Congrats - You Now Own a Car Company

There used to be a saying that "what's good for GM is good for America". Well, we can now change that saying to "GM, a Wholly Owned Subsidiary of America".

WASHINGTON--Warning that they can't depend on unending taxpayer dollars, President Barack Obama on Monday gave General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC a brief window to craft plans that would justify fresh government loans.

"We cannot, we must not, and we will not let our auto industry simply vanish," President Obama said at the White House.

"What we are asking is difficult," he said. "It will require hard choices by companies. It will require unions and workers who have already made painful concessions to make even more. It will require creditors to recognize that they cannot hold out for the prospect of endless government bailouts."

The remarks come a day after the administration ousted GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner and rejected the restructuring plans that GM and Chrysler had hoped would lead to another infusion of government cash. Instead, the White House is giving GM 60 days to come up with a strategy for viability. Chrysler has a month to wrap up a partnership with Italy's Fiat SpA.

GM on Monday said it will address "the tough issues to improve the long-term viability of the company," including the restructuring of its financial obligations, as it responded to Washington's calls for stronger plans to stay afloat.

The rookie president also offered this item to GM car owners:

'Starting today, the United States government will stand behind your warrantee'...

So, from now on you can take your GM cars to the Post Office, with the appropriate postage of course, and they will mail it to the government-approved repair facility where it will be almost fixed and then returned to you, postage due.