General Motors

TOKYO (AP) - Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Hiroshi Okuda said Tuesday he believes General Motors Corp. will likely receive support from the U.S. government if it faces further trouble. "I have the feeling that GM is in a difficult situation," Okuda was quoted as saying by Hisako Komai, a spokeswoman for the Nippon Keidanren, Japan's most influential business lobby. Okuda heads the lobby. "But the auto industry is a symbol of the United States, and if GM faces further difficulty, I don't think the U.S. government will leave it," he was quoted as saying at a press conference for the organization. Okuda's remarks came as Japan's top automaker tries to overtake the strugg…

Automotive News May 29, 2008 - 3:37 am ET UPDATED: 5/29/08 4:29 p.m. EDT DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors' top managers are working on additional restructuring measures to deal with a declining U.S. auto market and an accelerated shift from trucks to more fuel efficient vehicles, a person familiar with the plan told The Associated Press late Wednesday. The person, who requested anonymity because the plan is still being devised, would not give details of what is under discussion by Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner and his top managers. The source told the AP that GM will furlough entire shifts of workers at some truck factories and may move them to nearby car plants…

GM EXEC REGRETS EMPLOYEE PRICING INCENTIVE, WILL NOT REPEAT IN 06 Source: wsj.com Article quotes: General Motors Corp.'s top North American sales and marketing executive, Mark LaNeve, said he now regrets launching the employee-discount program that drove GM sales to record levels last summer, and doesn't plan to repeat such promotions this year. Instead, Mr. LaNeve said in a recent interview that GM will roll back prices, and try to emphasize the advantages of its new models. Mr. LaNeve declined to say how much GM would lower prices compared to Ford Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and other car makers, but he said the sticker prices would be "aggressive.&qu…

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 offers workers up to $140K to leave NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - General Motors is offering hourly workers as much as $140,000 each to leave the company as the troubled automaker extends its push to cut labor costs and put an end to billions of dollars in losses. GM (Research) announced an agreement with the United Auto Workers union Wednesday, although it did not give the details of the offer extended to all 113,000 U.S. hourly employees. GM's rocky ride The tragedy of General Motors The Detroit giant is a weird, scarred combination: a carmaker doing poorly, and an insurance company engulfed by its obligations. It's heading for a wreck -- which is why CEO Rick Wago…

you know, if GM goes bankrupt, or is using it as a threat to leverage cash from the US Govt..... could you make a case to say the CANADIAN GOVERNMENT should chip in also? or can you use bankruptcy in the US as a threat to coerce some cash out of Canada too? of if the ship sinks, does that mean all of the Canadian operations goes down too? I am curious to hear how this affects the folks north of Pembina.

Jill Lajdziak Reacts In the Fastlane Blog's most-recent update, Saturn's General Manager reacts to comments regarding the brand's revamped lineup. Lajdziak offers insight concerning the Aura's translation from concept to production, the lack of a manual transmission as optional equipment, and the phasing-out of polymer body-panels. Lajdziak's mention of the AutoExtremist's praise is an interesting tidbit, as is her statement regarding the Aura's 14-spoke wheel design. Enjoy the read. Bimmer325 Editor/Reporter -------------------- More on Our Saturn Family By Jill Lajdziak General Manager, Saturn It was great to read all your comments on our new Saturn lineup.…

Talk about another blow to the Motor City. It's unclear if they mean out to the suburbs or out of the actual metro area altogether, but I can't imagine there will be too much goodwill toward GM if this goes through. http://uk.reuters.com/article/marketsNewsU...152766120090511

http://www.autonews.com/article.cms?articleId=54443 Since there is a copyright on this article and it is only available for subscribers, I will just quote the following three paragraphs: "Six months after General Motors halted plans to use its Zeta rear-wheel-drive car architecture in North America, the company has revived the program. " "Queen said initial plans for Zeta stretched the architecture beyond its limits for some North American vehicles. "We needed to reassess and reconfigure the program," he said." "A GM spokesman said no product plans have been approved and that GM still is studying design themes, performance ch…

