Ghost Dog

One post to the tune of song from the wizard of Oz. Probabley forever changed my participation on the board.

Tru-Flex is where things are going.

http://www.autofieldguide.com/articles/030401.html

As for technology, as we take C-Flex [a programmable body shop tooling system that replaces body style-specific tooling and related equipment. It allows multiple body panels (floor pans, deck lids, hoods, engine compartments, etc.) to be welded with the same set of programmable tools and robots. Model specific tooling is not required.] and move it to Tru-Flex [a body shop enhancement that features a flexible underbody marriage assembly system and utilizes both C-Flex and multi-robot cooperative welding]

But even so, it's limited by parts and component availability.

While a Vehicle in Digital could in some ways be built at any Tru-Flex plant.(In theory) the parts and components may not be readily available.

So what happens if they throw a party and nobody comes.

Hmm the numbers After Tax that I mentioned were wrong.

21 K

Some Local Reaction.

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20060323/1030897.asp

I'm hearing complaints today that after tax the 35k equals 14k. Any chance they could stick the 35k in an IRA pre tax?

Heavy lifting remains in Delphi-UAW talks

http://today.reuters.com/investing/finance...ELPHI-LABOR.XML

Bankrupt auto parts supplier Delphi Corp. (DPHIQ.PK: Quote, Profile, Research) and its major union may have negotiated a sweeping buyout for blue-collar workers, but a full labor settlement still faces major obstacles, industry analysts said on Wednesday.

The risk for at least some kind of disruption to production remains fairly high, with Wednesday's announcements leaving unresolved potentially contentious questions about wage rates, benefits, pensions and plant closings, these analysts said.

Local reaction here seems positive. They had coverage from the Powertrain Plant, and Delphi in Lockport on the news. Those they talked to seemed happy.

Hmm Delphi 33k Employees

13 k Eligible for Buyout

5 K Flowback

Delphi Gets its workforce Cut by more then Half.

Well we'll see what the people choose.

Still a chance it can Go bad. The Terms of Employment of the 15k remaining still seems up in the air.

When a Corporation has to Resort to "Agressive Accounting" To create the Mirage that the Company is doing well, thats Bad Management. The Aggressive accounting the Big Dividends. Its Been all about Illusion at Gm.

Instead of Business.

If GM had been using conservative accounting. Banking money for thier liabilities.Holding back Dividends. Not throwing money down the drain with offshore investment,Fiat Saab,........

The Company would be much better off.

MAGNIFICENT!!!!!!!

Oh the White House has already given their answer to this one.

And really - do you want the Feds running GM?

There are enough examples out there so I will not elaborate.

I'm not talking about a bailout. More a Nationalization.

And yes I'll take the Feds .

I myself think the Government should step in and Take over GM. I think the FASB should set forth stringent Straight arrow accounting guidelines specifically for GM. And I think the PBGC should have Full authority over all GM transactions.

I think GM has been so mismanaged that nothing short of a Government take over will " Set Things Right "

Howes of the Detroit News thinks its going nuclear.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...190373/1148/BIZ

Close of business" Friday was the deadline for parties to file motions that would be heard in the April 7 omnibus bankruptcy hearing in New York. By missing the deadline, the attrition deal won't be heard until later in the spring, though a deal could still come at any time.

Net effect: A long-awaited plan to winnow the hourly work forces of GM and Delphi will be delayed further. And the chance that a bigger sweeping deal won't be concluded before Delphi's March 30 deadline virtually guarantees Delphi will ask Judge Robert Drain the next day to begin the process to set aside its union contracts.

I Guarantee they walk. As soon as word comes down.

Philosophically: Why would anyone Take Early retirement, when the Pension is underfunded by anywhere fron 30 to 60 Billion Dollars?

Unless GM Divests Globally and returns the Capital to the U.S. operations its over.

GM Ceases to Exist.

The Bad news is'nt over yet.

GM also said it would delay filing its annual report with securities regulators because it had mistakenly accounted for cash flows from a mortgage subsidiary of GMAC called ResCap. It will also restate results from 2000 to 2004 due to ResCap.

GM raises 2005 loss by $2 billion

DETROIT (Reuters) -- General Motors on Thursday said its 2005 loss was $2 billion deeper than previously reported due to charges related to factory job losses, its finance arm GMAC and the bankruptcy of former subsidiary Delphi Corp.

GM also said it would delay filing its annual report with securities regulators because it had mistakenly accounted for cash flows from a mortgage subsidiary of GMAC called ResCap. It will also restate results from 2000 to 2004 due to ResCap.

The massive loss for 2005, revised to total $10.6 billion, represented almost 85 percent of the current market value of the top U.S. automaker as of the close of trade on Thursday.

At $18.69 per share, the loss was also just shy of GM's closing price at end December after a year-long slide that cut the stock's value by more than half.

Because of the delay in filing GM's revised annual report, it was impossible to know how the increased charges would affect the $16.8 billion in cash GM's auto operations held at end December.

Shares in GM closed on Thursday at $22.22 and have gained almost 16 percent this month on signs that the company was making progress in its turnaround efforts. In after-hours trade the stock slipped about 1 percent to $22.

