We're not going anywhere, Detroit Three say

[Auburn85 438]

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2009-01-11-plans_N.htm

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Three all said they had plans to weather the nasty economy in speeches Sunday at the Detroit auto show.

• Several hundred General Motors employees, dealers and retirees gathered inside the convention center for the unveilings, cheering and waving signs that said "Here to Stay" as they flanked the vehicles driving through the show floor.

GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner told the crowd the vehicles are smaller, smarter and more fuel efficient, with "enough towing capacity" to pull GM out of its current troubles.

The government granted the struggling automaker $13.4 billion in federal loans in December so the company could stay in business, and GM wants to show off innovations to demonstrate to people that the loans were a good investment.

"We've made tremendous progress in the past several years of making cars and trucks that consumers really want to buy," Wagoner said.

CEO Robert Nardelli Wagoner told reporters after the news conference that he's confident in GM's survival, even though it would have run out of money this month without government help.

He said the company's restructuring plans presented to Congress, which include concessions from the United Auto Workers union, bondholders swapping debt for equity, and cost cuts to improve the balance sheet, along with GM's array of new products, will make the company prosper when the worldwide auto market recovers.

"We'll be in a position to run the business at break-even or profitable at a much, much smaller industry than frankly a year ago that we ever felt would be possible to deal with," Wagoner said.

GM has teams of people working on each aspect of the plan, including identifying all bond holders and negotiating with them.

GM is prepared for a U.S. market in which 10.5 million vehicles are sold a year, a big drop from 16 million as recently as 2007. Carmakers sold 13.2 million vehicles last year as the faltering economy, poor consumer confidence and tight credit sent sales diving toward the end of 2008.

Wagoner predicted a slow first half of this year, but the start of a recovery in the second half as loosening credit and President-elect Barack Obama's economic stimulus package take effect to boost the economy from "very, very low levels."

•Ford Motor said it is planning to put a fully electric car in showrooms by 2011 that will get up to 100 miles on a single charge and plans to offer plug-in versions of its gas-electric hybrid vehicles a year later.

Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. said the company is working on four high-mileage battery-electric vehicles to be introduced in the coming years.

Ford said the company's electrification strategy is "perfectly aligned with our nation's growing interest in advanced technologies that can help reduce our usage of gasoline."

The automaker said it also plans to have a battery-powered commercial van on the market in 2010.

"We're employing a comprehensive approach to electrification that will tackle commercial issues such as batteries, standards and infrastructure," Bill Ford said.

In an effort to make electric vehicles appeal to a mass market, Ford said the company is teaming up with utility companies in California, and local governments in Colorado and China to develop projects that can help fuel usage of plug-in, eco-friendly vehicles.

Derrick Kuzak, Ford's group vice president of global product development, said the automaker expects to start out selling 5,000 to 10,000 electric vehicles annually.

•Chrysler's chief executive acknowledges that the company's plan for new vehicles has a hole in it for 2009, but he and other executives say Chrysler will make it through the year and to 2010, when it will roll out important new models.

Speaking the reporters at the North American International Auto Show on Sunday, CEO Robert Nardelli said 2009 is a concern for the automaker, which saw its sales decline 30% in 2008 and 53% in December.

Chrysler plans to introduce an electric car and a subcompact in 2010, and it has a new 300 sedan, Charger performance car and Jeep Grand Cherokee in the works, but until then, there are few promising models to boost sales. Many analysts predict that by then, Chrysler will be acquired by another automaker or sold in pieces by its majority owner Cerberus Capital Management, a New York private equity firm.

The hole in Chrysler's product plan, Nardelli said, was left by the company's prior owner, Daimler. Cerberus bought an 80.1% stake in the Auburn Hills automaker in 2007.

Daimler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche told reporters Sunday that when the company made future product decisions about five years ago, "we tried to do everything to go for a very broad and rich product pipeline."

[arnaldoabru 11]

What would happen to NASCAR if all three folded?

[OldNewby 27]

What would happen to NASCAR if all three folded?

More Toyotas, and maybe some Hondas and Nissans?

I couldn't believe all the Dodge and Chevy truck commercials in the NFL games today. Kept thinking, there's our tax dollars at work.

[Tigermike 4,329]

What would happen to NASCAR all those union endorsements for dimocrats if all three folded?

FTFY

[TigerHeat 9]

What would happen to NASCAR if all three folded?

Benevolent Elder Brother would get enough bailout money to save NASCAR. That would buy enough votes to keep the dhimmis in office for 100 years.

[Auburn85 438]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...&refer=home

Ford May Be Forced to Seek U.S. Aid as Economy Imperils Sales

Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co., the second-largest U.S. automaker, may have to abandon its plan to forgo federal loans as the weakening economy threatens to drive domestic sales 10 percent lower than the company’s forecast.

