http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/gm/ en-us Thu, 31 Dec 2009 14:00:32 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418309/posts This will make you even more delighted than you no doubt already are that we're on GMAC bailout II NRO - Corner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418309/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 14:00:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415540/posts There I was, watching the perfectly harmless Meineke Car Care Bowl, when a truly creepy Government Motors commercial for the Chevy Silverado pickup broke out . . . GM spokesman, and former NFL player, Howie Long is not-so-subtly comparing the merits of the Silverado with an intimidated, younger, Ford F150 owner. View video here. NewsBusters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415540/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 00:59:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414065/posts DETROIT - The new chief financial officer at General Motors Co. will receive a salary of $750,000 next year, but he'll get up to another $5.45 million worth of stock starting in 2012 if GM successfully sells shares to the public. Chris Liddell's pay package exceeds the limits imposed on companies that have received U.S. government aid, but an exemption was worked out with the government pay czar Kenneth Feinberg, GM said in a government filing Wednesday. MS DNC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414065/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:42:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410559/posts NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- General Motors is shutting down its Swedish car brand, Saab, after attempts to close a deal with a buyer failed. GM had announced earlier this year that it was close to reaching a deal with Swedish super-carmaker Koenigsegg. That deal fell, though. "In the end, Koenigsegg discovered some issues they didn't think could be overcome in a timely fashion," said John Smith, GM vice president of corporate planning and alliances. Dutch exotic carmaker Spyker then emerged as a bidder for Saab, but that deal couldn't be concluded in time, GM said. In both cases, according to... CNN Money http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410559/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:14:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407060/posts Toyota Motor said Monday that it planned a widespread release of its plug-in hybrid car in 2011 as the company scrambled to gain the upper hand in an increasingly crowded battle over next-generation “green” technology. Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, dominates the current generation of gas-electric hybrid vehicles, but it has refrained from rushing lower-emission cars like the plug-in hybrid to market. Instead, Toyota has focused on plans to introduce regular hybrid technology to all its models by 2020. But Toyota’s rivals are surging ahead. General Motors plans to build as many as 60,000 Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrids a year,... The New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407060/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:41:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404182/posts In the wake of Tiger Woods’ notorious early morning crash, GM took pity.. On the Escalade. GM now plans to repair and possibly auction off the battered SUV, as it was one of several vehicles Woods agreed to be seen in after his promotional deal with Buick ended last year. Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell explained: “The vehicle will be repaired, firstly. This is a promotional/marketing vehicle -- the kinds of cars used for advertising, public displays, photography, etc. That makes this a little different than a garden-variety car repair - given its special usage.” Caldwell said the repaired Escalade could... Examiner.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404182/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:51:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403451/posts WASHINGTON, (AP) -- House and Senate leaders proposed a compromise plan Tuesday to give shuttered General Motors and Chrysler dealers an appeals process to keep their showrooms open. Congressional aides said a broad $1.1 trillion spending bill would include language providing 789 Chrysler dealers closed in June and more than 1,350 GM dealers expected to be shut down next year an improved binding arbitration process to challenge the automakers' decisions. General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC said last week they would reconsider decisions to close the dealers as part of a compromise meant to set aside action by Congress... AP via SFGate http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403451/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 03:57:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402653/posts DETROIT — Edward E. Whitacre Jr., the new chief executive of General Motors, has one big advantage as he tries to turn around the automaker — a stockpile of cash G.M. workers awaiting an announcement at the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant on Monday that the company will invest to build the Volt, a battery-powered sedan, at that location. G.M. may spend to speed development on the Chevrolet Volt. G.M. had already pumped up its vehicle-development programs since emerging from bankruptcy with $42.6 billion in cash reserves, the bulk of which came from the government. NY Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402653/posts#comment Tue, 8 Dec 2009 06:51:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401159/posts Workers assembling vehicles at the SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co production line in Liuzhou, Guangxi. GM and SAIC together operate eight joint ventures in the country. [Agencies] General Motors Co on Friday said it has set up a $100 million joint venture in Hong Kong along with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp Group (SAIC) to focus on the Asian markets. As part of this, the new venture would bring under its umbrella all the