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Washington’s $49.5 billion bailout of General Motors saved at least 1.2 million jobs, protected hundreds of thousands of pensions and earned about $40 billion in tax collections, turning what some have dubbed a poor investment into a whopping bang for Uncle Sam, according to a new report. The bottom line, according to the Center for Automotive Research study heralded by GM: When the full picture of what was at stake is considered, including the potential for millions to be put out of work, the government actually made out big time. And when bailed-out Chrysler is included, the study found that...

The U.S. government ended up losing $10.5 billion US on its bailout of General Motors, but still says the alternative would have been much worse. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew announced Monday that the government sold its remaining shares in the Detroit automaker. The government received 912 million GM shares, or a 60.8 per cent stake in the automaker, in exchange for a $49.5 billion bailout during the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009. It recovered $39 billion of the money, meaning taxpayers came up more than $10 billion short.

Couldn't we just as easily say "GM has now repaid every taxpayer dollar the previous Administration committed to its rescue, plus billions invested by my Administration?" Via WhiteHouse.gov: When I took office, the American auto industry – the heartbeat of American manufacturing – was on the verge of collapse.  Two of the Big Three – GM and Chrysler – were on the brink of failure, threatening to take suppliers, distributors and entire communities down with them.  In the midst of what was already the worst recession since the Great Depression, another one million Americans were in danger of losing their...

Thats a statement, not a question.

One of the major architects of the General Motors bankruptcy process, Harry Wilson, recently gave a very optimistic outlook for GM future share price. Mr. Wilson was a member of President Obama's Auto Task Force, and was an instrumental player in seeing that UAW interests were put ahead of other creditors, like old GM bondholders. Automotive News now reports that Mr. Wilson feels that GM may be a target for activists because of their "huge" cash hoard. According to the piece: "Any company that isn't efficient about capital allocation is a target for activists," said Wilson, who is now a...

Federal Meddling: Remember the promise that taxpayers would get back every dollar taken from them and dumped into the General Motors bailout? The promise is coming up about $10 billion short. All told, GM ended up with some $50 billion in direct cash, loans and bankruptcy aid. The bailout began with $13.4 billion from President Bush's Troubled Asset Relief Program and was topped off with another $30.1 billion in May 2009. The Obama administration provided a full $36 billion of the total. The beleaguered American taxpayer was supposed to be paid back in full, but that won't be happening. Last...

General Motors Corp. (GM) is recalling 18,941 Chevy Camaros (model years 2013 and 2014) for violating Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208—Occupant Crash Protection. Defective seat belts? Air bag malfunction? Brake failure? Nope. GM is recalling 18,941 Chevy Camaros because the air bag warning label on the sun visor may peel.

It appears the time has finally come for the Obama Administration to end taxpayers' forced investment in General Motors. Reports continue to roll in that Treasury is expected to sell its remaining stake by year-end . Of course, the news will be trumpeted as a great success by those responsible for the heist that cost taxpayers (along with creditors and shareholders of old GM) billions of dollars. The final figures confirming how taxpayers fared will have to wait for the closing tally, but the estimated loss to those who footed the GM bailout bill is in the $10 billion...

I have to hand it to General Motors and those Chevy Volt supporters who continue to come up with creative ways to espouse the virtues of the slow selling and heavily subsidized vehicle. They just won't give up. The latest figures being presented in political fashion utilize large numbers that, on the surface, appear impressive. When analyzed, the figures give more insight into just how much taxpayer money is being wasted on green subsidies, particularly on electric vehicles (EVs). Sound the trumpets! According to Green Car Reports, the Chevy Volt has saved 17 million gallons of gas to date. Now...

The U.S. Treasury Department said it expected to sell its remaining shares of General Motors by the end of the year, a plan that may leave taxpayers with a shortfall of about $10 billion on the automaker’s 2009 bailout. It must be nice to be bailed out by Uncle Sam. Most companies go through the bankruptcy process without the Federal government interfering with the proceedings. But what about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the beleaguered mortgage giants held in conservatorship by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)? More to the point, why didn’t the failed giants go into bankruptcy instead?...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department said it expected to sell its remaining shares of General Motors Co by the end of the year, a plan that may leave taxpayers with a shortfall of about $10 billion on the automaker's 2009 bailout. Treasury on Thursday said it had completed the sale of 70.2 million shares of GM stock and to date had recouped $38.4 billion from the $49.5 billion taxpayer-funded rescue of the Detroit company. At current prices, Treasury would recoup another $1.2 billion from its remaining stake, bringing its total recovery to $39.6 billion. "Our goal was never...

