kia, at 30, again tied for the industry’s lowest days’ supply, although it was a slight improvement from 28 in December.
However, low-volume brands Suzuki and Mitsubishi saw their January days’ supply rise to 119 and 105, respectively, from 11 and 65 in December.
European brands also showed improvement, although at 47 days’ compared with prior-month’s 42, remained well-below normal. Ignoring Saab, days’ supply ranged from Audi’s 37 to Volvo’s 65.
Canada Big-Truck Sales Up 64.1%
Canada big-truck sales start the year on the upswing, with January deliveries soaring 64.1% over like-2011, according to WardsAuto data.
Sales of Class 4-8 trucks finished 2011 up 33%, compared with 2010. December deliveries tracked 25.3% ahead of prior-year.
January sales totaled 2,938 units, compared with 1,790 in the year-ago period. Class 8 sales led all segments, surging 83.6% to 2,077 units from 1,131 in like-2011.
GLOBAL ROUNDUP
The ’13 Chevrolet Corvette “is the finale for the C6 generation,” says Harlan Charles, Chevrolet’s Corvette product marketing manager. He declines to offer details about the coming next-generation C7, other than to warn those still hoping to purchase a C6 model to act fast, especially when it comes to the 638-hp ZR1 rocket. “The current ZR1 may be the high-water mark for Corvette for a while,” Charles tells WardsAuto on the sidelines of the Chicago auto show. “It may be awhile before another ZR1 in the future, so if you want one, get one now.”
Cadillac unveils its new flagship, the fullsize XTS sedan, at the Chicago auto show. But an even bigger vehicle is possible. “Do I want something larger than XTS? Hope so,” says Don Butler, vice president-Cadillac marketing. “We’re exploring something more substantial, larger and grander,” he tells WardsAuto.







