07.26.2009
30 Senators, 264 House Members Sponsor Bill To Reopen GM/Chrysler Dealers
Czar Nicholas II of Russia
Car Czar Consulting says: As Yogi Berra might say: It ain’t over, till it’s over.
Sen. Majority Leader Reid isn’t too anxious to bring this bill up for consideration. Neither is the White House who thought they had placed this matter behind [...]
Germany Asserts Right to Veto GM Pick for Opel Buyer
By Tony Czuczka and Andreas Cremer
July 29 (Bloomberg) — Germany’s government asserted its right to reject any buyer for General Motors Co.’s Opel unit, increasing the risk of trans-Atlantic friction as Chancellor Angela Merkel seeks to protect jobs before September elections.
A successful bid needs the [...]
In Defense of . . . the United Auto Workers (UAW)
By Tony Sterbenc
July 28, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Delphi to drop pensions
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
New York — A U.S. bankruptcy judge gave Delphi Corp. the go-ahead to abandon its pension obligations, bringing the supplier another step closer to exiting bankruptcy.
The Troy-based auto supplier was poised to win approval from a bankruptcy court judge as early as today.
U.S. [...]
Lindsay Chappell
Automotive News | July 30, 2009 – 3:27 pm EST
Saturns from Renault? C’est possible
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French automaker Renault SA could become a source for Saturn vehicles and parts for the brand’s proposed new owner, U.S. auto magnate Roger Penske.
Renault confirms that [...]
Automotive News | July 30, 2009 – 8:52 pm EST
U.S. to suspend ‘guzzlers’ program, sources say
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) –The Obama administration will suspend a $1 billion program intended to spur U.S. auto sales after it surprisingly approached its funding limit after only a few days, government and industry sources said.
[...]
July 28, 2009
U.S. to sell GM stake in stages
Adviser: Aim is to get taxpayers repaid
BY GREG GARDNER
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
The government will not sell its entire 61% stake in General Motors Co. all at once next year when it begins to return the company to public investors, the head of President Barack Obama’s auto [...]
July 28, 2009
Auto hearing takes some strange turns
BY TOM WALSH
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
Just as it is not appetizing to watch the act of sausage being made, it is not pretty to witness either a bankruptcy process or a congressional body in action.
On Monday at Wayne State University, it was with some trepidation that I sat [...]
July 29, 2009
Delphi to ask judge for OK to sell assets
Lenders to forgive $3.4 billion in loans
BY JEWEL GOPWANI
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
In what could be the final step in Delphi Corp.’s nearly 4-year-old bankruptcy case, the Troy-based auto supplier is slated to ask a bankruptcy judge today for permission to sell most of its [...]
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Daniel Howes
Chrysler, GM battle for future
In the annals of meaningless political gestures, few could top that of a Texas Republican coming to Detroit and complaining about the United Auto Workers.
That the best you can do, congressman? Rep. Jeb Hensarling is the lone lawmaker on the Congressional Oversight Panel, whose hearing Monday at [...]
Sunday, July 26, 2009
July selling rate bodes well for ‘09 auto sales
Christine Tierney and Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News
U.S. auto sales have gathered pace this month, bolstering expectations that the auto market is starting to recover from 25-year lows in the first half of the year.
Several forecasters predict that the annualized selling rate [...]
July 26, 2009
Detroit 3 headlines: Ford adjusts UAW health care deal
STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES
Ford adjusts UAW health care deal
Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it reached a new agreement with the UAW on how it can meet its obligations for a retiree health care trust fund.
Ford must pay $13.1 billion into the trust fund, or [...]
July 26, 2009
For GM, big dreams depend on small cars
Experts: GM must reverse history, make models consumers want
BY MARK PHELAN
FREE PRESS AUTO CRITIC
Can General Motors Co. build a first-rate small car in America and make money selling it? Forty years of history says no, but the automaker’s fate — and thousands of jobs at [...]
July 26, 2009
GM’s U.S. small-car lineup today and tomorrow
Current models
New vehicles, 2010-12
Name
Type
Assembly site
2008 sales
Name
Type
Assembly site
Chevrolet Aveo
Subcompact
Lordstown, Ohio
188,045
Chevrolet Aveo replacement
Subcompact
Orion
Chevrolet HHR
Compact
Ramos Arizpe, Mexico
96,053
Chevrolet Cruze
Compact
Lordstown, Ohio
Pontiac G5
Compact
Lordstown, Ohio
25,439
Chevrolet Orlando
Compact
Detroit/Hamtramck
Pontiac Solstice
Roadster
Wilmington, Del.
10,739
Unnamed Buick*
Compact
Orion
Pontiac Vibe
Compact
Fremont, Cal.
46,552
Saturn Astra
Compact
Antwerp, Belgium
11,968
Saturn Sky
Roadster
Wilmington, Del.
9,162
*Projected
Source: Free Press research
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Saturday, July 25, 2009
GM aims to cut 21,000 workers
Buyout deadline was Friday; results expected next week
Robert Snell / The Detroit News
Hourly workers faced a deadline Friday to accept buyout and early retirement offers from General Motors Co. that could help the automaker thin its work force, cut labor costs and clear the way for hiring [...]
