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Downtrodden Detroit

Started by S Goldstein; Last updated by K Schwartz

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Downtrodden Detroit

Can American carmakers rev up their engines? Or will buyers continue to speed away from Motor City?

Stories

Stories 81 - 100 of 342

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April 2009
- GM Aims for Fastest Possible Bankruptcy
  
  New York Times | Apr 13, 09 7:40 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - General Motors is in high gear, the New York Times reports, prepping for a possible bankruptcy that would allow the company to reorganize and emerge from protection in as little as 2 weeks. Since the Treasury Department instructed the automaker to prepare for a bankruptcy filing by June 1, in case other options for reorganization don't work out, the focus has been on a quick turnaround, so that the company's image and sales are damaged as little as possible. More »
- Feds Put the Squeeze on Auto Creditors
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 10, 09 6:14 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The government is pushing hard to wring billions of dollars in concessions from the creditors of General Motors and Chrysler, the Wall Street Journal reports. Insiders say Treasury has pushed GM to offer bondholders only stock in return for debt after it judged as too generous a deal involving stock, new debt, and some cash. More »
- Geithner, Henderson Open to GM Bankruptcy
  
  Politico | Apr 5, 09 10:58 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Bankruptcy remains an option for GM as a last resort, both new chief Fritz Henderson and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said today. “You can’t rule options off the table,” Henderson told CNN’s State of the Union . Whatever happens, Geithner stressed on CBS’ Face the Nation that GM won’t disappear, insisting “We want them to be part of our future.” Asked whether the feds had been tougher on Detroit than Wall Street, Geithner said he wouldn't rule out replacing bank chiefs—as the administration did with former GM boss Rick Wagoner. More »
- Cash-Poor MGM Mirage May Sell Casinos
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 4, 09 12:42 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - MGM Mirage, the gambling conglomerate, is considering the sale of casino properties in Michigan and Mississippi to pay down debt and save an underfunded Las Vegas development, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Vegas-based company has retained Morgan Stanley to shepherd the sales of the MGM Grand Detroit and Biloxi’s Beau Rivage, two of its best-performing casinos. MGM holds $13.5 billion in debt. More »
- 'Car Bubble' Blows Up on Automakers
  
  Washington Post | Apr 3, 09 10:01 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The housing boom brought a car bubble along for the ride, and now that one has burst, so has the other, reports the Washington Post . Thousands of cars are sitting on lots and likely to stay there. “You had a huge number of cars being sold," says Steven Rattner, the head of President Obama’s auto industry team. “So I don't think it is prudent to assume the sale levels are going back to those levels.” More »
- Raccoon as Main Course: Serves 4 for $12
  
  Detroit News | Apr 2, 09 2:49 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A sign of the times, maybe, in struggling Detroit: Charlie LeDuff checks in with a 69-year-old retiree who supplements his income by hunting raccoons and selling the carcasses for $12—a typical raccoon serves four—and the pelts for $10. “Coon or rabbit,” Glemie Dean Beasley, a native of the South, tells the Detroit News columnist. “God put them there to eat.” More »
- Detroit Hopes for NCAA Boost
  
  Washington Post | Apr 2, 09 8:03 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Downtown Detroit will be hopping this weekend, as hoops fans overrun the city for the Final Four. But outside the carousing along the city’s spruced-up main drag, things look as dire as ever, the Washington Post reports. One in five residents are unemployed, and abandoned homes and factories line the streets. Officials say the NCAA tournament could inject $30-$50 million into the city and, some hope, help rehabilitate its image. More »
- More Big Auto Sales Drops: GM Off 45%, Ford 41%
  
  Associated Press | Apr 1, 09 1:57 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Automakers got hammered again last month, with Detroit’s Big Three all reporting big sales drops today. Ford’s light-vehicle numbers were down 41%, the AP reports; General Motors’ fell 44.7% and Chrysler’s 39.3%, the Wall Street Journal adds. Foreign manufacturers weren’t immune, either, with Toyota’s sales diving 39% and Volkswagen tumbling 19.7%. More »
March 2009
- New GM Boss: Bankruptcy 'More Probable'
  
