General Motors

General Motors Corp. will lay off about 500 contract employees, many of them engineers and designers at its technical center in Warren, on Friday as part of the automaker's effort to downsize its money-losing North American operations. "This is a very challenging time, and these are very difficult decisions for the company," said GM spokesman Robert Herta. "It's all about aligning the work force with our business needs." GM said the cuts are part of a previously announced plan to reduce its U.S. white collar work force by 7 percent in 2006. The reduction affects both direct GM and contract employees. Many of the engineers whose jobs ar…

GM’s Opel rejects Belgian emissions claim Andy Sharman in London The Zafira, a family car sold by the European arm of General Motors, has come under fresh scrutiny for its emissions performance in the wake of the Volkswagen diesel scandal. GM's Opel division said it had been made the subject of "false accusations" after a report by Belgian broadcaster VRT claimed it had been secretly modifying the emissions performance of its cars using unexplained software updates since the VW scandal emerged in September. Financial Time's full article. Bern University of Applied Sciences and environmental lobby club DUH previously found this model to pass E…

June 1, 2009 is turning into the equivalent of General Motors' D-Day, and every day seems to bring new events that are being planned in advance of it. GM had more than 6,000 dealerships at the end of last year, and in the initial viability plan it offered to the government, the automaker pledged to close 25% of those over the next five years. As with the rest of the plan, the Auto Task Force said "That isn't enough." So GM has turned the big guns on its dealership closures, having seen 200 of them shut down this year already. It is not waiting for attrition to rid itself of others, but pin-pointing under-performing locations and "could move to terminate franchise agreem…

H3 Drives Record HUMMER Sales Strong Start for Chevy HHR and Impala Pontiac Sales Up 7 Percent, Paced by Brisk G6 Deliveries DETROIT - General Motors dealers in the United States sold 355,180 new cars and trucks in August, down 16 percent from the same month a year ago. Car sales in August declined 15 percent and truck sales were off 17 percent. GM's August sales performance was in line with expectations following exceptionally strong sales in June and July, spurred by the highly successful GM Employee Discount for Everyone program. "We knew August was going to be a tough month given extremely tight inventories," said Mark LaNeve, GM North America…

Link to Article GM researches high-tech windshields to aid vision By MARGARET HARDING, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 1 minute ago WARREN, Mich. - When Coke bottle glasses just won't cut it for safe driving, a futuristic windshield might do the trick. General Motors Corp. researchers are working on a windshield that combines lasers, infrared sensors and a camera to take what's happening on the road and enhance it, so aging drivers with vision problems are able to see a little more clearly. Though it's only in the research stage now, the technology soon will be more useful than ever. The 65 and older population in the U.S. will nearly double in about 20 years, …

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The Detroit Free Press published an article July 23rd, "An Informal Club: Retirees, coffee and GM," in which several people voiced their opinion about GM's current state of affairs. One sidebar focused on "5 Things They Want CEO Rick Wagoner to Know." To read the entire story, click here.

By TOM KRISHER (AP) – 1 hour ago DETROIT — Behind GM's hesitation to sell its unprofitable car business in Europe lies a Cold War fear: American technology will fall into Russian hands. It's among the main reasons why General Motors Co. has balked at finishing a deal to sell its Opel unit to a group led by Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc. and Russia's state-owned Sberbank. GM announced the tentative deal with Magna in May at a time when it was desperately trying to avoid bankruptcy protection. But now, after exiting Chapter 11 in better financial shape and encouraged by signs of better sales, the Detroit-based automaker is second-guessing the dea…

And ends up making a profit! Those crazy accountants!! DETROIT, United States (AFP) - The world's biggest automaker, General Motors Corp., announced a revision to its first-quarter results, saying it had posted a net profit of 445 million dollars. GM said it had finalized its first-quarter profits to 78 cents per share following a "final determination" of its accounting for a recently approved retiree health-care settlement agreement and other adjustments. The automaker had said on April 20 that it had shrunk its losses during the first quarter to 323 million dollars, or 57 cents per share, from 1.3 billion in the same period a year ago. "The difference between the…