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DETROIT — General Motors executives say they are being inundated with e-mail messages — sometimes 300 or more in one day — from Camaro enthusiasts who are anxious to get their hands on a production version of the concept car shown in January at the North American International Auto Show. "People will not get off Camaro," Bob Boniface, GM director of advanced design, told Inside Line. "Those people were hurt when that car went out of production, and they're letting us hear about it." IL reported in January that GM expects to build the Camaro by 2009, according to supplier sources. Boniface would not confirm last week's reports in a Canberra, Australia, newspaper that a …

Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Derivatives traders are increasing bets that General Motors Corp. may follow Delphi Corp. and Delta Air Lines Inc. into bankruptcy after the disclosure of accounting errors and four straight quarters of losses. Traders last week demanded upfront payments in addition to annual premiums for derivatives contracts that protect owners of the Detroit-based company's debt should it miss a payment or declare bankruptcy. By doing so, traders relegated GM to the same status as Delphi and Delta just before those companies defaulted. GM, the world's biggest automaker, is losing U.S. market share to Asian rivals such as Toyota Motor Corp. and is …

DETROIT – General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) today announced that it had finalized its 2005 financial results and filed its annual report on Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, GM also included restated results for the years 2000 - 2004 on Form 10-K/A, as expected. GM concluded its internal review involving the classification of cash flows principally at Residential Capital Corp. (ResCap), the residential mortgage subsidiary of GMAC. Revisions were made to the consolidated statement of cash flows for GM for 2002-2004, while the 2005 annual statement of cash flows was finalized and reported for the first time today as part of the 10-K filing.…

It looks like Holden is bringing the new VE to the states for the GM board to drive and I am sure the press to drive. He is the full strory from DRIVE.COM.AU Drive.com.au It’s only just been revealed, but already Holden’s VE Commodore is embarking on a world tour. "Holden has developed a secret plan to pitch the new VE Commodore SS to its parent General Motors as a Pontiac sports sedan model in the USA. The future of the plan, which estimates a $20 million cost to legalise the car for North America, could rest on a sample drive by the General Motors board of directors in Detroit early in August. At the same time board heavyweights, led by chairman Rick Wagoner and…

3 March 2006 By Robert Farago It’s official: bankruptcy is good for GM. In their recent ass-covering exercise for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), The Ford Motor Company listed "adverse effects from the bankruptcy or insolvency of a major competitor" as a significant risk to its financial future. Translation: if GM goes bankrupt, The General will slough off its excessive labor costs and become… wait for it… competitive. So competitive, in fact, that Ford reckons GM’s products would gain an important price advantage. Well how about that? Obviously, there’s more to it than that. Ford’s SEC filing also alerts investors that GM’s Chapter 11 could destroy The B…

Full Article: Changes To Come - Yahoo Excerpt from Article: According to a manufacturer source, NASCAR officials have floated one solution to the apparent problem to the series' manufacturers. It involves changing the cars that race in the series from the current models being run in the Nextel Cup Series to smaller, sportier ones. The current Busch Series cars are slightly smaller versions of their Nextel Cup cousins. In the past, the Busch Series used makes of cars not used in the Cup series, as well as V-6 engines instead of Cup V-8s, but now the cars used in the two series are more alike. If the two series ran cars that differed more from each other, it would grea…

http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServlet...=74&docid=27165 FOR RELEASE: 2006-07-07 GM To Proceed With Exploratory Discussions With Renault, Nissan North American turnaround strategy remains top priority DETROIT - The General Motors Board of Directors today endorsed a recommendation by the company's senior management that it engage in exploratory discussions with Renault and Nissan regarding GM's potential participation in an alliance among the three companies. "The GM Board of Directors authorized management to proceed with its plan to consider ideas the other two companies have and to weigh the potential benefits of such an alliance in order to assist the B…

Are you willing to give GM another chance? I personally am not, other than the GM cars I currently own, I have no plans to buy another GM product. I take exception to GM closing the Wilmington plant, especially since it's paint shop had a 300 million dollar upgrade not long ago, it has a rail yard and a port nearby. I am content to sit back and watch an epic failure take place. So tell me, will you buy from the new GM? What are your beefs, what are your gripes with the old or new GM? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (AP) General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson says the new GM will be a leaner …

http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/archives/2008/..._a_cr.html#more

