So, the Democrats and the White House are agreed on a rescue plan for Detroit. The only big question is whether they can push it through a possible Republican filibuster, the
Freep reports. A
vote could come as early as today.
A key element of the bill is the creation of what most headline writers are calling the Car Czar (though it may be more than one person). The
Washington Post this morning adds a new cubicle in the C-level suite with
the headline, "Wanted: Crisis Manager in Chief," before reverting to a short history of czars and mini-czars (and the potential for a czarina).
Closer to home,
Ad
Age's
Judann Pollack mines the vein of the car czar's presumed omnipotence over marketing spend. "Car Czar Would Control $7.3
Billion Ad Budget," reads the headline. "Rescue Plan From Congress Would Create World's Most Powerful Marketing Exec."
In
another article,
Age reporters Jean Halliday and Rupal Parekh wonder if General Motors will consolidate its global advertising accounts
with one holding company. If so, which one: Interpublic or Publicis? In any event, GM needs to cut its marketing spend by $600 million in the next four years, which will have ramifications in many
quarters.
"Would you buy a car from Congress?" is the provocative hed atop
Wall Street Journal editorial writer and columnist Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.'s piece this
morning. Holman writes: "Leave it to Bob Lutz, GM's voluble vice chairman, to puncture the unreality of the auto bailout he himself has been championing." It seems that Lutz, in an email
to a trade magazine, says that green cars are unviable unless gas prices rise again. No breaking news there, actually. Holman wants Congress to repeal the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards and
institute a gas tax
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