GM Revises Third-Quarter Numbers Link to Article @ TheCarConnection.com General Motors Corp. has revised its third-quarter earnings report, boosting its net income and reducing its loss by $24 million to $91 million or 16 cents per share. Last month, the automaker reported it had lost $115 million in the third quarter but in a new filing with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission, GM added new revenue from its finance arm, General Motors Acceptance Corp. The changes bolstered chairman and chief executive officer Richard Wagoner's argument that GM's recovery continues to pick up momentum. Last year, GM lost $1.664 billion, or $2.94 a share, during the third quarter. …

http://money.cnn.com/2006/10/25/news/compa...dex.htm?cnn=yes

GM Sales Fall But Market Share Rises NewsTrack - Business Link to Original Article @ UPI.com DETROIT, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- General Motors Corp. said Friday this summer's sales were down 3 percent compared to last year's summer sales. On the positive side, however, GM's U.S. market share has risen each quarter of the current year, from 23.8 percent in the first to 24.1 percent in the second, MarketWatch reported. Overall, the world's biggest carmaker sold almost 2.3 million cars and trucks worldwide from July through September, with China and Russia showing unit sales increases of 37 percent and 64 percent, respectively. Year-to-date sales of Chevrolet were up 27 pe…

GM sales rise; Ford, Chrysler slip Despite an expected decline in U.S. industry sales, GM reported a 3.4 percent total sales increase, compared with February 2006. The sales gain was due to an 11 percent retail sales increase. Retail and fleet sales by GM dealers in the United States totaled 311,763 vehicles, compared with sales of 301,545 in February 2006. Fleet sales were down 18 percent due to a planned 25 percent reduction in daily rental sales. "Our pickup, SUV and crossover business was terrific across the board. Our customers are telling us that we have the winning formula - the best products, industry-leading fuel economy and the best value," said Mark LaNeve, v…

Well Friday I overheard 1 of the head business managers discussing how GM was breathing down our dealerships back for being down... GM apparently is up 13% (and it might just be a certain segment, or just overall) but our dealership (2nd largest in western Devision) is down on sales... so i got to thinking... What is up 13%...? did anyone notice a certain segment that last month was up 13%? and why would our store be down? if comparing between augusts sales... I wonder if this has to do with inventory from 2005? because August we still had lots of inventory... durring GMS last year we blew out 1500 brand new chevys in just 4 months... the inventory crunch neve…

GM saves $420M by freezing pensions Firm joins the growing ranks of major U.S. employers shifting financial risks of retirement to workers. Bill Vlasic / The Detroit News The cost-cutting ax at General Motors Corp. fell on salaried workers Tuesday with the announcement that GM will freeze pension benefits for 36,000 U.S. employees and move toward so-called "defined-contribution" plans in the future. The changes will save cash-strapped GM an estimated $420 million a year and reduce the automaker's overall pension liability for white-collar employees by $1.6 billion by the end of 2006. By freezing current pensions, GM joins the growing ranks of major U.S. employers suc…

The Car Connection on 8/14 reported the following news: GM Saving Billions with Mid-Sizers New mid-size cars from General Motors-among them, possibly the new Malibu posted here on TheCarConnection this week-are significantly cheaper for the company to develop, according to a report in Automotive News. The paper says GM has been refining its development processes and has trimmed $1 billion from the development tab it would have accrued under its former ways. The News says GM is apportioning projects to centers of expertise around the world, eliminating competition within the GM empire, and is cutting its engineering expenses as a result. Nine new vehicles worldwide will…

By TOM KRISHER and DAN STRUMPF, AP Auto Writers Tom Krisher And Dan Strumpf, Ap Auto Writers – 2 hrs 30 mins ago Story Link DETROIT – A General Motors Corp. bankruptcy filing seemed inevitable after a rebellion by its bondholders forced it to withdraw on Wednesday a plan to swap bond debt for company stock. GM has until Monday to complete a government-ordered restructuring that includes debt reduction, labor cost cuts and plant closures. But a Chapter 11 reorganization is likely after the company said its offer to exchange $27 billion in unsecured debt for 10 percent of the company's stock had failed. GM has received $19.4 billion in federal loans. The move came…

By TOM KRISHER and KIMBERLY S. JOHNSON, AP Auto Writers Tom Krisher And Kimberly S. Johnson, Ap Auto Writers – 11 mins ago Story Link DETROIT – General Motors Corp. said Thursday a committee of bondholders has agreed to a sweetened deal proposed by the U.S. government to erase the automaker's unsecured debt in exchange for company stock. A person familiar with the deal said that it is probable GM will file for bankruptcy protection. The person asked not to be identified by name because discussions are still under way with the U.S. and Canadian governments and there is a small chance that the company could avoid a Chapter 11 filing. The company said in a statemen…

