End of the line for Vauxhall if the government refuse to bail them out.

ad9898_3

It's looking grim for Vauxhall, their workers and the 500 dealers.

http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/03032009/140/vauxhall-close-bail.html

Lotus-eater

I don't think they can afford to let them close, but then they/we can't afford to prop up every failing industry either.

There are still arguments of course as to whether the demand for cars after the recession is going to be a strong as before. So can they go on as they are anyway?

ad9898_3

I think, as with houses, credit is required to buy a new car in most cases, mewing and easy credit led to a boom in new car registrations, these are likely to fall back, permanently. The amount of newish cars on the road these days (less than 4 years old) is huge compared to 10-20 years ago.

ruggedtoast

Seems like scaremongering somewhat to get a bailout. As far as I know General Motors have already been bailed out by the US government.

Thanks to all our industry having been sold to foreigners, or the government just waving the white flag at any foreign firm that wants to manufacture here, we now have to pay "protection money" to foreign firms to try and beg them not to close their UK plants and put us all out of work.

Our airports are Spanish, the cars are all European or American, the banks are North American, pharmaceuticals are Dutch, the company that put the windows in Spitfires is now Japanese, trains are Canadian, The US government has higher level security access to BAE than the British one does, and its all snowballed under that cockball Gordon Brown and that nobmuncher Blair.

Great work. Great fracking work.

Cannon_Fodder

Posturing, to bring pressure to bear on the Govt, springs to mind.

Damned if we don't bail-out, broke if we do.

Remind me, who was "best placed"?

Lotus-eater

ad9898 wrote: »

I think, as with houses, credit is required to buy a new car in most cases, mewing and easy credit led to a boom in new car registrations, these are likely to fall back, permanently. The amount of newish cars on the road these days (less than 4 years old) is huge compared to 10-20 years ago.

Then if that's correct and it looks like it may be, then we have a great deal of overproduction around the world. Every other country seems to be propping up there own car industry from what I hear.
So it looks to me, either we prop it up as well (maybe with a downsizing and re jigging of it) or we lose most of our car industry.

What do you think?

Alan_M_2

Sounds to me like the tail is trying to wag the dog. Or maybe a bit of posturing.

This is a case of the company being so large they can't be allowed to collapse...or that's the line GM is trying to spin.

I arrive at my business park daily and chat with the other business owners here, we are quite a cross section of business and with only one exception (a wholesale animal feed supplier) the entire business park is facing closure...or a minimum downsizing.

It's getting a bit rich seeing all these bailouts on the news when the small to medium businesses are simply being hung out to dry and the full force of the law being used to enforce collections on the banks behalf.

Lotus-eater

Alan_M wrote: »

Sounds to me like the tail is trying to wag the dog. Or maybe a bit of posturing.

This is a case of the company being so large they can't be allowed to collapse...or that's the line GM is trying to spin.

I arrive at my business park daily and chat with the other business owners here, we are quite a cross section of business and with only one exception (a wholesale animal feed supplier) the entire business park is facing closure...or a minimum downsizing.

It's getting a bit rich seeing all these bailouts on the news when the small to medium businesses are simply being hung out to dry and the full force of the law being used to enforce collections on the banks behalf.

Big business, big headlines I'm afraid.

You're too small to be saved, try taking on a few thousand people for a week, then try.

ad9898_3

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Then if that's correct and it looks like it may be, then we have a great deal of overproduction around the world. Every other country seems to be propping up there own car industry from what I hear.
So it looks to me, either we prop it up as well (maybe with a downsizing and re jigging of it) or we lose most of our car industry.

What do you think?

I just don't know, it seems like the whole credit inverse pyramid is collapsing along with everything that needs a substantial amount personal credit to keep it going, cars are the next rung down from houses as far as personal credit being required. The money is gone, and in real inflation adjusted terms, it isn't coming back. A large reduction in prices/production seems inevitable.

itsnever2lateisit?

It's a shame, but Vauxhall hasnt been a 'proper' car company for 30 years, they are rebadged Opels, just like Saab. As it has no IPR it would not be able to stand alone. The last time we helped an American car manufacturer they took our money and cleared off.

This Govt decided that MG Rover were not worth saving, what is different here?

The best way to help home based manufacturer is to raise VAT (perhaps to 25%) and reduce NI which is a tax on UK jobs which isn't applicable to imported goods

itsnever2lateisit?

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Big business, big headlines I'm afraid.

You're too small to be saved, try taking on a few thousand people for a week, then try.

Trouble with that is Brown will sieze upon Alan M's expansion as being the result of Govt policies working:rolleyes: