A Look at the Autos on the Chopping Block

A Look at the Autos on the Chopping Block
1/16/2009 (Video MarketWatch)
Detroit's Big Three automakers are looking to downsize. WSJ's John Stoll talks about some of the brands that might be sold or scrapped, including the Hummer.

Detroit's Big Three's Problem is not the Pay, it's the Cars!

Economic Scene (New York Times Permalink)
$73 an Hour: Adding It Up
By DAVID LEONHARDT Published: December 10, 2008
The gap between the pay of Big Three autoworkers and workers at foreign-owned plants is less than it seems.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

People want a reliable car that brings them from A to B, in a fuel- and cost efficient way, safe and comfortable under almost any circumstances. But the car has to be there and stay in one part, on a wintery morning and on a hot August night. It has to be a useful item, like a watch or a computer. If American cars are great and the best for the price to get, people all over the world will buy them, if not, they won't buy them, there's enough choice all over the world.
In fact Henry Ford's idea has not changed, the world has changed.
The 'green aspect' is going to have an impact as a conscious status symbol as well.

Motor city is the U.S.A.

Accord on U.S. help for automakers
GM and Chrysler are close to getting billions in stopgap aid to stay out of bankruptcy. Pelosi changes mind on key sticking point.
Motor city is the U.S.A.
It's not just about Detroit. The auto industry employs workers in every state - including Alaska and Hawaii. More than 2 million jobs - from manufacturing, to parts, to auto dealers - depend on carmakers for their pay.

Detroit's Big 3 Make Second Pitch to Congress and ask for $ 34 billion bailout.

Carmakers try to sell Congress on rescue for troubled US industry that could reach $34 billion

Detroit's Big 3 Make Second Pitch to Congress and ask for $ 34 billion bailout.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. automakers are returning to Congress for high-stakes hearings they hope will persuade skeptical lawmakers to save their troubled industry with $34 billion in emergency aid, but a top Senate Democrat wants to hand their problem to the Federal Reserve.
Two weeks after a botched attempt on Capitol Hill, repentant leaders of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC were appealing to the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday with three separate survival plans that include massive restructuring, the ditching of corporate jets and vows by CEOs to work for $1 a year.

Rumors circulating in the automotive press suggest that the companies may propose eliminating or selling off some brands (GM is widely expected to propose closing its Hummer, Pontiac, Saab, and Saturn divisions), renegotiate labor contracts to reduce costs, and cut executive pay.

Detroit's Come Back Cars

Detroit's Come Back Cars

If Chrysler, Ford and GM can get through their mess, these are the products they hope will pull them out to the other side.

Ford Mustang
Among the Big Three automakers, Ford Motor Co. is thought to be the strongest financially. That may be one reason why Ford is the only one to roll out significant new models at this year's Los Angeles Auto Show.
The redesigned Ford Mustang may not be the most advanced car the automaker revealed in L.A. but it will likely turn the most heads.

Chevrolet Camaro
Like the Mustang, the Camaro reminds us that there are still exciting, uniquely American cars that only Detroit can credibly market. While General Motors needs to step into the future with vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt, it still needs to maintain this important emotional connection.

Chrysler electric vehicles
When you think of the ultra-clean, electrically driven future of personal mobility, a four-door Jeep Wrangler probably isn't what comes to mind.
But this Wrangler is driven by a system similar to the Chevy Volt's. It will drive on battery power for up to about 40 miles. As the battery runs low, a gasoline engine will start up to generate more electricity.

What happens after a 100 years of the Model T?

What happens after a 100 years of the Model T?
Under certain conditions the auto industry will get government help but they have to get their act together.
The U.S. auto industry needs a management shake up, a reorganisation and an innovative vision for the next 50 years. That will save them.




Congress, White House tussle over form of automaker rescue
WASHINGTON -- The White House and congressional Democrats launched a post-election showdown Monday over how to rescue U.S. automakers with millions of jobs, more than a century of iconic brands, and potentially economic confidence, riding on the outcome.
As the year that celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Model T races to a close in volatile political environment, the Bush administration and many lawmakers agree that up to $25 billion in loans should be extended to General Motors Corp , Ford Motor Co and Chrysler LLC.
But there are key differences on the details. Democratic leaders plan to forge ahead with an industry-backed proposal that would offer $25 billion from the Treasury Department's $700 billion financial industry rescue fund.

Shelby favors changing automaker management teams
Wednesday November 19, 7:23 am ET - By Ken Thomas, Associated Press Writer
Republican Shelby favors bankruptcy instead of bailout money for troubled automobile industry
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The top Senate Banking Committee Republican says nothing will turn around the troubled U.S. auto industry until its top management is ousted and the manufacturing model overhauled.
Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama said Wednesday he didn't think providing $25 billion in emergency loans to Detroit would do the jobs, calling that a "life support" option.
Shelby said on CBS's "The Early Show" that he believes filing for bankruptcy might be the better choice. He said: "I don't think they have immediate plans to change their model, which is a model of failure."
Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat who heads the House Financial Services Committee, said he didn't think filing for bankruptcy would be a good strategy. He noted that such a move would likely mean that contracts with organized labor would have to be broken, saying "we already have too much union busting."



(Reuters Video) Congress weighs auto bailout (01:34) Report

American car makers . On the edge

American carmakers. On the edge
Nov 13th 2008
From The Economist print edition
After the bank bail-out, it is now Detroit’s carmakers who are pleading for help

IF NOTHING else, the revelation by General Motors (GM) on November 7th that it is in danger of running out of cash before the end of the year has concentrated minds. The reaction within the embattled car industry, and in Washington, DC, has been the same: we knew it was bad, but we did not know it was that bad. Ford is in a similar position, although its cash should hold out for a few months longer.
As for Chrysler, the smallest and weakest of Detroit’s Big Three, the precise state of its finances are harder to gauge because it is privately held. But the increasingly desperate attempts by Cerberus Capital Management, the private-equity firm that owns 80% of Chrysler, to offload some or all of it to another carmaker (GM said on November 7th that it had walked away from such a deal) suggest that its future as an independent entity is all but over.