From AN: Bradford Wernle DETROIT -- General Motors is calling off talks with Cerberus Capital Management LP about a possible acquisition of Chrysler LLC. GM CEO Rick Wagoner, without naming Chrysler specifically, confirmed the end of the negotiations during a conference call with journalists today. "We have recently explored the possibility of such an acquisition based on the analysis that it would strengthen our industry position in the long term," Wagoner said. "We've concluded at this particular time that we are better off to put 100 percent of our efforts on the liquidity side. We've set aside such (acquisition) actions as a near term priority." Chrysler s…

The Daily Auto Insider Tuesday, January 31, 2006 January 2006 At the Houston Auto Show, GM executives told the Dow Jones that demand from dealers for their new full-sized vehicles exceeded the automaker’s expectation. CEO Rick Wagoner, praised the fuel efficiency of GM’s large vehicles. Both GM and Ford suffered large market loss to foreign competitors as the SUV and pickup market slowed last year. Nonetheless, GM is pinning its hopes on the launch this year of its GMT 900 line of full-size trucks and SUVs. GM says these new models will encompass about a third of its sales in 2006. Wagoner told the Dow it's too early to predict how well the new large utility vehicl…

Reuters / March 5, 2006 - 4:15 pm http://autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?...1/1003&refsect= NEW YORK -- General Motors, responding to reports on Sunday that it is planning to sell its 20 percent stake in Suzuki Motor Corp., said it has no plans to fully unwind its current equity relationship with Suzuki. The economic daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported on Sunday that the world's largest automaker is planning to sell its 20 percent stake in the Japanese automaker. "In the event GM reduces its stake in Suzuki, it will be done in an orderly manner through an open market repurchase," the GM release said. Suzuki said in a statement that "GM and Suzuki will not comp…

General Motors Corporation (NYSE:GM) and Tracinda Corporation jointly announced today that, although the parties have had constructive discussions, they have not been able to reach a mutually satisfactory agreement for Jerome York to join the Board of Directors of General Motors at this time. However, the parties expect that they may continue to have discussions in connection with this matter in the future.

Thanks to C&G member Brian Johnson for sending this along. Below is the text from a speech by John F. Smith GM Group Vice President, Global Product Planning. Thank you, David [Cole], and good morning, everyone. It’s a pleasure to be a part of the Management Briefing Seminar, especially on its 40 th anniversary. I’m here today to tell you that General Motors is moving forward, with great urgency and focus, to fundamentally change and improve the way we do business. We understand if you react to that with skepticism, and we realize that the proof will be in the pudding. . . . the product pudding, to be specific. I’m here to tell you that we are ready to r…

No new Buick, no Lutz. Saving it for NAIAS http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/ar...8&Symbol=GM

Link: http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0.../E04-298488.htm

JD power sales satisfaction survey

http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServlet...=74&docid=25219

GM Seeks to Fill up to 400 Specialized Engineering and Technical Positions through Career Fair DETROIT—GM today announced plans to host an Engineering and Technology Career Fair in the metro Detroit area on Saturday, May 5, seeking candidates for up to 400 highly specialized engineering and technical positions within the areas of Powertrain Engineering, Product Development, Fuel Cell, OnStar, and Information Technology. “GM is truly committed to being the automotive leader in energy diversity and advanced technology. We’re accelerating work in emerging technologies, and that creates a significant demand for talent in fields like hybrid and diesel powertrains, telematics…

Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050828/bs_nm/...HNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

As I've said many times before, I see GM selling parts of itself off to the Chinese eventually. Maybe it's brand names, personnel, factories, tooling, or some combination of some or all. But this is the next step as sure as it was for MG Rover. If Saturn's new Opel strategy fails and GM is still running red, a buyer like SAIC would have a pretty nice dealer network already in place. The same could be said for Saab or Hummer or Buick or Pontiac. The Chinese are now the world's largest foreign holders of dollars. Something must be done with these dollars, and the Chinese want to become respected auto players on the world market. 2 + 2 equals 4. Don't think breaking …

