General Motors

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July 2008
- GM, Utilities Join to Speed Plug-Ins
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jul 22, 08 11:49 AM CDT
  
  General Motors and three dozen electric utilities in nearly 40 states have agreed to work together on the transition to plug-in electric vehicles that are expected to begin rolling out within 2 years, the Wall Street Journal reports. With GM’s Chevy Volt and Saturn Vue expected to hit the market first, cooperation is needed to make sure recharging cars don't overwhelm the power grid. More »
- In Need of Big Ideas, Ford Thinks Small
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jul 19, 08 4:28 PM CDT
  
  Ford Motor Company will be repurposing some of its US plants to manufacture smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, the Wall Street Journal reports. As rising gas prices drive falling sales of behemoths like the F-150, insiders say the company will move toward making more of the passenger cars, like the Mondeo, that are mainly sold in Europe. More »
- Dow Sinks Below 11K
  
  newser | MarketWatch | Jul 15, 08 3:34 PM CDT
  
  The markets ended mixed today after a seesaw session. An $8 decline in crude encouraged investors, but concerns about the fate of the mortgage GSEs and regional banks persisted, MarketWatch reports. The Dow ended down 93.39 at 10,961.80, the first time in over 2 years the average has closed below 11,000. The Nasdaq gained 2.84 to close at 2,215.71, and the S&P 500 fell 13.39 to 1,214.91. More »
- GM Will Cut Salaried Jobs, Benefits to Survive Slump
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jul 15, 08 9:42 AM CDT
  
  General Motors will cut salaried jobs, accelerate factory closings, and eliminate health care coverage for many salaried retirees in order to raise $15 billion to survive the industry's deep downturn, the Wall Street Journal reports. GM will also suspend dividends, sell some assets, lower capital spending, and cut production of pickup trucks and SUVs. More »
- GM to Announce New Round of Major Cuts
  
  newser | Bloomberg | Jul 15, 08 2:37 AM CDT
  
  General Motors is expected to announce another big round of cost-cutting measures today, Bloomberg reports. Insiders say the ailing automaker, hit hard as consumers leave gas-guzzlers standing in car lots, is likely to slash thousands of jobs and reduce production of trucks and SUVs for the second time in two months. More »
- Keep the Hummer: Save America's Soul
  
  newser | Washington Post | Jul 12, 08 2:00 PM CDT
  
  Sure, the Hummer is more of a "cartoon" than a vehicle, a ridiculously over-the-top gas-guzzling monstrosity. But the unbridled optimism it takes to manufacture it—and to fill up the tank—is what makes it uniquely American, writes Matthew DeBord in the Washington Post . If GM axes it, or, heaven forfend, takes it hybrid, we’ll lose yet another chip off the American soul. It's just too cool to die. More »
- Pensions, Benefits Have GM Stalled
  
  newser | New York Times | Jul 10, 08 9:28 AM CDT
  
  General Motors is suffering as oil prices surge and consumer spending wanes, Roger Lowenstein writes in the New York Times . But the biggest, and perhaps fatal, culprit of its recent troubles—with stock prices near a 50-year low—are the generous health care and pension benefits it agreed to lavish upon its workers more than 50 years ago. More »
- GM May Cut More Jobs, Brands
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jul 7, 08 9:01 AM CDT
  
  GM is considering slashing thousands of white collar jobs, while simultaneously selling off or discontinuing even more brands, the Wall Street Journal reports, in a furious attempt to return to profitability. For years GM has resisted shrinking its large stable of brands, even as rivals Ford and Chrysler committed to downsizing, but with its stock price at a 50-year low, a shakeup is in the wind. More »
- Volt Could Spark GM Bailout
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jul 2, 08 8:32 AM CDT
  
  GM is about as likely to turn a profit with the Chevy Volt as the Edsel is to make a comeback, Holman W. Jenkins Jr. writes in the Wall Street Journal. But the ailing automaker may be aiming to improve its image rather than sell cars. With the automaker's image suitably greened, a federal bailout may become more politically acceptable, Jenkins suggests. More »
- Stocks Rebound on GM News
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jul 1, 08 3:31 PM CDT
  
  Stocks rebounded from an early slump today after a better-than-expected sales report from General Motors, the Wall Street Journal reports. The GM news also pushed up stocks of other troubled automakers. The Dow ended up 32.25 at 11,382.26, the Nasdaq up 11.99 at 2,304.97, and the S&P 500 up 4.91 at 1,284.91. More »
June 2008
- Obama Meets With Top Automakers Amid Tension
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jun 26, 08 1:07 PM CDT
  
