FEATURED ARTICLE
Big Three to Live On: Bailout Help Likely
By Bill Visnic
It's still anybody's guess, but it appears financial assistance for the domestic automakers is on the way.
At the opening of a second exhaustive session presided by the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, the potential for the Detroit Three automakers' proposed bridge-loan package of as much as $34 billion appeared to be steering towards the much-discussed - and much-dissed by the automakers - "pre-packaged bankruptcy" option.
But as the day's testimony wore on, the case against bankruptcy gathered a palpable momentum, and it now seems likely Congress will broker some kind of immediate funding General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC say they must have to survive to see 2009.
The real question now seems to be from where, how, and how quickly the help will come. GM CEO Rick Wagoner and Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli were unabashed in reiterating their companies' need at least $4 billion each - by the end of the month.
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Scalp? Scapegoat? GM's Wagoner Remains One Vulnerable CEO
December 04, 2008
By Dale Buss
As he testifies before Congress today and tomorrow, Richard Wagoner will be doing more than attempting to seal the deal for some $12 billion in government loans and a $6-billion line of credit that he has requested to rescue his employer, General Motors.
GM's chairman and CEO also may be auditioning to keep his job.
Wagoner certainly looks to be in better shape to hold on to GM's top post this week than he did a couple of weeks ago, after his singularly uninspiring first round of bailout testimony on Capitol Hill. He has done all the right things since then, inside the company and for external audiences.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 6:02 AM under Analysis , Featured , GM , Personalities | Comments (0) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
UAW Agrees to Contract Talks, VEBA Payment Delay
December 03, 2008
By Michelle Krebs
DETROIT -- The leadership of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, meeting in an emergency session here Wednesday, said it will negotiate with General Motors, Ford and Chrysler to modify its current contract as part of the Big Three's plea to Congress for bridge loans.
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said the union leadership also agreed to delay the Detroit three's payments to the Voluntary Employee Benefit Association (VEBA), which shifts retiree health care benefits for union members from the auto companies' books to a union-administrated fund.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 9:50 AM under Chrysler , Ford , GM | Comments (1) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
Report Says GM Shopping For-Sale Assets in China; GM Denies It
December 03, 2008
By Michelle Krebs
Dongfeng Motor Group Co., China's third-largest automaker, said it had received proposals from investment banks to buy assets from General Motors as the carmaker tries to generate desperately needed cash, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday.
A spokesman for Dongfeng, which partners in China with Nissan, Honda and PSA Peugeot Citroen, said it had received e-mails and investment materials asking if the company would be interested in buying some of GM's assets. The spokesman, who wouldn't reveal the investment banks it was talking with or the assets offered for purchase, told Bloomberg it hasn't reviewed the materials and has not responded to GM.
A GM spokesman based in Shanghai denied the report, saying there were no grounds to the rumors.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:55 AM under Business , Ford , GM | Comments (0) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
Chrysler Needs $7 Billion -- Now
December 02, 2008
By Michelle Krebs
In keeping with its status as a private company, Chrysler submitted its viability plan that didn't provide nearly the detail that General Motors and Ford did in their hefty reports.
However, Chrysler's simple message came through loud and clear: the automaker is nearly broke and needs a government loan -- and needs it now. The automaker wants a $7-billion government loan by December 31. Otherwise, its liquidity could fall below the necessary levels to run the company through the first quarter.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:23 PM under Chrysler , News | Comments (0) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
GM Wants as Much as $18 Billion; Prioritizes Brands
December 02, 2008
By Bill Visnic
General Motors Corp. Tuesday released the plan submitted to Congress in application for federal bridge loans to carry the company through 2009, when it expects a host of structural improvements and general downsizing to create "a new General Motors, one that is lean, profitable, self-sustaining and fully competitive."
What GM wants: up to $18 billion -- up to $12 billion in direct federal term loans and another $6 billion committed line of credit to guarantee the company can weather an auto-sales environment even worse than GM's projected 12-million-unit sales rate for 2009.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 4:14 PM under Analysis , GM , News , Personalities | Comments (0) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
Funereal November Sales Provide More Ammo for Bailout Plea
December 02, 2008
By Dale Buss
In case members of Congress needed any more reminding why the domestic automakers are hat-in-hand before them this week, the 37 percent drop in November sales has provided them with the latest bleak snapshot of a moribund U.S. vehicle market.
As the Detroit Three were presenting their restructuring plans in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, the sales data rolling in from them and all other OEMs gave further dimension to the vast pall that has come over the nation's automotive market and quantified the paralyzing dread that is felt by American consumers.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 3:35 PM under Analysis , Chrysler , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
Turns Out, $25 Billion Is Not Enough After All
December 02, 2008
As Congressman and industry experts suspected, the $25 billion in bridge loans Detroit's three automakers requested of the federal government is not enough.
In their viability reports submitted to Congress Tuesday, the three auto companies have requested a combined $34 billion.
General Motors wants up to $12 billion in loans in various installments to help it through 2009. GM also requested a $6 billion line of credit in case the economy gets worse. Ford is asking for a line of credit of $9 billion that it may not tap into but wants as a security blanket in case the recession extends well into 2009. And Chrysler wants $7 billion -- by Dec. 31.
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 2:13 PM under Business , Chrysler , Ford , GM | Comments (2) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
U.S. Vehicle Sales Plummet More Than 30 Percent in November
December 02, 2008
With reports still rolling in, U.S. vehicle sales for November look as if they will be down about 35 percent from a year ago. The annual sales rate appears to be a weak 10.6 million vehicles.
General Motors' sales fell a hefty 41 percent. Ford said its U.S. sales fell 31 percent. Toyota reported sales down 34 percent; Honda a 32 percent decline. Chrysler saw sales plummet 47 percent. Nissan sales took nosedive at 44 percent.
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:33 AM under Business , Companies , Ford , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
Domestic Automakers Ease Off Incentives While Imports Rev Them Up in Pursuit of Market Share, Edmunds.com Reports
December 02, 2008
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Domestic automakers eased off the incentive gas in November while import automakers revved up incentives, according to Edmunds.com.
"All three domestic automakers lowered their incentive spending this month, seeking to preserve cash during these incredibly tough times," said Jesse Toprak, Edmunds.com's executive director of Industry Analysis. "Meanwhile, the imports have poured more money into incentives, attempting to seize the opportunity to gain market share. Toyota's monthly incentives spend hit a new record high in November, and the company's market share might follow suit."
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Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:00 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
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