GM sees gains in pickup truck segment Reuters Wednesday September 13, 2:08 pm ET By Jui Chakravorty Link to Original Article @ Yahoo!News DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp.'s (NYSE:GM - News) new warranty program will give the automaker an edge in the highly competitive market for full-size pickup trucks, a segment where GM will likely gain market share in the near term, a top company executive told Reuters on Wednesday. Brent Dewar, vice president of sales, service and parts, also said that the world's largest automaker is on target to sell 3 million vehicles in U.S. showrooms this year, almost unchanged from 2005. "We're on track ... It's going to be almo…

LONDON - General Motors Corp. is committed to building low-pollution cars which run on hydrogen but cost and design challenges mean commercial production is still about a decade away, the company said on Thursday. The world's biggest carmaker aims to have in place a viable fuel-cell powered car by 2010, with volume production possible two to three years later, said Matthew Fronk, GM's chief engineer of fuel cell systems. "GM is pushing very hard on fuel cells," Fronk told a conference in London. "We need to solve issues in performance, cost and durability," he said. "We have to see all these (solved) before we can pull the trigger…

New York Times Story December 20, 2007 G.M. Selling a Truck Business to Navistar By NICK BUNKLEY DETROIT — General Motors said Thursday that it had agreed to sell its medium-duty truck business to Navistar International, an Illinois-based maker of trucks and diesel engines. The companies did not disclose terms of the deal, which they expect to close on in 2008. Analysts have estimated the unit, which includes the GMC TopKick and Chevrolet Kodiak, to be worth about $500 million with annual revenue of $2 billion. G.M. has been shedding assets outside of its core operations to increase liquidity and focus on its turnaround. In the last year, it has sold controll…

General Motors cleans out the garage Troubled automaker is selling vehicles from its 'Heritage Collection' General Motors is cleaning out the attic to sell some stuff at the auction house to raise some much needed cash. Around 250 vehicles from GM's "Heritage Collection" will be auctioned by Barrett-Jackson, with the first lots going on Jan. 13 in Scottsdale, Ariz., and the second hitting the block in April in West Palm Beach, Fla. Don't think that GM is parting with the family jewels to pay the mortgage. Though insiders can't recall such a big chunk of the collection being sold at once, 25 percent of the total, most of the vehicles are special show cars and one-of…

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060323/ap_on_bi_ge/gm_gmac DETROIT - General Motors Corp. said Thursday that it is selling a majority interest in its commercial mortgage division for $1.5 billion in cash to a private investment group. In addition to the cash payment for a 78 percent stake in the business, GM said that GMAC Commercial Holding Corp. has also repaid $7.3 billion in intercompany loans as part of the deal. That would boost the total proceeds from the deal to almost $9 billion. The announcement comes a day after the world's biggest automaker and its major supplier, Delphi Corp., said they plan to offer buyouts to more than 125,000 hourly workers under an agree…

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/yhoo/story...972E93065C67%7D So much for Toyota not aquiring the competition to expand. Wonder what Subaru really has to offer anyway ?

http://www6.autonet.ca/News/story.cfm?stor...3394535-ap.html So sales are down 80k units, but 75k are from planned diminished fleet sales. excluding that, sales are only down 0.05%, so essentially, sales stayed steady.

unf'in believable http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,524520,00.html

Link to Article

GM Sells Majority Stake in GMAC General Motors Corp. sold a majority of its General Motors Acceptance Corp. finance unit to a group led by Cerberus Capital Management LP on Thursday, raising $7.4 billion in cash and completing a transaction that began in April. GMAC will be able to borrow at a lower cost by separating from its parent, cutting GM's cost to sell cars to customers. The sale of a 51 percent stake meets a goal of CEO Rick Wagoner as he works to recover from last year's $10.6 billion loss. GM will take a $2.7 billion distribution from GMAC as part of the transaction, meaning it will get a total of $10.1 billion for the stake this year. GM will get another …

Detroit Bureau

By Bernard Simon in Toronto Published: August 17 2008 19:18 | Last updated: August 17 2008 19:18 General Motors is planning to rebadge its Chevrolet Volt electric car as an Opel and bring it to Europe as part of the US carmaker’s plans to expand the model range of its highly anticipated new vehicle. GM is sufficiently encouraged by the development of the Volt that it has begun work on several other similar vehicles. EDITOR’S CHOICE GM shares fall on Moody’s rating cut - Aug-13Hybrid race heats up for carmakers - Aug-13Upbeat GM chief says group past worst - Aug-11US economy slams brakes on carmakers - Aug-01Video: Liam Denning on General Motors - Aug-01A not so…

