DBeaSSt

Took a CTS out for a test drive last night to get a feel for the suspension on the current model and was chatting with the dealer afterward. They are still expecting a Sport Wagon by July 4th. He's going to call me as soon as it gets there! I can't wait!

Ford will be a force to be reckoned with. As said above, lots of new models coming, plus the great Fusion. Go Ford! Maybe New GM and Ford can beat down the toy.

Lincoln is only up because of the Town Car. 103% sales increase! LOL! People must be stocking up before Ford kills it.

mks is a disappointment.

A little but still outsold it's Caddy competition (STS) by two to one. But then the STS (as much as I like it) is a disappointment too.

Ok everyone, the NEXT round of letters to dealers went out today. Both good news and bad news will be coming. Thankfully we received the good letter...

Is GM going to post a list of the dealers like Chrysler did?

Rather than start a new thread, thought I'd post this here.

Here is GM's "restructuring" web site. Lots of documents here on plant closings and such.

http://www.gm.com/restructuring/

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/GM-confirms-...85493.html?.v=8

GM confirms commitment to build compact cars in US at unidentified idled factory

DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Corp. said Friday that it plans to reopen a shuttered U.S. factory to build subcompact cars that will be the smallest vehicles GM has ever produced here.

The company said in a written statement that the retooled factory will be able to build 160,000 cars per year. The automaker did not say which factory would be selected or which models it will build.

GM, which is expected to file for bankruptcy protection Monday, also plans to announce then that it will close 14 more factories, including four assembly plants.

A person briefed on GM's plans said the small cars would be built at one of the plants to be announced Monday. The person, who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the plans, said GM has not determined which plant will get the new vehicles.

The reopened factory, he said, would create 1,200 jobs, offsetting some of the 21,000 that will be lost when GM closes the 14 factories by the end of next year.

The automaker had said in documents submitted to Congress that it planned to produce up to 51,000 subcompacts per year in China and ship them to the U.S. starting in 2011, when GM plans to start selling the Chevrolet Spark here. The three-door hatchback with a 1.2-liter turbocharged engine is about the size of a Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris and is set to go on sale in Europe next year.

But in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger said GM will not import the cars from China and had agreed as part of a concession deal to build them in the U.S.

"Small cars represent one of the fastest-growing segments in both the U.S. and around the world," GM CEO Fritz Henderson said in the statement. "We believe this car will be a winner with our current and future customers in the U.S."

Henderson said the UAW concessions ensure GM's manufacturing competitiveness in the U.S.

GM already builds the compact Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 at a plant in Lordstown, Ohio, and it plans to retool that plant to start making a new small car, the Chevrolet Cruze, next year. It also jointly manufactures the Pontiac Vibe, a rebadged Toyota Matrix, at a factory in Fremont, California.

A summary of a concession deal between the UAW and GM deal says an innovative labor agreement is needed for the company to produce small cars in the U.S. But Gettelfinger said that deal is near completion.

"I think basically we're there," he said. "There may have to be a few minor tweaks. The agreement that's in place here is competitive."

GM's plan to make the Spark in China and ship it to the U.S. drew criticism from the UAW and some members of Congress as it was negotiating the concession agreement. The plan was a political problem for the company, with the UAW saying it was wrong to take U.S. taxpayer loans and then ship jobs overseas.

GM has received $19.4 billion in federal loans and likely will get another $30 billion from the U.S. government as it makes its way through the bankruptcy court process. The company faces a government-imposed Monday deadline to complete restructuring, but all signs point to Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which frees a company from the threat of creditors' lawsuits while it reorganizes its finances.

The person briefed on GM's plans said the company made the decision to build the small cars in the U.S. with the blessing of the government's auto task force.

Although GM had planned to import the cars, the cost-cutting UAW agreement and new fuel economy standards that require the U.S. new vehicle to average 35.5 miles per gallon (6.6 liters per 100 kilometers) changed the equation and made it a favorable business proposition, the person said.

GM would become the first automaker to make subcompact "B-segment" cars in the U.S., the person said.

GM now imports the Chevrolet Aveo subcompact from South Korea.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fiat-wont...n-gms-opel-unit

By Simon Kennedy & Shawn Langlois, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- General Motors Corp. and Magna International Inc. reportedly hammered out a deal Friday that could rescue GM's German Opel division ahead of the U.S. automaker's expected bankruptcy filing.

