Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Daniel Howes
Kerkorian motive is cash and ?

If Ford Motor Co. brass could deliver one message to its employees, now that Las Vegas billionaire Kirk Kerkorian is on his way to owning 5.6 percent of the automaker, it’d be two words — calm down.
Good advice, even if those same executives are doing anything [...]

GM posts $3.25 billion loss in 1Q
 
GMAC, Delphi and American Axle are costly problems
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Philip Nussel
Automotive News | April 30, 2008 – 7:22 am EST
 
 
 
DETROIT — General Motors said today it posted a net loss of $3.25 billion during the first quarter — the bulk of the red ink coming from one-time charges for its [...]

GMAC posts $589 million loss; may not turn 2008 profit
 

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Automotive News | April 29, 2008 – 9:15 am EST
 
 
 
NEW YORK (Reuters) — Finance company GMAC said on Tuesday its first-quarter loss nearly doubled as more customers fell behind on mortgage payments, and that it may not turn a profit this year.
The loss increased to $589 [...]

Tuesday, April 29, 2008
GM to idle thousands at 4 plants
Shifts to be cut at Flint, Pontiac as demand falls.
Sharon Terlep / The Detroit News
General Motors Corp. will further slash production of fuel-thirsty trucks and SUVs — a move that will eliminate about 3,500 hourly jobs at four North American factories, including ones in Flint and [...]

CAW reaches early deal with Ford
 
Preliminary deal preserves wages; protects St. Thomas plant
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David Barkholz
Automotive News | April 28, 2008 – 3:53 pm EST
 
 
 
Ford Motor Co. is five months ahead of schedule on a new master labor contract with the Canadian Auto Workers that would preserve Ford’s St. Thomas, Ontario, assembly plant until at least [...]

GM slashes North American truck production

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 [...]

Kerkorian offers to buy 20 million shares of Ford stock
 
Price: $8.50; Kerkorian would own 5.6% of automaker
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Automotive News | April 28, 2008 – 8:35 am EST
 
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Kirk Kerkorian’s Tracinda Corp said today it intends to make a cash tender offer for up to 20 million shares of Ford Motor Co. at a [...]

Monday, April 28, 2008
Motive in UAW threats unclear
Union pushing GM for rich Axle deal, some say; leaders cite other issues.
Sharon Terlep / The Detroit News
When the United Auto Workers launched a national strike last year against General Motors Corp., the reasons were obvious.
The automaker was demanding unprecedented cuts and historic changes in how employees are [...]

 
Cellulosic ethanol demo plant being built
Leslie J. Allen
Automotive News | April 25, 2008 – 4:41 pm EST
Cellulosic ethanol producer Coskata Inc., which recently entered a partnership with General Motors, says it will build a demonstration plant in Pennsylvania capable of producing 40,000 gallons a year. The facility, about 30 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, [...]

Friday, April 25, 2008
Wagoner’s GM package valued at $14M
Sharon Terlep / The Detroit News
General Motors Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner’s 2007 compensation package was valued at roughly $14 million, a 40 percent increase from 2006, the company reported Friday.
Wagoner’s salary of $1.6 million last year was nearly 30 percent higher than the $1.3 [...]

Friday, April 25, 2008
American Axle blames $27M first-quarter loss on UAW strike
Eric Morath / The Detroit News
The United Auto Workers strike against American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. cost the supplier $132.6 million in first-quarter sales and drove its bottom line into the red, the supplier said today.
The strike at five of its U.S. plants [...]

Friday, April 25, 2008
UAW won’t strike today at GM’s Kansas and Grand Rapids plants
Sharon Terlep / The Detroit News
General Motors Corp. has avoided another strike — at least for today.
The United Auto Workers has extended its strike deadlines at two factories where the union was threatening to launch walkouts this morning, including the plant that [...]

UAW STRIKE AT AMERICAN AXLE
 
American Axle to suppliers: Be ready to resume production

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David Barkholz
Automotive News | April 25, 2008 – 11:30 am EST
 
 
 
DETROIT — American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc., enduring an 8-week UAW strike, told its suppliers today to prepare to resume production.
Company purchasing chief Michael Flynn said in a memo that all [...]

 
 
GM execs’ salaries restored 
New board member nominated
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Jamie LaReau
Automotive News | April 25, 2008 – 4:33 pm EST
 
DETROIT — General Motors gave its top executives a pay increase this year and returned CEO Rick Wagoner’s base salary to its 2003-06 level.
In its annual proxy statement released today, GM listed CEO Rick Wagoner’s 2008 base salary [...]

Friday, April 25, 2008
‘09 Corvette has 638 horses, reaches 205 mph
The $100,000 ZR1 sports 6.2-liter V-8 engine and will hit dealerships this summer.
Scott Burgess / The Detroit News
The 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1’s supercharged V-8 officially produces 638-horsepower, General Motors Corp. executives announced today. GM completed SAE certification of the ZR1’s 6.2-liter LS9 engine and released [...]