General Motors is recalling nearly 60,000 Chevy Malibu midsize cars to fix window defrosters that may not work and power seat wiring that can catch fire. … GM dealers will reprogram the computer at no cost to customers. The company says it doesn’t know of any crashes or injuries from the problem. …

Farmers can now produce more crops in an environmentally sustainable way at a lower cost thanks to the efforts of hundreds of scientists over the past half-century. Seeds are developed in a laboratory and then field tested to enhance nutritional value or resistance to drought, disease and herbicides. Genetically modified crops are now planted on nearly a quarter of the world's farm land by some 17.3 million farmers. More than 90% of those farmers are smallholders who harvest a few acres in developing countries. Society, the economy and the environment have benefited enormously from GM crops. India has flipped from...

General Motors had another disappointing month of sales for its much-hyped green wonder-car in October. Sales for the Chevy Volt plunged over 31 percent from last year, down to 2,022 units for the month. To put that number in perspective, Toyota sells that many Toyota Camrys in about two days. Or, GM is selling less than one Volt per Chevy dealership per month. Despite the dismal sales figures, the loss to taxpayers for federal tax credits of $7,500 per vehicle that go to the wealthy buyers of Volts tallies out to $15,165,000 in October. If GM had come anywhere close...

The two-week partial shutdown of the U.S. government, affecting 800,000 federal employees, has experts uncertain about how automotive sales will be affected. Ford, GM and Ram all seem to be expecting strong sales numbers for October, especially in the booming pickup truck segment, but none seem certain how the shutdown could impact consumers' future big-ticket spending decisions. That's because the shutdown increased consumer anxiety about the overall U.S. economy, according to a story by Consumer Affairs Editor Kelsey Mays at Cars.com, and consumer confidence has not increased much since the shutdown ceased. Apparently there's no shortage of opinions about how...

President Obama loves taking credit for saving the American auto industry and this week a federal audit reveals that the rescue effort has fleeced U.S. taxpayers out of an astounding $9.7 billion. While this may seem inconceivable to most, the numbers don’t lie. The United States Treasury has recorded a $9.7 billion loss on its $49.5 billion bailout of General Motors, according to a report released this week by the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Remember the $700 billion boondoggle created to help stabilize the nation’s financial system during the 2008 crisis by purchasing “toxic...

The past month has brought much confusion and concern for General Motors' shareholders regarding the most important and profitable segment of sales for the company. As the company prepares to report earnings for the third quarter this week, media reports are still unclear on just what is going on with GM's new truck lineup; specifically pertaining to the reasons behind the disappointing sales figures that were reported for the month of September when Ford's truck offerings left them in the dust. While GM's Obama-appointed management spun the story ( claiming supply could not keep up with demand ) to some...

When General Motors shut down Pontiac, it left a lot of enthusiasts wondering why. It was primed with a lineup of powerful, rear-wheel drive models, and seemed like it had a bright future ahead of it. It turns out that GM killed it on government orders, according to former GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz.

After its shock reveal at the New York auto show, the 2014 Chevy Camaro Z/28 stands as one of the most anticipated machines of the year. GM promised new heights of performance, and an unrelenting dedication to make the car worthy of its legendary name, and challenge some of the world's best. We got the chance to take a Z/28 deep dive at GM's Milford Proving Grounds, and ride shotgun in one of its development mules on the venue's test track. Is it everything that was promised?

It looks like General Motors is going through an identity crisis as its marketing strategy has flip-flopped by changing its targeted audience. The new General Motors' truck ad, "Strong," targets conservatives by honoring a heroic and manly GM truck buyer with lyrics that describe him as a "love one woman for all his life" type of guy who arrived at work on time for twenty straight years. The rugged, heterosexual identity of today's GM differs greatly from last year's politically correct version when the company won praise for running a "gay" Chevy Volt ad and for flying rainbow banners to...