October 21, 2009

GM auto plant may get new tenant

Startup maker of hybrids to announce choice soon

By ANDREW EDER
The News Journal
A startup automaker plans to announce in the next few weeks which U.S. manufacturing site it will use to build a new plug-in hybrid family sedan.
Fisker Automotive confirmed Tuesday that it has talked with Delaware [...]

Steven Rattner: Why we had to get rid of GM’s CEO
The man who led the auto bailout tells about his shock at the state of the carmaker’s finances and management.
By Steven Rattner
Last Updated: October 21, 2009: 8:28 AM ET

(Fortune) — Without any experience in automaking or government, Steven Rattner left his Wall Street perch to [...]

The auto bailout: How we did it
The man who led the effort gives an inside look at the bankruptcies that shook America.
By Steven Rattner
October 21, 2009: 4:03 AM ET

(Fortune Magazine) — Without any experience in automaking or government, Steven Rattner left his Wall Street perch to wade into the largest restructuring in American history. The [...]

October 21, 2009
 
For Car Buyers, the Brand Romance Is Gone

By BILL VLASIC

DETROIT — To sell a car in the 1980s, dealers had to do little more than open their doors, and loyal buyers would show up to trade in their Chevrolet for a new Chevrolet, or their Toyota for another Toyota.
Nearly four in five Americans [...]

GM: 15 vehicles returned under money-back program
(AP) – 15 hours ago
NEW YORK — General Motors Co. says only 15 vehicles, or about 4 percent of those eligible, have been returned so far under the automaker’s much-touted money-back guarantee program.
Spokesman Tom Henderson says that small figure signals a vote of confidence in GM’s products.
GM launched its [...]

October 20, 2009
United Auto Workers’ Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association Gets Investment Staff in Order

The new United Auto Workers voluntary employee beneficiary association won’t officially open for business until January 1, but the association—with more than $37 billion in assets—has a chief investment officer and is looking for managing directors to oversee equity, fixed [...]

October 21, 2009
http://detnews.com/article/20091021/AUTO01/910210353

Inside the Chrysler, GM rescues

Auto task force almost let Chrysler fail, shocked at GM’s poor management

DAVID SHEPARDSON
Detroit News Washington Bureau
The White House auto task force, "shocked" by the depth of the financial problems at General Motors and Chrysler, very nearly let Chrysler go under before President Barack Obama decided the economy couldn’t [...]