The two sides reached a framework agreement and are trying to work out as many of the details as possible before meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in order to sign a memorandum of understanding, according to Reuters.

The sides have been negotiating over a deal that would serve as the basis for around 1.5 billion euros ($2.1 billion) of bridge financing.

Earlier, Italian carmaker Fiat decided not to attend a meeting arranged by the German government to discuss the emergency funding for the GM unit, but had said it remains interested in a deal for the European business.

Fiat Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne said in a statement to the Italian stock exchange that the company was "perplexed" by the fact that it wasn't told until earlier this week about key financial information that was essential to formulating a deal.

Talks hit a stumbling block earlier in the week after GM reportedly demanded an extra $415 million in cash. See related story.

"Given the nature of the process itself and its short duration, Fiat has been unable to have full access to the financial records of Opel to determine its precise financial condition and thus properly frame a merger proposal," Marchionne said.

He added that the latest round of requests would require Fiat to provide emergency funding for the GM unit, while the government determined the exact timing and conditions of its interim financing.

"We remain committed to finding ways to bridge the expectations of both General Motors and the German government, but the emergency nature of the situation cannot put Fiat in a position to take on extravagant risks," Marchionne said.

Shares in Fiat dropped 1% Friday, while most other European auto stocks moved higher.

Fiat had offered to contribute its own auto-business assets to a merger on a debt-free basis, thus providing equity for the deal.

But Magna International had still been considered the favorite as it has the backing of unions and politicians from the regions where Opel has plants.

The German government reportedly said Friday that talks would only go ahead if GM and a potential investor can provide substantial plans, such as a letter of intent.

Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli told a New York bankruptcy court that the sale of most of Chrysler's assets to Fiat could close later on Friday.

GM, meanwhile, is expected to file for bankruptcy on Monday after a group of bondholders accepted a sweetened swap offer. See full story.

Simon Kennedy is the City correspondent for MarketWatch in London. Shawn Langlois is a reporter for MarketWatch in San Francisco.

Just one, '96 Impala SS. Gone but not forgotten.

Caddy web site now says availability of the CTS Sport Wagon is Fall 09 instead of the previous Spring 09. Ugh...

I'm upset that they're killing the SS. But the reason I'm upset is the reason why they're killing it.

They're killing it because it isn't selling.

It isn't selling because GM SCREWED UP and hasn't updated this car like they should have been! Sure, GM is out of money but had they given their flagship model (and lots of others) the attention it needed, it wouldn't be a fleet queen and perhaps they would have more money because they'd be selling to RETAIL customers at a higher profit. See also, G6, STS, Cobalt, Colorado, etc, etc...

http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/story/1049...ected-loss.html

Toyota Swings to Wider-Than-Expected Loss

05/08/09 - 07:12 AM EDT

Joseph Woelfel

Toyota(TM Quote), the world's largest automaker, reported a fiscal-year loss of 437 billion yen ($4.4 billion), wider than its internal forecasts, and said it expects an operating loss of 850 billion yen in fiscal 2010.

Sales for the year ended March 31 fell 21.9% to 20.53 trillion yen. The operating loss was 461 billion yen.

The prior year Toyota reported earnings of 1.72 trillion yen on sales of 26.29 trillion yen.

In February, the automaker said it expected to report a fiscal 2009 net loss of 350 billion yen as global demand for its cars plunged and a strengthening yen hurt its results.

"Both revenues and profits declined severely during this period. The negative impact was a consequence of the significant deterioration in vehicle sales particularly in the U.S. and Europe, the rapid appreciation of the yen against the U.S. dollar and the euro and the sharp rise in raw materials," said President Katsuaki Watanabe in a statement Friday.

The loss in the January-March quarter was 765.8 billion yen ($7.74 billion).

Toyota projects a net loss in fiscal 2010 of 550 billion yen, and expects sales to fall 19.6% to 16.5 trillion yen.

The company also said it plans to cut its dividend.

Standard and Poor's on Friday lowered its long-term credit rating on Toyota one notch to "AA" -- the third-highest rating -- and gave a "negative" outlook. But S&P also said the automaker "maintains a minimal financial risk profile, characterized by a strong capital structure with massive liquidity."

Toyota was likely to face hard times for a while because demand will likely remain depressed into 2010 before it could hope to again count on its strengths to boost profits once a recovery arrives, S&P said in a statement.

Toyota's vehicle sales for the fiscal year ended March 31 fell 15.1% to 7.57 million vehicles from 8.91 million vehicles the previous year. It expects to sell even fewer vehicles -- 6.5 million -- in the fiscal year through March 2010.