What do die-hard GM fans make of this recent article posted on Wired.com? It's amazing how many people don't actually want to give GM a fighting chance in the market place. http://wiredblogs.tripod.com/cars/index.bl...ntry_id=1237739 Friday, 30 September 2005 Toyota on Top Now Playing: Pearl Jam Although hybrids are currently less than one percent of total auto sales, two investment gurus believe that sales of gas-electric vehicles will enable Toyota to pass GM and become the world's biggest vehicle manufacturer. I attended the Investing for Clean Energy in Oregon event yesterday, where Roger Ballentine, the president of consulting firm Green …

GM to Dealers: "No More Full Tank Freebies" [T]he General's laying down the law on dealerships in the latest missive from the bean-counting bureaucrats at the RenCen...by making it clear they'll no longer reimburse dealers for a full of tank of gas upon delivery. Instead, the Detroit-based automaker will be handing the dealership $20 for cars and $30 for trucks -- which if we've calculated correctly, will mean the dealer will be able to pump just over six gallons into a car and ten gallons into a truck without dipping into their own pockets. Editor's Note: You can also find the actual letter to dealers at the link. Read "GM Says To Dealers: No Gas For You!" @ Jalo…

Ultium Platform is the dedicated EV architecture and propulsion system at the foundation of GM's all-electric future, giving the company the capability to not only build retail and commercial portfolio of products, but leverage the technology to expand into non-automotive applications business. GM has planned 30 all-new EVs to be released globally through 2025, two-thirds of which will be available in the North America Market. Ultium will be the key driver of GM's expansion and next phase of growth. This era begins today as General Motors moves forward with deliveries just before Xmas of GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 Pickups and BrightDrop EV600 Vehicles whic…

WSJ - Saving Volvo and Saab One in every five cars sold in Sweden last year was a Volvo and Saab is the exclusive supplier to King Carl XVI Gustaf. So Sweden was never likely to abandon its two famous marques entirely to the mercies of parent companies Ford and General Motors. But while Thursday's promise of a 28 billion Swedish kronor ($3.44 billion) aid package offers Sweden's car-makers a lifeline, it may not be enough to ensure their long term survival. The Swedish car industry needs all the help it can get as the parent companies of Volvo and Saab look for a bailout. One in every five cars sold in Sweden last year was a Volvo. With the U.S. rescue plan for GM a…

The deadline is looming to present a plan for viability, and Reuters says GM is considering Chapter 11 to form a new ( ! ) company. To view their story, click here.

Lindsay Chappell Automotive News April 27, 2009 - 4:03 pm ET Even as it shrinks its North American product portfolio, General Motors is negotiating with Toyota Motor Corp. to determine a new GM product to be jointly produced at the automakers' 50-50 joint venture, New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. A GM spokesman said that, if successful, the negotiations would result in a new model for one of GM's surviving brands -- Chevrolet, Buick, GMC or Cadillac. Earlier today, GM revealed that it will end production of its Pontiac line, including the Vibe crossover. The Vibe is currently GM's sole yield from the NUMMI partnership -- meaning the Pontiac decision effe…

From Edmunds... No more Fullsize BOF GM SUV's? I really would like to doubt this if this is true it is so stupid, they still sell pretty well considering there size and fuel economy. I mean it is a simple spin-off of a Sierra/Silverado don't tell me they are willing to exit this market even though it is shrinking and still own it just like they did 10 years ago.

http://www.capitolconnect.com/gmfactsandfi...ze/default.aspx

GM’s Chief Marketer Not Worried About EcoBoost's Popularity William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com September 7, 2011 Ford's EcoBoost option on the F-150 has been a wild success, with 40% of F-150s sold being equipped with the option. Buyers love the fact the engine provide power and towing numbers a truck needs, while giving high MPG numbers. Through August, Ford has sold 340,783 F-150s. With Ford posting numbers like these, you'd think competitors would be worried and at work on technologies to compete. Not GM. “They’ve done very well with the EcoBoost, no doubt about it. But look at the numbers vs. our V-8. The miles-per-gallon aren’t sig…

