Wednesday, July 30, 2008
GM to let workers see Volt
Sneak peek planned for automaker’s September centennial as car nears production version.
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — General Motors Corp. plans to show employees a near-production version of the Chevrolet Volt during the automaker’s 100th anniversary celebration in September.
GM, which will mark its centennial on [...]
GMAC reduces financing for high-risk customers
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Jamie LaReau
Automotive News | July 29, 2008 - 4:38 pm EST
DETROIT — General Motors dealers will have to put high-risk customers into less expensive vehicles or get higher down payments than in the past, now that GMAC is tightening its financing policies.
Over the past year, GMAC has tightened its [...]
GMAC, Ford pull back on leases as credit tightens
queryvar=”gmac,ford,pull,back,on,leases,as,credit,tightens”;
Automotive News | July 29, 2008 - 8:00 pm EST
DETROIT (Reuters) — GMAC and Ford Motor Credit disclosed steps on Tuesday to cut back on auto leases in a move that leaves automakers facing the risk of even more pressure on auto sales already at decade lows.
The [...]
Chase to end leasing for Chrysler
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Andrew Grossman
Automotive News | July 29, 2008 - 4:33 pm EST
Chase Auto Finance said today that it will not finance leases for Chrysler LLC vehicles.
Chase was afraid auto dealers would flock to it in the wake of Chrysler Financial’s decision on Friday, July 25, to stop financing leases, said [...]
GM names new North American CFO
Joseph Peter will report to corporate CFO Ray Young
queryvar=”gm,names,new,north,american,cfo”;
Craig Trudell
Automotive News | July 24, 2008 - 2:36 pm EST
General Motors has named Joseph Peter CFO for North America, effective Aug. 1.
Peter, 45, will report to Ray Young, GM’s CFO, and Troy Clarke, president for North America.
“Joe brings vast experience [...]
Toyota to boost Prius output by 70%
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Automotive News | July 25, 2008 - 3:00 am EST
ENLARGE
Toyota Prius hybrid
TOKYO (Reuters) — Toyota aims to produce 70 percent more Prius hybrids after a [...]
Mercedes to cut production in Alabama
First cut in production since plant opened 11 years ago
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April Wortham
Automotive News | July 24, 2008 - 1:59 pm EST
In a sign that even premium automakers are not immune from the U.S. market crunch, Mercedes-Benz confirmed today that it will trim production at its Alabama factory beginning in August.
“We [...]
Friday, July 25, 2008
Chrysler puts 1Q loss at $515M
Daimler says its stake’s worth is down 81%
Eric Morath and Christine Tierney / The Detroit News
Chrysler Holding LLC, the parent company for automaker Chrysler LLC and its finance arm, lost $515 million in the first quarter of 2008, the company said Thursday, the same day that former [...]
Friday, July 25, 2008
Scott Burgess
Ford hopes ride on Euros
Plan to jolt U.S. sales with six models from abroad is overdue
It’s about time.
Ford Motor Co.’s decision to accelerate its automotive emigration plan — in the wake of a record $8.7 billion second-quarter loss and a shift in consumer demand toward fuel-sipping cars — shouldn’t surprise anyone. [...]
Friday, July 25, 2008
Daniel Howes
Mulally’s Ford looks a lot like Toyota
Before he left a 37-year career at Boeing Co. nearly two years ago to run Ford Motor Co., CEO Alan Mulally was a Toyota aficionado: He drove a Lexus luxury sedan; he studied Toyota’s production system; he adapted it, surprising some, to the assembly of [...]
The strike at Johnson Controls in Columbia TN has ended. The eight day strike came to an end at 5:15 P.M. on Wednesday July 23, 2008.The UAW has been recognized by Johnson Controls as their collective bargaining agent. Employees at Johnson Controls return to work on their regular shifts on Thursday July 24.
There will [...]
UAW Recognized at Johnson Controls in Columbia, TN
The strike at Johnson Controls in Columbia TN has ended. The strike came to an end at 5:15 P.M. on July 23, 2008.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Ford: $8.7 billion second-quarter loss
Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News
DEARBORN — Ford Motor Co. posted a staggering $8.7 billion second-quarter loss today, largely due to write-offs associated with a decline in value of its North American assets Ford Credit’s lease portfolio.
But the dramatic shift away from big trucks and sport utility [...]
