General Motors

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GM Begins Hummer Shutdown
 GM Begins Hummer Shutdown 

GM Begins Hummer Shutdown

Sale of gas-guzzling brand falls through

(Newser) - The once-mighty Hummer is going away for good. GM has begun winding down the brand after a sale to a Chinese company fell through. It's the second brand, along with Saturn, that GM has failed to sell as part of its restructuring. Only about 2,500 Hummers remain in stock,...

GM's $5K Minivan Is a Smash in China

...but with the power of a 'pumpkin on wheels,' it's likely staying there

(Newser) - General Motors has a major overseas hit in its Wuling Sunshine, a $5,000 minivan that gets more than 40 miles to the gallon. It sold 590,000 of them in China last year, but don't be too quick to complain that its foreign-only status is totally unfair: The Sunshine's...

Getting Too Big, Too Fast Was Toyota's Downfall

Company broke its own rules in the race to No. 1

(Newser) - Execs at rival firms used to puzzle over how Toyota could possibly expand so fast while maintaining quality. As the recall crisis continues growing, they know now it couldn't, writes Paul Ingrassia. Toyota sensed weakness among US automakers and opportunity in emerging markets over the last decade and badly overstretched...

GM Strikes $400M Deal to Sell Saab
GM Strikes $400M Deal
to Sell Saab 

GM Strikes $400M Deal to Sell Saab

Dutch luxury car maker Spyker snaps up dying brand

(Newser) - GM has reached a deal to sell its otherwise doomed Saab brand to Dutch luxury car maker Spyker Cars NV for $74 million in cash and $326 million in preferred stock. The deal is dependent on Sweden agreeing to guarantee a $563 million European Investment Bank loan to the Swedish...

GM Plans to Produce Electric Motors

Department of Energy grant will create new line at Maryland plant

(Newser) - General Motors is planning to invest $246 million—$105 million of which will come from a Department of Energy grant—in a new electric motor production line. The project is expected to create roughly 200 jobs, and represents a big bet on the future of electric cars. GM officials likened...

Obama Must Avenge Conan, Fire NBC's CEO


 Obama Must 
 Avenge Conan, 
 Fire NBC's CEO 
Simon Dumenco

Obama Must Avenge Conan, Fire NBC's CEO

Treat Jeff Zucker like the head of GM, and do it now

(Newser) - If President Obama can fire GM’s CEO, why not Jeff Zucker, the bonehead who ousted Conan O’Brien? The Tonight Show fiasco was just the latest masterstroke of the “blindingly incompetent” NBC boss, but it looks as though he’s safe until Comcast finishes acquiring the floundering broadcaster,...

Whitacre to Be GM CEO

 Whitacre to Be GM CEO 
Strike the 'interim'

Whitacre to Be GM CEO

Took over as interim CEO in December from ousted Fritz Henderson

(Newser) - Ed Whitacre Jr. will be named permanent CEO of General Motors today, a source tells the AP, after serving as interim CEO since Fritz Henderson was dumped Dec. 1. At a news conference for this morning, Whitacre is expected to say he's been offered the job, after a global search...

Cadillac Pitches Hybrid as 'Personal Headquarters'
Cadillac Pitches Hybrid
as 'Personal Headquarters'
DETROIT AUTO SHOW

Cadillac Pitches Hybrid as 'Personal Headquarters'

40-mile electric range is comparable to Chevy Volt

(Newser) - Cadillac is getting into the trendy hybrid market with a new concept car, the XTS Platinum, a plug-in model expected to get about 40 miles off a single charge and hit the road in 2012. After that charge gives out, it takes about 5 hours to top off the battery...

GM Boss: We Will Be Profitable in 2010

Whitacre says Chris Liddell an obvious candidate to replace him

(Newser) - Interim GM CEO Edward Whitacre stuck his neck out yesterday, boldly predicting the company taxpayers bailed out last year would turn a profit this year for the first time since 2004. “My prediction is we will be” profitable, he told reporters. “Do we have obstacles in the way?...

Ford Sales Rise 33% as GM, Chrysler's Fall

But all three domestic automakers suffered in '09

(Newser) - Ford continued to dominate its domestic rivals in December, with the carmaker the only one of the "big three" to see sales advance. The company's US sales rose 33%, marking Ford's best month since May 2008. GM saw a 6% sales decline for December, while Chrysler's sales were down...

