General Motors

Stories

Stories 21 - 40 of 52

<< Prev 1 2 3 Next >>

June 2008
- GM Gambles All on the Volt
  
  Atlantic Monthly | Jun 11, 08 12:38 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - 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
  
  Washington Post | Jun 4, 08 9:02 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - 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
  
  Wall Street Journal | Jun 3, 08 8:44 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - 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
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 19, 08 7:52 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - 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
  
  Lef Lane News | May 9, 08 2:55 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - 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
  
  Associated Press | Apr 30, 08 7:16 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - 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
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 23, 08 1:29 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - 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 »
- Wal-Mart Tops Fortune 500
  
  Fortune Magazine | Apr 21, 08 4:07 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Wal-Mart nosed out Exxon Mobil for the second consecutive year to land atop the 2008 Fortune 500, with $37.7 billion in revenues, the magazine said today. In profits, the oil company far outstripped the megaretailer. Three of the top 5 on the list were oil companies, the AP reports. ChevronTexaco (No. 3) and GM (No. 4) swapped places, and ConocoPhillips again rounded out the top 5. More »
- Pickup Sales Plummet to 10-Year Low
  
  BusinessWeek | Apr 9, 08 7:35 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - US pickup truck sales tumbled in March, hitting their lowest level in nearly a decade. The Big Three all reported double-digit percentage drops in sales this month—the Dodge Ram was down 26%—and large pickups represented barely more than 10% of the auto market. High gas prices added fuel to the freefall, but the housing crisis—and an attendant drop in carting construction loads—may have had the most impact. More »
- Detroit Looks to Pump Up Exports
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 8, 08 12:47 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The dollar’s declining value, lower labor costs, and other terms of new UAW deals have US automakers looking overseas as they attempt to reclaim market share and profitability, reports the Wall Street Journal. About half of US vehicle exports in 2007, which totaled $50.66 billion, went to Canada and Mexico, and automakers now are looking to emerging markets in China and Latin America. The weak dollar "improves export competitiveness and potential profitability," says GM's president. More »
March 2008
- Car Makers Prepare for a Crash
  
  Wall Street Journal | Mar 20, 08 9:06 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The slumping US economy is casting shadows over the New York Auto Show, as industry forecasters this week cut their projections for sales of new cars and light trucks in 2008 to less than 15 million, the lowest level in 14 years. Chrysler, GM, and Ford, who had been projecting sales of 15.5 to 15.7 million, are preparing for a fresh round of belt tightening, the Wall Street Journal reports . More »
February 2008
- GM Posts Industry Record $38.7B Loss
  
  Associated Press | Feb 12, 08 7:05 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - General Motors today posted a $38.7 billion loss for 2007, the largest annual deficit ever for an automotive company, beating its own 1992 record of $23.4 billion. GM also struck a deal with the United Auto Workers on buyout options for the remaining 74,000 hourly UAW workers at US plants, reports the AP, clearing the way for low-cost replacement labor. More »
January 2008
- Toyota, GM In Tie for Top Automaker
  
  Wall Street Journal | Jan 23, 08 9:28 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Toyota has finally caught up with GM, after years of growing roughly five times as fast. GM’s sales rose 3% in 2007, to 9,369,524 vehicles, but it was only enough to tie Toyota, which last week announced sales of approximately 9.37 million, ending GM’s 76-year reign atop the world’s automakers, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »
- GM Sees Light at End of Tunnel
  
  Wall Street Journal | Jan 18, 08 10:05 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Overseas sales expansion and reduced labor costs over the next three years will bring “significant” profit increases to General Motors, CEO Rick Wagoner told analysts yesterday. Wagoner also asked investors for patience as share prices continue slipping in a worsening US economy, reports the Wall Street Journal. He said production cuts could accelerate if sales slow further. More »
- Toyota, GM Working on Super-Cheap Models, Too
  
  Associated Press | Jan 17, 08 3:56 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Work on the world's cheapest cars is underway at the world's biggest car companies, the Associated Press reports. Toyota and GM announced this week at Detroit's North American International Auto show they are working on inexpensive subcompacts similar to India's Tata Motors' $2,500 car and aimed at emerging markets. "There is a huge market for low-cost/price vehicles," Toyota's president said. More »
- Malibu Wins Car of the Year
  
  CNN | Jan 13, 08 4:26 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - General Motors' goal of taking on the Camry and Accord got a boost today as the Chevy Malibu won North American Car of the Year at Detroit’s auto show, CNNMoney.com reports. Its Corvette-inspired twin-cockpit design, and a body shape similar to European luxury cars, has already won media accolades. Truck of the Year went to the Mazda CX-9, which beat out two GM finalists for the prize. More »
December 2007
- Toyota Poised to Overtake GM
  
  Reuters | Dec 25, 07 8:00 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Toyota, the most profitable automaker in the world, says it will increase production by 5% to a record 9.95 million vehicles in 2008, opening up a lead over General Motors, Reuters reports. Toyota, which sold 9.36 million vehicles in 2007, also expects sales to increase 5% in 2008 to 9.85 million units. More »
- GM Offering Buyouts to 5,200 Workers
  
  Detroit News | Dec 19, 07 5:59 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - General Motors is offering to buy out another 5,200 hourly workers, the Detroit News reports. The automaker, worried that the slowdown in auto sales will carry into next year, is keen to get veteran workers out the door and lower-paid new workers in. Over 34,000 blue-collar workers left the company last year in a similar deal. More »
November 2007
- Ex-GM CEO, Chairman Smith Dead at 82
  
  Detroit Free Press | Nov 30, 07 12:33 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Roger B. Smith, the chairman of General Motors from 1981 to 1990 and the subject of Michael Moore's critical documentary Roger and Me , died yesterday in Detroit at 82. "He was a leader who knew that we have to accept change, understand change, and learn to make it work for us," said current GM CEO Rick Wagoner. More »
- Carnegie Mellon Wins $2M in Robot Car Race
  
  Popular Mechanics | Nov 4, 07 11:02 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - A robot car built by Carnegie Mellon University and General Motors beat out ten others to win a race for self-driving vehicles, race officials announced today. The cars had 6 hours to complete a 60-mile course—including missions like parking and merging into traffic—in pursuit of a $2 million grand prize. Second-place finisher Standford University won $1 million and third-place Virginia Tech took home $500,000. More »