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Auto companies would be able to receive emergency aid within a month under a Senate proposal for a $25 billion loan package that circulated here late Monday. If enacted, the bill would direct the Treasury secretary to accept loan applications from co... 
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GM will delay dealer incentive paymentsGeneral Motors will delay incentive payments to dealers next week in an effort to save cash. The payments for dealer cash, customer cash and other incentives will be delayed from Nov. 28 until Dec. 11, Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president of North American sales, service and marketing, said in an interview with Automotive News. Letters to dealers explaining the delay are to be sent today, LaNeve said. » Read Article [REG] 3:00 pm U.S. ET | Nov. 17 | UPDATED: 11/17/08 4:59 p.m. EST |
Senator calls for 50 mpg as condition for aid
Automakers that receive federal aid should double the fuel economy of their fleets by 2020, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said today. Nelson's remarks during Senate floor debate suggest that Republicans are not the only lawmakers who may block emergency loans to the Detroit 3. In an interview, Nelson said a new energy law that raises fleetwide fuel economy to 35 mpg by 2020 -- about 40 percent higher than today -- falls far short. » Read Article [REG] 4:30 pm U.S. ET | Nov. 17 | UPDATED: 11/17/08 5:06 p.m. EST
Suppliers' lockout of workers enters 2nd week in Canada
A lockout of workers by a Canadian supplier of aluminum parts to General Motors and Ford Motor Co. is entering its second week, a labor leader says. In April, about 85 workers at the Alumetco plant in Brantford, Ontario, voted to join the Canadian Auto Workers union, says Steve Farkas, a CAW area director. » Read Article [REG] 3:54 pm U.S. ET | Nov. 17
Germany says it's ready to help OpelThe German government will do everything necessary to help carmaker Opel but must make sure competition rules are respected and that any aid does not trigger a flood of demands for help, a spokesman said on Monday. » Read Article [REG] 3:00 am U.S. ET | Nov. 17 | UPDATED: 11/17/08 2:33 p.m. EST |
Chrysler, ZF poised to announce axle pact
Chrysler LLC appears to have a deal with German axle maker ZF Friedrichshafen AG to operate an axle plant being built in Marysville, Mich. In a statement today, Chrysler said it plans to announce tomorrow a long-term operational agreement for the plant. The UAW began telling axle workers in September that Chrysler had a deal with ZF. But ZF executives had denied that an agreement had been reached. » Read Article [REG] 2:10 pm U.S. ET | Nov. 17
GM dumps Suzuki stake for much-needed cashCash-strapped General Motors will dump its 3 percent stake in Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp. for about $230 million as it scrambles for funds to avert collapse. GM said it will continue existing projects with Suzuki, such as collaborating on hybrid vehicles and fuel cells, as well as the joint operation of GM's CAMI assembly plant in Canada. The companies also will continue joint global purchasing, GM said. » Read Article [REG] 9:33 am U.S. ET | Nov. 17 |
Congressman at Honda plant: Detroit 3 bankruptcy better than bailout
A reorganization of the Detroit 3 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court would be preferable to a federal bailout of the automakers, a U.S. congressman said today on the sidelines of the dedication of a new Honda Motor Co. assembly plant here. Said U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, a Republican from Indiana's 6th District: “Reorganization in federal Bankruptcy Court happens all the time. Companies utilize it all the time and come out stronger and more whole in the end. » Read Article [REG] 12:48 pm U.S. ET | Nov. 17 | UPDATED: 11/17/08 4:56 p.m. EST
The cost of GM's deathIf Congress thinks a bailout of General Motors is expensive, it should consider the cost of a GM failure. Let's be clear. The alternative to government cash for GM is not a dreamy Chapter 11 filing, a reorganization that puts dealers and the UAW in their place, ensuring future success. No, even if GM could get debtor-in-possession financing to keep the lights on (which it can't), Chapter 11 means a collapse of sales and a spiral into a Chapter 7 liquidation. GM's 100,000 American jobs will die. » Read Article [REG] 12:01 am U.S. ET | Nov. 17 |
Chrysler dealers go to D.C., ask for industry bridge loan
Thirty-three Chrysler LLC dealers from 25 states converged on Washington today to lobby lawmakers for a bridge loan to get the domestic industry through its crisis. The group, including members of the Chrysler national dealer council, will meet with legislators through Wednesday. Three dealer council members spoke with reporters via teleconference this morning. » Read Article [REG] 3:50 pm U.S. ET | Nov. 17
Getrag-Chrysler joint venture files Chapter 11
