Renault Pulls Plug on Saturn; Penske Out

by: Cordelia Lear

Wed Sep 30, 2009 at 18:02:19 PM EDT

Penske Auto, which runs a network of U.S. auto dealers, said an agreement to source cars for sale under the Saturn brand after GM ceased production had been rejected by its prospective manufacturing partner, which people familiar with the situation identified as Renault SA of France.

A General Motors spokesman indicated GM will now close their Saturn operation, but did not provide a date. The 350 Saturn dealerships that would have been saved by an agreement account for 13,000 jobs.

The Saab and Hummer lines are still for sale.  

Build and innovate

by: johncherry

Wed Jun 03, 2009 at 09:54:59 AM EDT

Michigan innovators like Billy Durant, Ransom E. Olds, Henry Ford, and Walter Chrysler  built the auto industry that put the world on wheels. Innovators like Walter P. Reuther helped the auto industry build the modern American middle class and a standard of living second to none. At the start of the Second World War, it was General Motors' president William Knudsen who stepped aside to serve his country, turning the factories of the Big Three into the Arsenal of Democracy that helped us win the war.

We know Michiganders know how to build, and we know how to innovate. It's time to do both.

Yesterday, I visited GM's Romulus Engine plant to talk to workers, plant managers, and local union leadership about the future of our auto industry. There, I saw the faces of our auto industry the national media often overlooks: the hard working men and women who have built Michigan. The Romulus plant has a reputation for quality and environmental stewardship. Last year, it was ranked in the top ten most productive engine plants in North America by the Harbour Report. Romulus workers also were honored in 2003 and 2006 as exemplary "Michigan Clean Corporate Citizens". The workers I met were proud of the job they do, and with the high quality products they turn out -- they should be!

I told Labor Secretary Solis and Dr. Ed Montgomery, White House Director of Recovery for auto communities and workers, that only protecting and increasing employment -- American employment -- will help move us out of the recession we're currently in. Fortunately, GM has a new, innovative labor agreement with the UAW to build subcompact cars here in the U.S., at an existing plant. GM has also announced it will not make cars in China available for sale in the United States. These are the right steps to take in reinventing an great American icon like General Motors, and the only way we'll turn our economy around.

For decades, innovators have called Michigan home. In times of hardship, Michiganders pull together. We innovate. We build. We look to a better, brighter future. I'm confident that despite Monday's wrenching news, we have brighter days to look forward to.  

General Motors died yesterday! What now for Flint....?

by: terrybankert

Tue Jun 02, 2009 at 06:07:15 AM EDT

Our grandparents, parents, sibling, our children and ourselves toiled in those sweat shops.

How many 4 year wonder plant managers have we suffered to listen to.

We suffered the humility of the working man catering to the tall thuggish, haircuts and suits that we allowed to parade around this town, our town.

Why, because we had to. We had to pretend they gave a hoot about us.

We had to pretend that because they fought to their GM position that magically they were intelligent about all other issues and should be listened too.

We watched the now half dead Flint Journal sell us out time and time again pandering to General Motors Corporate interest.

They did not care about us, we only cared about them for the jobs they provided.

General Motors died yesterday, it went bankrupt.

But with this bankruptcy goes the old Flint.

The bad news is with this bankruptcy goes the hopes and dreams of old Flint the security of our retirees, the economic stability of our working men and women and hopes of keeping our children in this town became harder.

The good news, we do not have to listen to these  old General Motors types  any more.

The best news is that there  are many good economic  oppotunities in Flint and Michigan. Flint has an emerging non GM business foundation, we will thrive we will revive. Join us at the Flint Revival 8/15/09.

Who should we, the new Flint, listen to....I'lll see ya August 15 2009.....  

Congressman Gary Peters on The Ed Show

by: bfealk

Wed Apr 22, 2009 at 22:28:04 PM EDT

Rick Wagoner Will Step Down

by: Cordelia Lear

Sun Mar 29, 2009 at 17:58:15 PM EDT

An administration official confirmed that Mr. Wagoner was asked to step down by the administration as a precondition for ongoing restructuring within the company.

It will be interesting to see Team Obama's plan. Stay tuned for more info.

UPDATE

The New York Times is reporting the same and has a bit more about additional assistance for GM and Chrysler.

The president's auto task force is expected to recommend more short-term assistance to the two Detroit companies, but with tight strings attached to the money and a new deadline to get concessions from union workers and creditors.

The findings from the President's Task Force are expected to be released tomorrow.

