Troubled Automaker Chrysler to Seek $3 Million More in Government Funds, Plans to Go Ahead with "Terminator 4" Sponsorship Venture

Source: Michelle Malkin,

Photoshop credit: George of Elegant Memories

Chrysler LLC should have been put out of its misery a long time ago. The company should have folded the last time its management came grovelling for bailout money. Well, here they come again. Chrysler is now demanding more of your money to save their sorry asses. You see, they kicked us in the face the first time around–taking out a big advertisement in the newspapers telling us thank you for the money, and while they turned around and dumped cash into a movie-making venture. They’ve got $4 billion in federal bailout money and are asking for another $3 billion to seal a deal with Italian car manufacturer, Fiat.

Chrysler got $4 billion in emergency aid from the U.S. government and has said it will seek another $3 billion in government loans. And yesterday it agreed to form an alliance with Italy’s Fiat as it looks for the road out of the woods. The Fiat deal fine print reportedly makes it conditional on Chrysler’s getting that extra U.S. loan. So, now we have Fiat trying to screw us over.

The troubled auto maker is not letting its economic woes keep it from going to the movies. The company plans to help underwrite the fourth installment of the “Terminator” movie series, “Terminator Salvation,” where it will place its vehicles in cameo roles. The film is scheduled for release later this year. The financial terms of the sponsorship deal were not disclosed. Seems to me like they should have terminated Chrysler a long time ago. As a person who owned a Chrysler minivan a few years ago, I can attest to the horrible quality of their vehicles. I would never purchase another Chrysler again. I am sure many people feel the same way.

“This spring, “Terminator 4” comes out and we will be one of the sponsors,” Chrysler director of media Susan Thomson said in a presentation at the Automotive News World Congress. “We have a following with the Terminator movies and we are going to continue with that.” Are they dumb enough to think that they could keep this little movie venture a secret? They didn’t deserve the money the first time and they certainly don’t deserve it this time around. Put them out of their misery. They need to go out of business. They are literally sucking the United States dry.

Filed under: Automakers, Chrysler LLC, Corporate Sponsorship Deals, Government Bailout, Terminator 4 Movie

Citigroup, AIG Won’t Drop Big Sports Sponsorships, Even As They are Bailed Out By Federal Government

It is unconscionable that Citigroup and AIG, as well as a number of other federally-bailed out financial institutions have no plans to cancel the hundreds of millions of dollars in sports team sponsorships, even as they take billions in taxpayer support. According to ABC News,

Despite collecting billions in bailout funds from the U.S. government, AIG and Citibank aren’t giving up multi-million dollar sponsorship deals. AIG is paying the British soccer team Manchester United $125 million for the privilege of having its logo appear on Man U’s uniforms, while Citibank has a 20-year contract to pay the New York Mets $400 million to name the team’s new stadium “Citi Field.”

I can understand such frivolities in boom times, when the sponsorships were seen as a way to advertise the firms’ “brands” and appeal to potential customers. But in these tough economic times, such spending decisions are pretty hard to justify, especially when taxpayers are bailing these companies out. It is indefensible and unacceptable. Citibank just sealed a multi-billion-dollar emergency “backstop” deal with the U.S. government. The company, suffering with billions in bad mortgage-related assets on its books, recently shed 53,000 workers and saw its stock price lose over half its value. Yet it’s in a 20-year contract to pay the New York Mets $400 million to name the team’s new stadium “Citi Field.” How smart is that? Now is the time to flood your congressman or woman and your senators’ telephone lines. This is crazy. What is Main Street getting out of the deal?

To read more of the ABC News Report, CLICK HERE….

Filed under: AIG, Citi Field, Citigroup, Corporate Sponsorship Deals, Federal Bailout, Manchester United, Mets