Obama's mandate for Chrysler and GM - More Efficient Vehicles or NO MONEY

In a report made just yesterday at CNNMoney.com, the wishes of Barack Obama have been stated loud and clear. When it comes to the auto industry, Mr. Obama claims that for the two auto giants (GM and Chrysler) to receive federal money, they would have to build more fuel efficient vehicles. Both Chrysler and GM have already started to meet some of the CAFE standards that were placed on them in 2007, which required cars and trucks to get a minimum of 35 miles per gallon by the year 2020. Other manufacturers such as Nissan, already have fuel efficient vehicles available for sale, and they are getting a bigger share of the car market with the higher demand now of fuel efficient vehicles. People are trying to save on gasoline, as the oil companies once again have started to spike their prices for oil. Out of the two automakers, Chrysler is in more of a dire situation, because this company relies on the sales of trucks and vans. The trucks and vans that they presently sell do not come anywhere near the expectations of the Obama administration mandate for gas economy. Other car makers have at least been planning for more fuel efficient vehicles. To take it one step worse, Chrysler may have to take a few of their gas guzzlers off of the market to keep within the law regarding auto emissions and gas economy. That would mean the abomination of the larger sized vans and trucks. Certain vehicles of this nature may survive, because of the need of super heavy duty vehicles used for hauling and construction uses. Other companies have been moving towards smaller vehicles with better gas mileage even before the mandate. Larger vehicles will still be needed to a point, but it is rumored that the drop in sales of these vehicles would surely doom Chrysler, and most likely GM. Regardless of the outlook, it appears now that the change in auto production to smaller vehicles would most certainly be a major cause of plant closings, which would also drive up unemployment within the auto industry. The future is very bleak, with the money that the government may provide to help them survive, but that still may not be enough.
This poses another question. Maybe it's not the size of the vehicle that is the problem here. Certainly, regarding gasoline powered vehicles, that would be the problem, as gas mileage is poor with larger types of vehicles. But what about the future of hydrogen powered or electric vehicles? Obama highly supports the exploration of new ways to create energy, smaller and more efficient batteries to help sway away from the dependency of foreign oil.
At the present time, whatever the oil countries pose on the United States and the rest of the world concerning their exported oil, the countries purchasing from them are dependent and have to pay the price. Presently, the cost of gasoline now is rising steadily now for the second straight time in less than 1 year, and only when the supply and demand for foreign oil decreases drastically, will the price of oil settle down and become reasonable for the long haul.
President Obama wants to find ways to not be dependent on foreign oil. The problem is, how much time will it take to provide alternative fuels?!!
One type of vehicle that is on the right track are the hybrids. They mostly require gasoline to get started, but then uses battery power to run after reaching certain speeds. Great idea, but not in the immediate cards of Chrysler and GM with their larger vehicles.
Chrysler has recently been paired with FIAT motors, and within a short period of time, Chrysler has to come up with a way to become profitable. GM on the other hand will have to attain some of their goals by layoffs and plant closings.
The situation is bleak for the auto industry, but the world is watching as President Obama takes the matter in his own hands and comes up with ways to bring the auto industries back on track and create more jobs within the auto industry. When this happens, the auto industry will become a major competitor again with helping bring stocks back on track, as other companies will eventually find ways to become more profitable.
Time is everyone's worst enemy right now. We can only sit back now and see how the drastic situation is now handled by President Obama and how long it may take.