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-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...

C4C Since “Cash For Clunkers” applied to Ford, GM and Chrysler. Why did Ford Motor Company post a ONE BILLION DOLLAR 3rd quarter PROFIT and GM and Chrysler post losses? It couldn’t be the autos since all models are about the same size, design and price. I believe it was the consumer buying more Fords as a REWARD for not taking TARP money and remaining a private company. The more units sold, the more profit. Consumer votes have been cast. Ford, GM and Chrysler have gone their separate ways. Now when GM and Chrysler look up they see the gutter...

Bill Gates took on the Famine Lobby while addressing a forum on the world food supply in Iowa. Speaking at the World Food Prize Symposium in Des Moines, Gates took aim at the chorus of environmental leftists and organic food advocates who believe Africans should starve rather than eat genetically modified (GM) foods. “Some voices are instantly hostile to any emphasis on productivity. They act as if there is no emergency, even though in the poorest, hungriest places on earth, population is growing faster than productivity,” he said.The opposition is significant, because Gates is left-of-center himself. The Bill and Melinda...

Companies in hock to Washington now have the equivalent of 535 new board members -- 100 U.S. senators and 435 House members. Since the financial crisis broke, Congress has been acting like the board of USA Inc., invoking the infusion of taxpayer money to get banks to modify loans to constituents and to give more help to those in danger of foreclosure. Members have berated CEOs for their business practices and pushed for caps on executive pay. They have also pushed GM and Chrysler to reverse core decisions designed to cut costs, such as closing facilities and shuttering dealerships.

Give 'em an inch... Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg was no fan of the $58 billion federal rescue of General Motors Co., saying he worried taxpayer money would be wasted and the restructuring process would be vulnerable to "political pressure." Now the lawmaker says it's his "patriotic duty" to wade into GM's affairs. And he's a Republican. My problems are rarely ever with the nature of the Democrats' Hype du Jour, they generally have to do with the doomsday caterwauling and that every solution ends with the heavy hand of the federal government shoving its fingers in places I don't want...

Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg was no fan of the $58 billion federal rescue of General Motors Co., saying he worried taxpayer money would be wasted and the restructuring process would be vulnerable to "political pressure." Now the lawmaker says it's his "patriotic duty" to wade into GM's affairs. Along with Montana's two Democratic senators, the Republican congressman is battling to get GM to reinstate a contract with a Montana palladium mine nullified in bankruptcy court. "The simple fact is, when GM took federal dollars, they lost some of their autonomy," Mr. Rehberg says.

China to launch case against U.S. Big Three automakers Doug Palmer Thu, Oct 29 08:37 AM China has told the United States it is launching a trade investigation that could lead to new import duties on autos and sports utility vehicles made by Chrysler, Ford and General Motors, a U.S. industry official said on Wednesday. The action comes as U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack are in China for high-level talks aimed at resolving trade irritants between the two countries. President Barack Obama, who will visit China in mid-November, angered Beijing last...

In a stark reminder of how some battered financial firms remain dependent on government lifelines, GMAC Financial Services Inc. and the Treasury Department are in advanced talks to prop up the lender with its third helping of taxpayer money, people familiar with the matter said.

“Any honest reading of history suggests that the federal government has quite an impressive record of rescuing institutions considered too big to fail,” suggests an article in the March/April 2009 issue of Washington Monthly. The first two examples cited by author Phillip Longman are Lockheed and Chrysler, which both received emergency loans from the government in 1971 and 1980, respectively. Both companies paid back their loans, with interest, and the government made no attempt to take a controlling interest in the institutions. In one of the largest industrial bailouts in recent history, however, the federal government took over the failing...

General Motors made a stir earlier this year when it announced that the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid would get the equivalent of an eye-popping 230 mpg in city driving. That figure was reached using a rather complicated calculation that takes into account the car's ability to travel 40 miles in all-electric mode, using no fuel at all. One of the mysteries of the Volt has been what kind of mileage it will get after those 40 miles, when the onboard internal combustion engine kicks in to provide electricity for the electric motor, allowing it to travel up to 300 miles...

Audio From Glenn Beck's Radio Program (Aired LIVE 10.22.09)- Did you know OnStar has the ability to shut off your engine, deflate your tires and listen to what you are saying inside your car?? It's true. They never used to use this technology, though it has been available- but now that the government is running GM, apparently they have decided to go ahead with it..Did we miss that press release? At the very least, it should concern you..with this kind of technology in the wrong hands.. Part 1-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDoDwEPKYMA Part 2-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhXEzJHWF1c

Rattner defends rescue of automakers, says some money is gone But ex-official believes most of GM investment can be recouped By Peter Whoriskey Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, October 22, 2009 The U.S. government's stake in General Motors is currently worth about $25 billion, or about half the amount it poured into the ailing automaker, the former chief of the Obama administration's task force on the auto industry said Wednesday. But in his most extensive remarks since leaving the post in July, Steven Rattner defended the Obama administration's decision to rescue U.S. automakers. Rattner said there's "a good chance" the...

