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Obama on Detroit Big 3: 'Why can't they make a Corolla?'

USA Today -- White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel drops f-bombs when talking about the United Auto Workers union. Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne -- even though Italian is his first language -- drops f-bombs when accusing Chrysler execs of talking down to him. And President Obama stays away from salty language but wonders aloud why the U.S. automakers couldn't they just "make a Corolla," an apparent referece to the popular Toyota sedan's reputation for reliability at the time.

It is all reportedly part of the new tell-all book from Steven Rattner, who served on the White House task force aimed at nursing General Motors and Chrysler through bankruptcy and back on the road to recovery last year, the Huffington Post says. He portrays Obama as fairly even handed,

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Submitted Sep 03, 2010 By: BurntOrange

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Sneakers55 Champion Author Houston Posts:43,394 Points:1,713,080 Joined:Nov 2005	Message Posted: Sep 5, 2010 1:23:42 PM Ignore Sneakers55 Report Abuse wireman64 wrote: >[He portrays Obama as fairly even handed} >That's why the stockholders (many of them long-term GM non-union employees) got >nothing for their stock I would make the assumption that GM non-union employees are big girls and boys that know better than to put more money in any one stock than they are willing to lose. Doubly so after Enron! When I worked, my managers usually commented not to get overloaded on company stock. I did 5% and that was it. Once I retired and rolled over my 401(k) into an IRA, I bought a round lot of company stock. I also bought 50 shares in our largest competitor. (Wouldn't have done that before retiring, when I worked I was running to the Ethics Office all the time to clear potential trades.)
DrCashFlow Champion Author Massachusetts Posts:4,785 Points:1,170,605 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: Sep 5, 2010 12:27:53 PM Ignore DrCashFlow Report Abuse big and bells and whistles mean more profits... or less losses.
Sneakers55 Champion Author Houston Posts:43,394 Points:1,713,080 Joined:Nov 2005	Message Posted: Sep 5, 2010 11:46:01 AM Ignore Sneakers55 Report Abuse packards42 wrote: >GM make corolla, they just don't meet US EPA and safety standards, >they sell Holden in Australia, and Vauxhall in the UK. Not to forget Opel in Europe. Government Motors didn't want to sell Opel once they realized that is where most of their FWD vehicle designs come from.
packards42 Champion Author Washington Posts:4,244 Points:718,245 Joined:Feb 2005	Message Posted: Sep 5, 2010 11:25:29 AM Ignore packards42 Report Abuse GM make corolla, they just don't meet US EPA and safety standards, they sell Holden in Australia, and Vauxhall in the UK.
CRAZYEDDIE2010 Veteran Author Ontario Posts:294 Points:204,185 Joined:Jul 2010	Message Posted: Sep 4, 2010 12:34:16 AM Ignore CRAZYEDDIE2010 Report Abuse MAYBE IF GM,FORD & CHRYSLER MADE CARS AND TRUCKS THAT WERE NOT IN THE GARAGE ALL THE TIME WE WOULD BUY THEM. I WAS A DIE HARD GM MAN UNTILL MYSELF AND ALL MY BuDDIES WERE SMOKE'N OUR TRANNIES LETS NOT EVEN TALK ABOUT THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS.BRAKEING SYSTEM ARE A GONG SHOW. I BOUGHT A 1995 NISSAN KING CAB 400 000 KMS STILL SAME REAR BRAKES,PUT A WATER PUMP IN IT AT 100 000 A BATTERY,ALTERNATOR AND THATS IT. NO BULL!!!!!!!!! BOUGHT A YUKON A YEAR AGO,TWO SETS OF BRAKE,NUMEROUS ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS,ALTERNATOR,4WD ACTUATOR, VALVE IS TICKING LIKE A DIESEL,FUEL TANK STRAPPS BROKE. I CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER THE REST. I CHALK THIS UP TO OVER PAID LAZY UNION EMPLOYEES THAT DIDN'T TAKE PRIDE IN THERE JOB. OR TOOK A BRAKE. I KNOW THIS MAY MAKE YOU MAD. BUT REALLY IT SHOWS IN THE QUALITY. LOKK WRE MOST OF YOU ARE NOW SITT'N ON THE COUCH WONDER'N WHY WE ARE BUY'N IMPORTS. SORRY IF THE TRUTH HURTS. THE CONSUMER HAS SPOKE UP. SORRY MAYBE NISSAN HIRING. BY THE WAY THOSE REPAIRS TO THE YUKON COST ALMOST AS MUSH AS THE NISSAN WAS TO BUY.
ajrn Champion Author Toledo Posts:12,007 Points:2,516,515 Joined:Nov 2003	Message Posted: Sep 4, 2010 12:08:28 AM Ignore ajrn Report Abuse Gee Mr "CEO" of Government Motors, and Chrysler.. Most socialist car companies produce what "chairman" mandates.....you "saved" 'em-- you're half to blame. DRIVE FORD!