UPDATE

From Monday's WSJ

The administration's auto team announced the departure of Mr. Wagoner on Sunday. In a summary of its findings, the task force added that it doesn't believe Chrysler is viable as a stand-alone company, and suggested that the best chance for success for both GM and Chrysler "may well require utilizing the bankruptcy code in a quick and surgical way."

The move also indicates that the Treasury Department intends to wade more deeply than most observers expected into the affairs of the country's largest and oldest car company.

After over a month of analysis, the administration's auto task force determined that neither company had put forward viable plans to restructure and survive. The verdict was gloomier for Chrysler. The government said it would provide Chrysler with capital for 30 days to cut a workable arrangement with Fiat SpA, the Italian auto maker that has a tentative alliance with Chrysler.

If the two reach a definitive alliance agreement, the government would consider investing up to $6 billion more in Chrysler. If the talks fail, the company would be allowed to collapse.

I hate to say it, but Chrysler's toast. If Fiat isn't willing to guarantee any of Chrysler's debt, it's difficult to believe the Task Force would find the arrangement viable.  

GM ANNOUNCES THEY DON'T NEED $2 BILLION IN GOV'T FUNDING!

by: Brainwrap

Thu Mar 12, 2009 at 12:13:17 PM EDT

General Motors has just announced that they will no longer need the $2 billion in government funding that they had previously requested for March. The good news comes in tangent with the announcement that GM Canada has ratified a competitive agreement with the CAW.

GM states they no longer need the US funding due to an acceleration of company wide cost reductions and "pro-active deferrals of spending previously anticipated in January and February."

Republican Leadership on GM

by: Cordelia Lear

Sun Mar 08, 2009 at 17:24:41 PM EDT

General Motors should hand over the factory keys to a bankruptcy court, two top Republicans said Sunday.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said the best thing for the ailing automaker to do would be to go into Chapter 11 to reorganize some of its business agreements and come out stronger than before.

"I think the best thing that could probably happen to General Motors, in my view, is they go into Chapter 11, they reorganize, they renegotiate ... the union-management contracts and come out of it a stronger, better, leaner, more competitive automotive industry," McCain told "FOX News Sunday."

Let's face it, this is noting but a cheap attempt at union busting.  The Republicans want to pretend the UAW doesn't exist and pay everyone minimum wage. This is contempt for people who have built a middle class life --- the old fashioned way --- by working. They want the workers to bear the brunt of GM's problems.  And by doing so, they inflict a double whammy.  DNC Chair Tim Kaine made this point in the same interview:

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine said GM's failing can be attributed to the overwhelming cost of health care.

The same Republican menagerie is steadfast against addressing our nation's heath care woes. Specifically, there are over 45 million people without any sort of health insurance. In addition, corporate contributions to employee and retiree healthcare make American corporations uncompetitive in a global economy.

Dean Baker from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (and a native Michigander by the way) presents a good analysis of the situation at Talking Points Memo. He points out that GM is not responsible for everything that has brought them to the edge of bankruptcy.

Most obviously, they are not responsible for the collapse of the housing bubble and the subsequent loss of more than $15 trillion in housing and stock wealth. This falloff in wealth has sent consumption plummeting. The auto industry has been especially hard hit, with sales falling by more than 30 percent year over year in the last two months.

The Big Three are also not responsible for the broken U.S. health care system. If we paid the same amount for health care as Canada, G.M. would have accumulated an additional $22 billion in profits over the last decade. That would be the savings if we assumed that General Motor's health care expenditures were reduced by roughly 48 percent to be in line with expenses in Canada. Of course, not all the savings in this counterfactual would have gone to profits. Some of it would have gone to workers in the form of higher wages or to consumers in the form of lower car prices.

And, don't forget GM is also picking up the tab for healthcare costs for the spouses (and dependents) of both employees and retirees. That's something else automakers don't have to be concerned about as they negotiate a contract in Canada.

Baker continues with an even more powerful argument.

But the real reason that Big Three are on their deathbeds right now is the economic crisis created by the Wall Street crew and their friends in Washington. It will be tragic if the people of the Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio are made to suffer through a depression because of the failed financial dealings of the Wall Street crew.

This situation is made even worse by virtue of the fact that most of the Wall Street executives who are directly responsible for this disaster are still quite wealthy, in large part because of the generosity of Congress and the Bush administration. While they demanded that the auto manufacturers produce plans for returning to profitability in exchange for providing loans, no similar conditions were imposed on Citigroup and the rest of the Wall Street gang.