Pardon me while I search for a tiny violin....

Looks like the 3.0 DI will be the standard engine in the sedan as well as wagon.

Wagon does appear to get the backup camera as an option as well. Requires NAV of course.

Here's the full option list so far:

http://eogld.ecomm.gm.com/NASApp/domestic/...8498&type=0

I will say that the Sliver's controls look like they'd be pain to use, especially with gloves on if you actually used them in work truck form. However They themselves have said the Tundra's interior was cheaper than the Silverado's. Plus I'm sure you could get the Silverdo in different interior colors. And reaching for the Tunda's controls looks like a bitch.

When the GMT900's first came out, the "work truck" package had a different dash which used knobs so that a driver in gloves could easily operate them. I would hope that is still the case.

Personally I don't have use for all those "nice" features in a truck because mine is used as a true work truck.

I've sat in the TuRDra and those knobs are very inconvenient to reach if needed. Stupid design but at least consistent with their designs lately.

Click the link in my post. In the box at the top of the press release is a link to a PDF file containing the sales charts. Hence my comment below the link.

Click here for charts:

http://www.gm.com/corporate/investor_information/sales_prod/

Darned PDF based links...

For Release: May 1, 2009

GM Reports 173,007 Deliveries in April

All Four Core Brands See Sales Increases Compared with March

* Total sales up 11 percent compared with March as spring selling season begins

* Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra drive increase in full-size pickup market share compared with March

* Chevrolet Traverse sales of more than 8,200 drives GM’s mid-crossover segment sales up 16 percent

* “Total Confidence” plan extended into May

DETROIT – General Motors dealers in the United States delivered 173,007 vehicles in April, down 34 percent compared with a year ago. However, when comparing GM’s April sales with March, total volume was up 11 percent, or about 16,600 cars, crossovers and trucks, largely driven by a return to more normal volumes of fleet sales compared with a very weak first quarter. GM’s car sales compared with March were up nearly 2,900 vehicles (4 percent), truck sales increased more than 9,500 vehicles (16 percent), and crossover sales were up nearly 4,200 vehicles (14 percent).

“From a retail standpoint, GM and the industry continued at about the same selling rate as February and March. We see that stabilization, along with a firming up of our fleet business and improvement in Silverado and Sierra sales, as an encouraging sign,” said Mark LaNeve, vice president, GM North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. “We’re pleased to see R.L. Polk information this week indicating that a majority of consumers plan to buy a vehicle in the next two years – that shows pent-up demand is building. With our full line-up of cars, crossovers, trucks and hybrids – and some very competitive incentive offers – we’re well-positioned to meet this growing consumer demand in the months ahead. For example, we have more than 15,000 sold orders for the white-hot Chevy Camaro.”

GM total truck sales (including crossovers) of 102,032 were down 28 percent and car sales of 71,775 were off 41 percent compared with a year ago.

GM’s four core brands performed strongly compared with March. Total Chevrolet sales of more than 115,000 vehicles were up 22 percent; Cadillac sales of more than 8,300 vehicles increased 2 percent; GMC sales of more than 20,400 vehicles were up 7 percent; and Buick sales of nearly 9,000 vehicles were up 21 percent. Specifically, when April sales are compared with March:

* Driven by double-digit increases in Silverado, Tahoe, Traverse and HHR sales, Chevrolet trucks and crossovers were up 22 percent; Chevrolet cars were powered by Cobalt, Impala and Corvette sales, driving an increase of 21 percent.

* Cadillac trucks and crossovers were down 11 percent; however, STS and DTS sales hikes pushed Cadillac car volume up 7 percent.

* GMC trucks and crossovers increased 7 percent with Sierra and Yukon leading the way.

* The Buick Enclave saw a 17 percent increase in sales; while a double-digit increase in Lucerne sales pushed cars up 25 percent.

“We’re hearing very positive feedback from dealers and customers, so we’re keeping the rally going by extending the Total Confidence plan for Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac, GMC and Saturn customers in May,” LaNeve said. “More than 750,000 people visited our Total Confidence website in April, and about 70 percent of those folks came to us from third-party sites.”

“We'd also like to see continued actions by the government to stimulate sales, such as the proposed scrappage program. The President’s comments yesterday encouraging customers to buy American cars and trucks was also very positive. We have said many times that Americans should consider our products because they are the best. The economic advantages are a plus to that,” LaNeve added. “The President restated our shared belief that GM will be a part of a strong and viable auto industry for many years to come, and customers should feel very comfortable buying our vehicles.”