Sneakers55 Champion Author Houston Posts:43,394 Points:1,713,080 Joined:Nov 2005	Message Posted: Sep 3, 2010 10:27:01 PM Ignore Sneakers55 Report Abuse Amplion shouted: >BHO SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO DRIVE A COROLLA !!!!!!!!!!!!! He's driven a Volt, something where you really don't want to buy the first years' production. Even with a Toyota you don't necessarily want to have the first years' production. >ANY BMW EVER MADE IS BETTER & SAFER THAN A COROLLA !!!!!!!! And twice the price of the Corolla and at least three times the maintenance cost. Nobody purchases an European car expecting reliability.
Sneakers55 Champion Author Houston Posts:43,394 Points:1,713,080 Joined:Nov 2005	Message Posted: Sep 3, 2010 10:20:53 PM Ignore Sneakers55 Report Abuse Martinman quoted: >"When Marchionne once started lecturing UAW president Ron >Gettelfinger about the need for autoworkers to accept a >"culture of poverty" instead of a "culture of entitlement," >the union boss snapped: "Why don't you come and sit with >me and tell a seventy-five-year-old widow that she can't >have surgery and that you killed her husband?" Health care is not a problem in Italy. Health care is a problem in the United States. Even with ObamaCare. All ObamaCare did was fix some of the worst practices of Big Health Insurance. They should go back in 2013 and make it right this time.
SVmike Champion Author California Posts:1,426 Points:307,850 Joined:Dec 2009	Message Posted: Sep 3, 2010 2:35:51 PM Ignore SVmike Report Abuse Despite all the ranting and opinions below, the Corolla (and Toyotas in general) are good reliable cars. If a study was done (and many have been), over a decade's time, the Toyotas would be shown to have fewer major repairs, better customer satisfaction and a longer life than GM cars. A possible exception is GM trucks. But therein lies the problem. Most people don't really need a truck and GM's marketing culture has tried to convince people that they need a truck or a big SUV built on a truck frame in order to fit their big @sses into. Which brings us back to the start...GM can't built a good, practical smaller car...like a Corolla. Having rented many cars over the past few decades, most of them small and most of them whatever the cheapest bargain was turned out to be crappy US-made cars. I've always been amazed at the lousy turning radius, cramped feeling and other issues that just tells me that the designers (never mind the maintenance since I'd have no idea on a rental) didn't want to design these cars to be sold, but instead convince brand loyal customers to "upgrade" to a bigger car.
coughlin Champion Author San Jose Posts:3,341 Points:756,125 Joined:Sep 2009	Message Posted: Sep 3, 2010 11:40:13 AM Ignore coughlin Report Abuse GOOD QUESTION. President's CAN influence tendencies and trends. President Clinton was the 'spark' for the Prius: When speaking to the 'Big Three', Clinton strongly suggested looking into alternate fuel sources. Toyota read about it and figured that THEY better 'get on the stick' because the Americans are going to do it.
Amplion Champion Author Oregon Posts:4,242 Points:1,398,535 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Sep 3, 2010 11:39:01 AM Ignore Amplion Report Abuse A COROLLA IS MADE OF THE SAME JUNK AS SOME GM CARS ! HAS THE FREMONT LEMON LINE BEEN FORGOTTEN ???????? BHO SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO DRIVE A COROLLA !!!!!!!!!!!!! ANY BMW EVER MADE IS BETTER & SAFER THAN A COROLLA !!!!!!!!
