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Clint Eastwoods Halftime in America Chrysler propaganda commercial is taken apart by the great one. Mark Levin.

Amid the controversy over Chrysler’s “It’s Halftime In America” Super Bowl commercial, a glaring question remains: if Chrysler is back on top and so strong, then why hasn’t it repaid taxpayers the $1.3 billion it still owes them?

Clint Eastwood says his recent Super Bowl commercial wasn’t about politics. Chrysler Group LLC aired a two-minute television commercial called “It’s Halftime in America” during Super Bowl XLVI that featured the veteran actor and director. Some pundits have argued that the tone seemed to favor the re-election of President Obama.

It is mostly unanimous that Clint Eastwood's Super Bowl ad appearance was a stirring and emotional tribute to America and Detroit. The ad was heartfelt, despite the fact that bailed out Italian-owned auto company, Chrysler, paid for it. Unless NBC offered some significant discounts to their ad rates, the ad cost Chrysler about $14 million. Considering the political nature of the ad and the fact that Chrysler vehicles were not touted in the ad, I must ask the cynical question; what's in it for Italian-owned Chrysler? Chrysler CEO, Sergio Marchionne, is a pretty smart guy. I don't think he...

Clint Eastwood and Chrysler ticked off plenty of conservatives who usually back the actor and director. The ad’s message is that everything is peachy keen now that taxpayers bailed out Chrysler for a second time. It is halftime in America, the ad said. That ticked off conservatives. Saying it is halftime in America is echoic of Ronald Reagan’s morning in America and is seen as a political ad for President Obama’s re-election. From Mark Steyn: “Do you know who owns almost 60% of Chrysler, this great American institution? Fiat! Yes, nothing could be more American than an Italian company that’s...

If you are keeping score at home it’s Chrysler $12.5 billion, NBC $12 million, with a taxpayer loss of $133 billion. Oh, and the city of Detroit is just minutes away, literally, from being more broke than Greece. Look, I’m a sucker for marketing as much as the next guy, but I have a lot of friends who were rightly outraged by Chrysler’s political ad for the auto bailout that starred Clint Eastwood and aired at halftime on NBC during the Super Bowl. It was more than just the subverted boosterism for Obama that was outrageous. There were many levels...

If Clint Eastwood narrated “The Cat in the Hat,” the words of Dr. Seuss would instantly take on a menacing authority. He could read the latest worthless United Nations condemnation of Syria and make Bashar Assad tremble. So if you’re Chrysler and want to air a propagandistic advertisement implicitly touting your government bailout as what’s best about America, Eastwood is a natural frontman. The movie tough-guy and former Republican mayor of Carmel, Calif., will make everyone take notice. He will dare you not to believe him. He will invest a sugarcoated narrative of Detroit’s comeback with every bit of his...

Following the fall out over the controversial Chrysler Super Bowl halftime ad, Clinton Eastwood spoke exclusively with O’Reilly Factor producer Ron Mitchell…"I just want to say that the spin stops with you guys, and there is no spin in that ad. On this I am certain. l am certainly not politically affiliated with Mr. Obama. It was meant to be a message about just about job growth and the spirit of America. I think all politicians will agree with it. I thought the spirit was OK....

Karl Rove sees politics written all over Clint Eastwood's new Chrysler ad and even compares it to "Chicago-style politics." "I was, frankly, offended by it," Rove said on Fox News Monday. "I'm a huge fan of Clint Eastwood, I thought it was an extremely well-done ad, but it is a sign of what happens when you have Chicago-style politics, and the President of the United States and his political minions are, in essence, using our tax dollars to buy corporate advertising and the best-wishes of the management which is benefited by getting a bunch of our money that they'll never...

The Super Bowl is televised advertising’s equivalent of the Cannes Film Festival, so White House political strategists must have been smiling when what’s generally being hailed as this year’s best spot -- the Chrysler "Halftime in America" commercial -- subtly echoed the themes of President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign.(snip)Just to ice the cake, the gritty two-minute spot featured actor/director Clint Eastwood, whose politics usually put him on the Republican side of the aisle. In the spot, Eastwood’s voice narrates an account of Detroit’s comeback and, then, when his unmistakably craggy face appears on screen, U.S. closes Syria Embassy,

Detroit - Factory workers at Chrysler are getting $1,500 profit-sharing checks next month, a sign the automaker’s turnaround is succeeding. About 26,000 union-represented workers in the U.S. should get the payments, according to Chrysler’s contract with the United Auto Workers union. The profit-sharing figure is based on an Associated Press analysis of company earnings, and the labor contract formula for profit-sharing. Chrysler would not say how much the workers will get. But the formula in its new four-year contract with the UAW shows that the checks will be about $1,500. The checks are based on Chrysler’s $2 billion operating profit

What's the value of a car used by Barack Obama? Apparently not $1 million. An eBay auction for a gray 2005 Chrysler 300C leased by Obama before he became president closed late Wednesday with no bids meeting that minimum asking price, after which the listing agent hinted that $1 million might have been too much to expect.