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 …

Follow the money Merging the two sickly car firms makes little sense—except for one thing OBJECTIONABLE, but necessary. The description by Hank Paulson, America’s treasury secretary, of the federal rescue package for America’s banks, is a mantra that may soon be repeated in boardrooms across the land as recession-hit firms survey their dwindling options for survival. Few areas of the economy have been battered harder or for longer than the car industry, especially Detroit’s Big Three. So the news which surfaced at the end of last week that General Motors (GM) and Cerberus Capital Management, the private-equity outfit that was paid $700m by Daimler to take Chrysler off …

Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The time may have arrived for General Motors Corp. to try a bold stroke to do something to reverse a slide that has some investors speculating not whether the world's No. 1 automaker will seek bankruptcy, but when. If GM does something out of character, that man behind it may be none other than Kirk Kerkorian, the octogenarian casino mogul and GM's biggest individual investor. Yesterday GM stock fell another 5.8 percent, bringing the decline since mid-September to a roughly 37 percent. The stock's slide reflects growing apprehension in equity and credit markets that GM is on its way to becoming the most iconic failure in American…

Premier Buick-Pontiac-GMC Dealership Opens Carl Black Buick-Pontiac-GMC Unveils New Design 3.1.07 STUART, FLA. - The first all-new Buick-Pontiac-GMC showroom in the United States will open its doors here Thursday. After being destroyed by hurricanes Francis and Jeanne in 2004, Carl's Buick-Pontiac-GMC at 2445 S.E. Federal Highway has put the finishing touches on a completely new, modern exterior and interior design. "I'm proud to participate in this great occasion," said John Larson, general manager of GM's Buick-Pontiac-GMC divisions in Detroit. "Carl's is part of a growing number of dealerships that have combined the three brands under one roof. He is also one…

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070723/auto_talks.html?.v=2 UAW to Hold Talks With Ford, GM Monday July 23, 8:03 am ET By Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer Ford, General Motors Hope to Reduce Labor Costs Through Talks With United Auto Workers DETROIT (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. have more at stake than usual as they begin their traditional talks with United Auto Workers: cutting labor costs may be key to their survival. The traditional handshake ceremonies with the union were to begin Monday with GM in Detroit and Ford in Dearborn, although talks already have been under way for months. The union formally opened negotiations with Chrysler Group on Friday, an…

David Barkholz Automotive News October 3, 2008 - 4:30 pm ET DETROIT -- General Motors is ending production of its slow-selling mid-sized SUVs on Dec. 23, two years earlier than announced in June. GM is pulling ahead the closure of its Moraine, Ohio, assembly plant because of market conditions, said GM spokesman Chris Lee. Moraine builds the Chevrolet TrailBlazer and TrailBlazer SS, GMC Envoy and Envoy Denali and Saab 9-7X. In June, GM said it would close Moraine in 2010 or sooner, Lee said. The closing will idle about 1,100 hourly workers represented by the IUE-CWA electrical workers union. An additional 100 salaried employees work there, Lee said. U.S. sal…

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…

Found this on another site but don't have link to original article.... Perceptions Aside, GM, Ford Can Stand Proud Pittsburgh Post-Gazette By Roger Simmermaker (Commentary) Ford and General Motors have taken turns besting the Toyota Camry in quality surveys for the past two years, but if you talk to many Americans – especially the ones who would never consider supporting home-based auto companies – you'd never know it. Last year, the Chevrolet Impala beat the Camry in initial quality, according to J.D. Power & Associates. And Consumer Reports just announced that both the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan scored higher than both the Camry and the Honda Accord …

