Watch for a short sucker rally in car stocks

Chrysler is making noises about getting the UAW, suppliers, and creditors in line so that it can go back to Congress with a restructuring plan. If the federal government likes that new program, Chrysler could get the money to carry it through the end of the year. According to Reuters, Chrysler's CEO recently sent a memo to employees saying "Progress is being made in our discussions with every constituent group, and we're especially pleased with the cooperative and productive discussions taking place,"

If the UAW and suppliers give concessions to Chrysler, they will almost certainly have to match them at GM (NYSE:GM) and Ford (NYSE:F). It would be especially hard for the union to treat the two other car companies differently, particularly with the government looking over its shoulder.

The news may appear to be good at first and may push up the shares of Ford and GM. But, it can't last. All of the restructuring assumptions from The Big Three rely on domestic vehicle sales to be about 12 million units this year. As the recession deepens, the number could go as low as 10 million.

In other words even if the job cuts and supplier deals come, all three operations are likely to lose a lot more money.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.

Get the latest on cars and trucks
from GM and all brands at AOL Autos.
Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA-89.2312,801.23
NASDAQ-23.352,903.88
S&P 500-9.311,342.64

Last updated: February 13, 2012: 12:28 AM

Hot Stocks

General Electric

18.875-0.255(-1.33)

Alcoa

10.29-0.35(-3.29)

Apple Inc

493.42+0.25(+0.05)

Google Inc 'A'

605.91-5.55(-0.91)

Bank of America

8.07-0.11(-1.34)

Wal-Mart Stores

61.90-0.06(-0.10)

Exxon Mobil Corp

83.80-1.08(-1.27)

Ford

12.44-0.25(-1.97)

Citigroup

32.925-0.735(-2.18)

IBM

192.42-0.71(-0.37)

Yahoo

16.14+0.14(+0.88)

Starbucks

48.82-0.38(-0.77)

Microsoft

30.495-0.275(-0.89)

Home Depot

45.33+0.06(+0.13)

Learn More About GM Cars

General Motors Brands:
Find Your Next Car

AOL Autos New Cars and Used Cars

DailyFinance Headlines

Benzinga Headlines

TheFlyOnTheWall.com Headlines

    BioHealth Investor Headlines

    WalletPop Headlines

    DailyFinance BlackBerry App

    My Portfolios

    Track your stocks here!

    Find out why more people track their portfolios on AOL Money & Finance then anywhere else.

    BloggingStocks Partners

    More from AOL Money & Finance

    BioHealth Investor Headlines

    Page Loaded in 1329110916300 ms.