The midyear in autos: 10 ups and downs

Upside: Now that U.S. automakers are back on track, it seems everybody wants to take credit for their recovery. That includes Republican presidential hopeful and Michigan native Mitt Romney. In an apparent reference to his 2008 New York Times editorial, "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt," he says in May "My own view is that the auto companies needed to go through bankruptcy before government help. And frankly, that's finally what the president did. He finally took them through bankruptcy."

Downside: Hold on, Mitt. The parties who were involved in the speedy bankruptcy are pushing back, since the only investor funding available for the automakers' rescue came from Uncle Sam. Rebuts former auto czar Steven Rattner: "If Mr. Romney disagrees, he should come forward with specific names of willing investors in place of empty rhetoric. I predict that he won't be able to, because there aren't any."

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