UAW says 2,200 Axle workers took buyouts
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Automotive News | July 23, 2008 - 2:16 pm EST
DETROIT (Reuters) — About 2,200 union workers at American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. have accepted buyout and retirement offers, exceeding the company’s target, a union official with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
The number represents 60 percent [...]
Chrysler to cut 1,000 jobs, liquidity ‘unchanged’
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Automotive News | July 23, 2008 - 2:00 pm EST
DETROIT (Reuters) — Chrysler LLC said on Wednesday it plans to cut 1,000 salaried jobs by the end of September to slash costs and survive a deep industry downturn.
The privately held automaker, now controlled by Cerberus Capital Management, also said [...]
GM 2Q sales fall 5% worldwide, trails Toyota
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Jamie LaReau
Automotive News | July 23, 2008 - 11:04 am EST
DETROIT — Overseas markets bolstered General Motors’ global sales in the second quarter. But in North America, sales fell 20 percent from the year-ago period.
GM reported its second-quarter global sales fell 5 percent. The decline reflects continuing [...]
J.D. Power lowers U.S. sales forecast to 14.2M
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Craig Trudell
Automotive News | July 23, 2008 - 3:57 pm EST
Following the lead of automakers and analysts, J.D. Power and Associates has cut its projection of 2008 U.S. light-vehicle sales to 14.2 million units.
That is down 750,000 units from the 14.95 million that Power projected earlier this [...]
GM shares nearly double from historic low
Ford up; Gates buzz drives AutoNation shares
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Craig Trudell
Automotive News | July 23, 2008 - 4:35 pm EST
DETROIT — Shares of General Motors today reached levels that nearly doubled their value from half-century lows set earlier this month.
GM shares closed at $14.58 a share, up 26 cents, or 1.82 [...]
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Daniel Howes: Ford’s past & future
Ford poised for big changes
You can bet Ford Motor Co. will deliver three things when it reports its second-quarter financials Thursday morning:
First, the numbers will be ugly, analysts predict. The Dearborn automaker, whose sales of trucks and SUVs have withered under the weight of $4-a-gallon gas, will [...]
Chevrolet to spend more to market cars
Camaro ads will play up emotional appeals
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Automotive News | July 22, 2008 - 12:42 pm EST
ENLARGE
Ed Welburn, GM design vice president, and Ed Peper, vice president of Chevrolet, show off the 2010 Camaro on Monday.
[...]
Chevrolet’s Peper talks Camaro, Chevrolet’s future
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Automotive News | July 22, 2008 - 2:22 pm EST
Ed Peper
DETROIT — As Chevrolet gets ready to launch the Traverse crossover and the Camaro sports car, the brand is at a pivotal point in industry history. The strong [...]
H3T pricing released, just in time…
Talk about bad timing: And no, I’m not referring to Hummer bringing out its new pickup, the H3T.
GM sent out this release last week and it slipped through the cracks: The H3T pricing.
The all new pickup, which started as a concept vehicle five years ago, will finally arrive at dealerships [...]
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Chrysler CEO disputes report of loss of low-interest loans
If carmaker pays more for money, enticements may be affected, analysts say.
Eric Morath / The Detroit News
Chrysler’s financing arm is not in danger of losing the ability to offer consumers low-interest loans, Chrysler LLC Chairman and CEO Bob Nardelli told the automaker’s employees Monday.
Nardelli [...]
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Utilities, GM team on plug-in hybrids
Partnership must resolve problems in time for electric vehicles’ debut in 2010.
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — General Motors Corp. and a consortium of more than 30 electric utilities will announce today a partnership to speed the commercialization of plug-in vehicles.
The joint project of GM [...]
Camaro meets the press, GM execs tout mpg
Unveilings take place in Detroit, Los Angeles
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Jamie LaReau
and Alysha Webb
Automotive News | July 21, 2008 - 4:32 pm EST
ENLARGE
The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro
Photo [...]
Ford offering more buyouts to hourly workers
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Craig Trudell
Automotive News | July 21, 2008 - 4:48 pm EST
Ford Motor Co. is extending another round of buyout offers to its hourly workers at more than a dozen U.S. plants as the company aligns production with weakening demand.
The company said today that it will start making plant-by-plant [...]
GM: now comes the hard part
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Automotive News | July 21, 2008 - 7:00 am EST
GM’s Bob Lutz: "This is not the time for niche vehicles"
DETROIT (Reuters) — By pledging to cut $10 billion in costs, General Motors has convinced investors and creditors that [...]
