Back in May, there was speculation that the Detroit Three automakers would maintain or perhaps even extend their traditional summer shutdowns, mostly due to a bitingly cold winter that saw below-freezing temperatures infiltrate the southernmost reaches of the US, putting a chill on auto sales. Now, though, the numbers are in, and thanks to some promising sales figures, it looks like some domestic line workers are go
The Michigan Economic Growth Authority has approved a series of tax incentives for Ford and Chrysler and expanded previously approved incentives for General Motors. Between a tax break engineered to help GM build a 900-job electric-vehicle battery facility in Warren and another to keep 4,000 people at work in the company's Renaissance Cen
In what has to be one of the least surprising developments related to the auto industry, a newly-released survey finds that Americans' favorable view of Ford Motor Company has increased substantially since it became the sole member of the Detroit Three to abstain from taking federal funds.
Over the past two days, we've told you what we've heard about the latest short-term federal aid coming to Chrysler and GM. According to the latest reports, it will be $5B to the latter and $500M to the former. We also mentioned it had been reported that Chrysler Financial had inexplicably turned down an additional $750M in government aid during this most recent round of handouts. It had been speculated
Is General Motors about to get an additional $5 billlion from the Feds? Will Chrysler be getting another $500 million? The Detroit News seems to think so. Citing Obama Administration sources and a leaked 250-page government report, they say that those figures are accurate. The money will reportedly come in the form of short-term aid via the $700B Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). One group we know won't be taking any additional TARP money is Frank Filipponio
There's no question that the Detroit-based auto industry needs a lot of help. There's a 100-year history of how it got into the problems it's in, and some of those problems are beyond management's control.
Between the flow of bailout bucks and the economic turmoil threatening to topple the Detroit 3, you'd figure the investigative efforts of the Detroit News would be better spent digging through the viability plans of Chrysler and General Motors, delving into the minutia that could make or break the domestic automobile industry. Apparently not.
With sales at a 26-year low, the Detroit 3 are trying almost anything to reduce costs and make more money from the cars they are selling. One of the biggest changes coming apes what some of the more successful Japanese makers have done all along: offering fewer configurations of their models. If you want leather, you option up for the higher-spec model and get the sunroof, two-zone climate control, larger wheels, and steering-wheel-controlled MP3 stereo system too. Soon, you'll see a si
Show me the money. With apologies to Cuba Gooding Jr., that is exactly what many General Motors dealers are saying to GMAC Financial Services.
The 2009 Tokyo Motor Show is going to have to make do without another automaker, as Volvo has decided to save money by skipping the exhibition. Volvo's move comes after all three Detroit automakers decided to skip the event, which is held every other year. Volvo, like the Detroit automakers, doesn't have a major presence in the land of the rising sun, making the decision not to head for Tokyo easier. With the precipitous state of the globa
2008 is at an end, and while the editorial pages of some newspapers spend the final days of December focusing on ways to further burden taxpayers and foment interstate hostility, the Washington Post Magazine has, thankfully, Alex Nunez
With the U.S. Senate denying the Detroit 3 relief plan, it looks like oil prices might continue to tumble. Our sibling site BloggingStocks is predicting barrel prices might drop as low as $35 as a result. This comes on the heels of predictions of higher prices in the near future.
In all this debate about whether we should provide the Big Three with a bridge loan, not enough attention has been devoted to their impact on our national defense. I'd hate to see this country ever get involved in a total global war again, but I especially shudder to think it might happen without the manufacturing capability that General Motors, Ford and Chrysler provide to the United States.
Click above for high-res gallery of the 2010 Chevy Volt
In some parts of the world, it's normal to take along saints or other holy images for a Procession to ask for rain, a good crop or other benefit. A similar idea caught the minds of people at Detroit's Greater Grace Church, where the pastor made a symbolic move on SUVday Sunday to pray for the future of the car industry. The objects of prayer? Three hybrid SUVs: a Ford Escape, Chevy Tahoe, and Chrysler Aspen. The holy trinity joined the Rev. Charles Ellis on the altar while many
What to do when you wanted $34 billion and Congress only gave you $15 billion? Try again, but this time go North young man. The Detroit 3 are now making a pitch to the Canadian legislature seeking an additional $6.8 billion from Canada where nearly 100,000 workers are employed in factories and dealerships bearing the Chrysler, General Motors or Ford name.
Having watched each of the Detroit 3 CEOs take tough questions from the Senate Banking Committee for six hours yesterday, we've returned to the couch today to watch General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner, Ford CEO Alan Mulally, Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli and Ron Gettelfinger, President of the United Auto Workers union, visit House members of the Financial Services Committee led by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts).
We'll be hearing more about the Detroit 3 in the mainstream media this week as their homework entitled "What I Would Do With My Share of $25 Billion in Government Loans" gets turned in to Congress. While Detroit deserves much of the ribbing that's on the way, it irks our ears every time we read an op-ed piece from folks who flat-out do not know what the Hell they're talking about. Take Karen Wagner, whose opinion letter was published by the Chicago Tribune in which she claims that Ford should ca
It seems the entire world is still debating whether or not Rick Wagoner, Alan Mulally and Bob Nardelli should have carpooled, walked or taken the bus for their last trip to the Capitol, but that's all behind us now. The good news for those who like to play expert on the internet is that Detroit's got another date with Congress this week. Ford CEO Alan Mulally is the first of the three CEOs to announce that Jeremy Korzeniewski
The plan to drive a slew of Detroit's best new cars from the Motor City to Washington, DC is over before it even got started. Amazingly, there was just too much support for the idea, which led to a complete lack of control over the event and leading to its cancellation. It's just as well, really. While it would have been an awesome display of support for the ailing Detroit 3, the notion of packing Wash