Link to Article US directs GM to prep for bankruptcy filing-NY Times Sun Apr 12, 2009 11:08pm EDT WASHINGTON, April 12 (Reuters ) - The U.S. Treasury Department is directing General Motors (GM.N) to lay the groundwork for a bankruptcy filing by June 1, even though the automaker has publicly stated it could reorganize outside of court, The New York Times reported on Sunday. GM is operating under emergency U.S. government loans. It has been told by the Obama administration's task force overseeing its bailout that it must cut costs and reduce its debts in order to continue to receive aid. The White House-appointed autos task force has given GM 60 days to come up wi…

According to GMI the GM board apparently made the decision to shut Pontiac down by 2015 a few years ago... One of the biggest critics of that decision was Rick Wagoner. Did I miss something?!?! 1) Can the board make these kinds of decisions? 2) What is the purpose of making a decision like that in the first place? Pontiac is/was a volume division which could've/does have a lot of life left *IF* the appropriate investment is made. (Then again, so did Oldsmobile, Saturn and Hummer) 3) If this were the case, then why the continued investment in the G8 and Solstice variants & 4) Why did Bob Lutz even care about Pontiac at this point, if it were to be shut down all alo…

I've been carefully considering Bob Lutz's recent comments on Zeta and the GTO. What follows is part fact and part opinion. But it's my take. I've doublechecked several sources over the past couple of days, and as of yet, there is simply NO indication that Pontiac's G8 and GTO programs have been restarted, since their cancellations over a year ago. So what are these GTO comments really about? My opinion, the "Camaro Effect". Lutz saw how absolutely fervent, Camaro enthusiasts were about their car. That's me and you bub. He was able to effectively direct our intensity - in order to bludgeon bloody - the GM decision making process, until they finally acquiesced to a new C…

Rumorpile: GM & BMW To Team Up? William Maley - Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com September 12, 2011 The past few weeks in the automotive world has been all about the alliances; Ford and Toyota teaming up to work on hybrids, Suzuki and Volkswagen breaking off their two year alliance, and if a report from Spiegel Online is true, BMW and GM could be the next alliance. According to the report, GM is interested in the Barvarian's gasoline and diesel engines. Also, GM's board member in charge of strategy, Stephen Girsky has begun talks with the company on "far-reaching joint projects." This is unconfirmed at the moment. In turn, Speigel reports BMW is …

Delphi Outlines Transformation Plan Outlines strategic path to 2007 emergence from Chapter 11 Continues negotiations with U.S. unions and General Motors toward consensual agreement to transform to a competitive U.S. labor cost structure Initiates "dual track" Bankruptcy Court process to reject collective bargaining agreements and certain unprofitable General Motors contracts Company will retain and grow core business product lines and realign manufacturing footprint; non-core businesses to be sold or wound-down by 2008 Global salaried workforce to be reduced by 25% through portfolio and product transformation and SG&A cost savings initiatives Hourly and salaried…

GM reregistered the name 'Fiero' in June/06. On October 06/06, the name 'Firebird' will be 'published for opposition'. This is a required step in the trademark process. This republication suggests that the name may be used again.

UPDATE: Pontiac has told us that the new Vibe will be appearing at the Los Angeles Auto Show in the fall instead of the New York show. The word on the web is that GM won't be taking the Pontiac Vibe behind the tool shed just yet. The Vibe nameplate, however, may be gone in favor of a "G" designation to follow with Pontiac's current naming scheme. While there is no official confirmation, the second-generation Vibe is expected to continue to be a joint product between GM and Toyota. The Matrix, Toyota's version of the car, is set to be replaced next spring by a car designed after the Mazda3 and similar to the European-market Auris.

http://www.autoextremist.com/page2.shtml#Rant

I saw an article about GM in a croatian car magazine a few days ago. It had a big headline: "GM makes design number one priority". They were invited to a top secret preview where they were shown 18 new GM cars that will come to the market in the next 2-3 years. The cars they saw were: The new Vectra/Aura, new Chevrolet C-segment car (next Cobalt??), Cadillac BRX, Saab 9-4X and other cars they did not mention. They said all of the new GM cars were beautiful. They liked the new Cadillac BRX and SAAB 9-4X, they said both look great and both are BMW X-3 competitors. They said the SAAB 9-4X was full of SAAB DNA and had design features that were shown in recent conce…

