January 27, 2009, 12:30 pm
GM’s Saturn Brand Lives on Through 2012
 

As General Motors seeks to dig itself out of its current financial hole, the future of some of it brands has been questioned.
GM/Wieck
Saturn blimp
 

Saturn has been one of the GM brands that has been of particular interest, thanks to a particularly loyal group of owners [...]

Wednesday, January 28, 2009
GM to suspend jobs bank on Feb. 2
Louis Aguilar / The Detroit News
The controversial jobs bank program at General Motors Corp. will be suspended indefinitely Feb. 2, moving 1,600 United Auto Workers-represented GM employees out of a system that had GM paying 85 percent of their wages for not doing their jobs.
The [...]

Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Toyota recalls 130,000 U.S. Yaris cars
Dan Strumpf / Associated Press
NEW YORK — Toyota is recalling 1.3 million vehicles worldwide due to a seat belt defect. The recall includes more than 130,000 Yaris models sold in the U.S.
Toyota Motor Sales USA says it is working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to [...]

Jamie LaReau
Automotive News | January 28, 2009 – 3:58 pm EST
 
2009 Cadillac XLR will be the last
 

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DETROIT — General Motors will discontinue Cadillac’s halo vehicle, the XLR roadster, at the end of the 2009 model year, a Cadillac spokeswoman says.
Cadillac plans to fill the XLR’s place in the lineup with the CTS coupe, [...]

 

David Barkholz
Automotive News | January 28, 2009 – 11:15 am EST
 
 
 
 
The UAW has agreed to let General Motors terminate its Jobs Bank, providing the automaker with the same bailout concession made to Chrysler LLC last week, GM confirmed today.
Starting Monday, the 1,600 GM workers now in the Jobs Bank must go on state unemployment [...]

Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Ford preps Volvo sale
Financial specialists are making ’strategic review’
Bryce G. Hoffman and Christine Tierney / The Detroit News
Ford Motor Co. is expected to begin entertaining offers for its Volvo Car Co. unit next month, and Chinese automakers could be among the bidders, say people familiar with the situation.
Finance specialists for the Dearborn [...]

Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Chrysler talks to others in case feds veto Fiat deal
Although defending proposed alliance, top exec says automaker is also exploring ‘other alternatives.’
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
LINTHICUM HEIGHTS, Md . — Chrysler LLC Vice Chairman and President Jim Press said the automaker is in talks with other possible partners if the [...]

Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Manny Lopez: Commentary
Officials fail state’s carmakers

Any doubt that Michigan isn’t the player it once was — in politics and business — was confirmed again on Monday.
The state’s largest industry had its teeth knocked out by the president, a punch that followed months of body blows by Madame Speaker and her California colleagues. [...]

Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Nissan to shut local studio in wider cuts
Christine Tierney / The Detroit News
Nissan Motor Co. will close its design studio in Farmington Hills, resulting in the loss of as many as 10 jobs, as part of a realignment of its North American design and marketing operations, the company said Tuesday.
The Japanese automaker [...]