Monday, June 30, 2008
Delphi retirement plan gets $2.2 million
Associated Press
TROY — The federal government has obtained court approval to restore $2.2 million in retirement plan assets owed to hourly employees of auto supplier Delphi Corp.
The U.S. Department of Labor said in a statement Monday the settlement approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Court ensures assets are available [...]
Monday, June 30, 2008
When pickup sales dived, automakers changed plans
TOM KRISHER / AP Auto Writer
DEARBORN — Every morning, just after getting coffee, Mark Fields fires up his laptop to pore over a computer model showing real-time U.S. auto sales figures.
On this morning in the middle of May, the man who heads Ford Motor Co.’s Americas [...]
The Detroit 3 cash crunch: How bad is it?
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David Barkholz
and Jamie LaReau and Bradford Wernle
Automotive News | June 30, 2008 – 12:01 am EST
Can the Detroit 3 hang on?
The startling collapse in sales since April means the three automakers are burning through cash reserves at a terrifying rate.
Suddenly they have far more urgent [...]
Monday, June 30, 2008
Drivers paid to retire old cars
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — Some U.S. states and Canada are boosting efforts to get older, dirtier cars off the roads.
The moves come as people are holding onto vehicles longer than ever, amid a weakening economy. And it’s expected that people will hold on [...]
Chevy to launch Traverse ads during Olympics
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Jamie LaReau
Automotive News | June 30, 2008 – 12:01 am EST
ENLARGE
To generate buzz, Chevrolet will advertise the new Traverse two weeks before production starts.
DETROIT [...]
Friday, June 27, 2008
Chrysler welcomes a hero
Iacocca, 83, returns to rally employees and dealers
Eric Morath / The Detroit News
AUBURN HILLS — As Lee Iacocca stepped into the atrium of the Chrysler Technical Center for an employee rally Thursday, applause and whistles showered down from the more than 3,000 workers standing in the balconies above.
While introducing [...]
Friday, June 27, 2008
GM workers face more layoffs
Cuts in production have domino effect
Sharon Terlep / The Detroit News
Casualties of deep production cuts under way at General Motors Corp. will mount this summer, as reductions spread from major assembly plants to stamping and Powertrain factories throughout North America.
A GM stamping plant in Grand Rapids is warning [...]
Automotive News | June 26, 2008 – 9:30 am EST
DETROIT (Reuters) — Goldman Sachs downgraded General Motors to "sell" from "neutral," and added the stock to its "Americas Sell List," saying the main risks for the automaker included likely equity dilution, dividend cut and cash burn.
GM shares, which have lost 47 percent of their [...]
Fitch cuts GM, Chrysler deeper into junk; reviews Ford
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Automotive News | June 25, 2008 – 2:15 pm EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) — Fitch Ratings today cut General Motors’ and Chrysler LLC’s ratings deeper into junk, citing weaker sales, high fuel prices and a sluggish economy.
Fitch also said it will review Ford Motor Co. and Ford Motor [...]
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Chevrolet Traverse offers more power, fuel mileage
Scott Burgess / The Detroit News
MILFORD — The 2009 Chevrolet Traverse will offer more power and better fuel efficiency than its 2008 brothers, the Saturn Outlook, Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia, Chevy officials said Tuesday.
The all-new Traverse features a new 3.6-liter direct injection V-6 engine that [...]
Report: Ford talks with Chinese to sell Volvo
Volvo says it will cut 2,000 jobs
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John Revill
Automotive News | June 25, 2008 – 8:36 am EST
Ford Motor is in negotiations with a Chinese company to sell its Volvo cars division, the Swedish business publication Dagens Industri reported today on its Web site.
A Russian investor is also [...]
GM to adjust output at nearly half of its N.A. plants
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Craig Trudell
Automotive News | June 24, 2008 – 4:19 pm EST
DETROIT — General Motors, grappling with the dramatic shift in sales from pickups and SUVs to smaller vehicles, said it will adjust production at almost half of its North American assembly plants.
The automaker is [...]
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Chrysler borrows $2B, despite having money
Analysts say funds may be needed to reshape car lineup, compete globally.
Eric Morath / The Detroit News
Chrysler LLC tapped a $2 billion loan Tuesday — partially funded by its former parent Daimler AG — giving the Auburn Hills automaker an infusion of cash amid plummeting sales and [...]
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Daniel Howes
Detroit’s Big Three need cash — fast
High gas costs, low consumer confidence threaten automakers’ ability to get funds to fuel restructuring.
The General takes another whack at its imploding North American business — cutting shifts, boosting car production, raising prices and even resorting to the Motor City’s preferred narcotic, zero-percent financing — [...]
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Toyota may miss U.S. sales target
Tomoko A. Hosaka / Associated Press
TOKYO — Toyota may scale back its ambitious target of selling more vehicles in the United States this year than it did in 2007, as damage from an economic slowdown and soaring oil prices becomes more fully known.
Surpassing the 2.62 million vehicles [...]
