Twenty five years ago Metallica released the fantastic record, Ride the Lightning. Forty years ago General Motors was firing on all cylinders. However, time marches on. Here’s a song from that record (called “For Whom the Bell Tolls” for you Monkees fans) that sums up the General’s current position:

Take a look to the sky just before you die
It is the last time you will
Blackened roar, massive roar fills the crumbling sky
Shattered goal fills his soul with a ruthless cry
Stranger now, are his eyes, to this mystery
He hears the silence so loud
Crack of dawn, all is gone except the will to be
Now they will see what will be, blinded eyes to see

Yes, according to GM CEO Fritz Henderson, the time may be nigh for GM. Chapter 11, end of days, bankruptcy. Jump in the fire for more.

Chrysler was the first of the Big Three to fall into the clutches of Chapter 11 and despite their best, efforts GM may soon follow. According to the newly appointed CEO of GM, the likelihood of the company declaring bankruptcy gets higher and higher with each passing day. Especially as the June 1 restructuring deadline implemented by the Obama administration approaches looms. Obstacles still facing the world’s largest automaker include plant closings, reducing salaried employees, slashing their bloated legions of dealers, getting concessions with Unions and renegotiating their mountainous debts with debt holders. The latter of which seeming the most impossible — it’s the same thing brought down Chrysler.

Making matters worse, General Motors is such a huge global company that a  restructuring plan requires the cooperation of not only the US government but many foreign kings and despots. Like Germany’s Angela Merkel. Henderson cites the German market as one in need of government funding, however German officials have expressed little to no interest in running any European branch of GM.

I want GM to succeed as much as the next red blooded Americano, however I feel the battle is a losing one. Filing for Chapter 11 seems to be something that GM cannot avoid given the present time table. The already massive $15.4 billion dollars already given to the company in government loans are not nearly enough to keep the company afloat any longer. I feel that any more additional loans would be flushing even more tax dollars down the drain. We shall know soon enough if GM will be able to survive. Or if the bell indeed tolls for them. [Source: MSNBC]

And why not — here’s a clip from back before Metallica went bankrupt:

Well friends, the fat lady has been warming up these past few months and last week she bellowed across the land. Chrysler filed for bankruptcy. Most will say they aren’t surprised (I mean, you ever driven a Sebring?), however yours truly honestly felt that Chrysler had a chance to make it out of the treacherous woods they had been running through for so long. Live and learn. What happened exactly, and what will be the next step for the automaker? Hit the jump and see.

After finally reaching an agreement with the UAW, there were hopes that Chrysler would be able to skirt the ominous drones of bankruptcy. It appears that the holders of their near 7 billion dollars of debt would not let this be the case. The banks that currently hold over 2/3 of Chrysler’s astro-freaking-nominal debt agreed to a return of only 29 cents on the dollar, a good deal for anyone owing that much money. However, the hedge funds that owned the remainder of the debt said, to quote Joe Pesci, “Fuck you, pay me.” President Barack Obama openly criticized these funds for their unconscionable greed in light of the hard work that his auto task force and Chrysler officials have done these past few months. Good on him.

A lawyer that represents some of the debt holders including Oppenheimer Funds and Stairway Capital Management is quoted as saying, “[executives] in the group have received death threats that they believe to be bona fide and contacts with the police have been made.” Without sounding too sarcastic, I sincerely hope that the safety of these hedge fund managers is preserved and they are able to collect as much of their debts as possible. Okay wait — that sounded too sarcastic. Moving on…

What about the next step for Chrysler? After working closely with the Obama auto task force, Chrysler has been approved for a plan that would allow them access to an additional 8 billion dollars in government aid while they journey into Chapter 11, keeping the lights on until a majority sale to Fiat can go through. Sadly it’s looking like some of the “Good Chrysler” new stuff is getting delayed a bit. If everything goes according to plan, Chrysler hopes to come out of this as a much slimmer company big daddy Fiat at the helm. Godspeed Chrysler, I am rooting for you. [source: Associated Press].

Strange days. Chrysler and their creditors couldn’t reach a restructuring agreement, so that’s all she wrote as far as solvency goes. Obama announced that Chrysler’s filing for Chapter 11 protection as early as right now. This will give the automaker a couple of months to get its partnership with Fiat in order, which Obama claims will save 30,000 American jobs. However, in the words of Ken Layne, “FIAT? Weren’t they run out of America a decade or two ago, for also sucking?” That’s pretty much our position, too. You know what? I’m just going to turn this whole, strange affair to the only website that can be trusted to adequately explain the US president brokering a bankruptcy deal between a hedge fund-owned automaker and a state-owned Italian multinational — Wonkette.

After being tossed around like a ragdoll since, well, Daimler bought ‘em, it looks like Cerebus-owned Mopar is finally going tits up. Kinda. We’ll be getting the official word in about half an hour, but the juice is that talks with Chrysler’s debt holders — who are on their ass for $6.9 billion with a B — broke down and there’s no where left to go for the most ailingest of the Big 3 but Chapter 11. Will this be effecting Chrysler’s pending deal with Fiat? Apparently not. Looks like all the bankruptcy’s going to mean is that Chrysler’s creditors are getting hosed a little, though a judge will decide exactly to what tune. And those creditors are mostly hedgefunds anyhow, so no one really cares. And hey, if you are a bankrupt automaker, there’s no better bedfellow than Fiat. They been there, man. [Source: MSNBC.com]