Monday, July 21, 2008
100 years of GM feted: Flint marks event with parade and some sadness
David Phillips / Special to The Detroit News
FLINT — Matt Assenmacher is a cyclist at heart and runs two bicycle shops in Genesee County, but, on Sunday, he had old-fashioned gasoline and a lot of nostalgia pumping through his veins.
His [...]
Friday, July 18, 2008
McCain changes auto emissions stance
Gordon Trowbridge and J.J. McCorvey / The Detroit News
WARREN — U.S. Sen. John McCain backtracked Friday on a pledge to set national auto emissions standards that would supersede those California and other states want to set.
"I guess at the end of the day, I support the states being [...]
Friday, July 18, 2008
Auto briefs
GM shares close at $12.85; up 12 percent
General Motors Corp. shares rallied for a third consecutive session Thursday, closing up 12 percent at $12.85. The stock, which sank to historic lows in early July on fears that the automaker might be facing a risk of bankruptcy, has rebounded 37 percent since [...]
Mitsubishi, UAW resume talks after three years
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Lindsay Chappell
Automotive News | July 17, 2008 - 1:46 pm EST
Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc. has returned to the negotiating table with the UAW after a three-year delay in contract talks.
In August 2005 the Normal, Ill., company, facing difficulties, had agreed with UAW Local 2488 to postpone new [...]
Auto stocks rise and oil prices fall
GM, Ford shares bounce back
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Craig Trudell
Automotive News | July 16, 2008 - 3:19 pm EST
Share prices for automakers climbed by their largest margins in recent months today, while oil prices have dropped by $10 a barrel in two days.
Shares of General Motors and Ford Motor Co. each gained [...]
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Cutback plans boost GM stock
But analysts question firm’s long-term prospects
David Shepardson and Christine Tierney / The Detroit News
Shares of General Motors Corp. soared Wednesday, signaling that the automaker’s plans to raise $15 billion by the end of 2009 reassured investors and put their fears of bankruptcy to rest.
The Detroit automaker’s stock jumped [...]
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Auto briefs
Nonunion workers at parts supplier protest
Johnson Controls Inc . workers demanding union representation walked out at a plant in Tennessee that supplies seats and consoles for General Motors Corp.’s forthcoming Chevrolet Traverse. About 170 nonunion workers began picketing at 5 a.m. today at the Johnson Controls factory in Columbia, said Mike [...]
July 17, 2008
Strike may delay plant start-up in Spring Hill
Johnson Controls supplies parts for new GM crossover
By G. CHAMBERS WILLIAMS III
Staff Writer
Workers for a Columbia company that builds seats and consoles for the new Chevrolet Traverse crossover utility vehicle, which will be built at General Motors Corp.’s Spring Hill plant, went on strike Wednesday, [...]
Auto news in brief: Strike at Johnson Controls
July 17, 2008
Johnson Controls strike
Johnson Controls Inc. workers at a plant in Tennessee that supplies seats and consoles for General Motors Corp.’s Chevrolet Traverse began striking Wednesday.
About 170 workers walked out at the Johnson Controls factory in Columbia, said Vicki Hale, a spokeswoman at UAW Local 1853. The [...]
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
NASCAR, marketing may get 2nd look
Analyst says GM must consider everything, but some cuts could be risky.
Bryce G. Hoffman and Eric Morath / The Detroit News
The cuts announced by General Motors Corp. Tuesday are not limited to jobs and factories — they also will extend to marketing, event sponsorships and, potentially, even [...]
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
VW spurns Mich. for Tenn. auto plant
Bill Poovey / Associated Press
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Volkswagen picked Chattanooga for its U.S. assembly plant that will employ about 2,000 workers and make a new midsize sedan as part of a plan to triple sales in the U.S. by 2018.
Sites in Alabama and Michigan were also [...]
Bankers eye next big GM sale: $4 billion in assets
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Automotive News | July 16, 2008 - 9:38 am EST
DETROIT (Reuters) — As General Motors struggles to sell cars in a deeply depressed U.S. market, a more important sale is shaping up for its bankers: finding buyers for up to $4 billion in assets.
GM is already [...]
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
GM moves to secure $15 billion cushion
Deep cuts, new financing needed to ensure liquidity, restore confidence in firm’s future
"Our plan is not a plan to survive," General Motors Corp. Chairman Rick Wagoner said Tuesday. "It is a plan to win."
Except that GM, beset by skyrocketing oil prices, slumping consumer confidence and a [...]