<p>When two Visalia, Calif., police officers swung their cruisers behind a sport utility vehicle that had been carjacked at gunpoint early Sunday, they prepared for a dangerous high-speed chase.</p> <p>The 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe roared away with officers in pursuit, but shortly after the suspect made a right turn, operators at General Motors Co.'s OnStar service sent a command that electronically disabled the gas pedal and the SUV gradually came to a halt.</p>

Well GM and Chrysler begged to be bailed out...... I really don’t like this guy. I didn’t like him when he was appointed and I like him less now. But … GM and Chrysler begged for the money, they got it, and now … well … The Obama administration will soon order the nation’s biggest bailed-out companies to drastically cut pay packages for their top executives, according to several reports published Wednesday.

Shockingly poor financial management at General Motors and Chrysler weakened their case for a federal bailout, but officials feared letting them collapse, the former head of a government auto task force said Wednesday. In a first-person account posted on Fortune magazine's Web site and in a Brookings Institution speech, Steven Rattner said he was alarmed by the "stunningly poor management" at the Detroit companies and said GM had "perhaps the weakest finance operation any of us had ever seen in a major company." GM's board of directors was "utterly docile in the face of mounting evidence of a looming disaster"...

Since GM's 60-day money-back return policy started, there've been around 150,000 retail sales and only one confirmed return. A manual transmission Corvette was returned after the driver tired of rowing gears. What'd he get instead? An automatic model.

[Full title was edited to comply with space requirements, here's unedited version:] "Well-Kept Media Secret: UAW Conceded No Base Pay, Health, or Pension Benefits in GM, Chrysler Bankruptcy Run-ups" A New York Times article by Nick Bunkley on Friday targeted for print on Saturday about the status of contract talks between Ford Motor Company and the United Auto Workers piqued my interest in a previously neglected but important matter. Ford and the UAW are apparently close to an agreement. In describing what Ford workers are being asked to give up, Bunkley wrote the following (bolds are mine throughout this post):...

Until last week I had been one of General Motors' most reliable customers for more than 15 years. But my relationship with GM ended the very day the company announced that it was closing its Saturn operation

Reviewing September's detailed sales results in the car business carried at the Wall Street Journal, three things stick out immediately: The awful performance at General Motors -- down 45% from September 2008. Chrysler's even worse performance -- down "only" 42% from September 2008, but a mind-boggling 61% from September 2007 (62,197 in 2009, 156,799 in 2007) Ford's tiny decline of only 6% from a year ago, despite the end of the Cash For Clunkers program in August. No other major maker had a year-over-year September decline that was even half of that seen at GM or Chrysler. Yet the...

U.S. auto sales tumbled by 23 percent in September as showrooms emptied after the government-funded boom from the "cash for clunkers" program, with General Motors Co and Chrysler hardest-hit. Sales for General Motors Co and Chrysler -- the two U.S. automakers struggling to regain momentum after emerging from bankruptcy -- dropped by 45 percent and 42 percent, respectively. Ford -- the only U.S. automaker to have avoided bankruptcy -- managed to hold its sales decline to 5 percent from a year earlier despite low inventories and reduced incentives for car shoppers. Automakers had braced for a sharp pullback in September...

Some significant items worth sharing in the automotive field today: Roger Penske has backed out of a deal to buy Saturn from GM at the last moment. Penske was unable to finalize a deal with Renault to sell vehicles produced at Renault factories in the coming years (GM had agreed to keep producing Saturns for Penske for the first few years). GM had said the Penske deal would save 13000 jobs. There is no indication of a backup plan now for Saturn, it sounds like it will be dead in about a year. In other news, the head of the...

General Motors said Tuesday it would wind down its Saturn brand after talks broke off with Penske Automotive Group on a bid for the nameplate. GM said in a statement that Penske "has decided to terminate discussions" to acquire Saturn "because of the inability to source new products beyond what it had asked GM to build on contract." "This is very disappointing news and comes after months of hard work by hundreds of dedicated employees and Saturn retailers who tried to make the new Saturn a reality," the US automaker said.

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. (WXYZ) - The Penske Automotive Group has announced that it has terminated talks with GM on acquiring the Saturn brand. Penske says negotiations with GM regarding the future supply of vehicles caused the breakdown in talks. G In a statement issued by General Motors, the company is very disappointed about Penske's decision. This will ultimately be the end for the Saturn brand as GM prepares to wind down production and dealership network. STATEMENT FROM GENERAL MOTORS: Today we learned that Penske Automotive Group (PAG) has decided to terminate discussions with General Motors to acquire Saturn. This is...