LTVibe Champion Author Orlando Posts:4,761 Points:383,380 Joined:Mar 2010	Message Posted: Sep 3, 2010 11:06:16 AM Ignore LTVibe Report Abuse >>Obama on Detroit Big 3: 'Why can't they make a Corolla?'<< Why can't Obama buy a Corolla? Obama's First New Vehicle - Jeep Grand Cherokee Obama's Chrysler 300 Obama's Ford Escape Note: Obama got rid of the gas-guzzling Chrysler and bought the 'green' Escape hybrid when he began his campaign for president back in 2008.
Sneakers55 Champion Author Houston Posts:43,394 Points:1,713,080 Joined:Nov 2005	Message Posted: Sep 3, 2010 10:57:38 AM Ignore Sneakers55 Report Abuse Gnusman53 wrote: >They did.... they did..... back in the late 80s, Chevy made the Nova in the Nummi >plant they shared with Toyota.... and it was one of the best and most reliable vehicles > Chevy built in the 80s.... That's because it was 99 and 44/100ths a Toyota! Switch the labeling and move the radio antenna and trunk key, those were the only variations I could see on my short inspection. GM was ticked off that the Corolla had higher resale value. GM decided to replace the NUMMI sourced Prizm with the disgusting little Cobalt made at Lordstown, one of their plants renowned for bad UAW relations. IMHO, Government Motors should have dumped Lordstown and kept Spring Hill. That move was probably blocked by the UAW.
Huskersed All-Star Author Atlanta Posts:703 Points:337,950 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Sep 3, 2010 10:30:22 AM Ignore Huskersed Report Abuse Big 3 should not make Corolla, it's not the best brand out there after all those recalls.
Bussman Champion Author Dallas Posts:3,868 Points:992,655 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Sep 3, 2010 10:22:08 AM Ignore Bussman Report Abuse I'm so tired of this dufus of a president waging his finger at everyone else. "Why can't they make a Corolla?" when he's frustrated by business..."I inherited it from Bush" when he can't explain his ineptitude...It's the GOP's fault for his political difficulties...It's Fox News for pr problems about his religious convictions...Blah! Blah! Blah! So here's the finger pointing from most Americans..."Obama, why won't you govern like an American rather than a socialist European?" Oh, and we'll just leave the f-bombs to your highly respectable staff.
Gnusman53 Champion Author San Diego Posts:3,884 Points:656,280 Joined:Feb 2004	Message Posted: Sep 3, 2010 9:50:08 AM Ignore Gnusman53 Report Abuse They did.... they did..... back in the late 80s, Chevy made the Nova in the Nummi plant they shared with Toyota.... and it was one of the best and most reliable vehicles Chevy built in the 80s....
car253 Champion Author Ohio Posts:4,196 Points:1,032,465 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Sep 3, 2010 8:21:20 AM Ignore car253 Report Abuse 1.3 million Corollas were just recalled, Toyota has recalled over 11 million cars and just recalled 500,000 more cars. You have to wonder about the Obama Administrations competence.
Dennis783 Champion Author Wisconsin Posts:11,279 Points:2,249,035 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Sep 3, 2010 8:15:25 AM Ignore Dennis783 Report Abuse With all the problems we now find out that Toyota has? Is he nuts?
wireman64 All-Star Author Albany Posts:515 Points:133,685 Joined:Aug 2008	Message Posted: Sep 3, 2010 7:53:57 AM Ignore wireman64 Report Abuse [He portrays Obama as fairly even handed} That's why the stockholders (many of them long-term GM non-union employees) got nothing for their stock and the UAW and the Obama administration got ownership of GM.
Martinman Champion Author Mississippi Posts:11,765 Points:1,660,245 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Sep 3, 2010 7:49:37 AM Ignore Martinman Report Abuse And this part is even better... "When Marchionne once started lecturing UAW president Ron Gettelfinger about the need for autoworkers to accept a "culture of poverty" instead of a "culture of entitlement," the union boss snapped: "Why don't you come and sit with me and tell a seventy-five-year-old widow that she can't have surgery and that you killed her husband?" . Oops, did I say 'poverty' ? I meant "recovery"...
Martinman Champion Author Mississippi Posts:11,765 Points:1,660,245 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Sep 3, 2010 7:47:40 AM Ignore Martinman Report Abuse "... He portrays Obama as fairly even handed, not showing any special preference to the UAW in the battle to save the automakers despite his Democratic ties to organized labor...." . Uh oh. Rush and the Right have been lying [again]. That will ruffle "a few parrots" feathers here !