Our middle class is quickly disappearing. We're close to a country with a few "haves" and mostly "have nots."

Many of the politicians who were elected to represent us don't. Thursday's Congressional vote on H.R. 1106, the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009, is just one recent and important example. Michigan has 15 Congressmen. Seven voted no and one didn't bother to vote.  It's time for them to go.

Say GO to The Party of NO™.

Kings and Coney islands

by: terrybankert

Tue Sep 23, 2008 at 08:02:24 AM EDT

We know little of Royal bloodline and except for curiosity ,care about the same.

Business promotion we know enough about ala Billy Durant, Charles Mott a couple of Duponts and wala General Motors.

The USA leaves the public promotion to Olympic athletes and rock stars with talk show host close behind.

Welcome King Carl XVI Gustaf with all respect due the accepted representative of the sovereign nation of Sweden. But what kind of business promoter are you. Rock star or Billy Durant?

We know little of this monarch thing other than to respect the right of the Swedish people to respect a sovereign leader/figure head. Diana personalized their British monarch. What images will we have after Gustaf is personalized?

We are waiting in anticipation for an economic path be cleared so we can prosper again. Look at our past. Lumber industry, whip sockets, carriage and auto industry. The money class has made some coin of the realm from Flint MI. Our work force when engaged and represented has prospered as well as white collar workers anywhere in the world. We are waiting to prosper again as a community. King Gustaf your stop by is our future hope.

The King is 62 years of age. He is the 7th Monarch of their Bernadette Dynasty. I wonder what brutality allowed the 1st Bernadette to seize power. This is an honest curiosity. Its like how many people did Joe Kennedy have killed to acquire the wealth in prohibition that grew the closest thing we have to a political dynasty in this country the Kennedys.

We know the King lives in a castle? What kind? A block of rock on a hill with a moat, or of the grand variety. Is it bigger than the biggest house Bill Gates owns, or the biggest Kennedy house?

Why do we care what a King does? We care because we are curious, not having any formal American ones. We are intrigued by the history represented by a monarchy. We have a history of fighting a war to not have one in America. We care because the leader of any foreign power, powerful or figurehead deserves our respect.

So, why does a king come to Flint MI USA to support, at a ground breaking ceremony, the investments of a Swedish company, Swedish Biogas International (SBI).?

With respect to the King we have been run over rough shod by the remnants of the General Motors elite.

Why are you doing this King is a legitimate question.
1. Do you King gustaf have an ownership interest in (SBI).
2. Do you King Gustaf have a leadership role, executive or board of directors on any alternative energy company anywhere.
3. Is your country or (SBI) compensating you for this appearance.
4. Other than the value of having a monarch appear how will you personally and financially contribute to the development of alternative energy.
5. What does Flint Michigan have to do to be a leader in Alternative Energy and prosper once again?

I received an invitation to attend the ceremony this week, of which I am grateful. Last week I was invited By "Blogging for Michigan" to cover the event as their representative at the press conference following the event which I accepted. I do not anticipate being able to get my question in , but here is what I would ask;

What does Flint Michigan have to do to be a leader in Alternative Energy and prosper once again?

My second question would be Have you every had a Coney Island? Try Tom Z's on your way out of town.

Posted Here by
Terry Bankert
http://attorneybankert.com/

94646

Can General Motors be saved?

by: Kathy

Tue Aug 05, 2008 at 11:15:00 AM EDT

Program highlights include:

The Long Road Back - Auto industry legend Bob Lutz is the man charged with bringing quality and excitement back to GM's cars.

Red Means Go - While GM's sales are diving at home, they're thriving abroad, fueled by the coolest new car in Communist China: a Buick.

A Star is Reborn - GM hopes to make history - again. The Chevy Camaro, a classic muscle car born in the 60's, is back, and NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is the first to take the wheel.

Jobs on the Line - Warren Kennedy has worked almost every job on the GM factory floor. After taking a buyout, he looks back at a company vastly different from the one he began at 30 years ago.

Green Machine - With SUV sales tanking, GM's bid for a greener future hangs on its revolutionary electric car, the Chevy Volt. Just one problem: they still have to come up with a battery that can power the car.

CNBC will also profile GM CEO Rick Wagoner, "who has also been on the job for 31 years. Wagoner discusses why he believes he is the right executive to lead the company despite its decline in market share, its loss of billions of dollars and the stock losing more than 75% of its value."

The program is being framed as a race against time, which some analysts fear has just about run out for General Motors.