By Jamie LaReau Automotive News / October 24, 2005 LAS VEGAS -- General Motors revealed the names of two of the three crossovers it will launch for the 2007 and 2008 model years at its Dealer Business Conference here last week. The GMC crossover vehicle will be called the Acadia, dealers say. The name was confirmed by a GM source. A concept version of the Acadia will debut at the Detroit auto show in January. Dealers will receive the Acadia as a 2008 model after they get the new GMC Sierra pickup next fall. The Saturn crossover will be called the Outlook, GM told dealers, confirming a previously rumored name. The Outlook is due next fall. The Buick version, which…

GM Opens First-Ever LEED-Gold Certified Automobile Manufacturing Facility Link to Full Press Release @ GM Media Lansing, Mich. -- General Motors’ new Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant has received a gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. The building is the only automotive manufacturing plant in the world – as well as the largest facility and the most complex manufacturing site -- to ever receive any level of LEED certification. LEED certification is the building industry’s well-respected recognition of superior energy and environmental design and construction. A gold certification r…

GM'S Rick Wagoner: We can do it 'The future of the company is held in balance by the actions that we all take in a relatively short period of time.' Bill Vlasic and Brett Clanton / The Detroit News DETROIT -- Wall Street is trashing his stock. Analysts are predicting a bankruptcy. Critics in the media say he should be fired as chairman of General Motors Corp. But Rick Wagoner is not about to give up the wheel at GM -- or deviate from the plan he believes can restore it to greatness. "I'm doing what I'm doing because I love General Motors," Wagoner said Tuesday. "I think it's very important what we're doing in the company, and I think I'm by far the most qualified per…

Please! It isn't even enough to save General Motors. By Alex Taylor III, senior editor (first paragraph) NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Given the prolonged drum roll of publicity that accompanied the unveiling of the Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle last week, it isn't surprising that any number of onlookers got caught up in the enthusiasm. When people begin referring to it as a "game changer" and a "paradigm shift," it's time to inject a bracing dose of reality... http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/22/news/compa...rce=yahoo_quote Volt is a lightning rod. I am definitely interested in acquiring one for myself when they are ready. I know that internally GM is attempting to price…

This is a long a term strategy and may be the thing needed to make GM cars wanted by the public again. I think that GM needs to bring the Holden and Opel nameplates to N. America. I don't wanna get rid of Buick, Pontiac, or Saturn, but I think the names need to be changed. Pontiacs and Buicks are just not in people's minds anymore when they think of buying a car. They are not considered 'cool' cars to own. If GM brings over those 2 new nameplates, I really think GM could make more sales. After all, those would be considered import autos, even though they're GM. When you tell someone you bought a new Buick or Pontiac, you shouldn't have to …

Star Tribune Story Editorial: When General Motors sneezes ... Detroit's health-care costs are symptoms of a bigger problem. Last update: November 28, 2005 at 5:54 PM Like many Americans, Barack Obama was stunned last week when General Motors announced plans to lay off a quarter of its manufacturing workforce -- some 30,000 people -- and shutter a dozen North American factories by 2008. But Obama, a Democratic senator from Illinois, was in a position to do something about the latest sign of U.S. industrial meltdown. He has introduced legislation that would relieve American automakers of part of their retiree health-care costs if, in exchange, they promise …

http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0.../C01-330449.htm Do you agree with the proposal, or disagree?

GM: Feeding the Healthcare Giant The world's largest automaker is being driven deep into financial trouble not only by the cars of a competitor, but also by the medical bills of its own workers and retirees. Last year, GM spent $5.3 billion on health care -- enough to buy a GMC Yukon for each of its U.S. employees. By 2008, General Motors will likely spend more on health care in the United States than on its hourly-worker payroll. Read "Stranglehold" @ The Detroit News