Governments and schools across Michigan are bracing for the possible loss of millions of dollars in tax revenue as General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC argue that they should pay less in property taxes... More at link.

The president was in Pittsburgh, Pa. speaking to a group from the AFL-CIO when he defended his decision to bail out the automakers like this. Kicking off a day of outreach to blue-collar America, President Barack Obama defended his bailout of the auto industry, saying "the success of our economy depended on it." "Our belief was that if GM retooled and reinvented itself for the 21st century, it would be good for American workers, good for American manufacturing, and good for America's economy," Obama said. "I'm pleased to report that's exactly what's begun to happen at this plant and at...

Enough people have compared the ‘new GM ads’ to 1980s Chrysler ads that GM had to issue a statement saying they have nothing in common. The General Motors marketing chief Bob Lutz said, GM Chairman Ed Whitacre “is the perfect choice to help re-introduce a damaged brand to a country of skeptical consumers.” “What we were looking for was a highly credible spokesperson who would be a new fresh face,” Lutz said, noting that Whitacre “is the new guy in town. He's tall, good looking, has impeccable white hair and has this nice soft Texas drawl and limps a little...

Is a three-wheeled vehicle an "automobile?" That question is at the center of a vigorous lobbying effort in Washington, that would help little car makers like Aptera qualify for a slice of the $25 billion loan program administered by the Department of Energy. Watch video: http://www.cardealerreviews.org/?p=118420

....officials at the GM Lordstown complex have been getting the facility ready for President Barack Obama's visit, which is expected to take place around 10:30am Tuesday. The event is by invitation only. About 700 people, including GM workers, Governor Ted Strickland, and other local officials, are expected to attend.

* GM offers a 60-day money back guarantee—if your car is under 4,000 miles and be current on payment * Government approved chairman Edward E. Whitacre Jr. puts GM’s future on the line * Flashback: Edward E. Whitacre has no experience in the automotive industry Vote in poll: http://www.cardealerreviews.org/?p=118409

General Motors Co. will restore salaried employee pay cuts the company made earlier this year... Workers received an e-mail from GM explaining the situation, thanking them for their sacrifice and that the reinvention of the company is just beginning. The cuts, made earlier this year, that have been restored: Executive level: 10% Manager pay: 7% Other salaries: 5%

General Motors Co. Chairman Edward Whitacre Jr. will be the pitchman who starts the automaker's new advertising campaign this weekend with television spots urging people to try GM's new vehicles, a person briefed on the campaign said Wednesday.

A Congressional oversight panel warns taxpayers are facing huge losses on the government’s $81 billion auto industry bailout. Elizabeth Warren, the panel’s chair, discusses the findings. * The report said that a $5.4 billion portion of the $10.5 billion owed by Chrysler is “highly unlikely” to be repaid. * Full recovery of the $50 billion sunk into GM would require the company’s stock to reach unprecedented heights. * The report also recommended that the Treasury Department provide a legal analysis justifying the use of financial rescue funds for the automakers. * In all, the government has invested $74 billion in...

Taxpayers face losses on a significant portion of the $81 billion in government aid provided to the auto industry, an oversight panel said in a report to be released Wednesday. The Congressional Oversight Panel did not provide an estimate of the projected loss in its latest monthly report on the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. But it said most of the $23 billion initially provided to General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC late last year is unlikely to be repaid. "I think they drove a very hard bargain," said Elizabeth Warren, the panel's chairwoman and a law professor at...

General Motors was not so long ago the largest motor company in the world, who would have thought one day would be taken over by the miniature Japanese autos. This documentary struggles to answer this very question.

General Motors Corp. is dropping the franchises of 70 percent of Cadillac dealerships nationwide and southeast Wisconsin is no exception, leaving only two area dealerships confirmed as continuing beyond 2010 — Metropolitan in West Allis and Crest in Brookfield. Metropolitan Cadillac, in fact, is running commercials urging customers whose dealers are closing to switch to its dealership. “My understanding is that there are a lot of Cadillac stores closing,” said Metropolitan president Max Stephenson. “The only two that are staying open are Metropolitan and Crest.” General Motors will not disclose the identities of dealerships that are closing. Only one area...

A few weeks ago, Government Motors dropped a public relations bomb when new chief Fritz Henderson announced that the forthcoming Chevy Volt would get an astonishing 230 miles per gallon (that's 98 kilometers per liter, for our metric-system friends). We'll stop short of calling it a fabrication and instead chalk it up to a classic apples-to-oranges comparison. After all, the Volt will be powered more by coal than by oil. United States EPA mileage guidelines are based on a bunch of hypothetical “typical” driving patterns. And the makers of conventional and plug-in hybrid cars are lobbying hard to change those...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has run into problems with her attempt to save the troubled German carmaker Opel: The US government doesn't want a consortium featuring Russian investors to take over the GM subsidiary. Thousands of German jobs are hanging in the balance as talks drag on. snip

"General Motors has quit working with a partnership that collects toxic parts from scrapped cars, jeopardising an effort to prevent mercury pollution just as hundreds of thousands of clunkers are headed to recyclers. Participants in the environmental programme told The Associated Press the timing of GM's departure could hurt their work. The government's "cash-for-clunkers" programme will lead to trade-in and recycling of an estimated 750 000 vehicles, some of which contain mercury switches. GM says it's a new company, formed with substantial government aid in the wake of bankruptcy protection, and is not a member of the partnership because it...