The struggling automaker, which has lost more than $51 billion over the past three years, posted a $15.5 billion quarterly loss on Friday as its North American sales fell 20 percent and plunging prices for SUVs prompted deep charges for its auto finance business.

Most analysts believe the company will have significant cash issues going forward, with some believing the automaker will have to tap external funding sources to meet its capital needs. [...]

Liquidity will remain an important concern among investors as cash flow in the second half of the year is likely to remain negative for the company, Goldman Sachs said....

Lehman said it remained more comfortable with the turnaround prospects at GM's rival Ford Motor Co.

Only time will tell if General Motors survives, but it's already too late for the thousands of workers who lost solid middle-class jobs.

For more information and video clips, click here.

Does General Motors know what they are doing?

by: terrybankert

Wed Jul 16, 2008 at 07:54:38 AM EDT

Full cited article at http://goodmorningflint.blogsp...
Flint Talk chat snippets at http://flinttalk.com/viewtopic... __________________

100TH BIRTHDAY SPENT IN AN INDUSTRIAL NURSING HOME-GM
GM, turning 100 this year, reported its largest annual loss in 2007, $38.7 billion, after a tax-accounting change, and hasn't posted a profit since 2004.[3]

WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO FIX GENERAL MOTORS
"I'm sickened by this," said John Lauve, 66, a retired GM manager from Holly, Mich., who has been an outspoken critic of the company's board of directors in recent years. "We can put a man on the moon but we can't fix GM."[2]

OBAMA RECOGNIZES THE PERIL OUR HEAVY INDUSTRIES ARE IN
Democratic Presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama said today that the job cuts at General Motors Corp. were "a sober reminder of the difficult economic times we're facing," and said the U.S. auto industry was facing a "perfect storm" of trouble.[6]

NO DIVIDEND/PROFIT TO GM OWNERS
General Motors, buffeted by a U.S. sales collapse and three years of losses, will suspend its dividend for the first time since 1922, cut the management payroll by 20 percent and sell assets to raise at least $15 billion in the next 18 months.[3]
GM did not say how many non-union jobs it would eliminate...[5]

About $10-billion of the $15-billion will be generated by the cost-cutting moves. Another $2-billion to $4-billion will come from asset sales. Tapping credit markets should add another $2-billion to $3-billion of financing.[4]

IS OUR COMPANY DYING, WHOSE COMPANY TOWN WILL WE BECOME?
It's hard to tell whether General Motors (NYSE: GM) has just stalled or is careering toward a wall.[1]

OBAMA MEETS WITH AUTO EXECUTIVE TO CREATE NEW POLICIES TO HELP THE AMERICAN AUTO INDUSTRY
Obama has reached out to auto industry executives in recent weeks, following a primary campaign where he frequently focused on the industry's opposition to tougher fuel economy rules. In his statement, Obama noted he had met with GM Chairman Rick Wagoner and Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally to talk about the industry's concerns, and said the industry's success was crucial to the U.S. economy.[6]

GENERAL MOTORS, IS BANKRUPTCY AN OPTION? THERE IS TALK.
The spending reductions accelerate Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner's efforts to conserve cash and avert bankruptcy as a slowing economy and record gasoline prices push U.S. industry sales to a 15-year low.[3]

In addition to dreadful market conditions, GM also faces collapsing investor confidence amid whispers on Wall Street of a potential Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, which has helped send the company's share price to below $10 for the first time since the 1950s.[4]

GM said it "anticipates it will report a significant second-quarter loss, driven in part by the previously disclosed negative impact of the American Axle and local union strikes in North America, as well as the continued weakness in the US car market and adverse vehicle segment mix".[5]

I WONDER IF WAGONER HAS A GOLDEN PARACHUTE
Whichever is occurring, the company, in a program that CEO Rick Wagoner calls "a plan to win," rather than simply to survive, is undertaking some draconian measures to try to fend off the automotive grim reaper. And it's all taking place against a backdrop of U.S. auto sales that have plummeted amid skyrocketing gasoline prices.[1]

Embattled General Motors Corp. will attack its looming liquidity crisis with another round of drastic cost cutting and a substantial gamble that the U.S. auto market will recover from its deep slump by 2010.[4]

Waning U.S. consumer confidence and a sharp rise in gasoline prices have sapped sales of GM's profitable pickup trucks and SUVs, contributing to a 16-per-cent sales decline through June. In making its latest plans, GM is assuming annual U.S. industry sales of 14 million units and oil prices ranging from $130 to $150 U.S. per barrel by 2009.[2]