A total of 1,534 GM hybrid vehicles were delivered in the month, illustrating the wide range of hybrid product offerings available. GM offers the Chevrolet Malibu, Tahoe and Silverado, GMC Yukon and Sierra, Cadillac Escalade, Saturn Aura and Vue hybrids. So far, in 2009, GM has delivered 5,156 hybrid vehicles.

GM inventories dropped compared with a year ago. At the end of April, about 742,000 vehicles were in stock, down about 82,000 vehicles (or 10 percent) compared with last year. There were about 313,000 cars and 429,000 trucks (including crossovers) in inventory at the end of April. Inventories were reduced about 25,000 vehicles compared with March. Importantly, last week, GM announced that it would lower production by approximately 190,000 vehicles through the early part of the third quarter as it continues to reduce inventories to an expected level of about 525,000 vehicles by the end of July. The schedule for launch vehicles including the all-new Chevrolet Camaro, Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac SRX and GMC Terrain is being maintained so that customers will continue to see a full selection of new and launch vehicles in dealer showrooms.

Certified Used Vehicles

GM Certified Used Vehicles, Saturn Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, Cadillac Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, Saab Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, and HUMMER Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, combined sold 34,079 vehicles.

GM Certified Used Vehicles, the industry’s top-selling certified brand, posted April sales of 28,722 vehicles, down 26 percent from April 2008. Saturn Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 1,066 vehicles, down 8 percent. Saab Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 493 vehicles, down 34 percent. However, two brands posted gains: Cadillac Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 3,566 vehicles, up 0.03 percent and HUMMER Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 232 vehicles, up 39 percent.

"GM’s manufacturer-certified programs continue to offer a strong value for consumers and we are seeing some optimism in the market,” said LaNeve. “In particular, our Cadillac CPO brand has been resonating with consumers and remains on a positive track. Not only do Certified Used Vehicles offer the largest selection in the industry, they also come with strong factory backed warranties, such as the 12-month/12,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. Certified Used Vehicles offer the peace of mind in purchasing a durable and reliable vehicle.”

GM North America reports April 2009 production; Q2 2009 production forecast set at 390,000 vehicles

In April, GM North America produced 171,000 vehicles (59,000 cars and 112,000 trucks). This is down 71,000 vehicles or 29 percent compared with April 2008 when the region produced 242,000 vehicles (128,000 cars and 114,000 trucks). (Production totals include joint venture production of 7,000 vehicles in April 2009 and 22,000 vehicles in April 2008.)

The region’s 2009 second-quarter production forecast is set at 390,000 vehicles (172,000 cars and 218,000 trucks), which is down about 53 percent compared with a year ago. GM North America built 834,000 vehicles (382,000 cars and 452,000 trucks) in the second-quarter of 2008.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), one of the world’s largest automakers, was founded in 1908, and today manufactures cars and trucks in 34 countries. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 243,000 people in every major region of the world, and sells and services vehicles in some 140 countries. In 2008, GM sold 8.35 million cars and trucks globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM’s largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.

Bankruptcy filed and deal with Fiat signed. Note bolded text, for once I agree with him...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090430/bs_nm/us_autos_17

DETROIT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Chrysler LLC -- battered for the past two years by disappearing global auto sales and the credit crisis -- filed for bankruptcy on Thursday and announced an industry-changing deal with Fiat after talks to restructure its debt broke down.

Despite weeks of intense negotiations, Chrysler failed to gain the full support from its lenders to avoid the first-ever bankruptcy filing by a major U.S. automaker.

The move was hailed by President Barack Obama as a critical step in saving 30,000 jobs at Chrysler and hundreds of thousands more jobs in affiliated suppliers and dealers.

At the same time, Chrysler as expected entered into an alliance with Italian automaker Fiat SpA where it sold a stake starting at 20 percent and in which Fiat can become the majority owner once the government loans are repaid.

The Chapter 11 filing, in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, sent shock waves through the entire industry -- including Chrysler's rivals, suppliers, dealers and the hundreds of thousands who rely on the industry for their livelihoods.

As part of the filing, the U.S. government will provide up to $3.5 billion in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing and up to $4.5 billion in exit financing. Obama said he hopes the entire process will take only 30 to 60 days.

