DETROIT -- You could imagine a collective sigh of relief as General Motors and Chrysler executives closed their doors late Monday behind the most important guests they've ever had visit.
And you could imagine them wondering what kind of impression they had made on the representatives of President Obama's automotive task force that will decide their fate. "So what did they think?" they must have been asking.
Yet those task force members, none of whom have automotive experience, remain as poker faced as any card player, not providing even the slightest hint about their impressions of their Detroit visit, their thoughts on the precarious situations of GM and Chrysler and their plans for what they will do when the March 31 deadline arrives.
The first stop on Monday's itinerary for Obama advisers Ron Bloom, a restructuring expert with labor ties in the steel industry, and Steven Rattner, a restructuring expert, along with their fellow task force members, was a two-hour meeting with United Auto Workers union President Ron Gettelfinger. The UAW, a critical force behind the election of President Obama, had no comment on the meeting.
Yet concessions from the union by GM and Chrysler by March 31 is a requirement for keeping the government loans they have received and for any chance of their obtaining additional funds, which both automakers have requested. Coincidentally -- or not -- UAW members who work for Ford, which has not sought government loans, on Monday ratified a concessionary contract similar to what GM and Chrysler are seeking.
Then it was onto GM's massive Technical Center in the Detroit suburb of Warren, Michigan, where the task force members got to test-drive a version of the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car, due out in November 2010, and a fuel-cell-powered concept. There they also met with GM CEO Rick Wagoner, GM President Fritz Henderson and GM CFO Ray Young.
In a statement, GM said: "We were pleased to host the task force so they could experience firsthand the new products and technologies that are an integral part of GM's near- and long-term competitiveness. We look forward to continuing to support the efforts of the task force as they move quickly to address their critical tasks."
The statement added: "We believe today's visit provided a constructive glimpse of GM people, their passion for their work and the technology solutions that are behind the pages of our viability plan."
The task force then toured Chrysler's nearby assembly plant where Dodge pickup trucks are made. They met there with Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli, Vice Chairmen Tom LaSorda and Jim Press and CFO Ron Kolka. Chrysler said in a statement that they showed their guests current and future product plans, including electric and hybrid vehicles.
Now it's back to Washington, D.C. where the task force is winding down its information gathering, capping it off with a visit by Toyota's Jim Lentz on Wednesday morning Lentz is expected to discuss Toyota's concerns about the precarious state of the U.S. auto parts sector this week. Toyota, which sources about half of its components in the U.S., supports government support for automotive suppliers. Suppliers have asked for up to $18.5 billion to keep operating.
Administration sources told media outlets that the trip was a success and that the White House understands the need for urgency and deliberation and the task force will work "around the clock" on industry issues.
Meantime, GM and Chrysler face a March 31 deadline to negotiate concessions from the union and bondholders in order to keep the $17.4 billion in federal loans they already have received and to have any hope of obtaining additional funds, which could add up to another $21.6 billion.
Even then, they face an uphill battle to obtaining those added funds from Congressional Republicans, some Democrats and even the American public, who in repeated surveys say they don't want the government to lend Detroit automakers money.