Indian operations of GM including the two vehicle manufacturing facilities, a power train unit and the nationwide distribution network. GM would also produce and sell small cars and mini-commercial... AsiaLynx.com (ChinaDaily.com) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401159/posts#comment Sat, 5 Dec 2009 21:36:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2399845/posts Dec. 3 (New York Times) -- HONG KONG — General Motors is selling half of its India operations and a small stake in its China business to its main joint-venture partner in China, people with knowledge of the transaction said on Thursday, the latest sign of a shift in wealth and industrial power from American corporate giants to rising Asian powers. G.M.’s main partner in China, the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, known as S.A.I.C., suspended trading in its shares on the Shanghai stock market on Thursday pending a major announcement, but declined to release details. G.M. said in a statement... NY Times copied/pasted off wire http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2399845/posts#comment Fri, 4 Dec 2009 01:48:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2397941/posts The CEO of General Motors, is set to resign. Chairman Ed Whitacre will serve as interim CEO. Update: According to Whitacre, the GM board has accepted Henderson's resignation. Jalopnik http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2397941/posts#comment Tue, 1 Dec 2009 22:22:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2394876/posts CLAIRE BERLINSKI Government Motors 1975 America should learn from Britain’s disastrous takeover of its biggest auto company. PETER MARLOW/MAGNUM PHOTOS Striking became a way of life for British Leyland autoworkers during the seventies. After the Second World War, the United Kingdom’s newly elected Labour government resolved to build of Britain a New Jerusalem. It nationalized the commanding heights of the economy and inaugurated the cradle-to-grave welfare state. By the 1970s, the UK faced an economic crisis unrivaled since the Great Depression. Shabby and hopeless, Britain had become, in Henry Kissinger’s words, a “tragedy” of a nation, reduced to “begging, borrowing,... City Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2394876/posts#comment Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:40:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2394514/posts A deal for General Motors Co. to sell Saab to a specialty carmaker has collapsed, leaving the storied Swedish brand born from jets in 1947 close to extinction. Koenigsegg Group AB, a consortium formed by Swedish luxury sports car maker Koenigsegg Automotive AB, said Tuesday it pulled out of the deal in part because it was unable to agree with investors on how best to move the brand from mass-market to premium. For GM, it was the third time this year that a deal to shed one of its brands fell apart as it tries to recover from a stay... The AP, via Yahoo News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2394514/posts#comment Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:30:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2394143/posts TOKYO - Toyota to recall 4 million U.S. vehicles. Japan's Toyota Motor is planning to recall around four million vehicles in the United States to fix a potential problem affecting their accelerator pedals, a media report said Wednesday.The move was made due to a risk that loose driver-side floor mats could slip forward and jam the pedals, Kyodo news agency said, quoting sources close to the matter. Last month, Toyota quoted the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as saying that it had received reports of 100 related incidents, including 17 crashes and five fatalities involving Toyota vehicles, Kyodo said... Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2394143/posts#comment Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:09:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393918/posts America should learn from Britain's disastrous takeover of its biggest auto company. Few of the policymakers currently nationalizing the American auto industry seem to remember the British experience, and fewer still seem to have learned anything from it. British Leyland, Britain's largest automaker, faced bankruptcy in 1975. Fearing that its collapse would leave a million workers unemployed, the Labour government nationalized it. The company remained a ward of the state for 13 years. During that time, the British taxpayers invested 11 billion pounds — the inflation-adjusted equivalent of $22 billion today — in a company whose only sign of life... Investors.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393918/posts#comment Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:43:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393443/posts NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- GM could one day be Chinese owned. A shocking concept for the ultimate all-American company, but one some auto industry experts say isn't too far-fetched. "I can tell you right now the Chinese are shopping heavily in the U.S. auto sector," said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research, a Michigan think tank. Cole said such a deal isn't imminent and wouldn't happen until GM starts selling shares to the public, likely a year or more from now. But he says buying GM would be a major opportunity for the nascent Chinese auto industry.... CNN Money http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393443/posts#comment Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:23:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2390634/posts GM Daewoo Auto and Technology Co. said Friday it had started shipping new mini cars to Europe as the South Korean unit of US auto giant General Motors Co. seeks to expand global sales. GM Daewoo, acting as General Motors' global mini car development centre, said it will ship the "Matiz Creative", the fourth generation of GM Daewoo's popular "Matiz" mini car series, under the name "Chevrolet Spark". The South Korean unit will export 20,000 units to Europe by the end of the year and begin selling the car early next year. It did not say