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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Big Three

Big Three stories: 79 news summaries

1 - 20 of 79 Stories | 1 2 3 4 Next >>

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ANALYSIS

 Saturn: GM's Biggest Mistake  

Brand was an unsustainable distraction from the start

Oct 2, 09 5:39 PM CDT
(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... More »

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Toyota • General Motors • Detroit • Saturn • Hyundai • auto industry • Big Three

Recession Crushes
White-Collar Michigan

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

Sep 17, 09 1:26 AM CDT
(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... More »

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Chrysler • General Motors • Detroit • Michigan • recession • Ford • unemployment • auto industry • Big Three • white collar

 GM to Sell Opel 
 to Canada's Magna 

Detroit firm also recommends Vauxhall go to Magna

Sep 10, 09 9:30 AM CDT
(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... More »

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Angela Merkel • Magna International Inc. • Germany • Canada • bankruptcy • General Motors • Detroit • acquisition • Big Three • Opel • Vauxhall

(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... More »

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Detroit • Michigan • Carl Levin • auto industry • Big Three • cars • Obama administration • Robert Gibbs • Cash for Clunkers

 Resurgent Ford Has 
 High Hopes for Taurus 

Automaker's financial independence has improved its image with consumers

Jul 28, 09 5:23 PM CDT
(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... More »

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General Motors • Detroit • automaker • Ford • Big Three • US automakers • Ford Taurus

 Court Clears Path 
 to 'New' GM 

Court ordered stay on asset sale expires

Jul 9, 09 1:55 PM CDT
(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... More »

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bankruptcy • General Motors • Detroit • auto industry • Big Three • bankruptcy protection • bankruptcy reorganization

China Won't Allow Hummer Sale: Report

Country KOs GM deal with manufacturer over environmental worries

Jun 26, 09 1:05 PM CDT
(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. “... More »

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China • environment • pollution • General Motors • automaker • Big Three • US automakers • sale • industrial pollution • Hummer • Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company

 Done Deal: Fiat Buys 
 Chrysler Assets 

Administration triumphs as bankruptcy effectively ends

Jun 10, 09 10:31 AM CDT
(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... More »

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Chrysler • bankruptcy • General Motors • Detroit • automaker • auto industry • Big Three • wire transfer • Fiat • Obama administration

(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... More »

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bankruptcy • General Motors • Saturn • auto industry • Big Three • Roger Penske

(AP) - 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... More »

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Florida • Boston • bankruptcy • General Motors • Ohio • Michigan • Virginia • Tennessee • Delaware • auto industry • Big Three

Big Three See Bumpy Road With 20-Somethings

Demographic key to rebuilding for US automakers

May 29, 09 2:23 PM CDT
(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... More »

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Chrysler • baby boomer • Toyota • General Motors • Detroit • automaker • Ford • Big Three • Generation Y • US automakers • Japanese auto industry

(AP) - 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... More »

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United Auto Workers • bankruptcy • General Motors • labor • union • labor unions • trade unions • auto industry • Ron Gettelfinger • Big Three • UAW

 Ford Courts 
 GM, Chrysler 
 Customers 

Helps pay off their loans, trains dealers in 'conquests'

May 22, 09 12:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - With General Motors and Chrysler struggling, Ford is moving to pick off some of its rivals’ customers, the Detroit News reports. The firm is passing cash to its dealers to ease Chrysler owners’ loan payments—so they can pick up Fords. Ford may soon do the same for GM owners.... More »

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Chrysler • General Motors • Detroit • automaker • Ford • auto industry • Big Three

ANALYSIS

Are Americans Falling Out of Love With Cars?

Drop in driving could be delayed reaction to gas prices—or not: Silver

May 6, 09 4:58 PM CDT
(Newser) - Is the fact that Americans are driving less even after the cost of gas has come down a sign that US attitudes are changing, Nate Silver asks in Esquire—or is it just another example of how slowly they respond to changes in fuel prices? “The real test,”... More »

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Detroit • automaker • driving • Seattle • statistics • Big Three • US automakers • automobile • car culture

Chrysler Halts Production to Lower Inventory

Automaker also appears in court to lay out bankruptcy plan

May 1, 09 3:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - Chrysler idled its plants today for 30 to 60 days to reduce inventory as the company’s lawyers appeared in a New York bankruptcy court, the Washington Post reports. The attorneys outlined a plan to emerge from bankruptcy within 2 months. “We are quite mindful of the view... More »

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Chrysler • New York City • layoffs • bankruptcy • Big Three • production • plant • Obama administration • U.S. Bankruptcy Court • auto bailout

Analysis

Chrysler's Honeymoon With Fiat Won't Last Long


May 1, 09 10:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - Chrysler is rushing into the arms of Fiat now, but it may be sorry later, writes Dan Neil for the Los Angeles Times. Fiat "pays next to nothing and now has instant access to US markets," which it’s been lusting after. "But in this... More »

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Chrysler • mergers and acquisitions • auto industry • Big Three • Fiat

(Newser) - Having failed to make a deal with the creditors to which it owes some $7 billion, Chrysler will declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy later today, a White House official tells CNN. The filing does not mean the company will cease operations—rather, it represents an opportunity to execute a merger with... More »

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Chrysler • bankruptcy • Big Three • Chapter 11 • Obama administration

Fiat Exec Would Gut
Chrysler to Save It

Marchionne has succeeded in fighting corporate bloat before

Apr 24, 09 10:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - It may seem awfully cocky of Fiat chief Sergio Marchionne to assume that he can save Chrysler, generally written off in the industry as a lost cause. But there’s a reason Marchionne is optimistic, notes the Economist: He’s done it before. When he took over Fiat in 2004,... More »

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Chrysler • auto industry • Big Three • Fiat • Sergio Marchionne

Obama Snaps Up 17,600 Fuel-Efficient US Cars

Government will buy thousands of fuel-efficient cars

Apr 10, 09 7:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama announced yesterday that the government plans to buy up 17,600 American-made hybrid and fuel-efficient cars for the federal fleet, reports the Washington Post. In addition to being a way to get some more money to the automakers, the plan will boost the efficiency of the government fleet... More »

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fuel efficiency • automaker • Big Three • Obama administration

GM in 'Intense' Planning for Bankruptcy

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

Apr 7, 09 1:10 PM CDT
(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... More »

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bankruptcy • General Motors • automaker • auto industry • Big Three

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