There’s more bad news in the continuing saga of the Chevy Volt. The Associated Press is reporting today that General Motors will recall 8,000 Volts in order to make modifications to keep them safe during crashes, all on the eve of the North American International Auto Show kicking off in the Motor City next week. (Bear in mind that only about 8,000 Volts were sold last year.) Guess who’s headed to the auto show, likely to bask in the glory of the industry they claim to have saved? The Obama …
It’s been nearly a year since the Obama administration took the reins of General Motors, and if today’s headlines are any indication, things aren’t looking good for the troubled Detroit auto maker. First off, GM just isn’t making money. It posted a $4.3 billion loss for the second half 2009 – far from profitability, far from a government-led turnaround. The company claims it has a chance of “achieving profitability” in 2010, but keep in mind that GM is $50 billion in the hole to the American taxpayers, who paid for …
What goes up must fall just as hard. Case in point: cash for clunkers: The dramatic decline in sales reported Thursday by the Big Three automakers suggested the extent to which the stimulus act has propped up the economy. The government’s wildly popular “Cash for Clunkers” program drove consumer spending to its highest level in eight years in August. But after it ended, so did the growth in auto sales. General Motors’ sales plunged 36 percent in September compared with August. Ford plummeted 37 percent. Chrysler dove 33 percent. Cash …
But for handing over gobs of cash with no strings attached, it would be harder to imagine a more sweetheart deal for the auto industry: According to the Wall Street Journal, Congress is considering a proposal to pay consumers to buy new cars. It could wind up as part of the stimulus package now pending in the Senate. The program, dubbed “cash for clunkers,” would provide tax credits of up to $4,500 for trade-ins–especially those with poor fuel efficiency. With barely-running clunkers available in many areas for as little as …
“A Conservative,” that anonymous scribe within Heritage, surfaces again for the second time in three days with a cautionary tale for the Big Three about Henry Ford, FDR and Big Government strings. This latest edition of New Common Sense, titled “Ford Faced Down FDR’s Blue Eagle,” reads as follows: Out of the rubble of the proposed bailout of the Big Three automakers, a phoenix may rise — or is it a blue eagle? President Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson just might speed $10 billion or more to Detroit regardless …
Even as the Detroit automakers are asking Congress for a taxpayer bailout, the Detroit News reports that Ford Motor Co. is operating highly automated, highly integrated, and highly profitable auto plants — in Brazil. They employ state of the art technology and techniques to produce high-quality vehicles: This state-of-the-art manufacturing complex in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia is not only the centerpiece of Ford’s Brazilian turnaround plan, it is also one of the most advanced automobile plants in the world. It is more automated than many of Ford’s U.S. …
Last night while marshaling votes for the House’s eventual 237-to-170 vote in favor of nationalizing Detroit, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) told the Wall Street Journal: “If we do nothing we face the risk that sometime soon there will be no American auto industry.” Hoyer has it exactly backward. A government takeover of the Big Three represents the biggest threat to their long-term existence, while a Chapter 11 restructuring is the best way to ensure the long-term viability of the industry. Bankruptcy Does Not Mean Death: The auto nationalization …
A few weeks ago, CEOs from Detroit’s Big Three flew to Washington in their private planes asking for $25 billion. They were ridiculed for flying private jets and Congress sent them home, demanding they needed a comprehensive plan to even consider loaning this kind of money to the automakers. They came back yesterday, making the 500+ mile road trip in hybrid cars, with a $34 billion plan. Let’s check out what these plans have to say. From Chrysler’s Plan: Providing Cars and Trucks People Want to Buy. “ Now that’s …
