Gov. Markell Focuses on Delaware Auto Industry
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This is a rush transcript from "Your World With Neil Cavuto," October 28, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: All right, will three times be the charm? Uncle Sam already bailing out GMAC twice. Now the lender is looking for another multibillion-dollar handout.
My next guest says, go ahead and give it to them.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Democratic Governor Jack Markell from Delaware joins me right now.
Very — Governor, very good to have you.
GOV. JACK MARKELL, D-DEL.: Thanks. Good to be with you.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CAVUTO: And we should — we should stress that, you know, when you were for this, and you knew full well that GM was going to leave your state. It did. Now you have got another automaker coming in. I do want to get to that.
But there are a lot of folks, Governor, looking at this and saying, you know, you keep coming back to the well, maybe something is wrong with you.
What do you say?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MARKELL: Yes, I actually don`t know much about GMAC`s request. My focus has been on finding a new tenant, a new occupant for the General Motors plant that was closed in July.
And, just yesterday, we actually announced that Fisker Automotive will be building a new plug-in hybrid starting in 2012, so that will create a lot of jobs for people in Delaware. And that has really been my focus.
CAVUTO: So, was there any quid pro quo, Governor? I sound very jaded here. That, in other words, if you were going to accept this happening, you knew this other thing could be happening?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MARKELL: I am not sure which two things you are talking about happening.
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: In other words, you would be OK with bailing out GM, supporting GM, even though you knew you were going to lose GM, but that the...
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: ... understanding was that someone else would come in its place?
MARKELL: Absolutely not.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}You know, we fought as hard as we could to keep that General Motors plant open as General Motors. We were unsuccessful. So, then we fought as hard as we could to find somebody else, and, fortunately, we have got this Fisker Automotive, great car, beautiful car that they`re designing. It`s going to get 100 miles a gallon, be available in 2012, absolutely unrelated to General Motors.
CAVUTO: OK. I had to ask.
(CROSSTALK)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MARKELL: In fact, they are...
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: Go ahead.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MARKELL: In fact, they`re buying the General Motors plant from the old General Motors, from Motors Liquidation Corp., so totally unrelated to General Motors.
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: All right.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On General Motors itself, Governor, do you think this is just a slow death, I mean, whether we prop up GM or GMAC — and I know there`s this great obligation because it has 15 million borrowers out there, and billions out there in exposure — that it is not that they`re too big to fail, but just too big to mess with, so we keep giving them money?
What do you think of that?
MARKELL: Well, I think the jury is still out. In the end, what really matters is whether they can design and build cars that people want. And, frankly, the jury is still out on that. That`s why we`re so thrilled to be getting a car that is going to be very fuel- efficient, 100 miles a gallon, but also very stylish. And, obviously, we were disappointed for the workers when the plant closed in July, but we`re very hopeful that we`re really creating a new industry for the country right there in Delaware. It`s one that is — it`s about building cars and it`s also really in line with the green economy, too.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CAVUTO: These really small fuel-efficient cars, some of them are really small. Now, you are a thin, fit guy, Governor.
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: But I am just wondering if they just exclude, you know, big Americans.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MARKELL: Well, I don`t think so.
I think this is a nice sedan. It is — it`s absolutely — it`s gorgeous. And the nice thing here is that the folks at Fisker Automotive, Henrik Fisker, Bernhard Koehler, they have got a track record of building cars that people want.
And again, that is what it is all about. What I think or what pundits think is really unimportant. The question is, will customers buy it? And that is what we are focused on, of course.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CAVUTO: Well, you`re right about pundits. They`re almost as bad as financial anchors on TV.
Governor, very, very good having you. Thank you very much.
MARKELL: Thanks a lot.
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