Five Big Questions For GM, Ford and Chrysler

As GM and Chrysler haggle with the Treasury Department over the final details of their first $8 billion in rescue loans, there are several questions to which we still have no answers. So in the spirit of David Letterman, here are the Top Five Unanswered Questions about the Detroit Three:

1. Who will own GM after this deal goes through? The plan requires certain bondholders to swap their debt for stock, and other debt holders will face pressure to do likewise, whether the Bush administration requires it or not. So what happens to the regular shareholders — especially all the GM employees who have company stock as part of their retirement and pension plans?
2. What about Ford? Ford appears to be the big winner in all this: no restrictive plan, no Bush-appointed car czar, no timeline or deadline — plus it’s still in the mix to get help with the new administration and on terms that will almost surely be less punitive. But how long before Ford needs to tap the “emergency credit line” it requested?
3. How much will the UAW have to change in order ensure everyone’s happy? The union is in a world of hurt — everyone’s out to get them, from the Bush administration to the folks at CNBC to 47 other states in the union. They’ve already appealed to President-elect Obama to change the terms of the existing Treasury deal with GM and Chrysler. Do they hold that kind of sway with the new administration, and where will it end up?
4. If the automakers cannot make money when U.S. consumers are buying 17 million vehicles annually, how are they going to do it when they sell only 12 million? Each of the Detroit Three CEOs claim they can do just that starting in 2010, when the UAW takes over company health care plans, but the estimated annual savings are less than the amount than the three companies lost last year!
5. Which CEOs survive? GM Chairman & CEO Rick Wagoner sat on the hottest seat of the three during recent congressional hearings, and some congressional leaders called for him to resign as part of any assistance. If he or Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli can’t make the grade by March 31 will they be forced out?