(Click on http://static.reuters.com/resources/media/...er%20filing.pdf to see the full filing)

The legal proceedings will be overseen by Judge Arthur Gonzalez, the same jurist who oversaw the Enron Corp and WorldCom Inc bankruptcies.

FIGHTIN' WORDS

The bankruptcy signals that Obama is prepared to play hardball with holdout lenders rather than knuckle under to their demands and will likely set the tone for similar discussions with bondholders of General Motors Corp -- which is now on the clock to restructure its operations by the end of May.

While Obama voiced his support for Chrysler and the deal with Fiat, he was pointed in his criticism of the investors who did not agree to this deal.

"I don't stand with them. I stand with Chrysler's employees and their families and communities," the president said. "I don't stand with those who held out when everybody else is making sacrifices. That's why I'm supporting Chrysler's plans to use our bankruptcy laws to clear away its remaining obligations."

This is not the first major government action with Chrysler. In 1980, U.S. President Jimmy Carter signed a bill providing Chrysler with more than $1 billion in loan guarantees.

Once again, the state of Michigan -- and in particular the Detroit area -- will be disproportionately hurt by the auto industry's woes.

"The industry's current crisis, with the potential for bankruptcy or consolidation, represents a fundamental shift in the state's economic base, rather than a simple cyclical downturn," Moody's said in a recent report.

"Bankruptcy is what they have been headed for in the past several months," said Mirko Mikelic, portfolio manager at Fifth Third Bank. "The biggest concern now is that the different stakeholders will be able to make the tough decisions they need to make.

Chrysler Chief Executive Robert Nardelli will leave the automaker following the emergence from bankruptcy. The U.S. government will place six members on the new company's board and Fiat will appoint three.

Investors reacted positively to the news. GM shares were up 6.6 percent and Ford Motor Co was up 7.2 percent in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

FIAT: A DONE DEAL

The bankruptcy filing did not stall the Fiat deal.

Chrysler has been seeking a rescue deal from the Italian automaker while also trying to finalize its debt agreement.

The debt restructuring talks have been spearheaded by the Obama administration's autos task force and former investment banker Steve Rattner.

In a bid to win over three fund firms that had spurned an offer to accept $2 billion in cash in exchange for writing off all of Chrysler's $6.9 billion in secured debt, U.S. officials sweetened the terms by throwing in another $250 million, people familiar with those discussions said.

Chrysler, majority-owned by Cerberus Capital Group , has been among the car industry's laggards, but its plight reflects a slump in demand facing an industry whose $2.6 trillion annual revenue is equivalent to the GDP of France and which employs more than 9 million people.

HISTORY-MAKING

The bankruptcy marks a key moment for the automaker and for the struggling American manufacturing sector.

In 1925, Walter P. Chrysler established Chrysler Corp. Three years later, the company laid the cornerstone for the Chrysler Building, briefly the world's tallest building and still an unmistakable part of the Manhattan skyline.

(Reporting by Poornima Gupta and John Crawley, additional reporting by Kevin Krolicki, Soyoung Kim, David Bailey, Nick Carey, Jui Chakravorty, Jeff Mason and Giselda Vagnoni; writing by Jo Winterbottom and Patrick Fitzgibbons; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

A little more light shed on the situation.

http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2009/04/30/stat...rs-of-chrysler/

By Stephen Grocer

The Obama administration on Wednesday failed to convince all of Chrysler’s lenders to agree to a debt-reduction deal. The administration’s auto task force tried to get all 46 of Chrysler’s secured lenders onboard, but a number of funds voted no. Now President Obama is expected to announce that Chrysler is going to seek reorganization in bankruptcy court. Here’s the letter from the from non-TARP lenders to Chrysler explaining their decision to vote no.

* * *

April 30, 2009 — As of last night’s deadline, we were part of a group of approximately 20 relatively small organizations; we represent many of the country’s teachers unions, major pension and retirement plans and school endowments who have invested through us in senior secured loans to Chrysler. Combined, these loans total about $1 billion. None of us have taken a dime in TARP money.

As much as anyone, we want to see Chrysler emerge from its current situation as a viable American company, and we are committed to doing what we can to help. Indeed, we have made significant concessions toward this end — although we have been systematically precluded from engaging in direct discussions or negotiations with the government; instead, we have been forced to communicate through an obviously conflicted intermediary: a group of banks that have received billions of TARP funds.

