It's been 10 months, so what the hell is going on with that Sirius and XM satellite radio merger? Eh, it's a bunch of bureaucratic BS, but the Department of Justice should be giving approval by the end of the year with the final ballbuster, the FCC, hopefully giving the go ahead in February. Apparently investors people are even starting to get antsy. GM, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and Kia all publicly gave support for the merger citing the price, competition and availability benefits. Chrysler even went as far as writing the FCC's chairman and assistant attorney general expressing no opposition to the merger. After the fold check out what your favorite manufacturer had to say about the merger, straight from the horse's mouth.
"General Motors believes the proposed merger is and will be in the public interest because the merged company will be able to offer consumers expanded programming choices and a broad range of service packages, including packages at lower prices." - (Richard M. Lee, Executive Director - Satellite Radio Services, General Motors North American Operations)
"We believe that a company that combines the capabilities of Sirius and XM could serve the interests of consumers by offering a more dynamic and potentially cost-effective product, spurring additional competition with audio entertainment providers such as terrestrial radio, and that this may result in greater innovation."
- (Paul Mascarenas, Vice President Engineering, Product Development - The Americas, Ford Motor Company)" ... It has become evident that satellite radio and digital satellite services must compete mightily in the U.S. with a wide array of burgeoning entertainment forms and an ever-widening list of technology participants who are delivering services in this space."
- (Charles Koch, Manager, American Honda Product Planning)"This expanded choice and lower price is exactly the value our consumers want and deserve."
- (Len Hunt, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Kia Motors America)"Rather than being forced to choose between content that currently is exclusive to one satellite radio provider, our customers will gain access to packages offering the 'best of both' services for significantly less than the current combined price, as well as packages of fewer channels at much lower prices."
- (Wayne Killen, Director of Product Planning, Hyundai Motor America)