Big Three

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Strike a 'Victory for Autoworkers,' Not Necessarily for Consumers

Car prices could jump more than $1K to pay for new labor costs, one auto expert says

(Newser) - General Motors, the final holdout in the United Auto Workers strike, finally caved this week, reaching a tentative agreement with workers that would bring to an end six weeks of strikes that targeted GM, Ford, and Stellantis—the so-called Big Three of Detroit. Details for all of the automakers' agreements...

Romney's Auto Bailout Stand Haunts Him in Michigan

Chrysler, General Motors should never have been rescued, Mitt argued

(Newser) - Mitt Romney's opposition to the Detroit bailout plan may come back to haunt him in the Michigan primary , the New York Times reports. Not only did Bain Capital, the equity firm he founded, refuse to pump money into a flailing General Motors—Romney himself wrote an op-ed for the...

New US Fuel Standards: 54.5 MPG by 2025

Obama hails new goal with automakers

(Newser) - Announcing new fuel-efficiency standards, President Obama hailed his administration’s deal with automakers as “the single most important step we’ve ever taken as a nation to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.” With mileage standards almost doubling, Americans will save some $8,000 per vehicle on fuel,...

Chrysler Turns 1st Profit Since Bankruptcy

Revenue climbs 35% as Big Three return to profitablility

(Newser) - Good news for Detroit: The Big Three automakers are all profitable once again. Chrysler has reported its first net profit since leaving bankruptcy nearly two years ago, with a net income of $116 million in the first quarter. The firm saw revenue jump 35% to $13.1 billion compared to...

Ford to Add 7K US Jobs Over Next 2 Years

Company expands as demand rises

(Newser) - Ford will add more than 7,000 jobs at US factories over the next two years, the Detroit News reports. The auto giant expects to add 4,000 factory jobs in 2011 and another 2,500 in 2012, along with about 750 coordinating positions, as demand continues to grow for...

US Vehicles Edge Out Imports in Quality

Ford highest-ranked carmaker overall, Toyota falls

(Newser) - American automakers scored higher marks on quality than their foreign rivals for the first time since the JD Power survey began in 1986, the Detroit Free Press reports. A dozen Ford models ranked in the top three in their segments, making it the highest-ranked automaker overall. Ford's namesake brand ranked...

GM to Restore About 600 Dealerships

Half of those that appealed will be allowed to stay open

(Newser) - About 600 GM dealerships are getting a second life. Of the 1,160 dealers who appealed orders to shut down as part of bankruptcy proceedings, approximately half will be allowed to stay open. But one dealer tells the Detroit News that it's no cause for celebration until the conditions are...

Ford Offers Buyouts to All 41K Hourly Workers

Low response expected for 2nd buyout offer of year

(Newser) - All 41,000 hourly union workers at Ford plants have been offered buyout or retirement deals as the company seeks to slash its workforce. Ford is in better shape than GM or Chrysler, but still has more workers than it needs, according to a company spokesman. The company failed to...

Saturn: GM's Biggest Mistake
 Saturn: GM's Biggest Mistake  
ANALYSIS
Oct 2, 2009 5:39 PM CDT

Saturn: GM's Biggest Mistake

Brand was an unsustainable distraction from the start

(Newser) - As General Motors’ Saturn experiment ends with a whimper, it’s important to understand that the brand was a failure from the start. Some obituaries blame GM for not providing a fuller roster of vehicles to build customer loyalty—but if anything, the automaker gave Saturn too much, writes Mark...

Recession Crushes White-Collar Michigan

Layoffs, property price plunge leaves middle-aged workers in limbo

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of middle-aged white-collar workers have been left jobless and stranded in Michigan by the recession, the Wall Street Journal reports. Auto industry veterans laid off by the Big Three are finding themselves competing against against younger people for a smattering of job openings. With property prices down...

GM to Sell Opel to Canada's Magna

Detroit firm also recommends Vauxhall go to Magna

(Newser) - After painfully drawn-out negotiations, General Motors’ board has agreed to sell its Opel unit to Canadian firm Magna International, maintaining a tie that will keep Opel a "a fully integrated part of GM's global product development organization," the company said. The German government, which earlier this year loaned...

'Cash For Clunkers' Safe: White House

(Newser) - The rumors of the “cash for clunkers” deal’s demise have been greatly exaggerated, the White House said today, promising that the trade-in program will continue even after consumers have used up its allotted $1 billion. “If you were planning on going to buy a car this weekend...

Resurgent Ford Has High Hopes for Taurus

Automaker's financial independence has improved its image with consumers

(Newser) - Ford is hoping to use the imminent launch of the 2010 Taurus to cement its newly dominant position among Detroit’s Big Three, MSNBC reports. Ford’s position as the only major US automaker not receiving government aid has been translating into small but significant gains in market share as...

Court Clears Path to 'New' GM

Court ordered stay on asset sale expires

(Newser) - General Motors is set to complete its bankruptcy reorganization, the Detroit Free Press reports. The sale of certain GM divisions to the “new” GM—largely owned by the US Treasury—is expected to happen tomorrow, at the expiration of a holding period for opponents of the deal to make...

China Won't Allow Hummer Sale: Report

Country KOs GM deal with manufacturer over environmental worries

(Newser) - Beijing will halt GM’s sale of the Hummer brand to a Chinese machinery firm over pollution concerns, according to Chinese state radio. The purchase would run counter to the government’s goal of reducing pollution caused by manufacturing, the BBC reports. The Chinese firm shrugged off the report. “...

Done Deal: Fiat Buys Chrysler Assets

Administration triumphs as bankruptcy effectively ends

(Newser) - Chrysler finalized its sale of assets to Fiat with a government wire transfer this morning that gave Chrysler $6.6 billion in funds to exit bankruptcy, the New York Times reports. The sale is good news for the Obama administration, which sought an “efficient” restructuring for Chrysler. It may...

Racing Legend Penske Will Buy Saturn From GM

(Newser) - Roger Penske, the racecar driver turned business tycoon, will buy the Saturn brand and dealer network from GM. The deal will save 350-plus dealerships and some 13,000 jobs if it goes through, the bankrupt parent company said in confirming the tentative agreement. The price is between $100 million and...

GM Fleshes Out Plans to Close, Idle Plants

(Newser) - In the wake of this morning's bankruptcy filing, GM will permanently close nine more plants and idle three others to trim production and labor costs, the AP reports. Assembly plants in Pontiac, Mich., and Wilmington, Del., will close this year; plants in Spring Hill, Tenn., and Orion, Mich., will shut...

Big Three See Bumpy Road With 20-Somethings

Demographic key to rebuilding for US automakers

(Newser) - Detroit automakers face a hard road when it comes to Generation Y—consumers aged 22-32 whose business is crucial to securing the firms' futures, BusinessWeek reports. Their boomer parents broke from tradition by shifting to Japanese cars, and Gen Y is following in those footsteps. Detroit “simply must do...

UAW Overwhelmingly Backs GM Concessions
 UAW Overwhelmingly 
 Backs GM Concessions 
UPDATED
May 29, 2009 12:56 PM CDT

UAW Overwhelmingly Backs GM Concessions

(Newser) - United Auto Workers members have ratified a package of concessions designed to reduce General Motors' labor costs. Union president Ron Gettelfinger said today 74% of GM's production and skilled-trade workers voted in favor. The vote comes before the company's expected Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing Monday. Bankruptcy experts say having...

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