Autoblog

GM shareholders upset over Wagoner's pay

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:34:00 EST

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, GM, Earnings/Financials

Considering the sorry state of financial affairs that GM appears to be in, it seems extremely unsurprising that the board would like to see some big changes made at the very top of the company. What is a little shocking, though, is just how soundly the specific proposals were rejected. For instance, a proposal sponsored by John Chevedden of Redondo Beach, California, which would have given shareholders an annual advisory vote on executive compensation and pay, found less than 38-percent of voters in support. Another proposal which was soundly defeated would have tied executive stock options and awards with company performance.

Still, there were some vocal company detractors present at the annual shareholders meeting, such as Mary Ann Wiley from Seattle, Washington. She told GM CEO Rick Wagoner, "If the company does not do well, management should take an equal hit, and I don't think they've taken an equal hit." Wagoner's $15.7 million dollars worth of compensation for 2007 is as drop in the bucket compared to GM's reported loss for the same calendar year, so it seems obvious that there is a bit more to the problem than overpaid executives. Still, a little shake-up seems like a distinct possibility if things don't improve quickly.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

GM shareholders upset over Wagoner's pay originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Documentary implicates BMW's controlling shareholders in War Crimes

Noah Joseph — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 19:01:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, BMW, Earnings/Financials

For those who missed the news, a documentary aired late last month at the Hamburg film festival and on German television in which the Quandt family, principal shareholders in BMW, have been implicated in Nazi war crimes stemming from the family's past during the Holocaust and concurrent Second World War.

The result of five years of research into the Quandt family's wartime activities, The Silence of the Quandt Family asserts that Afa, the family's battery company that supplied specialized power cells and munitions to the Third Reich, employed slave labor provided by the Nazis. Documents unearthed as part of the research show that the company appallingly estimated that approximately 80 of its forced laborers would die each month at its factories. The film included testimonies from survivors who attested to the subhuman working and living conditions, as well as from former Nuremberg war-crimes prosecutors who asserted that, based on the evidence previously hidden by the Quandts and now revealed, the family would have been convicted of war crimes.

The Quandts, the documentary asserted, had close ties to high Nazi party officials. Adolf Hitler himself acted as witness to the second marriage ceremony of family patriach Gunther Quandt's first wife Magda to Nazi propoganda mastermind Joseph Goebbels, and the infamous couple raised Gunther's son Harald. The Quandts, according to the research, used the wealth amassed from the suffering of victims of the Nazi regime fifteen years after the war to buy BMW, and continues to hold 47% stake in the automaking conglomorate.

Even in the face of the publicly revealed evidence, the Quandts continue to refute any wrongdoing during the wartime period, have evaded justice and refused to contribute to restitution programs. They have, however, finally pledged to open the family records to independent historians for examination. While BMW itself, like other German companies, has acknowledged its role in the Nazi war machine, the Quandt family that owns it continues to deny any culpability.

[Source: BusinessWeek]

Documentary implicates BMW's controlling shareholders in War Crimes originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 25 Oct 2007 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota shareholder meeting turns into tearful lovefest

John Neff — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:02:00 EST

Filed under: Japan, Toyota, Earnings/Financials

You can imagine that for most automakers in today's market, shareholder meetings are about as fun as finding out your CUV only got 4 stars from the NHTSA instead of 5. Toyota has often been the exception to the rule, and its recent shareholder meeting went down unlike any other today in Toyota City, Japan. Rather than the normal bitching and moaning from shareholders about what management didn't do or should've done, the Toyota board was regaled with praise from its shareholders. One woman was reportedly even moved to tears when she stood up and thanked Toyota executives for the "wonderful work you are doing" in front of her 2,500 investor buddies in attendance.

Automotive News contrasts Toyota's happy happy lovefest with recent shareholder meetings for Nissan, at which CEO Carlos Ghosn was asked to resign by one investor, and DaimlerChrysler, which lasted 12 hours long for CEO Dieter Zetsche and his executive board. The Toyota shareholder meeting lasted just 2.5 hours, and it sounds as if Toyota's management enjoyed every minute of it.

