auto industry

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Banks, Treasury Play Chicken on Chrysler Deal

Alternate headline: Banks, Treasury Play Chicken on Chrysler Deal

(Newser) - A group of big banks balked at the Treasury’s proposal that they slash 85% of Chrysler’s debt, the government’s second such request. Instead, in what the Wall Street Journal calls a “significant act of brinkmanship” as an April 30 deadline looms, the banks, including bailout recipients...

Chrysler Gets New Aid, but End May Loom

Treasury pushes automaker toward Fiat deal or liquidation

(Newser) - The Obama administration has given a further $500 million to keep Chrysler afloat, but Washington signaled yesterday it increasingly believes Chrysler will not survive as an independent company. Treasury officials met yesterday with CEO Robert Nardelli, as well as the heads of the United Auto Workers and Italian automaker Fiat....

Five '70s Cars That Plain Suck
 Five '70s Cars That Plain Suck 
OPINION
Apr 19, 2009 1:06 PM CDT

Five '70s Cars That Plain Suck

(Newser) - The 1970s was "a decade of excess mediocrity in so many quarters it's hard to catalog it all," Tony Borroz writes in Wired. But you can start with the cars. Here follow five total flops.
  • Ford Mustang Cobra II: "An over-glorified Pinto" that made a "mockery
...

Bailed-Out Banks Don't Want to Bail Out Chrysler

Lawmakers say rescued banks should cooperate in auto rescue plan

(Newser) - Auto task force Steven Rattner's request that four big banks write off their $7 billion debt to Chrysler in return for nothing met with a big no from dropped jaws, reports the Washington Post. JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs are seeking a better deal, but critics argue...

Okla. Private Equity Firm Bids for Saturn Brand

Potential suitor pledges to keep brand alive after it leaves GM

(Newser) - A private equity firm is making a bid to buy General Motors' Saturn brand, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Oklahoma company, Black Oak Partners—which says it has gone public in the hopes of stopping dealers from abandoning the brand—is the first known suitor for any of the...

Models—Human and Auto— Take Bailout Flak at Car Show

Models take the flak for GM, Chrysler missteps

(Newser) - Crowds hostile about the state of America’s auto industry have made presenting at auto shows a much trickier job than it used to be, the New York Times reports. The eye-candy models at scaled-back exhibits from General Motors and Chrysler are fielding questions during the ongoing New York event...

Feds May Trade Debt for Stake in 'New' GM

Insiders say government planning to trade some of $13.4B loan for equity

(Newser) - The Obama administration is considering trading some of GM’s $13.4 billion government debt for equity in the streamlined, post-restructuring version of the automaker, Bloomberg reports. Insiders say the move, which would be accompanied by an offer to bondholders of equity in the new entity, is part of a...

Feds Put the Squeeze on Auto Creditors

Billions of dollars in concessions sought from banks, bondholders

(Newser) - The government is pushing hard to wring billions of dollars in concessions from the creditors of General Motors and Chrysler, the Wall Street Journal reports. Insiders say Treasury has pushed GM to offer bondholders only stock in return for debt after it judged as too generous a deal involving stock,...

China, Nissan Strike Electric Car Deal

Nissan will create fleet, charging station network in Wuhan

(Newser) - China has tapped Nissan to set up an electric-car program in the city of Wuhan, relying on the automaker to set up a fleet of electric vehicles and charging stations, the Wall Street Journal reports. Beijing plans to produce 500,000 “new energy” vehicles by 2011, and recently selected...

British Execs Released After Latest French 'Bossnapping'

(Newser) - In the latest demonstration of French employees refusing to take job losses sitting down, workers at a glue factory took 3 British execs and their French manager hostage last night, and released them today, the BBC reports. The “bossnappers” demanded a renegotiation of their severance package from Scapa, which...

GM in 'Intense' Planning for Bankruptcy

Firm could be split into 'old' and 'new' companies: insiders

(Newser) - General Motors is making “intense” and “earnest” preparations for the possibility of bankruptcy, a source tells Reuters today. The firm could be divided into a “new” and “old” GM, another insider said: The new company would be home to the firm’s healthiest units and take...

Media World Braced for Loss Of GM, Chrysler Ad Buys

A collapse in Detroit could cost media players billions

(Newser) - As the situation in Detroit becomes increasingly perilous, media companies are anxiously waiting to see what happens to the vast marketing dollars—$3 billion in the US last year—General Motors and Chrysler previously poured into advertising. But while vastly decreased spending seems like a foregone conclusion, most media companies...

Obama Fakes Center, Goes Liberal
 Obama Fakes 
 Center, Goes Liberal 
OPINION
Apr 4, 2009 6:36 PM CDT

Obama Fakes Center, Goes Liberal

(Newser) - If President Obama were a quarterback, he’d be a master of the fake, Fred Barnes writes in the Weekly Standard. Using “misdirection,” he markets “his product—the liberal agenda, plus a few add-ons—in a manner that disguises what he's really up to.” While trumpeting...

'Car Bubble' Blows Up on Automakers
'Car Bubble' Blows Up on Automakers
Apr 3, 2009 10:01 AM CDT

'Car Bubble' Blows Up on Automakers

Sales were artificially high in boom years; rebound unlikely

(Newser) - The housing boom brought a car bubble along for the ride, and now that one has burst, so has the other, reports the Washington Post. Thousands of cars are sitting on lots and likely to stay there. “You had a huge number of cars being sold," says Steven...

Sinking Car Sales May Be on the Rebound

Today's figures 'as low as it's going to get': analyst

(Newser) - Figures to be released today are likely to show a third straight month of annualized new-car sales below 10 million, the Wall Street Journal reports—but there’s a chance those numbers have hit bottom. Considering the size of the American consumer market, today’s figure “is about as...

Rival Bankruptcies Spook Jealous Ford

It's kinda jealous

(Newser) - Ford Motor Co., the lone member of the “Big Three” not to accept government help, is suddenly looking across town with dread and a touch of jealousy, the Wall Street Journal reports. A bankruptcy at GM or Chrysler could wreak havoc on Ford’s supply chain, as shared suppliers...

New GM Boss: Bankruptcy 'More Probable'

Announces program to help unemployed car owners

(Newser) - In his first press conference as CEO of foundering GM, Fritz Henderson today made it clear he wasn’t afraid to talk bankruptcy, saying it was now “more probable,” and that he might even decide to declare bankruptcy before his 60 days were up. “We will do...

Ford to Make Car Payments for Buyers Who Lose Jobs

Firm will cover up to $700/month for a year

(Newser) - With auto sales battered by the recession and tight credit, Ford is offering a payment protection plan to reassure consumers delaying buying new cars because of job-loss fears, the AP reports. The automaker will cover payments of up to $700 each month for up to a year on any new...

Was Obama Tough Enough?
 Was Obama Tough Enough? 
Editorial Roundup
Mar 31, 2009 8:57 AM CDT

Was Obama Tough Enough?

(Newser) - Barack Obama gave GM and Chrysler some tough love yesterday. Too tough, or too much love? Here’s what the papers are saying:
  • Obama “delivered a believable, sharp, and necessary ultimatum,” says the Washington Post. He rightly demanded union concessions, and put bankruptcy back on the table.
  • But
...

Auto Plan Drives GOP in Different Directions

Parochial concerns results in a less-than-unified response

(Newser) - Republicans were caught off guard by Obama’s auto moves yesterday, and they responded in wildly different ways, Politico reports. Some complained the president hadn’t been hard enough on GM and Chrysler, while others groused that he’d been harder on them than he’d been on Wall Street....

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