VIDEO 4:19 minutes NLPC Associate Fellow Mark Modica says it is time to end tax credits and subsidies for electric vehicles. He is interviewed by Neil Cavuto on the Fox Business Network on Friday, January 6. Here's a transcript: Neil Cavuto : Meanwhile, a Fox Business Alert that is going to be a topical issue, drivers paying more to fill up. But it doesn't look like they're getting fed up with the gas guzzlers. Gasoline now at its highest price ever for the start of the year. It's still rising. But look what else is rising. Sales of really big...

Chrysler Group LLC confirmed today that its new small car, the first vehicle to feature Fiat SpA (F.MI) technology, will be called the Dodge Dart. The car, in production at the automaker's assembly plant in Belvidere, Ill., will be featured in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. With this vehicle, Chrysler will have a small-car offering in its portfolio for the first time in more than a decade. The car also will allow majority stakeholder Fiat to raise its stake in Chrysler by 5 percentage points to 58.3 percent once it is certified by the U.S....

General Motors Co. may be the largest of Detroit’s Big Three, but it is the only one to not be represented on Automobile Magazine’s ‘2012 All-Stars’ list. The magazine, which ranked the 2012 Audi 7 the best vehicle of next year, feature vehicles from Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC on the top 10 list, but left GM in the dark. Ford drove onto the list with its compact Focus, which was awarded car of the year by the magazine in 2000, and the highly-acclaimed Mustang Boss 302, which the magazine dubbed “the best Mustang ever.” January 2012 issue,...

Asian brands continue to dominate Consumer Reports' 2011 Annual Auto Survey, sweeping the top nine spots. Toyota's American brand Scion leads the pack, followed by Lexus, Acura, Mazda, Honda, and Toyota. The brands scored strong on predicted reliability tests. Of the 91 Japanese models for which Consumer Reports has sufficient data, 87 (96 percent) were rated average or better. 24 Japanese models earned the highest rating.

Chrysler is getting rid of the soccer mom staple Dodge Grand Caravan minivan, the company announced on Monday. 2013 will be the last year the Caravan is sold, despite the fact it is currently the best selling Dodge vehicle on the market. The more upscale Chrysler Town and Country minivan will continue on as the only van the company offers. Chrysler created the modern minivan in when they introduced the 1984 model year Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager models. Chrysler will replace the Dodge Grand Caravan minivan and the Dodge Avenger mid-sized sedan with a single crossover in 2013, Chrysler...

America is still fighting over President Obama's costly bailout of Chrysler and General Motors. Especially the owners of Ford, the only member of Detroit's "Big Three" who rejected the government dole and emerged perfectly healthy. [Check out our editorial cartoons on President Obama.] In its most political ad in the so-called "Drive One" ads where real drivers are thrust before cameras to explain why they picked Ford, a real Ford F-150 pick-up driver is featured.

In a bid to boost flagging auto sales, the federal government will pay for any warranty repairs on a General Motors or Chrysler vehicle if either company can't because of financial problems or a bankruptcy filing, President Barack Obama said on Monday. "Let me say this as plainly as I can. If you buy a car from Chrysler or General Motors, you will be able to get your car serviced and repaired just like always," Obama said in a speech. "Your warranty will be safe. In fact, it will be safer than it has ever been. Because starting today, the...

To help American carmakers stay in business, autoworkers grudgingly gave up pay raises and some benefits four years ago. Now that General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are making money again, workers want compensation for their sacrifice. Just how much they get is the central question hanging over contract talks that start this week between Detroit and one of the nation's largest and most powerful unions. The negotiations, the first since Chrysler and GM took government aid and emerged from bankruptcy, will set wages and benefits for 111,000 members of the United Auto Workers, including those at Ford, which avoided bankruptcy...