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - General Motors said on Sunday it has agreed to set up a light commercial vehicle production venture with major Chinese automaker FAW Group, with total investment of 2 billion yuan ($293 million).

When Han Yanmin replaced his motorcycle with a low-cost minivan, he rejected Chinese carmakers and opted for General Motors. "GM technology makes it very reliable," Mr Han, a 32-year-old Beijing deliveryman, said while waiting to unload his nine-month-old Wuling Sunshine at a vegetable market. "All the folks in my village have bought Wulings." Detroit-based GM, majority-owned by the United States government after emerging from bankruptcy, has boosted vehicle sales on the mainland 43 per cent this year, helped by state subsidies and prices starting at 25,800 yuan (HK$29,278). That is less than 20 per cent the cost of a Chevrolet...

Brent Dewar, Chevrolet vice president, told reporters the company expects "to see a modest recovery in 2010 and a better recovery in 2011." The recovery is based on that projection that smaller cars will surge to overtake trucks and SUVs as GM's best sellers. That means the remaining GM dealers will have to get used to promoting and selling smaller cars if they want to survive. Last week GM decided to ax a new Buick compact SUV—just days after it was deemed essential to the success of the brand. So it comes as no surprise that many GM dealers, who...

General Motors has signed up to a 2bn yuan ($293m; £180m) joint venture with the Chinese state-owned carmaker FAW to make light trucks and vans. The vehicles will initially be sold in China under the FAW brand, but could in future be exported under the GM brand. They will be produced at existing FAW facilities in the cities of Changchun and Harbin. GM sold 818,442 vehicles in China in the first six months of 2009, compared with 1,094,561 in the whole of 2008. Demand was particularly strong for its minivans and other small vehicles. "For us in China, this...

GM killed the beautiful electric street cars! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_NcwTbpIDQ You see them all over Europe; but who killed all the electric street cars in America? Answer: GM – The same people you bailed out this year with billions upon billions of free tax payer money! Criminal conspiracy chargers were pressed resulting in a fine of one dollar. Meanwhile, places that lost their street cars like LA, will need 150 billion to replace just a small portion of the electric street car system! How beautiful the world would be if the USA wasn’t run by elites who legally bribe their politicians. I...

All the analysts warned GM about emphasizing GM branding before creating and marketing great products. Turns out Obama’s first big GM marketing push with eBay is an epic failure. The pilot GM eBay program, currently being tested at 225 California dealerships, has not generated substantial sales to the disappointment of GM executives. GM dealers have posted 16,000 new vehicle listings, but sold only 45 vehicles through the ‘click & drive’ promotion. And while the first four listings are free, eBay charges $20.00 per vehicle for an eBay motors insertion fee–or in GM’s case, $360,000.00–which does not include the successful listing...

(8/27/2009) Toytoa announced today it will end production at Fremont, California’s New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., better known as NUMMI, in March 2010. Before today’s announcement, California lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have appealed to Toyota to save Nummi and its 4,600 jobs, a majority of which are represented by the United Auto Workers union. The NUMMI plant, established in 1984, employs 4,600 workers.

Chevrolet announced the 'Cruze' will be coming in 2010. GM claims the 'Cruze' will ‘redefine’ the four-door coupe. However, we think it looks too much like the Honda Civic coupe sedan. Judge for yourself...

GM has decided to remove the ‘Mark of Excellence’ decal from all their cars, starting with the new Chevy Equinox. Obviously people don’t want big government branded on their cars — and that’s the primary reason GM is making the change. If you own a car with a GM logo, and you want it off, you can easily remove the decal in three easy steps. How to Remove the GM 'Mark of Excellence' Badge from a GM Car in 3 Steps

Title only. No links allowed to Bloomberg. Here is the url: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=akQaZGWodMhY

This is a list of 20 quotes from people that dare to challenge that assumption that the Cash for Clunkers program is a success — by pointing out he obvious flaws few talk about. View the list of top 20 quotes: http://www.cardealerreviews.org/?p=116708

All the analysts warned GM about emphasizing the 'GM' branding before creating and marketing great products. Turns out Obama's first big GM marketing push with eBay is an epic failure. The pilot GM eBay program, currently being tested at 225 California dealerships, has not generated substantial sales to the disappointment of GM executives....