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=100...=top_world_news

Lustful Leanings autoweek

MUCH MORE HERE Igor

TOO BAD GM AND FORD WON'T DO ANYTHING LIKE THIS TO TELL THE TRUTH OF COURSE,THE MEDIA WOULD JUST SHOOT IT DOWN IF THEY DID. WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) - A battle for the hearts and wallets of consumers escalated this week as retirees of the Big Three U.S. automakers launched a campaign to make Americans think twice about buying a foreign car ---even one made in the United States. With Asian automakers shipping about $65 billion worth of autos and auto parts to the United States last year and U.S. automakers shedding tens of thousands of jobs, ad campaigns by Toyota <7203.T> and Hyundai <005380.K> touting the number of Americans they employ have hit a raw …

General Motors' upcoming restructuring plan where more than 10,000 jobs will be cut and five factories losing products has caused many politicians to become very upset. Yesterday, CEO Mary Barra traveled to Capitol Hill to try an mitigate the social damage by this announcement. Those expecting Barra to backpedal or balk under pressure from various lawmakers on moving production of certain vehicles out of Mexico to plants in the U.S. would come away disappointed. “I want to make sure that the workforce knows that there are limitations and we do have an overcapacity across the country. I understand this is something that impacts the country and I understand that there…

My question is "How many more body blows can GM take?" GM paid approximately $2.4 billion for 20% of Fiat Auto and spent another $2.0 billion to cancel Fiat's put. That's $4.4 billion of cash expended for what in the end was a bit of diesel engine technology. Essentially a loss of $4.4 billion. GM paid approximately $1.4 billion for a 20% stake in Fuji Heavy Industries (maker of Subaru). It then sold 8.7% of its stake to Toyota for $315 million, implying the remainder (to be sold at market prices back to Fuji for retiring) is valued at around $408 million. This would amount to about a $677 million loss on GM&#39…

Crossover Concerns - Autoweek

From the plan: WTF, man... NOT cool!

GM, UAW reach tentative deal Details emerge Sharon Terlep | Link to Original Article @ The Detroit News General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers reached a tentative agreement early this morning on a historic new labor contract, instantly ending a two-day strike and paving the way for GM to pay the union to take over $50 billion in retiree health care obligations. In calling off GM's first national walkout in 30 years, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said he is excited to present the deal to members and hopes to win ratification by the weekend. Terms of the tentative deal include: The creation of a voluntary employees' beneficiary association, or VEBA, that Ge…

WARREN, Mich. - Even now, as General Motors fights for survival, there is something ambivalent about its prescription for saving itself, a conflict implicit in a bit of symbolism that recently greeted arrivals to the Detroit Metropolitan Airport even before they reached baggage claim. One of GM's touted new automobiles sat on display in the center of the automaker's airport gift shop. It was not the coming electric car, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, championed by Bob Lutz, the GM executive most identified with the Hail Mary that the vehicle represents for the bankrupt company, which faces the immediate future as a ward of the federal government. It was not one of the relati…

Cadillac and Buick ranked higher than Toyota and Honda in reliability survey. Other GM brands hovering around average and are much better than Nissan. http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/23/Autos/amer..._cars/index.htm

Toyota, DaimlerChrysler, and Nissan-Renault are the only auto companies with enough money to buy a faltering GM. VW is about broke, Ford is in the red, BMW and Honda are too small. Here's my prediction...DCX. Zetsche takes over the helm...merges Mercedes, Chrysler and GM into a global juggernaut and moves the company headquarters to Detroit, so as to appease Americans. They'll probably get rid of some overlapping brands for N.A. GM has too many valuable assets around the world like Holden, Daewoo, Chevrolet, and Cadillac, and Opel. It's the largest automaker in China. GM will never disappear. Before they would go into a bankruptcy, I think the GM bra…

Each day I plan to take a look at what the "major players" are saying in the news about General Motors. For instance, the US Government has voted to change the U.S. fuel economy rules for large S.U.V.'s For this brings me to my very first exhibit: The Fox News Channel. Take a look at the very first paragraph, all General Motors products mentioned, however we know for a fact that more vehicles on the market from foreign competition have worse fuel economy for what they offer. Exhibit #1: BALTIMORE — The Bush administration issued new rules Wednesday ratcheting up gas mileage requirements for pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans, for the first time covering th…