Free Republic

Bureaucrats can’t run a car company, let alone the whole country Ford Motor Co. beat General Motors in March sales, another small but significant victory of private enterprise over government micromanagement. Since the 2009 government takeover of GM, competition between the two leading domestic auto manufacturers has taken on strong ideological overtones. It serves as an ideal test case, a microcosm of the competition between two worldviews, the automotive equivalent of North vs. South Korea. Right now, the good guys are winning. Ford has been giving GM a run for its money since the competition began. In October, Ford recorded...

Barack Obama has some 'splaining to do about taxpayers' profitable "investment" in General Motors. It turns out the president is imagining things. However, a March 16 Congressional Oversight report, tells a different story. It estimates taxpayers will be out of $25 billion. Additionally, the report points out that “full repayment will not be possible unless the government is able to sell its remaining shares at a far higher price.” That's only the beginning. Both the White House and the Congressional Oversight report omit the fact that during its bankruptcy, GM got a $45 billion tax break, courtesy of the American...

Tea Party supporters can now root for their cause on the racetrack. TheTeaParty.net has announced that a NASCAR vehicle will be sponsored by the organization. Chris Lafferty’s #89 truck will be known as “We the People’s” through the 2012 election. Bill Wallace, the coach and general manager of Lafferty Motorsports LLC, wrote in a letter posted on TeaPartyRacing.com that the sponsorship will be funded with donations. Part of the donations made to TeaPartyRacing will go to Lafferty’s team, part to TheTeaParty.net. TeaPartyRacing.com, an affiliate of TheTeaParty.net, states that, “as a dynamic and patriotic race team, TeaPartyRacing.com, attracts fans from all...

~EXCERPT~ DETROIT (AP) -- The chief financial officer of General Motors Co., who brought the company through a successful public stock offering and was once considered a candidate for CEO, is resigning as of April 1. In a surprise announcement Thursday, GM said that Chris Liddell, 52, will be replaced by Treasurer Dan Ammann. Liddell has been on the job for just 14 months. During a hastily arranged conference call with reporters, Liddell said he had no job lined up, but doesn't want to be a chief financial officer any longer. He said he had achieved his goals of pulling...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - General Motors Co's mostly electric Chevy Volt turned in a lackluster performance for efficiency in its first series of road tests by product raters at Consumer Reports. "We would have really liked to have loved it," David Champion, director of Consumer Reports auto test center told Reuters on Monday after announcing the organization's top picks for 2011. "It was fun to drive and the ride quality was pretty good. But when you look at the finances, for us it doesn't make any sense," Champion said. He said consumers seeking value and top fuel efficiency would be better...

General Motors is once again making the headlines thanks to a noble act, this time donating, through its GM Foundation, a total of $2 million to upgrade two community centers near the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant. As you probably know after the avalanche of stories concerning the Chevrolet Volt, the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant is the one responsible for building the Chevrolet Volt electric car, as well as the Cadillac DTS and Buick Lucerne. "We want to be a good neighbor and one way to do that is identify the needs in a community and respond with the money, the time and...

Final letter to General Motors RE: Attempt to purchase our product from our contract manufacturer Dear Deepak, et. all, Thank you for contacting us. We recently received your PO # 33333333. It references the quote # 444444 we have written and re-written for both you and ****** Associates, who purportedly represented you, over the past couple of months. Your most recent request (direct from your own buying group) is for Net 60 Terms and a price reduction from $9,945. to $8,700. We have never quoted this price, and we are wondering how you got it? ####### Associates insisted we sell...

GM Summary: GM is still Government Motors. The US Government converted $45.3 billion in loans to a 70% ownership position. The Canadian Government converted an $8.1 billion stake into 12% ownership. GM lost $3.4 billion in the 4th quarter of 2009. GM still has $15 billion in debt. GM has $27 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. Until GM IPOs we will not know an approximation of taxpayer losses. Moreover, those losses do not include the pension time bomb. With GM still losing money on top of all those issues why did GM repay TARP? The likely answer is to get...

The threat to its pension plans has always been an issue, butit took on a new urgency when GM disclosed April 7 that its plans were underfunded by more than $27 billion, with more than half of that being owed to U.S. workers and retirees.

If you want to drive something dependable and long-lasting, steer clear of these vehicles. With a 22% improvement in sales last month, and despite the six-month, $4.3 billion loss it announced Wednesday, General Motors is likely to have its strongest spring and summer in years. Plus, the automaker had critically acclaimed new products at the recent New York Auto Show and the much-anticipated Chevrolet Volt is due out this fall. More from Forbes.com: • In Depth: Worst-Made Cars On The Road • Navigating Your Way Through Traffic • Cars With the Best Gas Mileage Year-over-year sales of GM's Cadillac division...

On January 15, 2010, attorneys for Old Chrysler from the “esteemed” mega law firm – Jones Day - responded (Docket No. 6216) to our Motion To Reconsider the Bankruptcy Court’s Dealership Rejection Order/Opinion – (Docket No. 6132). However, opposing counsel have certainly lost their cool by grabbing mud and slinging it right in the Court’s face. They did this by playing the “birther” card in a memo supporting their Objection to our Motion while our Motion has absolutely nothing to do with the President. In fact, we clearly stated in that Motion that we do not contend the Government requested...

General Motors Co. is offering its dealers hefty incentives to move thousands of leftover vehicles from its discontinued Saturn and Pontiac brands. The unusual tactic could inflate the car maker's December sales and cut the cost to car buyers by as much as 46% off the sticker price. In what is equivalent to a year-end fire sale, GM sent letters to dealers Dec. 23 saying it would pay them $7,000 for every new Saturn or Pontiac on their lot that is moved to rental-vehicle or service-vehicle fleets operated by the dealers. Dealers can then sell the vehicles at a more...

GM's about-face has angered both Opel workers and European governments. In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, union leader and Opel board member Armin Schild blasts GM for mismanagement and says that the US company is uninterested in saving the Opel brand. SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mr. Schild, General Motors has decided not to sell Opel after all, preferring to restructure the German automaker itself. What do Opel employees think of the plan? Armin Schild: GM is going to continue pursuing company policies that have already led to the firm's decline over the last 20 years. Pressure on the employees and on the...