Pay Czar OKs Rule-Busting Pay at Bailout Firms

$500K cap lifted for top auto industry execs

(Newser) - "Pay czar" Kenneth Feinberg has made more exceptions to the $500,000 salary cap for execs at bailed-out firms. Compensation packages approved this week include a $9.5 million plan for GMAC CEO Michael Carpenter, which includes a $950,000 salary, Reuters reports. The exemptions were agreed to because...

GM to Close Down Saab




 GM to Close Down Saab   
MOTOBITUARY

GM to Close Down Saab

After another failed sale, GM will begin 'orderly wind-down,' it says

(Newser) - GM has failed in a last-chance bid to sell its Saab unit and will now settle the Swedish automaker’s debts and “wind down production and the distribution channel in an orderly manner.” A deal with Dutch sports-car maker Spyker just fell through, a month after the sale...

GM CEO Henderson Resigns
 GM CEO Henderson Resigns 

GM CEO Henderson Resigns

Move comes as sales figures show industry stabilizing

(Newser) - General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson has resigned after only 8 months in his post. He will be replaced on an interim basis by board chairman Ed Whitacre Jr. Henderson took over in March and led the company through bankruptcy proceedings and helped it toward its goal of scaling down to...

Saab Veering Toward Junkyard
 Saab Veering Toward Junkyard 

Saab Veering Toward Junkyard

GM's failed bid to unload Swedish automaker may spell its doom

(Newser) - GM’s bid to sell its Saab unit to a small Swedish automaker has fallen through after Koenigsegg pulled out yesterday, citing costly delays in the closing process. Saab’s managing director tells the Wall Street Journal it’s “premature” to write the employer of 4,000 off, but...

46 Bailed-Out Firms Behind on Repaying US

CIT bankruptcy will cost taxpayers $2.3B

(Newser) - A whopping 46 of the banks the government bailed out last year are behind on their payments, with some going belly-up despite the rescue. The largest so far, CIT Group, is in bankruptcy court today hoping to wipe out the $2.3 billion it owes Uncle Sam, and analysts tell...

GM to Repay Bailout Early, Posts (Smaller) $1.2B Loss

Auto giant speeds $1.2B per quarter repayment sked

(Newser) - General Motors will start repaying its $6.7 billion debt to the US and Canadian governments early, with $1.2 billion quarterly payments beginning next month, reports the Detroit News . The accelerated repayment plan is a strong indication that finances are looking up for the troubled automaker, which today posted...

Obama's Ego Needs Its Own ZIP Code
 Obama's Ego Needs 
 Its Own ZIP Code 
OPINION

Obama's Ego Needs Its Own ZIP Code

President has switched tone from 'we' to 'I'

(Newser) - The budget deficit hasn’t been the only thing ballooning since President Obama took office—the man’s ego is growing by leaps and bounds, moving Jeff Jacoby to wonder, “Was there ever a president as deeply enamored of himself as Barack Obama?” A video message for this week’...

GM Won't Sell Opel After All
 GM Won't Sell Opel After All 

GM Won't Sell Opel After All

European operations won't go to Canadian outfit

(Newser) - General Motors backed out today on a deal to sell Opel, its European arm, to a Canadian parts supplier and its Russian banking partners. The GM board’s move reflects an uptick in the auto business, the Financial Times reports, and will also be a blow to the German government,...

In Congress, 535 New GM Boardmembers

Legislators strong-arm automaker to keep dealerships, factories open

(Newser) - GM might not have realized when it took $58 billion in bailout money that it would now be beholden to members of Congress, who have been acting like 535 new board members as they angle for their constituents' (and their own) interests. Dems and Republicans alike have pressured companies to...

Pay Czar Cuts Bonuses, But Boosts Salaries

Feinberg beefs up base base to help firms retain talent

(Newser) - Base pay will increase for the majority of top execs in the finance and auto firms supervised by federal pay czar Kenneth Feinberg. Salaries are being bumped up—by hundreds of thousands of dollars in some cases—as bonuses and other perks are slashed. Despite the salary hikes, all 136...

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