What created this much-publicized impasse? Under long recognized legal and business principles, junior creditors are ordinarily not entitled to anything until senior secured creditors like our investors are repaid in full. Nevertheless, to facilitate Chrysler’s rehabilitation, we offered to take a 40% haircut even though some groups lower down in the legal priority chain in Chrysler debt were being given recoveries of up to 50% or more and being allowed to take out billions of dollars. In contrast, over at General Motors, senior secured lenders are being left unimpaired with 100% recoveries, while even GM’s unsecured bondholders are receiving a far better recovery than we are as Chrysler’s first lien secured lenders.

Our offer has been flatly rejected or ignored. The fact is, in this process and in its earnest effort to ensure the survival of Chrysler and the well being of the company’s employees, the government has risked overturning the rule of law and practices that have governed our world-leading bankruptcy code for decades.

We have a fiduciary responsibility to all those teachers, pensioners, retirees and others who have entrusted their money to us. We are legally bound to protect their interests. Much as we empathize with Chrysler’s other stakeholders, the capital is just not ours to contribute to their cause by accepting a deal that is outside the well established legal framework and cannot be rationalized as being commercially reasonable.

We are continuing to discuss our position with the United States Treasury. We have made a proposal which we earnestly believe is fair and would appropriately recognize our legal position.

As President Obama implied yesterday, it is likely that Chrysler will have to file Chapter 11 whether or not all lenders agree to any particular proposal. Chapter 11 is often used to help implement an agreed deal and dispose of unwanted legacy liabilities. We are hopeful and optimistic that we will reach a positive resolution of our issues so that all stakeholders will move forward together to implement Chrysler’s “quick trip” restructuring in an un-contested proceeding. Our Group will never initiate a bankruptcy filing on Chrysler — that is a decision for the Company and the Administration to make.

As we all appreciate, laws are the foundation of our economy and society. Despite recent travails, our country remains the economic envy of the world and the United States remains a vital engine of global growth. The rule of law made it that way. We urge that people remember this and not succumb to unproductive and unwarranted finger pointing.

Sincerely,

The Committee of Chrysler Non-Tarp Lenders

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124109550079373043.html

WASHINGTON – An Obama administration official said that Chrysler LLC, after failing to convince all of its lenders to agree to a debt-reduction deal, will file for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

President Barack Obama will deliver remarks on the auto industry at noon.

Earlier Thursday an administration official said the restructuring of Chrysler LLC will go forward even though a handful of hedge funds have refused to accept the Treasury Department's offer to cut the auto maker's debt.

"Their failure to act in either their own economic interest or the national interest does not diminish the accomplishments" by Chrysler, its ...

So, Ch11 unless someone makes a quickie deal in the next two hours.

Well, with one more business day until the governments deadline and no major announcements yet, I guess the probability is pretty high. I just hope it ends up being good for Chrysler in the long run. I'd like to have at least TWO AMERICAN owned car companies to choose from!

What daimler did to Chrysler still pisses me off and because of it, I'll never own one of their products.

^ The Corvette is profitable and low volume, a v8 that gets the best gas milage in its class.

Now, now. No need to let facts get in the way of "making auto manufacturers green."

From the Edmunds article above:

Another GM insider tells Inside Line that the Converj's fate may lie in the hands of the presidential automotive task force. The task force has not yet cleared the Converj for production. Product investments of more than $100 million must be cleared by the task force, which is overseeing the restructuring of General Motors.

Not particularly encouraging....

There are so many reasons GM needs to build this car. Obviously finances may dictate otherwise unfortunately.

Tough vote. I voted Chevy, BPG, Caddy. But I see a strong possibility that GM could end up being Chevy, Caddy only when the dust settles.

GM won't be gone in North America, that would go against the very reason the gov't claims their loaning money to them. Meaning, I don't see the gov't allowing that.

I'm really torn on this. I think it's awesome that it's being compared favorably to it's intended competition (i.e. the lexus thing) and hopefully it will fare well against it. Certainly looks WAY nicer.

On the other hand, I agree with dodgefan. Cadillac is supposed to be competing with Mercedes, BMW and the like. In which case, the SRX should have been updated to be less wagon looking and kept its RWD and size.

Doesn't really matter what I think though, I'd never buy one as SUV/CUV/whatever isn't my thing.

Best new vehicle for the unemployed... Chevy Express van. Then you can start a delivery business. ;-)

And/or live in it!

Would a potential deal sell the Saturn name or just the dealer network? Or both perhaps.