NEW YORK (AP) - General Motors Corp. shares dropped to their lowest point in more than 15 years Tuesday after a report showed it losing market share to Asian automakers in December and Toyota threatened to at least match GM's production next year. GM also recalled more than 400,000 vans on Tuesday because of faulty seat belts. Burnham Securities analyst David Healy suggested the stock's decline -- nearly 4 percent in afternoon trading -- was more likely tied to general pessimism about the automaker's future than any of the day's announcements. The company's shares were down 75 cents, or 3.6 percent, at $20.30 in afternoon trading on the N…

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051110/bs_nm/autos_gm_shares_dc DETROIT (Reuters) - Shares of General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM - news) fell more than 6 percent on Thursday, spiraling to a 23-year low, after Banc of America Securities warned of an increased risk of bankruptcy at the financially struggling auto giant. The stock's decline -- which could add to pressure on Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner to launch a more aggressive revival plan for the automaker -- also came after it said late on Wednesday that it had overstated financial results for 2001 by as much as $400 million. GM said the accounting error stemmed from the way it booked credits from…

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...&refer=home GM Is Said to Plan Shutdowns for 1,100 U.S. Dealers General Motors Corp. is sending termination notices today to 1,100 U.S. dealers with about $2.5 billion in unsold vehicles as the automaker starts shrinking its retail network, a person familiar with the matter said. The dealers hold about 120,000 autos of various brands, said the person, who asked not to be identified because GM hasn’t announced details yet. Mark LaNeve, GM’s North American sales chief, is set to brief reporters at noon New York time. The closings are GM’s first step toward paring U.S. dealers to 3,600 from 6,200 by the end of …

This is really starting to worry me....

Source: Automotive News

Not sure if this has been posted already since I haven't been around these parts too often lately, but this was in response to Friedman's column on GM recently.

GM slashes Jobs and closes plants by end of 2006 We'll I for one was calling for Wagoner to step down, This just might be what saves his ass! Unlike the multiple years, 21 plants closed and 74K layed off starting in 1991. This one year big change could really improve things fast for GM. Be interesting as to how they handle the UAW. The UAW plans to fight this it sounds like. Sound off, do you think this is a good move or bad move for GM? Do you think they need to go deeper? Sounds like the SSR will be dead with the closing of the Michigan Craft Center. What are your thoughts? :CG_all:

Dave Guilford Automotive News April 28, 2008 - 4:36 pm ET DETROIT -- General Motors today moved to cut full-size truck production in North America by 138,000 units for the remainder of the year. GM will take out about 88,000 units of full-size pickup production and 50,000 units of full-size SUV production, the automaker said in a press release. GM said that it is eliminating one shift of production at its full-size pickup truck assembly plants in Pontiac, Mich.; Flint, Mich.; and Oshawa, Ontario; and its full-size SUV assembly plant in Janesville, Wis. The Pontiac and Flint pickup plants already are idled because of a parts shortage stemming from the UAW's …

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121424094257797029.html GM Slates Sweeping Rebates As Toyota Closes In on No. 1 By JEFF BENNETT, NEAL E. BOUDETTE and SERENA NG, June 24th 2008 On the verge of ceding its crown as America's best-selling car company, General Motors Corp. announced further production cuts as well as sweeping new incentives on many 2008 models -- a reversal of recent strategy and a fresh sign of how badly rising gasoline prices are slamming auto makers. GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC have been trying for over two years to back away from heavy incentives, which eat into profit margins and tarnish brands in the eyes of some consumers. But a worsen…