One analyst said it was encouraging that GM had raised its estimate of the cost to resolve problems at Delphi since that could suggest a resolution that would avoid a crippling strike.

GM said its mortgage-related accounting problem would not change reported net income, but could change its statement of cash flows at ResCap, GMAC and the parent company.

GM said it expected to file its annual report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission within the next two weeks.

MORE COSTS FOR JOB LOSSES

Among the revisions, GM said it was taking a $1.7 billion charge as it shuts factories and lays off workers, up from an initial $1.4 billion for that sweeping restructuring.

The Detroit-based company, which remains the world's No. 1 automaker by revenue but ranks No. 8 by market value, has been slashing costs and cutting capacity as it adjusts to the loss of market share to Asian rivals in its core U.S. market.

The increased charge added $300 million in costs that GM said it expected to incur once its current contract with the United Autos Workers union expires in September 2007.

Under the current union contract, idled factory workers are able to collect salary and benefits in a costly program known as the JOBS bank. GM has not disclosed the number of workers in that program, but union and analyst estimates put the total at over 7,000.

GM said it was in talks with the UAW to reduce that number through a cost-saving program of buyouts and early retirement.

GM also said it was increasing the estimate of its exposure to former subsidiary Delphi Corp. to $5.5 billion before taxes from an earlier estimate of $3.6 billion.

It said that its total exposure could be as high as $12 billion, but would probably be much lower if a three-way deal including Delphi and the UAW could be clinched.

Absent such a deal, Delphi CEO Steve Miller has said he would ask a federal bankruptcy judge to void the supplier's existing labor contracts, setting the stage for a strike that could cripple GM.

J.P. Morgan analyst Himanshu Patel said in a note last month that a work stoppage at Delphi could cause GM's U.S. operations to grind to a halt and cost it some $5 billion in cash a month.

For that reason, GM's recognition of a higher cost for Delphi could actually be read as a positive development, said Erich Merkle, of auto tracking firm IRN Inc.

"This sounds good," Merkle said. "We've felt all along that GM would have to provide some kind of early retirement or other buyouts. Obviously, they're raising cash for something."

When GM spun off Delphi in 1999 it guaranteed the pensions and benefits of the union workers.

GM said in its statement that a further revision to its estimate of Delphi-related expenses was possible before it filed its annual report, expected by the end of the month.

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...ct=newsletter08

a GM bankruptcy would be the final deathnail in the UAW's coffin. GM will finally be able to compete.

Its just Silly. Who Buys GM vehicles. Fleets , Employees, Retirees thier families, and a very Few General public. The anger that would erupt among all those loyal GM Buyers longterm would take a generation and a half before bygones would be bygones. Short Term no one would buy from an automaker in Bancruptcy. America would Simply wholely Embrace Toyota. GM vehicles would be a Periah on the sales Floor.

And on top of it GMs debts and liabilities are so massive. Restructuring would be out of the Question. If GM goes Bancrupt. Its an Auction.

Yes... The Boomers will elect a President who will bring Socialized Heathcare.

Yeah. There a lot of Changes coming.

It looks like they are not going to use the euro engines but will use the heavier NA cast iron pushrod 3.5 litre V6.  This will mean a definite change in the suspension and balance of the car.  I am afraid it will not drive with the same dynamics as the euro version.

Not really valid. The Aura is Bigger with a longer WB then Vectra.

Whether GM declares bankrupcy or not the UAW is gone. Make no mistake about it. The retiree benefits will probably be slashed too either way.

Thinking about the other divisions does make the prospect of the parts being greater than the whole interesting - for an ever so brief moment only.

Thats Laughable. You know the only way down that road is nuclear. GM would be left a parceled off bit player.

GMAP would be taken over by SAIC entirely. GMNA would cease to Exist. GME would be propped up by the local governments short term. GM South America/ Africa would be sold off.

There's no Surving the Nuclear option for GM.

What architecture are they built on?

My Guesse

They are Either a Variation of the HF engines. A diesel Variant was talked about as a possibilty early on.

Or they are Variants of the GM-Isuzu 3.0 litre V6.

It allows 4 wheel and All Wheel drive Vehicles to get 2 wheel drive fuel economy.

Thus an AWD Zeta can appeal to a traditional FWD driver.

I Hope these engines get built here.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlebusin...eid=&cap=&sz=13

GLOBAL DIESEL OFFENSIVE.

Separately, the trade publication also reported that GM is planning a global diesel offensive starting in 2008 that would include launching new diesel engines in the United States, where the technology has found few fans compared to Europe.

"We are developing right now two highly modern diesel motors that won't just fulfil the Euro-5 emission standards, but (also) the more stringent Bin-5 regulations in the USA," an unidentified GM manager told Automobilwoche.

It plans to introduce a 2.9 liter V6 and a 4.5 liter V8 that will gradually be used in almost all sport utility vehicles, pick-ups and large sedans in all GM brands and all markets.

Should the biggest U.S.-based carmaker roll out models with diesel engines on a large scale in the United States, then German carmakers that have specialized in the more fuel-efficient powertrain technology may be able to make greater inroads into the local market.

I think GM may be be doing a lot more restating of Earnings. The Creativity of the Wagoner era may be catching up with them.