General Motors

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Keep the Hummer: Save America's Soul
Keep the Hummer:
Save America's Soul
OPINION

Keep the Hummer: Save America's Soul

Yes, it's obnoxious; that's why we need it

(Newser) - Sure, the Hummer is more of a "cartoon" than a vehicle, a ridiculously over-the-top gas-guzzling monstrosity. But the unbridled optimism it takes to manufacture it—and to fill up the tank—is what makes it uniquely American, writes Matthew DeBord in the Washington Post. If GM axes it, or,...

Pensions, Benefits Have GM Stalled
Pensions, Benefits Have GM Stalled
OPINION

Pensions, Benefits Have GM Stalled

Automaker hamstrung by 1950s promises to unions—maybe fatally

(Newser) - General Motors is suffering as oil prices surge and consumer spending wanes, Roger Lowenstein writes in the New York Times. But the biggest, and perhaps fatal, culprit of its recent troubles—with stock prices near a 50-year low—are the generous health care and pension benefits it agreed to lavish...

GM May Cut More Jobs, Brands
 GM May Cut More
 Jobs, Brands 

GM May Cut More Jobs, Brands

Only Cadillac, Chevy deemed safe as automaker struggles to return to profitability

(Newser) - GM is considering slashing thousands of white collar jobs, while simultaneously selling off or discontinuing even more brands, the Wall Street Journal reports, in a furious attempt to return to profitability. For years GM has resisted shrinking its large stable of brands, even as rivals Ford and Chrysler committed to...

Markets Mixed in Light Trading
 Markets Mixed in Light Trading 
MARKETS

Markets Mixed in Light Trading

Perked-up GM helps send Dow into holiday weekend on gain

(Newser) - The markets ended mixed today amid flat economic news, MarketWatch reports. With volume light ahead of the holiday, General Motors enjoyed a rebound after a sharp fall yesterday helped push the market into bear territory. The Dow gained 73.03 to close at 11,288.54. The S&P 500...

Dow Enters Bear Market
 Dow Enters Bear Market 

Dow Enters Bear Market

Nasdaq also falls more than 20% from its high

(Newser) - Skidding stocks sent the Dow and Nasdaq into bear territory as oil hit a record near $144 a barrel, the Wall Street Journal reports. Besides oil, bad news from GM and weak jobs data darkened the street’s mood. The Dow fell 166.75 points to 11,215.51, down...

Volt Could Spark GM Bailout
 Volt Could Spark GM Bailout 
OPINION

Volt Could Spark GM Bailout

Electric car may be speedy route to green image—and help

(Newser) - GM is about as likely to turn a profit with the Chevy Volt as the Edsel is to make a comeback, Holman W. Jenkins Jr. writes in the Wall Street Journal. But the ailing automaker may be aiming to improve its image rather than sell cars. With the automaker's image...

Stocks Rebound on GM News
 Stocks Rebound on GM News 
MARKETS

Stocks Rebound on GM News

Markets edge upwards after big fall early in the session

(Newser) - Stocks rebounded from an early slump today after a better-than-expected sales report from General Motors, the Wall Street Journal reports. The GM news also pushed up stocks of other troubled automakers. The Dow ended up 32.25 at 11,382.26, the Nasdaq up 11.99 at 2,304.97,...

US Auto Sales Off Big, But GM Holds Top Spot

21.4% drop keeps Toyota from No. 1; Honda manages gain

(Newser) - Sales for General Motors, Ford and Toyota all fell by double-digit percentages in June compared to the same month last year, while Honda managed an 11% gain, the Detroit News reports—with GM holding off Toyota as top US seller. In general, consumers passed over big, fuel-guzzling vehicles and luxury...

Obama Meets With Top Automakers Amid Tension

Dem had criticized the Big Three, sat out Michigan's primary

(Newser) - Barack Obama is meeting with two of the Big Three in encounters the Wall Street Journal says “could thaw festering tension” between the Dem and America’s automakers. A year after Obama criticized the companies for fighting fuel-economy standards and rewarding “failure with lucrative bonuses for CEOs,”...