  Barack Obama is meeting with two of the Big Three in encounters the Wall Street Journal says “could thaw festering tension” between the Dem and America’s automakers. A year after Obama criticized the companies for fighting fuel-economy standards and rewarding “failure with lucrative bonuses for CEOs,” he met with Ford’s chief yesterday in a summit the businessman called “productive.” More »
- What's Hot? Some Guzzlers Among the Sippers
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jun 25, 08 10:03 AM CDT
  
  Soaring gas prices have predictably driven sales of gas-sipping vehicles such as Honda’s Fit and Toyota’s Scion xB, which have seen increases of 64% and 59% respectively, reports the Wall Street Journal. But guzzlers such as Toyota's Sequoia and Tundra are also selling surprisingly well (29% and 8.5%, respectively). More »
- Deepening gloom at General Motors - Jun. 19, 2008
  
  CNNMoney | Jun 19, 08
  
  The news coming out of Detroit is getting worse, and unlike in past years, there will be no full recovery. Analysts are betting that General Motors will be forced to take emergency financial measures this year that could hamper its competitiveness for a long time to come.
- GM Gambles All on the Volt
  
  newser | Atlantic Monthly | Jun 11, 08 12:38 PM CDT
  
  The Chevy Volt will either revolutionize cars forever and rocket GM back to the top of the automotive world, or it’ll be an embarrassing disaster that will further cripple the giant. And right now, lots of industry types are betting on the latter. GM is so desperate to get the car out by 2010 that it’s developing car and battery simultaneously—a stunning gamble that could easily backfire, the Atlantic reports, in a detailed look at GM's equivalent of the space race. More »
- RIP Hummer: Symbol of Eco-Defiance Is a Goner
  
  newser | Washington Post | Jun 4, 08 9:02 AM CDT
  
  General Motors announced yesterday that it was considering selling the Hummer brand, which begs the question: To whom? Who exactly wants the most reviled division in automotive history, asks Frank Aherns of the Washington Post. With gas at $4 a gallon and counting, no one’s really interested in SUVs that “get 15 miles per gallon downhill with a tail wind.” More »
- GM to Close 4 Truck/SUV Plants, Reassess Hummer
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jun 3, 08 8:44 AM CDT
  
  GM will close four of its North American truck and SUV factories, the company announced today, as the public interest in gas-guzzlers wanes. The Hummer brand is also under “strategic review,” with all options on the table, "from a complete revamp of the product lineup to a partial or complete sale of the brand." The fully electric Chevy Volt, on the other hand, “is a go.” More »
May 2008
- American Axle Deal Restarts GM Plants
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | May 19, 08 7:52 AM CDT
  
  General Motors is poised to resume production at dozens of idled plants as workers at American Axle & Manufacturing, a key GM supplier, have reached a tentative deal in their 11-week-old strike. The UAW strike had all but stopped the production of GM's highly profitable SUVs, pickups, and vans, reports the Wall Street Journal, sinking the automaker's first-quarter earnings and undermining its liquidity. More »
- GM's SUVs May Get Smaller
  
  newser | Lef Lane News | May 9, 08 2:55 PM CDT
  
  General Motors has long used truck chassis as the foundation of its largest SUVs: the Escalades, Tahoes, and Yukons. But with fuel costs going nowhere but up and stricter fuel standards on the horizon, GM is considering switching those models to lighter car-sized underpinnings when they come up for redesign in 2012, Left Lane News reports. Is the 90’s mega-SUV a dying breed? More »
April 2008
- GM Posts $3.3B Loss on Weak US Market, Strikes
  
  newser | Associated Press | Apr 30, 08 7:16 AM CDT
  
  General Motors today posted a $3.3 billion first-quarter loss, AP reports, due in part to a weak US market, a strike at a major supplier, and plummeting sales of sport utility vehicles and pickups. The loss amounted to $5.74 per share, including one-time charges. Without the charges, it appeared GM's adjusted results beat Wall Street expectations. More »
- Toyota Overtakes GM in Q1
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Apr 23, 08 1:29 PM CDT
  
  GM’s vehicle sales fell 0.6% in the first quarter, helping Toyota, on 2.7% growth, take the global sales lead, the Wall Street Journal reports. Toyota sold 2.41 million vehicles worldwide to 2.25 million for the American giant, which was hurt badly by a 10.2% drop in US sales. GM blamed tough economic times, noting solid overseas figures nevertheless. More »