Ford Put Brakes on GM Merger Talks

Ford, GM have best month of 2009

(NEWSER) - Some actual good news for the auto industry: All three US automakers saw sales of new cars jump from April to May, reports the New York Times. Granted, sales are still way down compared to last year, but the month-to-month leap offers a glimmer of hope among the bankruptcy headlines. Ford did best, with sales up 20% from April and down 24% from the previous May, the smallest yearly decline among all major automakers since October. More»

(NEWSER) - In an open letter to members of Congress, the Detroit Free Press insists that the government cannot turn its back on the auto industry. If it does, "there will be economic hell to pay—not just in Detroit, but all across America, including in your state, in your district." Millions of jobs woven throughout the economy are at stake, as is the very fate of the nation's manufacturing base. "You don't want all this blood on your hands," says the editorial. "No one could." More»

Flip-flop on Detroit shows McCain was right not to pick Romney as running mate

(NEWSER) - Mitt Romney is speaking sideways when he talks about Detroit these days, Joan Vennochi writes in the Boston Globe. The man who promised he would “not rest until Michigan is back” in the Republican primary is now urging bankruptcy for Detroit automakers. “If the auto industry could reinvent itself as quickly as Mitt Romney,” Vennochi writes, “it wouldn't need a bailout.” More»

Bankruptcy, not bailout, will save the American motor industry

(NEWSER) - If you want to maintain an automotive industry in the US, writes Mitt Romney, giving the Big Three a bailout is the last thing you should do. In an op-ed for the New York Times, the former Massachusetts governor (and Michigan native) says that GM, Chrysler, and Ford need a managed bankruptcy followed by radical restructuring. A bailout will only encourage the industry's worst excesses, and in a few years "you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye." More»

(NEWSER) - The CEOs of the Big Three automakers told the Senate today that a $25 billion bailout of the industry is necessary to prevent "catastrophic" effects on the economy, the New York Times reports. “If the domestic industry were allowed to fail,” said GM's Rick Wagoner, it would mean “three million jobs lost within the first year.” Meanwhile, Chrysler's Robert Nardelli disclosed that his company, like GM, is on the verge of bankruptcy. More»