  New York Times | Mar 31, 09 10:53 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - In his first press conference as CEO of foundering GM, Fritz Henderson today made it clear he wasn’t afraid to talk bankruptcy, saying it was now “more probable,” and that he might even decide to declare bankruptcy before his 60 days were up. “We will do it in court, or we will do it out of court, but we will get the job done,” he said. More »
- Obama Fully Invested as CEO-in-Chief
  
  Politico | Mar 31, 09 9:16 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Though he entered office with relatively little business experience, the past week has seen President Obama assume the role as “the most powerful player in American business today,” Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei write for Politico. “He’s realizing, ‘Hey, the economy’s mine now, and I better do it my way,’” a source says. “So the administration is collaring people and letting them know who’s in charge.” More »
- GM Will Drive Obama Off Cliff: Brooks
  
  New York Times | Mar 31, 09 8:36 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - For decades, General Motors hasn’t been so much in the automaking business, David Brooks writes in the New York Times , as “in the restructuring business.” And for just as long, presidents have sought to push bankruptcy into the future. By getting serious, though, “the Obama administration and the Democratic Party are now completely implicated in the coming GM wreck.” More »
- Detroit's Papers Missing on Red-Letter Day
  
  New York Times | Mar 31, 09 6:04 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Yesterday was a once-in-a-lifetime news day in Detroit: GM's boss was forced out, Chrysler was pushed to merge with Fiat, Michigan State made it to the Final Four—and the first day that Motor City's two daily newspapers didn't land on doorsteps to tell readers all about it. Both the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press had long chosen Monday to suspend home delivery, replacing a full printed paper with web content and abbreviated editions on newsstands. More »
- Auto Intervention Puts Obama on Risky Road
  
  New York Times | Mar 31, 09 5:46 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - President Obama's intervention in the auto industry puts him on a risky road through uncharted territory, David E. Sanger writes in the New York Times . Making decisions for an industrial giant like GM is a totally different enterprise than stepping in with the likes of AIG, Sanger writes—especially when the feds' promise to back warranties makes it a guarantor for blown transmissions as well as loans. More »
- Wagoner: Optimist, Survivor, Martyr?
  
  New York Times | Mar 30, 09 1:42 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - During Rick Wagoner’s 9-year stint at the wheel, GM lost its place as the world’s top automaker, cut tens of thousands of jobs, and saw shares fall from $70 to less than $3. But through it all Wagoner fended off all challengers—including the likes of Kirk Kerkorian—and remained unflaggingly optimistic, the New York Times observes. Even on the way out the door, he told employees to “ignore the doubters, because I know it is a company with a great future.” More »
- Chrysler, Fiat to Form 'Global Alliance'
  
  MSNBC | Mar 30, 09 12:52 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Chrysler and Fiat have agreed to form a “global alliance” just hours after President Obama exhorted the two automakers to partner, MSNBC reports. Obama had promised $6 billion in loans to help Chrysler link with Fiat, and set a 1-month deadline for doing so. "We are pleased that Chrysler, Fiat, and Cerberus have reached agreement on a global alliance, supported by the US Treasury," Chrysler said in a statement. More »
- Ousted GM Boss Gets $20M Retirement Payout
  
  ABC News | Mar 30, 09 12:33 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - If Rick Wagoner is upset about being forced out of his job as GM’s CEO, his $20 million retirement package should provide some consolation, ABC News reports. Though Treasury rules prevent Wagoner from collecting severance pay, the ousted exec is still eligible for an “Executive Retirement Plan” and a “Salaried Retirement Plan,” which totaled $20.2 million as of last year. More »
- Dow Drops Nearly 300 on Auto Bailout News
  