Amy Wilson Automotive News October 11, 2008 - 12:01 am ET DETROIT -- In a bid to conserve cash, General Motors is giving itself more time to pay its North American non-production suppliers. Effective Oct. 1, GM says it is paying its "indirect" suppliers 60 days after receiving goods or a valid invoice, GM spokeswoman Deborah Silverman said yesterday. The company previously paid those vendors on a "second day, second month" basis or within about 35 days, she said. Despite the longer terms, payments will be made more frequently -- on a weekly basis, rather than once a month. GM has about 10,000 indirect suppliers in North America. They provide services and n…

edmunds Fighting the Foreign Wars By editors at Edmunds.com Email Date posted: 02-27-2006 Chevrolet's mission is, as it has always been, to be GM's value leader in the mainstream of the American car market. So when foreign brands threatened to intrude, it was Chevrolet that was charged with going forth with products that would defeat the imports and defend GM's turf. When it comes to small cars, it has not been an easy or pretty fight. ***** I used to YEARN for a Monza, and of course, we had 2 Vegas and 3 chevettes in the family. There's your RWD car! LOL.....I loved our Vegas....too bad dad was always rebuiling the motors or repainting them. My dad had a Corv…

Jonathan D. Salant and John Hughes Jonathan D. Salant And John Hughes – Tue Apr 21, 12:10 am ET April 21 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp., surviving on $13.4 billion in government aid, spent $2.8 million on lobbying during the first three months of 2009, according to disclosures filed yesterday with the U.S. House and Senate. “Like any quarter, our reporting and expenses reflect the level of activity that we’re engaged in, and the breadth of issues that affect our business,” Greg Martin, a GM spokesman, said. “As being part of what is arguably one of the most- regulated industries in the country, you have a voice to add to complex policy discussions and you report…

Jamie LaReau Automotive News November 3, 2008 - 12:22 pm ET UPDATED: 11/3/08 3:13 p.m. EST DETROIT -- General Motors said today it is starting its annual Red Tag sale early this year. The sale, which typically begins just before Thanksgiving weekend, will start tomorrow and run until Jan. 5. GM also has launched a pair of direct-mail incentives programs, dealers said. In a sales call to analysts and the media, GM marketing chief, Mark LaNeve confirmed GM would be starting the Red Tag sale Nov. 4. "To get things going we're going to move up our traditional Red Tag sale," says LaNeve, GM's vice president of vehicle sales, service and marketing. "We typicall…

I really like the Dodge Magnum Hemi/SRT8 vehicles. I am nowhere close to being a MOPAR guy and would love for GM, preferably Chevy, to build something comparable. I believe Pontiac would be the best served to pull it off. Any possiblilities? Keep in mind: fairly new member, very few posts, and continue to like the Dodge Magnum and trying not to admit it.

Like stickers, GM's rebates dip as new pricing strategies take hold By JOHN K. TEAHEN JR. | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS AutoWeek | Published 02/07/06, 9:23 am et DETROIT -- Cutting sticker prices seems to be doing the job that General Motors assigned to it: enabling the automaker to scale back its huge rebates on cars and light trucks. We don't mean the first attempt at lower stickers, which GM installed last fall. Those stickers showed minimal reductions from 2005 prices, and they followed a summer of employee pricing, with its heavy discounts. The pricing strategy fell on its face then, and GM stopped talking about it. But the company decided to give it another ch…

From Forbes.com GM Still Looks Weak, Says Analyst Mary Crane, 06.26.06, 2:51 PM ET General Motors Banc of America analyst Ronald A. Tadross said General Motors' tactics to fix its business won't work and advised investors to sell on expected production losses. "The company's product cycle is at a peak, earnings-per-share quality is weak and the stock is expensive, in our view," Tadross wrote in a report to investors Monday. "We believe GM management is glossing over the current and future cost of rightsizing the business for the lower share." GM's suggestion that it might tap into a $4.5 billion secured credit line signals that its $13 billion in cash, as…

Is GM stock worth a little more than $3 now? Somebody just posted it on another forum, I thought it was 4 bucks...? Amazing how bad the automakers are doing for that to be thinkable IMO. What the heck is going on?

GM has released their latest ad for the Super Bowl. I am also reposting the early release ads that battle about Norway here too. GM Teams up with Will Ferrell for Big Game Ad No-Way-Norway.mp4

Size is key. General Motors expects 2005 Middle East sales of its nine-seat GMC and Chevrolet Suburbans and its lumbering GMC Yukon and Chevy Tahoe to soar to 51% over last year, pushed by frantic sales in the biggest regional market - Saudi Arabia. General Motors, Ford and Nissan all reported big October sales declines in America last week, with four-wheel-drives taking the biggest hit. Sales of the Ford Explorer, Lincoln Navigator, GMC Yukon, Hummer H2 and Toyota Land Cruiser were all down by 50% or more. High oil prices were cited as a chief reason. But in one of the auto industry's great ironies, the same oil price rise is driving four-wheel-drive fever in…