The federal government on Thursday ended its partial ownership of Chrysler, completing a sale of its stake in the automaker to Fiat S.p.A. of Italy for $560 million. The sale, which gives Fiat majority control of Chrysler, leaves taxpayers $1.3 billion short of recovering the $12.5 billion lent to the company as it slid into bankruptcy protection a little more than two years ago. The remaining balance belongs to the “old Chrysler” — a collection of unwanted assets being liquidated in bankruptcy — and is unlikely to be repaid, the Treasury Department said in a statement. “With today’s closing, the...

The U.S government has sold its shares in Chrysler LLC at a likely loss of $1.3 billion in taxpayer money, the Treasury Department said Thursday, announcing the end of a controversial investment that resurrected the troubled auto company. Italian automaker Fiat SpA, which has run the company since it emerged from bankruptcy protection in June 2009, purchased the U.S. government's remaining 98,000 shares in the auto company for $560 million.

<p>U.S. taxpayers likely lost $1.3 billion in the government bailout of Chrysler, the Treasury Department announced Thursday.</p>

This is just too rich. As some of you may remember, late last year an investigative report from MyFoxDetroit came out catching Chrysler auto workers on camera drinking and smoking during their lunch breaks. Well, they've been busted again by the same guy- Rob Wolcheck. This was made possible from tips from inside the plant. Last year, after his first investigative report, 13 people were fired. Take a look at your tax dollars in action. This is also the same plant Obama held a pep rally at, as mentioned within the video.

President Barack Obama’s auto bailout czar Ron Bloom is under fire from the House Oversight Committee for a pro-union comment he reportedly made in 2009. David Shepardson, a reporter for The Detroit News, wrote in 2009 that Bloom told a dinner audience, “I did this all for the unions.” While testifying under oath at an Oversight subcommittee hearing in June, though, Bloom denied making those comments. Rep. Dan Burton, an Indiana Republican, asked Bloom about the comment. Bloom replied that he didn’t say it. So, Burton asked him if he thought he was “misquoted.” Bloom said “that’s correct.” Burton then...

Investigators for the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform are asking the White House official who oversaw the government bailouts of General Motors and Chrysler whether he told the truth in recent testimony before the committee. Ron Bloom, Assistant to the President for Manufacturing Policy, is quoted in a 2009 newspaper account and a 2010 book saying of the auto bailouts that he "did this all for the unions." But when Bloom appeared before the committee on June 22, he flatly denied ever saying those words. Other White House officials have reportedly defended Bloom by suggesting that he did...

I noticed that a co-worker had gotten a new car while seeing each other in the parking lot and congratulated the person. The co-worker said "thank you", but stated that I shouldn't tell anyone else. The co-worker in my opinion felt they had a Scarlett Letter attached to them for buying not only a new car but an import model.

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio restaurant mentioned last week by President Barack Obama as an indirect beneficiary of the government’s Chrysler bailout will go out of business Sunday after a more than 70-year history. Co-owner Richard Lawrence of New Chet’s Restaurant in Toledo says business has fallen victim to the economy and the workplace smoking ban approved by Ohio voters in 2006. He told The Blade newspaper of Toledo on Wednesday that auto industry cutbacks also hurt. Lawrence says he used to deliver up to $300 in food per week to Chrysler Group LLC’s Jeep plant in Toledo, but...

The government's unnecessary disruption of the bankruptcy laws will do long-term damage to the economy. President Obama's visit to a Chrysler plant in Toledo, Ohio, on Friday was the culmination of a campaign to portray the auto bailouts as a brilliant success with no unpleasant side effects. "The industry is back on its feet," the president said, "repaying its debt, gaining ground." If the government hadn't stepped in and dictated the terms of the restructuring, the story goes, General Motors and Chrysler would have collapsed, and at least a million jobs would have been lost. The bailouts averted disaster, and...

Proud of losing $14BRich Lowry Last Updated: 3:15 AM, June 4, 2011 It's a sign of grim times indeed when the Obama administra tion is touting a potential $14 billion loss to the taxpayers as a great economic success. The White House is running on its auto bailouts as courageous acts that saved the industrial Midwest. It's a telling point of pride. In bragging about the bailouts of GM and Chrysler, the administration is boasting of a process shot through with lawlessness and political favoritism -- not to mention reckless disregard for taxpayer dollars. The administration believes it trumps all...