Ford expects U.S. light-vehicle sales will reach 12.2 million units this year, almost 2 million more than the annualized sales rate over the last 3 months. Chrysler LLC predicts sales may reach 11 million, while General Motors Corp. projected a range yesterday of 10 million to 11 million.

“The market will not reach 12.2 million units this year, no way, no how,” said John Wolkonowicz, an IHS Global Insight analyst. The Lexington, Massachusetts-based consulting firm trimmed its 2009 sales estimate last week to between 10 million and 10.5 million.

Sales at that level would trigger the need for as much as $13 billion in loans, Ford told Congress last month. That would undercut the company’s attempt to win customers by portraying itself as Detroit’s healthiest automaker, after GM and Chrysler both sought federal financial aid.

The U.S. automakers and industry analysts agree that domestic sales will fall again this year after tumbling 18 percent in 2008 to 13.2 million units, short of the annual average of about 16 million over the past decade. The size of the plunge is the only dispute.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. predicts 2009 U.S. sales will be 10.8 million, while Goldman, Sachs & Co. projects an 11- million vehicle market.

Unless ‘World Implodes’

Ford’s “game plan is to keep going on our own” and not seek federal loans unless “the world implodes as we know it,” Chairman William Clay Ford Jr. told reporters yesterday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Promoting its strength versus domestic peers helped Ford boost market share late last year, as consumers avoided GM and Chrysler out of fear they might go bankrupt, according to a survey conducted by CNW Marketing Research of Bandon, Oregon.

As GM and Chrysler teetered on the verge of financial collapse in late 2008, requesting federal aid as they burned through cash, Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford was able to maintain sufficient liquidity thanks to $23 billion in private borrowing in late 2006. Ford is using the loans to pay for developing new models and shutting factories while weathering losses.

The automaker is scrutinizing its forecast, Chief Financial Officer Lewis Booth said in an interview.

‘The Bad Months’

“The longer the bad months continue, the more we wonder about when the recovery will happen,” Booth said. “We look at it every month, and we will very quickly react to the reality.”

Under its scenario for a U.S. auto market of more than 12 million vehicles, Ford is seeking a line of credit of at least $9 billion from the government as a financial backstop.

“We’re comfortable with where we are, but we have asked for a line of credit, just in case,” Bill Ford told reporters yesterday at the Detroit show.

Ford’s assumptions are based on the belief that President- elect Barack Obama’s economic stimulus efforts will begin bearing fruit by the second half of the year, Booth said.

Emily Kolinski Morris, Ford’s senior U.S. economist and one of the main authors of the company’s sales projection, said most forecasts are “below us right now.” Those estimates discount positive effects of the government’s efforts to stimulate the economy, she said.

‘A Little Extreme’

They are “a little extreme,” she said. “I don’t want to use the term ‘depression,’ but those forecasts suggest that all these positive things are taking place on paper and that people don’t respond.”

Americans are likely to start buying again as the average age of cars on the road tops nine years, boosting repair costs, Kolinski Morris said.

“There is replacement demand out there that is being put off,” she said. “There is an economic cost to operating an older vehicle.”

Should the worst-case scenario play out, Ford’s finances may make it complicated to accept government money.

Under the terms of the 2006 borrowing, those creditors must be paid off first in the event of a bankruptcy. As part of the aid package for GM and Chrysler, the federal government told the automakers to put taxpayers at the front of the line for payment in that situation.

“We could be put in default,” Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally told Congress when asked about what would happen were Ford to take the step required of GM and Chrysler. “But having said that, there just has to be a way -- I’d be committed to figuring out the way -- to get us all together to figure out a way to protect the taxpayer.”

No resolution to that issue has been found, because Ford hasn’t requested a government loan and doesn’t plan to do so, spokesman Mark Truby said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Keith Naughton in Detroit at knaughton3@bloomberg.net

[Tigermike 4,329]

Maybe I should tell the new administration to keep their stimulus check and keep whatever tax refund I may get and give me a new Chevy Silverado instead.

Just doing all I can to help out.

[DKW 86 8,246]

Maybe I should tell the new administration to keep their stimulus check and keep whatever tax refund I may get and give me a new Chevy Silverado instead.

Just doing all I can to help out.

It wont make it off the lot before it breaks down.

[Tigermike 4,329]

Maybe I should tell the new administration to keep their stimulus check and keep whatever tax refund I may get and give me a new Chevy Silverado instead.

Just doing all I can to help out.

It wont make it off the lot before it breaks down.