  Wall Street Journal | Mar 30, 09 8:46 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Stocks hit the brakes hard this morning, after the Obama administration’s auto task force panned GM and Chrysler’s proposed reconstruction plans. The Dow was down 298 points by late morning, while the S&P and Nasdaq had tumbled 59 and 31 points respectively. GM plummeted 25%, falling below $3. Financials, meanwhile, were falling, in response to huge selloffs overseas. The Nikkei fell 4.5%, the Hang Seng 4.8%, and the Sensex 4.9%. More »
- Auto Team: Chrysler Needs Bankruptcy, Fiat Deal
  
  Wall Street Journal | Mar 30, 09 7:30 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Chrysler cannot become viable on its own, says the White House's auto task force, recommending “quick and surgical” bankruptcy restructuring and the proposed Fiat partnership as the automaker's best shot at survival. The administration will provide Chrysler 30 days’ more working capital to finalize a deal, but the federal lifeline will then cease, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »
- Auto Task Force: GM Plan Not Viable
  
  Wall Street Journal | Mar 30, 09 6:28 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - GM’s current restructuring plan isn’t going to cut the mustard, President Obama’s auto task force declared in its stinging assessment for the White House. The memo accuses GM of relying on rosy, unrealistic projections for sales, burning through too much cash, expecting too much from the rollout of the electric Chevy Volt, and giving itself until 2014 to reach many of its goals. The team will force out most of GM’s directors, on the heels of last night’s ouster of CEO Rick Wagoner. More »
- US Ousts Wagoner at GM, Pushes Tougher Auto Overhaul
  
  Wall Street Journal | Mar 29, 09 4:48 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The White House has forced out General Motors chief Rick Wagoner as part for a more aggressive restructuring of the beleaguered automaker than the company has proposed, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Treasury threatened to withhold billions in federal loans if the chairman and CEO refused to step down. The surprise move came a day before President Obama unveils a new $21.6 billion auto bailout plan today. COO Frederick "Fritz" Henderson will step in temporarily for Wagoner. More »

Stories 81 - 100 of 342

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(FILES) This file photo dated 07 January, 2007 shows cars from...

(FILES) This file photo dated 07 January, 2007 shows cars from... (Getty Images)

United Auto Workers union President Ron Gettelfinger addresses the media at the UAW Solidarity House in Detroit, in this May 14, 2007 file photo. Gettelfinger said Monday, June 18, 2007 that the union must offer health care concessions to Chrysler similar to those it gave Ford Motor Co. and General...

United Auto Workers union President Ron Gettelfinger addresses the media at the UAW Solidarity House in Detroit, in this May 14, 2007 file photo. Gettelfinger said Monday, June 18, 2007 that the union... (Associated Press)

The Ambassador Bridge is shown in an aerial photograph looking from the Detroit side to the Windsor, Ontario, side Nov. 2, 2005. A new bridge could soon connect Detroit to Windsor, one of North America's busiest border crossings. Who will own it and when exactly it will be built comes...

The Ambassador Bridge is shown in an aerial photograph looking from the Detroit side to the Windsor, Ontario, side Nov. 2, 2005. A new bridge could soon connect Detroit to Windsor, one of North America's... (Associated Press)

(FILES) The DaimlerChrysler Dodge trucks wait at a storage site...

(FILES) The DaimlerChrysler Dodge trucks wait at a storage site... (Getty Images)

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Auto Industry • General Motors • Chrysler • Ford • Kick the Tires • A Billion Here... • On Strike • Going Green • DaimlerChrysler Split • Private Equity

Background

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Economy (of Detroit)
Wikipedia

Detroit and the surrounding region constitute a manufacturing powerhouse, most notably as home to the Big Three automobile companies, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. The city is an important center for global trade with large international law firms having their offices in both Detroit and Windsor....

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Recommended Reading

Detroit

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City of Detroit

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Chrysler
Chrysler Official Site

Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company

General Motors
General Motors

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