The Pickups and SUVs Obama had wished culled  from the lineup in 2009 now drive sales, profitablity Marchionne pretending to listen to statist bonheads FIAT has been making a lot of positive news over the last week, first by paying off all $5.9B of the US/Canadian auto bail-out loans to the US/CN Treasuries (six years early), then three days later announcing the acquisition of the entire US Government stake. This provides FIAT-and-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne with complete control of Chrysler, thus ridding himself and his companies of the Obama Administration's unhelpful influence.Obviously Obama could use anything that resembles an economic success story right about...

DETROIT (AP) -- Chrysler Group will soon sever its ties with the U.S. government. Italian automaker Fiat agreed Thursday to buy the U.S. Treasury's 6 percent interest in Chrysler for $500 million. Once the deal closes, the government will no longer hold a stake in the auto company.

On June 1, 2009, General Motors filed for bankruptcy, backed by $30 billion in support from the federal government. The same day, in the same New York courthouse, a judge approved Chrysler’s plan to forge an alliance with Fiat and emerge from bankruptcy as a restructured business with an uncertain future. Two years later, all three American automakers have returned to profitability, the industry has added new shifts and 115,000 jobs, and GM and Chrysler have returned more than 50 percent of the government’s investment. The industry is mounting one of the most improbable turnarounds in recent history.

Washington – The Obama administration said Wednesday that the government will lose about $14 billion in taxpayer funds from the bailout of the U.S. auto industry. In a report from the president's National Economic Council, officials said that figure is down from the 60 percent the Treasury Department originally estimated the government would lose following its $80 billion bailout of Chrysler and General Motors in 2009. The report's release coincides with the administration's efforts to tout the bailout's role in the revitalization of the U.S. auto industry after last week's announcement that Chrysler is repaying $5.9 billion in U.S.

Government May Lose $16 Billion on Auto Bailout By JOSH MITCHELL WASHINGTON—The White House said Wednesday that taxpayers may never recover about $16 billion of the bailout money extended to the auto industry in 2008 and 2009, in a new report designed to tout the industry's turnaround from wide-scale bankruptcies. The White House released the report, "The Resurgence of the American Automotive Industry," ahead of President Barack Obama's trip Friday to a Chrysler Group LLC facility in Toledo, Ohio. The report said that of the $80 billion in bailout money for the industry, less than 20%, or $16 billion, may...

It’s a general rule of thumb that whenever a politician says something negative about their opposition, they better not be guilty of the same thing, otherwise they would end up looking incredibly foolish. The latest pol to suffer from this is Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Since she began her tenure as head of the DNC, Wasserman Schultz has gone on the offensive against the Republicans. She accused the GOP of “waging war on the unemployed” and slammed their budget proposal as a “path to poverty.” But her latest attack on the opposition backfired in a major way....

President Obama and two of his biggest union allies -- the United Auto Workers and the United Steelworkers -- plan to make the automotive bailout "a central issue" in the 2012 election, Politico reports. Republicans should view this as an opportunity. No issue better illustrates the deception, cronyism, disregard for the rule of law, and bad economic decisions of this White House than the auto bailouts. On Tuesday, Obama announced that Chrysler had paid back all "outstanding loans to the U.S. Treasury and American taxpayers." This is highly misleading. American taxpayers still own a 6.6 percent stake in Chrysler, which...

Detroit is no longer stuck in first gear. At least that's the message from Vice President Joe Biden, who trumpeted what he calls an impressive comeback for the U.S. auto industry. Mr Biden credited the Obama administration's intervention for the American auto industry's recovery from 'the brink of extinction' and pointed to Chrysler's early repayment of the federal loan that saved it from disaster. Mr Biden said: 'This announcement came six years ahead of schedule - and just two years after Chrysler Corp. emerged from bankruptcy. 'It's a sign of what's happening throughout the American automobile industry'. The announcement Saturday...

Fiat SpA (FIA.MI) plans to exercise an option to buy the U.S. Treasury's stake in Chrysler, which paves the way for the Italian automaker to clinch a majority share in the company by early next month. Fiat notified the Treasury of its intent on Friday. The purchase price will be based on the equity value of Chrysler agreed by Treasury and Fiat within 10 business days. If Fiat and Treasury cannot settle on the price, the amount will be determined by two of three investment banks appointed by the company and the U.S. government. The option would allow Fiat to...