Getrag Transmission Manufacturing LLC, a planned U.S. transmission-building operation in Indiana, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after Chrysler LLC's pullout from the joint venture. The factory, which is built but not equipped, was developed just to build dual-clutch transmissions for Chrysler. » Read Article [REG] 10:55 am U.S. ET | Nov. 17
Obama says U.S. must help automakers, create 'sustainable' industryPresident-elect Barack Obama said the federal government must help the Detroit 3 get through their cash crisis while making sure that any aid to the automakers creates a “sustainable'' industry. “We need to provide assistance,'' Obama said in an interview aired today on the CBS TV program “60 Minutes.'' “But I think that it can't be a blank check.'' Obama's comments, taped Friday, echoed those of Democratic leaders in Congress. » Read Article [REG] 12:01 am U.S. ET | Nov. 17 |
Detroit gets cold shoulder in D.C.They lost this month's election, badly. But Republicans in the White House and Congress are showing they still have clout. They are providing major -- and potentially fatal -- opposition to emergency federal aid to the Detroit 3 by year end. » Read Article [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | Nov. 17 |
Auto suppliers join hearings for auto industry aid
Auto supplier leaders will join the Detroit 3 chiefs in Washington, D.C., this week to push for emergency federal aid to the automotive industry. Neil De Koker, CEO of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association, said he will meet with legislators between hearings, hoping to sway opponents to aid by “discussing facts rather than impressions and memories of 1980.” » Read Article [REG] 5:07 pm U.S. ET | Nov. 17
Ga. state senator bids for flagship Heard store
A Georgia state senator has filed a bid for the flagship store of bankrupt dealership group Bill Heard Enterprises Inc. On Friday, Nov. 14, Sen. Emanuel Jones bid $12.5 million for the store in Columbus, Ga., not including the price of its parts and vehicle inventory. Today Jones withdrew a bid that he had filed this month for Heard Enterprises' store in Buford, Ga. » Read Article [REG] 4:25 pm U.S. ET | Nov. 17 | UPDATED: 11/17/08 4:56 p.m. EST
THE AUTO INDUSTRY BAILOUT
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Readers weigh in on government help
The Detroit 3's quest to secure emergency federal aid has inspired a rush of letters from our readers. Here's a sampling. We will add more as they come in. If you would like to write us, there is a link on this page that will lead you through the process. » Read Article 1:06 pm U.S. ET | Nov. 17
THE AUTO INDUSTRY BAILOUT
Sparks fly over auto bailout
A bailout for the automobile industry being pushed by Democrats would assist companies that shouldn't be getting aid, open the door to other undeserving applicants, and stretch the limits of government, according to several prominent economists and financial experts. The federal government should stick to rescuing large, interconnected financial institutions whose collapse could reverberate throughout the economy, these observers told Financial Week, an affiliate of Automotive News. » Read Article [REG] 11:08 am U.S. ET | Nov. 17
THE AUTO INDUSTRY BAILOUT
Death of Detroit would wallop ad world
If you think you're insulated from the death rattle of Detroit, think again. General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler together accounted for 3.3 percent of 2007 U.S. measured ad spending, according to Ad Age DataCenter's analysis of TNS Media Intelligence data. Big deal? Yes -- as in $4.6 billion in measured spending. » Read Article [REG] 10:05 am U.S. ET | Nov. 17
THE AUTO INDUSTRY BAILOUT
Dems, seeking votes, add more strings to Detroit 3 aid
Democratic leaders in Congress are toughening the conditions they intend to place on emergency loans to the Detroit 3. The moves, countering intense criticism of plans this week to consider $25 billion in industry aid, still don't guarantee passage, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., acknowledged today. “There's no downside to trying,” Frank said on the CBS program “Face the Nation.” » Read Article [REG] 12:01 am U.S. ET | Nov. 17
Will EVs have us humming into a greener future?We're going on the grid sooner than you thought. Electric and plug-in hybrid cars will arrive in dealerships in just two years or so, several speakers at the Automotive News Green Car Conference and Exhibition said on Thursday, Nov. 13. The electric grid is ready, but customers who accept buying cars and gasoline separately will need to adjust to buying cars and batteries separately. » Read Article [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | Nov. 17 |
Dodge dealer: We're saved by serviceWhen Dick Greenfield was a young car dealer selling about 3,000 new and used vehicles a year, he received some wise advice from an older dealer named Bob Burd. "He said, 'You're a hotshot kid selling a lot of cars now, but one of these days you'll find it will rain on your parade. You'd better get your back end going. If you don't, you're going to be in trouble'," says Greenfield, 73, recalling a conversation that took place in the mid-1970s. "I remember those words very well now." » Read Article [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | Nov. 17 |