Since there are GM vehicles awarded, I thought of posting this here. I LMAOed when I read that there is a "Best Cup Holder" award ---------------------------------- GM, Ford, Honda and DCX Take Top Honors in 8th Annual Ward's 'Interior of the Year' Competition Winners Unveiled at Auto Interiors Show Link to Original Article @ The Auto Channel DETROIT, June 6 -- The votes are in and the big winners at the 2007 Ward's "Interior of the Year" awards are models from General Motors, Ford, DaimlerChrysler and Honda. In all, 34 vehicles from 11 manufacturers were in contention to win an "Interior of the Year" award in the annual competition sponsored by Ward's AutoWo…

GM swerves, revives March discounts Despite its strategy to limit rebates, automaker adds bonuses to clear out slow-moving inventory. Brett Clanton / The Detroit News DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. has told dealers it will launch a nationwide discount promotion next month that could spark sales but detract from its long-term goal of steering away from big incentives. The "March Madness" event, tied to the NCAA men's basketball tournament, will run from March 15 to April 4. It will be similar to a promotion GM ran last March that included temporarily lowered sticker prices on select models across GM's eight brands and cash bonuses of $500 to $1,500 on models that had…

This deal has been talked about for two years, and it looks like it may finally see fruition. Demand for Chevrolets and Opels in Eastern Europe is growing by leaps and bounds, with GM shortly to open a third plant in Russia to build the Chevy Captiva. Chevrolet sales grew by 33% in Europe, to more than 100,000, in the first quarter of 2007. It is the best-selling brand in Macedonia. Opel is Croatia's best-selling brand, Croatia bordering with Serbia and both of these being former republics of Yugoslavia. With Zastava having invested more than 15 million euros recently in new presses and machinery to build its new Zastava 10 (effectively Fiat's Punto), the company has beg…

GM taps Detroit/Hamtramck plant to build its electric car Sep 29, 2007 (Detroit Free Press - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- If General Motors Corp. manufactures the Chevrolet Volt, the automaker will build the extended-range electric vehicle in its Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly plant, the UAW said Friday in its summary of the tentative agreement. The deal includes a plan to assemble the Volt starting in 2010 at the facility, known as the Poletown plant because of the area's ties to the Polish American community. The Volt announcement, coupled with other commitments for the plant that are to begin as early as 2009, seems to move GM's hometown a…

GM is going in this direction in a big way, that is a hint for you C&G. The days when corporate communications meant pushing out information to the public are numbered. As social media continues to permeate consumer culture, companies are trying to learn how to engage consumers in two-way conversations through blogs, Twitter, Facebook and other tools. “A customer is a precious thing. No matter how much you think you’re listening, you’re really not,” says J. Christopher Preuss, vice president of communications at General Motors. The company operates several blogs that allow people to comment on developments in the company. I spoke with Preuss about managing GM’s…

General Motors Corp is prepared to nearly halve the number of Buick models it offers in the United States as it tries to reestablish the luxury brand in its home market, GM's chief executive said on Tuesday. Rick Wagoner, speaking to reporters at the unveiling of the 2008 Buick Enclave, said the automaker would also reduce Buick sales to rental car companies as it shifts toward targeting more profitable retail sales with upcoming new designs. Although Buick has offered as many as seven models in recent years, Wagoner said GM was prepared to accept lower unit sales with about four models in order to try to capture more showroom traffic and shun lower-margin sales to car …

GM says Toyota quality is down I think GM has Toyota in its crosshairs, and after seeing some future cars GM is coming out with, it looks like GM is finally getting its act together, and forgetting about Ford and Chrysler and going after Toyota. Could this be the start of the next big rivalry?

Munich/Stuttgart/Detroit - The BMW Group, DaimlerChrysler AG and General Motors Corporation today signed a "memorandum of understanding" governing the formation of an alliance of equals for the joint development of hybrid drive systems. The three global automakers are cooperating in order to pool their expertise for the accelerated and efficient development of hybrid drive systems. Objective: Development of a two-mode hybrid drive system The objective is to jointly develop a two-mode hybrid drive system that reduces fuel consumption while not compromising vehicle capability. While the base two-mode hybrid design will be common, each company will individually …