At present I have a 1987 Chevy truck with 350,000 + miles on it. It's not an every day truck and all I use it for is hauling stuff whenever I need to. It has made numerous trips to the dump, loaded beyond what would be logical. But the engine is still tight and strong; the transmission is good but does leak a little. I call it my $hit truck since every spring I haul a load of the stuff to fertilize with. I bought the old truck ten years ago for $800.00 and it still runs great. So it wouldn’t bother me in the least for Obama to send me a new truck.

[DKW 86 8,246]

Maybe I should tell the new administration to keep their stimulus check and keep whatever tax refund I may get and give me a new Chevy Silverado instead.

Just doing all I can to help out.

It wont make it off the lot before it breaks down.

At present I have a 1987 Chevy truck with 350,000 + miles on it. It's not an every day truck and all I use it for is hauling stuff whenever I need to. It has made numerous trips to the dump, loaded beyond what would be logical. But the engine is still tight and strong; the transmission is good but does leak a little. I call it my $hit truck since every spring I haul a load of the stuff to fertilize with. I bought the old truck ten years ago for $800.00 and it still runs great. So it wouldn’t bother me in the least for Obama to send me a new truck.

You are very very fortunate then...I won my arbitration with Chevrolet. The turning point was when Chevrolet told the arbitrators and me that 56 days in the shop in one calendar year was a good car by GM standards.

[autigeremt 7,553]

Maybe I should tell the new administration to keep their stimulus check and keep whatever tax refund I may get and give me a new Chevy Silverado instead.

Just doing all I can to help out.

It wont make it off the lot before it breaks down.

I disagree. TOTALLY!

Maybe I should tell the new administration to keep their stimulus check and keep whatever tax refund I may get and give me a new Chevy Silverado instead.

Just doing all I can to help out.

It wont make it off the lot before it breaks down.

At present I have a 1987 Chevy truck with 350,000 + miles on it. It's not an every day truck and all I use it for is hauling stuff whenever I need to. It has made numerous trips to the dump, loaded beyond what would be logical. But the engine is still tight and strong; the transmission is good but does leak a little. I call it my $hit truck since every spring I haul a load of the stuff to fertilize with. I bought the old truck ten years ago for $800.00 and it still runs great. So it wouldn’t bother me in the least for Obama to send me a new truck.

You are very very fortunate then...I won my arbitration with Chevrolet. The turning point was when Chevrolet told the arbitrators and me that 56 days in the shop in one calendar year was a good car by GM standards.

My father had a similar situation with a Toyota Camry. It happens.

[DKW 86 8,246]

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/12/09/GM_...90901228825351/

GM apologizes for failing consumers

Published: Dec. 9, 2008 at 7:22 AMOrder reprints | Feedback

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM), seeking a multibillion-dollar bailout from the government, apologized in a magazine ad for disappointing the U.S. public.

"While we're still the U.S. sales leader, we acknowledge we have disappointed you," the company said in Automotive News. "At times we violated your trust by letting our quality fall below industry standards and our designs become lackluster."

The ad containing the letter, titled "GM's Commitment to the American People," appeared as the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday finished drafting a federal aid bill that is less than half of the $34 billion the Big Three automakers sought last week, The Washington Post (NYSE:WPO) reported. Executives of GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC testified on Capitol Hill about why they need federal assistance and pledged to turn their businesses around.

"It's addressing what Congress wants to hear but they do realize they've made mistakes," auto industry consultant Laurie Harbour-Felax told the Post.

Saying "I'm sorry" doesn't come easy for corporate America, said Gene Grabowski, chairman of the crisis and litigation practice at Levick Strategic Communications, with offices in Washington, New York and London.

"When you're a publicly held corporation, every utterance you make is scrutinized by Wall Street and has consequences in the marketplace," he said to the newspaper.

But public contrition is only a first step, another observer told the Post.

"Talk is pretty cheap," said Jonathan Cohen, a University of Florida law professor who studies corporate apology-making. "Action is often more telling."

I told you about the Chevrolet, now about the Pontiac. We spent about $1000 a year on a Grand Am above the normal maintennance costs. I cant even begin to tell you the things wrong with the car. I just gave up on it tho.

I had a GM truck once. Clutch and Interior fell apart about 25K, I traded it in for a Ford that went 100K without a glitch.

I fully realize that everyone makes cars they arent proud of. But GM is leading the way because of their corporate mindset off planned obsolesence, content removal, etc. There are reasons why GM and Chrysler are in such bad shape. It aint from building better cars than Toyota and Honda.

[TigerHeat 9]

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/12/09/GM_...90901228825351/

GM apologizes for failing consumers

Published: Dec. 9, 2008 at 7:22 AMOrder reprints | Feedback

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM), seeking a multibillion-dollar bailout from the government, apologized in a magazine ad for disappointing the U.S. public.

"While we're still the U.S. sales leader, we acknowledge we have disappointed you," the company said in Automotive News. "At times we violated your trust by letting our quality fall below industry standards and our designs become lackluster."