GM..BUILD A SAFE, HIGH MILEAGE, ALTERNATE FUEL CAR WITH A GREAT RADIO!
With its fortunes in tatters, the company announced on Tuesday that it will cut its number of salaried workers, its production, and its dividend. It'll also borrow $2 billion to $3 billion as it tries to weather the downturn in the U.S. market. The ultimate objective is to raise about $15 billion, an amount it hopes will sop up losses and reverse the fortunes of its North American operations.[1]

SLICING THE WHITE COLLAR, THE BLUE COLLAR SOON TO BE DICED
General Motors Corp. is slicing into its white-collar ranks in both Canada and the United States and could shut down its Oshawa, Ont., pickup truck plant earlier than expected as it takes further steps to shore up cash in the worst North American vehicle market in a decade.[2]

MOST OF US THINK YOU COULD FIRE 80% OF THE SALARIED RANKS
The company will cut its truck production by 300,000 units, double the expectation of just a month ago. And it'll trim the ranks of its 40,000 salaried employees, mostly through initiatives. The objective there is to lop about 20% from salary costs in the U.S. and Canada.[1]

ATTENTION UNIONS THE SALARIED WORKERS ARE LOSING 80% OF THEIR HEALTHCARE!
In a wide series of moves aimed at bolstering liquidity by $15 billion U.S. over the next 18 months, GM said yesterday it would cut its salaried workforce in both countries by an unspecified number, freeze pay for remaining salaried employees until 2009, eliminate health-care coverage for U.S. salaried retirees over 65 and cut cash bonuses for executives. The company estimated the white-collar cuts will reduce cash costs by more than 20 per cent, or $1.5 billion U.S., in 2009. It has about 2,500 salaried workers in Canada.[2]

WHO IS BUILDING THE CARS THE EMERGING MIDDLE CLASS IN CHINA IS BUYING?
GM isn't, of course, the only car company that's making draconian changes in the face of a near-market crash in the U.S. Only Honda (NYSE: HMC) and Hyundai of the bigger carmakers reported that their sales grew last month, and for Honda, it was by only a single percentage point. Last week, Toyota (NYSE: TM), which is gaining steam on GM and Ford (NYSE: F) for global car sales supremacy, announced that it would shut down U.S. truck and SUV production and begin making its Prius hybrid here.[1]

SALARIED MIDDLE MANAGERS ARE AT FAULT, THEY SHOULD ALL BE FIRED
Sales of the Prius fell by 34% in June at precisely the time that buyers are looking for more efficient vehicles. The culprit? Toyota failed to keep up with demand for the vehicle, which gets about 46 miles to the gallon. So you have to wonder why the company is just now starting to turn out the model in our country.[1]

HUMMER ON THE BLOCKS
The Detroit-based automaker said it would also suspend its 25-cent quarterly stock dividend immediately, look at selling $2 billion to $4 billion worth of additional assets, including its Hummer brand, and tap capital markets for at least $2 billion.[2]

THE BEAN COUNTER HAVE WEIGHED, THE ENGINEERS ARE NEXT.
"What we saw today is the accountants' plan," industry consultant William Pochiluk, president of AutomotiveCompass LLC, said yesterday. "What we haven't seen yet is the product plan. What's missing is a very aggressive product plan."[4]

WILL GM EVER BECOME A SURE BET AGAIN?
As for GM, whether it's Bear Stearns, an IndyMac, or potentially other formerly strong U.S. institutions, we now seem to be living in a time when downward slides are awfully hard to reverse. So good luck to Wagoner and his minions. But Fools, there are lots better places for your shekels than the shares of automakers that suddenly seem unbelievably cheap.[1]

OBAMA: WE NEED NEW DIRECTION
"When a mainstay of the American economy is forced to make a restructuring decision like the one General Motors is announcing today, it is a sober reminder of the difficult economic times we're facing and of why we need change and a new direction in Washington," Obama said[6]
-END ARTICLE

posted here by
Terry Bankert

-- where did this stuff come from
[1]
The Motley Fool
http://www.fool.com/investing/...

[2]
The Gazette
http://www.canada.com/montreal...

[3]
The Seattle Times
http://seattletimes.nwsource.c...

[4]
The Globe
http://www.theglobeandmail.com...

[5]
The Dispatch
http://www.dispatch.co.za/arti...
[6]
Freep.com
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs...

[trb]
Comments of Terry Bnakert to inlcude cap headlines unattributed.
http://attorneybankert.com/

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