BTW - a small item of note occurred at the Toyota shareholder meeting: Jim Press, Toyota's main man in North America, became the first non-Japanese member of the company's board of directors.

[Source: Automotive News]

Toyota shareholder meeting turns into tearful lovefest originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM shareholders' meeting: progress, Proton and healthcare

Jonathon Ramsey — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 17:34:00 EST

Filed under: GM

Rick Wagoner had good news to report at GM's shareholder meeting, held yesterday: progress is being made, and the company is on track to shed $2.2 billion in expenses this year. He also said that GM is still in talks with Proton, but that it's "more a possibility for us than a probability." What remain as hot button topics for the year are settling negotiations with the UAW and Delphi to get Delphi out of Chapter 11, and reducing healthcare costs, which amounted to $4.8 billion last year.

Shareholders' proposals, however, didn't fare so well: all ten were voted down. These included setting goals to reduce emissions and improve GM fleet fuel economy, making 75% of an executive's stock options tied to performance, and making an executive repay a bonus if earnings restatements showed they actually hadn't met the claimed benchmark.

[Source: Auto Industry News]

GM shareholders' meeting: progress, Proton and healthcare originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 06 Jun 2007 17:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DaimlerChrysler stocks skyrockets on talk of Chrysler sale

Frank Filipponio — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 06:50:00 EST

Filed under: Daimler, GM, Hyundai, Earnings/Financials

We have no idea who will end up with Chrysler once all this madness ends, but we can say that there are already quite a few winners in the process -- DCX stockholders.

While we all sat and played the Hyundai vs. GM vs. ? game, the stock price shot through the roof. Apparently in the minds of shareholders, any buyer would be better than Daimler at this point. The stock closed up four-percent, trading at its highest price since 2001. At the closing bell, the final price was 56.08 Euro (about $73.74) per share. We first mentioned rumors of the sale on Valentine's Day and within a few days the story had exploded into unconfirmed, yet very probable, negotiations between GM and DaimlerChrysler, with Hyundai appearing out of nowhere and then quickly dropping out. While we figured the buyout was probably not going to happen, and that pickups were the basis of the talks between GM and Chrysler, the rumors persist.

[Source: Reuters]

DaimlerChrysler stocks skyrockets on talk of Chrysler sale originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Feb 2007 06:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mitsubish becomes top shareholder of Isuzu

Randall Halcomb — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 12:56:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Isuzu, Mitsubishi

Isuzu Motors announced today that Mitsubishi Corp. has become its top shareholder after increasing its share of the automaker from 3.5 percent to 15.65 percent. Mitsubishi Corp, the huge conglomerate that also owns 13 percent of Mitsubishi Motors Corp, first scooped up a share in Isuzu when General Motors dropped back its stake in the company back in April, and this news came about after Mitsubishi decided to convert all the preferred share that it purchased back in 2005 into common stock. Mitsubishi is clearly looking to strengthen its ties with Isuzu and benefit from the automaker's truck business.

Mitsubishi is a huge company, and it's no suprise that it is looking to strengthen its truck portfolio. A major factor in Mitsubishi's success last year was the strong sales of its trucks in Thailand, believe it or not. It will be interesting to see how much Mitsubishi integrates Isuzu into its current product offerings, as in some markets the two are direct competitors. It will be also interesting to see what becomes of Mitsubishi's relationship with DaimlerChrysler, as its current midsize truck offering, the Raider, is based on the Dodge Dakota. And what of GM's midsize trucks, the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, which share their identity with Isuzu versions that have different grilles and bigger warranties? Seems as old relationships unravel, new ones are forming quickly.

[Source: AutomotiveNews - sub. required]

Mitsubish becomes top shareholder of Isuzu originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 04 Oct 2006 12:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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