This week Chrysler went through the same sort of shenanigans American taxpayers have already spent more than $13 billion bailing out Chrysler. The Obama administration already forgave more than $4 billion of that debt when the company filed for bankruptcy in 2009. Taxpayers are never getting that money back. But how is Chrysler now paying off the rest of the $7.6 billion they owe the Treasury Department? The Obama administration’s bailout agreement with Fiat gave the Italian car company a “Incremental Call Option” that allows it to buy up to 16% of Chrysler stock at a reduced price. But in...

"2D Circuit Court of Appeals Acts Like Thugs To Shield Judicial Fraud on The Court in Chrysler Dealers Case. The 2d Circuit Court of Appeals has issued Rule 38 sanctions against Steve Pidgeon and I, and they have refused to offer any review of the merits of our appeal, other than to say it was “utterly frivolous”: “As to the merits of Appellants’ claims, they are utterly frivolous. We reject these claims on the merits for substantially the same reasons set forth by the district court below.” No discussion of the facts at all. Our proofs that the Bankruptcy Court...

Washington (Reuters) - The Treasury department said on Tuesday that automaker Chrysler Group LLC has repaid $5.1 billion in bailout loans and ended its right to draw a remaining $2.1 billion. The government had committed a total $12.5 billion to Chrysler under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, known as TARP, and the company has now returned more than $10.6 billion of that in principal, interest and canceled commitments. Treasury continues to hold a 6.6 percent common share stake in Chrysler, which now is on firmer ground financially and is deepening its ties to Italian automaker Fiat SpA. "Treasury is unlikely...

When it comes to quality, efficiency, reliability, safety and overall value, these vehicles bring up the rear. By all accounts, Detroit's Big Three automakers have begun producing better-made, longer lasting, more efficient vehicles. It's a distinct change from the 1990s and early 2000s, when they fell behind their European and Asian counterparts in each category. "This change is not even a gradual thing," says Christine Overstreet, an automotive consultant and director of Heels and Wheels. "It's like they've said, 'OK, we really want to step it up, we really want to compete, we're ready.' After past years of being so...

Fiat just earned 5 percent more ownership in Chrysler for creating a product no one has bought yet. Payment for non-performance. If you suspect this is government’s benchmark for success, you’d be right. More precisely, this is how the Obama administration measures success. Let’s rewind the tape. Under King Obama’s gift of 20 percent of Chrysler to Fiat in 2009, His Highness decreed that Fiat would assume another 5 percent of the company upon production of a 4-cylinder engine in the United States. Not selling it. Simply producing it. ... But wait, there’s more. The Italian automaker will gain yet...

With Chrysler's soon-to-be-owner Fiat successfully selling natural-gas vehicles (NGVs) in Europe and South America, analysts have suggested that Chrysler would develop and sell natural-gas cars and trucks as one element of its green strategy. Not 'til 2017? Now the company has confirmed it. Bob Lee, Chrysler's vice president for engines and electrified propulsion systems, said Monday that, "the technology is very actively being worked on."

Scott Burgess resigned today as The Detroit News auto critic after his editors bowed to a request by an advertiser to water down his negative review of the Chrysler 200. This is why we can't have nice reviews anymore.

Car critic quits over changed Chrysler 200 review Sify - ‎29 minutes ago‎ The auto critic at The Detroit News has resigned after editors told him to delete online portions of a scathing review of the Chrysler 200, a car that was promoted in a popular Super Bowl TV ad starring rapper Eminem. In the newspaper's March 10 print ... Detroit News publishes apology for altered review Atlanta Journal Constitution - ‎Mar 19, 2011‎ AP DETROIT — The Detroit News has published a front-page apology from its editor and publisher over the newspaper's decision to change sections of a scathing review...

DETROIT (WWJ) – A big recall at Chrysler and a creepy one at Mazda. Spiders that can spin webs in fuel systems are causing Mazda to recall 52 thousand Mazda 6 sedans from the 2009 and 2010 model years. Those webs can cause damage to the fuel systems, and potentially lead to fuel leaks. Chrysler, meanwhile, is recalling about 250,000 vehicles to fix potential engine stalling. The company says it will recall 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans and 2010 Dodge Journey crossovers in the wake of reports that the ignition key could move while driving...

The United Auto Workers union has been named in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a female Chrysler worker. The suit comes as the UAW attempts to organize at least one transplant automaker. UAW Local 51 member Janet Burney claims she was fired after she ended her relationship with Pat Byers, the son of UAW official. Byers’ father, John Byers, was a top-ranking UAW official, having held the office of co-director of the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center as recently as 2010.