Downtrodden Detroit

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July 2008
- Ford Posts $8.7B Loss, Will Make Fewer Trucks
  
  Associated Press | Jul 24, 08 9:08 AM CDT
  
  (AP) - 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
  
  Wall Street Journal | Jul 19, 08 4:28 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - 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
  
  MarketWatch | Jul 15, 08 3:34 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - 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
  
  Wall Street Journal | Jul 15, 08 9:42 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - 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
  
  Wall Street Journal | Jul 11, 08 10:15 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - 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
  
  BBC | Jul 10, 08 2:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - 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
  
  New York Times | Jul 10, 08 9:28 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - 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
  
  Wall Street Journal | Jul 7, 08 9:01 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - 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
  
  Wall Street Journal | Jul 2, 08 8:32 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - 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
  
  Wall Street Journal | Jun 26, 08 1:07 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - 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
  
  Wall Street Journal | Jun 21, 08 9:12 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - 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
  
  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 »
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 »