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April 2009
- '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 »
- April Fooled: Coulter Buys Obama Detroit NASCAR Ban
  
  Media Matters | Apr 2, 09 11:41 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Car & Driver managed to punk at least one blogger with an April Fools’ item about President Obama banning bailed-out automakers from NASCAR: Ann Coulter, reports left-leaning watchdog Media Matters. “With their racing budgets deemed ‘unnecessary expenditures,’” the article read, “GM and Chrysler are ordered to cease racing operations at the end of the season.” Coulter’s response was a livid one. More »
- China Plans to Lead Way in Electric Cars
  
  New York Times | Apr 1, 09 7:43 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - As US automakers continue their late push into the market for hybrids and electric cars, they may soon have a major new competitor to worry about: China. Beijing, which barely registers in the auto world today, has begun a major investment push and plans to join the world leaders in making electric vehicles in three years and pass them after that, the New York Times reports. 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 »
- Sinking Car Sales May Be on the Rebound
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 1, 09 7:58 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Figures to be released today are likely to show a third straight month of annualized new-car sales below 10 million, the Wall Street Journal reports—but there’s a chance those numbers have hit bottom. Considering the size of the American consumer market, today’s figure “is about as low as it's going to get,” says an analyst. More »
- Rival Bankruptcies Spook Jealous Ford
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 1, 09 6:58 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Ford Motor Co., the lone member of the “Big Three” not to accept government help, is suddenly looking across town with dread and a touch of jealousy, the Wall Street Journal reports. A bankruptcy at GM or Chrysler could wreak havoc on Ford’s supply chain, as shared suppliers or dealerships buckled, all while giving the bankrupt competitors an edge by allowing them to exact deeper concessions from unions and creditors. 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 »
- Ford to Make Car Payments for Buyers Who Lose Jobs
  
  Associated Press | Mar 31, 09 10:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - With auto sales battered by the recession and tight credit, Ford is offering a payment protection plan to reassure consumers delaying buying new cars because of job-loss fears, the AP reports. The automaker will cover payments of up to $700 each month for up to a year on any new Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury if consumers lose their jobs. The program will run until June. 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 »
- Was Obama Tough Enough?
  
  Wall Street Journal | Mar 31, 09 8:57 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama gave GM and Chrysler some tough love yesterday. Too tough, or too much love? Here’s what the papers are saying: Obama “delivered a believable, sharp, and necessary ultimatum,” says the Washington Post. He rightly demanded union concessions, and put bankruptcy back on the table. But the Chicago Tribune thinks Obama should have gone straight to bankruptcy. “An ultimatum is more believable if you haven't just failed to follow through on a previous one.” More »
- Auto Plan Drives GOP in Different Directions
  
  Politico | Mar 31, 09 8:46 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Republicans were caught off guard by Obama’s auto moves yesterday, and they responded in wildly different ways, Politico reports. Some complained the president hadn’t been hard enough on GM and Chrysler, while others groused that he’d been harder on them than he’d been on Wall Street. Still others, like California’s Darrell Issa, said he’d “struck the right chord.” The reason? Parochialism. More »
- Obama's Auto Crackdown Worries Bailed-Out Banks
  
  Washington Post | Mar 31, 09 8:12 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - After the Obama administration kicked out GM’s boss and said two of the Big Three automakers may benefit from bankruptcy, CEOs of banks bailed out by the government are wondering if there's a bull's-eye on their backs, the Washington Post reports. The risk of such a crackdown has been “heightened,” says a financial lobbyist, and the biggest banks are the most likely to be in the crosshairs. 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 »
- White House Favors Managed Bankruptcy for Chrysler, GM
  
  Wall Street Journal | Mar 30, 09 4:05 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Obama administration’s favored plan to rescue GM and Chysler is a managed bankruptcy that would relieve them of their biggest liabilities by splitting the carmakers into “good” and “bad” components, the Wall Street Journal reports. The “good” GM would comprise profitable brands like Chevy and Cadillac as a standalone concern. The “good” Chrysler would become a subsidiary of Fiat, if that deal is finalized. 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 »
- 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 »
- 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 »
- German Demand for New Cars Outstrips Supply
  
  Der Spiegel | Mar 28, 09 7:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - German auto dealers are mulling a problem that their counterparts around the world would love to have: A crushing demand for new cars. New auto sales shot up 21% in February, and could go higher this month, the Christian Science Monitor reports, thanks to the government’s “scrapping bonus,” which gives consumers about $3,300 if they return their old car and buy a new one. More »
- No, Rush, California Isn't Banning Black Cars
  
  Los Angeles Times | Mar 28, 09 1:13 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Relax, Rush Limbaugh: California is not going to outlaw your favorite car color. The California Air Resources Board said yesterday that it isn’t, and never was, planning to ban black rides to mitigate greenhouse gases, the LA Times reports. A report to the CARB about the advantages of more reflective paint sent Limbaugh into high gear Thursday; the radio host railed against infringement of auto-owners rights on the air and his website proclaimed, “Tyrants Want to Ban Black Cars.” More »