It’s been a mixed day in the world of the American auto industry. While Ford Motor posted huge sales for November — propelled by a strong demand for SUVs — General Motors has been forced to make the unusual offer of buying back cars from consumers. Tom Krisher at the Associated Press reports that GM is taking action in response to news that its highly touted electric Chevy Volts have been found to catch fire: In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, CEO Dan Akerson insisted that the cars …
House investigators have initiated a probe into allegations that the White House or one of its surrogates pressured the Ford Motor Co. to drop an advertisement critical of the administration’s automotive bailouts. A number of reports have alleged at least indirect pressure to take the spot off the air. “I am deeply concerned about undue political pressure exerted by the White House on public companies,” House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) stated in a letter to Ford on Thursday. Issa requested an explanation of Ford’s position on …
Catching you up on clips, commentary and news of the day. Sign up for the daily email update from Scribe. Senator Casey Breaks With President Over Jobs Bill – CBSPittsburgh.com GE Responds to Charges of Crony Capitalism – Tim Carney, The Washington Examiner EPA Delays Global Warming Rules Again – Conn Carroll, The Washington Examiner GOP Lawmaker Wants Probe of White House Support of LightSquared – Brendan Sasso, Hillicon Valley FORD TV Ad Slams Obama Auto Bailouts – Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers, US News & World Report Solyndra Not Sole …
People who believe the United States no longer manufactures anything need to check out the newest Consumer Reports “Best Cars” list. The magazine recently selected the top cars for 2011 in 10 categories. Five “best models” are made in the USA, three in Japan, one in Canada, and one in Mexico. Category Manufacturer Model Plant Location Family Sedan Nissan Altima Smyrna, TN and Canton, MS Small Car Hyundai Elantra Montgomery, AL Budget Car Honda Fit Japan Small SUV Toyota RAV4 Canada Green Car Toyota Prius Japan Family SUV Kia Sorento …
Not very often is losing $1.2 billion good news but that’s the way General Motors is spinning its third quarter earnings report. GM claims its finances are stable enough to begin repaying the $6.7 billion in government loans as soon as December and could be paid off ahead of schedule, potentially by June of 2010. But that’s a small share of what the government (aka the taxpayer) invested in GM. Americans unwillingly invested over $80 billion in auto industry, allowing the government to take a 61 percent stake and a 10 …
Is the House of Representatives trying to start a trade war in the midst of the worst economy in a generation? Sure seems that way. When the House passed the Energy and Water appropriations bill they included a protectionist provision that is not only misguided, but it is poorly applied. The law states: “None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to purchase passenger motor vehicles other than those manufactured by Ford, General Motors, or Chrysler.” Not only does this bill ban foreign competition, but it …
In the wake of the General Motors and Chrysler’s bankruptcies, United Auto Workers finds itself in a complicated position. In some sense it has achieved a Marxist ideal: it has gained (at least some) control of its means of production. The UAW owns 55 percent of Chrysler and 17.5 percent of GM. Consequently, however, the UAW is placed in a strange situation when negotiating with Ford.
After months of pressure from the federal government to push down General Motors’s and Chrysler’s debt loads, a deal remains far out of reach. With the promise of further federal bailouts, no debt-holders wants to make concessions—accepting just 30 or 40 cents on the dollar, and much of that in possibly worthless stock—when holdouts could wind up paid in full. Bailout-free Ford announced yesterday that investors agreed to swap nearly $10 billion dollars in its debt for cash and stock, reducing its total debt burden by 28 percent. The price: …
“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 …
Surely, some concessions can be made, right?
