Downtrodden Detroit

July 2008

NASCAR Fans Sneer at Toyota

newser | Wall Street Journal | Jul 24, 08 9:51 AM CDT

In an effort to curry favor with millions of American NASCAR fans, Toyota joined the league’s top circuit 2 years ago, but fans aren’t warming to the Japanese automaker, the Wall Street Journal reports. Many fans felt betrayed last year when champion racer Kyle Busch traded in his Chevy on a Toyota, and he's been met with boos and a barrage of beer cans after recent victories. More »
Ford Posts $8.7B Loss, Will Make Fewer Trucks

newser | Associated Press | Jul 24, 08 9:08 AM CDT

Ford Motor Co. lost $8.67 billion in the second quarter and will retool two more North American truck and SUV plants to build small, fuel-efficient vehicles, the company announced today. The net loss includes $8.03 billion in writedowns due to a decline in the value of its truck and SUV inventory, as well as Ford Motor Credit Co.'s truck-heavy lease portfolio. 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 »
Unpopular Mich. Governor Could Hurt Obama

newser | Wall Street Journal | Jul 11, 08 10:15 AM CDT

Michigan has gone blue in every presidential election since 1988, and it should have been an easy state for Barack Obama to win in November. But the presumptive nominee has an albatross around his neck: Jennifer Granholm, the intensely unpopular Democratic governor. Frustration with Granholm is just one of the factors imperiling Obama's campaign there, reports the Wall Street Journal . More »
Motown Crops Spring From Decay

newser | BBC | Jul 10, 08 2:00 PM CDT

An ambitious charity thinks it can turn Detroit’s most desolate neighborhoods into bustling farming utopias. The group, dubbed Urban Farming, grows vegetables on vacant land throughout the city, then gives them out for free to local residents, the BBC reports. Parts of Motor City have been transformed by its efforts, and now it’s branching out across the US. 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 »

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 »
Plunging Truck Sales Drive Ford Deeper Into the Red

newser | Wall Street Journal | Jun 21, 08 9:12 AM CDT

Ford's recovery plans have been sent careening off the road by the continuing drop in truck and SUV sales, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company, which now expects this year's losses to top 2007's $2.7 billion, has given up hope of being back in the black by 2009. The ailing Detroit giant has cut production again and delayed the launch of its new F-150 pickup. 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 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 »

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 »
Kerkorian Bets Big on Ford Turnaround

newser | Wall Street Journal | Apr 28, 08 4:22 PM CDT

Investor Kirk Kekorian is gobbling up shares of Ford in move seen as a vote of confidence for the automaker’s turnaround efforts, the Wall Street Journal reports. Kerkorian’s Tracinda has bought about 100 million shares and holds a 4.7% stake in the firm. Tracinda also offered to buy 20 million more for $8.50 apiece, 13% more than their market value Friday. More »
Ford Surprises With $100M Q1 Profit

newser | Bloomberg | Apr 24, 08 7:28 AM CDT

Ford today posted an unexpected first-quarter profit of $100 million, Bloomberg reports, the result of cost cutting in North America and strong overseas sales. Analysts had anticipated a loss on the order of last year's first-quarter drain of $282 million. The world’s third-largest automaker said its revenues increased 1.2% to $43.5 billion. It was only the second quarterly profit for the company in the past two years. 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 »
Wal-Mart Tops Fortune 500

newser | Fortune Magazine | Apr 21, 08 4:07 PM CDT

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 »