

2013 Ford Fusion EcoBoost 2.0
Ford assaults the midsize sedan market with the 2013 Fusion

  • 2.0-liter naturally aspirated (Atkinson-cycle) hybrid

2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid
For comparison (city/highway):

2013 Ford Fusion Energi


2013 Ford Fusion interior 



Source: Ford

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RE: Impressive... but...
By Iaiken on 1/9/2012 12:44:42 PM , Rating: 0
We will NOT buy from ObamaMotors as a matter of principle.

Seems like someone needs a history lesson because your facts are backwards.


The TARP loans were comprised of a debt-equity swap and it was, in fact, Bush who caused the American people to take an ownership stake in GM. Obama then inherited a GM that was still burning through bridge loans from the US Treasury at an alarming rate. Six months later, GM is forced into court-supervised restructuring after failing to meet key conditions of the original TARP loan in regards to debt reduction.

During the restructuring 1, GM petitions Congress for a further 16.6 billion dollars, via debt-equity swap, that will also allow the US government to retain it's equity from the previous loan, Congress rejects the initial plan as it calls for cutting 47,000 jobs. GM petitions bond holders to exchange debt-for-equity, almost all of the the bond holders refuse. GM then comes before Congress with a second plan, but with the government taking a $19.4 billion stake in exchange for smaller job cuts (7000), shutting down Pontiac and selling Hummer, Opel, Saturn and Saab, Congress accepts.

Three months later, GM files for bankruptcy protection. The court approves the sale of all GM assets/trademarks to a new entity, bondholders that refused the previous debt-equity-swaps are left to fight over the scraps of the "old GM" (mostly banks and hedge funds). Had even half of these bond holders gone with the debt equity swaps, the government would have only had a 41% stake (20% from Bush, 21% from Obama) in GM instead of the 61% (29% Bush, 32% Obama) it wound up with.

So to say that either Bush or Obama deserves most of the credit/blame for the GM fiasco is completely dishonest because GM is still here. GM is turning a profit, has replayed the outstanding loans and is employing 200,000 Americans directly and nearly another 200,000 indirectly (suppliers, dealers, etc). The US Government has since sold half of it's common stock and all of it's preferred stock. By all accounts, it would have been a lot worse if neither Bush nor Obama had done anything.

RE: Impressive... but...
Very well said, thanks for showing the FACTS!

RE: Impressive... but...
Sorry - have to disagree with the repay the loan part.



RE: Impressive... but...