what the vehicles would... France24 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2390634/posts#comment Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:23:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2388001/posts GM will be begin paying back the TARP money in December, the company announced this morning. It’s a statement in need of a little context. Basically, GM will be using a portion of its $50 billion in TARP bailout money it received to in turn repay another portion of the TARP loans. The reason GM can do this is because when GM emerged from bankruptcy, it struck a deal with the Treasury Department to carve up its obligation to the government in four different ways. They are, briefly: 1) $986 million remained an obligation of the old GM, the husk... Propublica http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2388001/posts#comment Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:32:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2387601/posts The government dumped tens of billions of dollars into General Motors, and then dictated a “political bankruptcy” that trampled the rights of senior creditors in order to cut a sweetheart deal for the Obama administration’s union pals. Americans expected to see that pay off in broader investment and job creation, and that’s precisely what GM has in mind … for Europe. ABC News reports that GM plans to spend billions restructuring its Opel subsidiary rather than its core American businesses, and that has some lawmakers seeing red: Specifically, at a time when the nation’s unemployment rate has soared to levels... Hotair http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2387601/posts#comment Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:48:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387341/posts DETROIT -- General Motors Co. on Monday reported a $1.15 billion loss on an unaudited basis for the period from July 10 to Sept. 30, providing the first evidence of the auto maker's improvement since emerging from bankruptcy protection. WSJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387341/posts#comment Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:59:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2385461/posts Here comes that law of unintended consequences again. Global Warming Moonbats believe that electric cars are one of the major solutions to the problem of man made CO2 emissions causing the snow caps to melt, animals to die and blockbuster video to run out of your favorite videos. New research show electric cars are not the answer. The Environmental Transport Association in the UK, believes that electric cars could increase the rate of climate change, depending on how the electricity is created. In many countries when people plug in their electric car they would be plugging into a lump of... UK Daily Mail/The Lid http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2385461/posts#comment Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:21:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2384497/posts Volkswagen Group has displaced Toyota for the first time as the world's largest car manufacturer in terms of production. The German carmaker produced 4.4 million vehicles in the first nine months of the year, overtaking its Japanese rival by 400,000 units, consulting firm IHS Global Insight said on Wednesday. Volkswagen Group owns a variety of models such as Skoda and Seat and high-end lines Audi, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini. In July it expanded its stable by acquiring Porsche. HIS Global Insight said Volkswagen was able to beat Toyota thanks to increased sales in China, Germany and the U.K. even amid... The Chosun Ilbo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2384497/posts#comment Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:47:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2384467/posts SPRING HILL, Tenn. - General Motors will shut down its' production of the Chevy Traverse at the Spring Hill plant on Wednesday, November 24; the day before Thanksgiving.About 1,000 of the remaining 1,800 GM workers will lose their job. "A lot of them was hoping that they was going to get their time out, you know, here and be able to retire and it hasn't happened," said Spring Hill barber Diane Colley. Colley said some of her clients have chosen the option to transfer to another GM plant. "They really didn't want to leave it, but they've got to work,"... Nashville Channel 5 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2384467/posts#comment Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:13:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2383909/posts General Motors Chairman Ed Whitacre has high hopes for the future of the American auto industry. In his first speech in Texas since taking his place at General Motors Company, Whitacre addressed a crowd at Texas Lutheran University about the future of GM, the outlook of the American auto industry, and the United States economy. The former CEO of AT&T and TLU business professor said he was happy to take the job at GM. “I told everybody when I started this that I didn’t know anything about cars,” Whitacre joked. “I know a little now about cars and I know... The Seguin Gazette Enterpirse http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2383909/posts#comment Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:31:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2379260/posts -snip- The announcements came a day after GM, which was struggling with a bankruptcy reorganisation backed by the US and Canadian governments, stunned the auto sector by abandoning the agreed plan to sell Opel to Canadian auto parts manufacturer Magna and state-owned Russian bank Sberbank. Related article: Magna accepts GM Opel sale halt It said it would restructure the unit itself, just hours after an unwitting Merkel gave a historic speech before a joint session of the US Congress and held talks with US President Barack Obama. "It is truly tragic," wrote the Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel, calling the decision... AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2379260/posts#comment Thu, 5 Nov 2009 17:30:00 GMT