The ad containing the letter, titled "GM's Commitment to the American People," appeared as the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday finished drafting a federal aid bill that is less than half of the $34 billion the Big Three automakers sought last week, The Washington Post (NYSE:WPO) reported. Executives of GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC testified on Capitol Hill about why they need federal assistance and pledged to turn their businesses around.

"It's addressing what Congress wants to hear but they do realize they've made mistakes," auto industry consultant Laurie Harbour-Felax told the Post.

Saying "I'm sorry" doesn't come easy for corporate America, said Gene Grabowski, chairman of the crisis and litigation practice at Levick Strategic Communications, with offices in Washington, New York and London.

"When you're a publicly held corporation, every utterance you make is scrutinized by Wall Street and has consequences in the marketplace," he said to the newspaper.

But public contrition is only a first step, another observer told the Post.

"Talk is pretty cheap," said Jonathan Cohen, a University of Florida law professor who studies corporate apology-making. "Action is often more telling."

I told you about the Chevrolet, now about the Pontiac. We spent about $1000 a year on a Grand Am above the normal maintennance costs. I cant even begin to tell you the things wrong with the car. I just gave up on it tho.

I had a GM truck once. Clutch and Interior fell apart about 25K, I traded it in for a Ford that went 100K without a glitch.

I fully realize that everyone makes cars they arent proud of. But GM is leading the way because of their corporate mindset off planned obsolesence, content removal, etc. There are reasons why GM and Chrysler are in such bad shape. It aint from building better cars than Toyota and Honda.

My 2005 Pontiac Gran Prix is a fast, gorgeous piece of crap. Things fall off of it for no apparent reason. It is worth ZERO now. I'm so happy I bought American UAW.

[DKW 86 8,246]

My 2005 Pontiac Gran Prix is a fast, gorgeous piece of crap. Things fall off of it for no apparent reason. It is worth ZERO now. I'm so happy I bought American UAW.

Our Grand Am ate doorlock motors, window motors, fuel injection parts, ignition parts and leaked more coolant than Prestone makes. I sold the car for $500 less than I had spent on it in the previous two years, forget the initial value. I didnt even get the repair bills out of it and consider myself lucky it sold for that. It probabaly needed another $700-1000 worth of work on it when it sold.

The Pontiac was the first and only car I ever had where the entire DASHPAD come off.

The Chev was the first and only car I ever had where 30+ inches of dash broke off the car from simply removing the radar detector. GM bought it back with only 27k on it. In that time, the EGR valve, multiple injectors, the steering wheel, the a/c compressor, the alternator, the flywheel and starter, the power steering pump and rack and pinion unit, and other parts were all replaced.

[Tigermike 4,329]

It sounds like they had been saving that car for you David.

I'm sorry I know it wasn't fun but some day you may be able to laugh. Maybe your Grand Am was built on Monday. It seems I remember studies stating that most "lemons" were built on Monday's when many of the workers had hang overs from long weekends. Or maybe that is just an urban legend.

[CCTAU 3,883]

My 2005 Pontiac Gran Prix is a fast, gorgeous piece of crap. Things fall off of it for no apparent reason. It is worth ZERO now. I'm so happy I bought American UAW.

Our Grand Am ate doorlock motors, window motors, fuel injection parts, ignition parts and leaked more coolant than Prestone makes. I sold the car for $500 less than I had spent on it in the previous two years, forget the initial value. I didnt even get the repair bills out of it and consider myself lucky it sold for that. It probabaly needed another $700-1000 worth of work on it when it sold.

The Pontiac was the first and only car I ever had where the entire DASHPAD come off.

The Chev was the first and only car I ever had where 30+ inches of dash broke off the car from simply removing the radar detector. GM bought it back with only 27k on it. In that time, the EGR valve, multiple injectors, the steering wheel, the a/c compressor, the alternator, the flywheel and starter, the power steering pump and rack and pinion unit, and other parts were all replaced.

You didn't get A lemon....You got the whole damn tree.

I have only owned one good GM product. My wife's 2000 Chevy Express conversion van (low top). She will not get rid of it. 129,000 miles. Only things that have gone bad so far is the A/C had to be replaced at about 75,000 for about $1500 and the transmission rebuilt at 110,000. She is disabled and the inside is very posh and comfortable. I have been pleased with it. We used it to pull a 30 foot camper for a long time (until I got the F250 diesel). But I still wish it was a Ford. We got such a great deal on it when we purchased it that we could not let it go. I do love my Ford trucks. My FIL gets a new Suburban every 2 to 3 years and puts about 200,000 on each with no problems at all. So I guess GM makes certain vehicles better than others.

Until the big three cut their model numbers in half and concentrate on making those very dependable, they will not make it.