Enema of the State in the rearview mirror

In my post from last June  Enema of the State I discussed some of the results that would happen from the bailout by the government of the banks and the auto manufacturers.  Well 6 months have passed and what I said back then is true.  The banks have realized that the government aid was a scarlet letter.  Most of them have paid back the money.  This is a good thing. 

The Ford Co is stronger than ever.  They were able to zig when GM and Chrysler zagged.  Hats off to the executive team there for having the cool headedness to not reach into the cookie jar like the other two.  It will pay off in spades in the coming 3 years.

It will be interesting to see how the rest of this crisis plays out.  Will the Volt be a yugo with a power cord?  GM will need to get the union membership to work in a different way if they want out of this.  I know Ed Whitacre likes a challenge.  He has a huge task reinventing GM with out alienating the union.