Stocks Drop to 2008 Low as Bad News Piles Up

Dow drops more than 250 points as GM, Citi take hits

(Newser) - Stocks tumbled today as Wall Street contended with a barrage of bad news: another surge in oil prices and warnings of trouble in the key financial, automotive, and high-tech industries. The major indexes showed losses of more than 2%, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which shed more than 250...

Japan's Big 3 Move Into New Markets

Carmakers building plants in India, Africa, and Russia as traditional markets slow

(Newser) - Japan’s automakers, traditionally focused on North America and near-home markets, are expanding aggressively into new territories as opportunities shift to Africa, India, and the former Soviet Union, reports the New York Times. One analyst said 76% of the global growth of the Big Three—Toyota, Honda, and Nissan—in...

GM, After 16% Sales Dive, Eases Finance Options

No-interest loans, for up to 6 years, on models including pickups and SUVs

(Newser) - General Motors is offering no-interest financing for up to 6 years on a selection of its 2008 automobiles in an effort to boost US sales, which plummeted 16% in May, Bloomberg reports. Soaring gas prices have hurt sales across the board, and falling trade-in values and general tightening of purse-strings...

Stocks Stall, Finish Mixed
 Stocks Stall, Finish Mixed  
MARKETS

Stocks Stall, Finish Mixed

Investors are cautious ahead of Fed meeting

(Newser) - Markets ended mixed today, burdened by high oil prices and shaky financials. "It's been a terrible market. It definitely looks like we're going to re-test the lows all this week," an economist tells the Wall Street Journal. The Dow ended down 0.33 at 11,842.36, the...

Plunging Truck Sales Drive Ford Deeper Into the Red

Shift away from large vehicles means a rocky road ahead for Detroit's Big 3

(Newser) - Ford's recovery plans have been sent careening off the road by the continuing drop in truck and SUV sales, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company, which now expects this year's losses to top 2007's $2.7 billion, has given up hope of being back in the black by 2009....

GM Gambles All on the Volt
 GM Gambles All on the Volt 

GM Gambles All on the Volt

Electric car a massive gamble

(Newser) - The Chevy Volt will either revolutionize cars forever and rocket GM back to the top of the automotive world, or it’ll be an embarrassing disaster that will further cripple the giant. And right now, lots of industry types are betting on the latter. GM is so desperate to get...

High Gas Prices Are Good for Detroit
 High Gas Prices
 Are Good for Detroit 
ANALYSIS

High Gas Prices Are Good for Detroit

Demand rising for electric alternatives, so makers, legislators must seize moment

(Newser) - Sky-high gas prices are finally pushing top US auto-makers to turn out fuel-efficient vehicles, and both Detroit and Washington should keep the pedal down to make a permanent change in how, and what, Americans drive, the US top car salesman tells the Wall Street Journal. "You have to tell...

RIP Hummer: Symbol of Eco-Defiance Is a Goner

Villified car will be tough for GM to unload

(Newser) - General Motors announced yesterday that it was considering selling the Hummer brand, which begs the question: To whom? Who exactly wants the most reviled division in automotive history, asks Frank Aherns of the Washington Post. With gas at $4 a gallon and counting, no one’s really interested in SUVs...

Lehman, GM Drive Stocks Down
 Lehman, GM Drive Stocks Down 
MARKETS

Lehman, GM Drive Stocks Down

Liquidity rumors, poor sales sour investor sentiment

(Newser) - The markets enjoyed modest gains before dropping sharply this afternoon as rumors swirled that Lehman Brothers may face a liquidity problem and automakers reported weak May sales, MarketWatch reports. The Dow closed down 100.97 at 12,402.85, the Nasdaq down 11.05 at 2,480.48, and the...

GM to Close 4 Truck/SUV Plants, Reassess Hummer

Public taste turns away from big cars

(Newser) - GM will close four of its North American truck and SUV factories, the company announced today, as the public interest in gas-guzzlers wanes. The Hummer brand is also under “strategic review,” with all options on the table, "from a complete revamp of the product lineup to a...

Sales of Hybrid SUVs Stuck in Neutral
Sales of Hybrid SUVs
Stuck in Neutral

Sales of Hybrid SUVs Stuck in Neutral

New truck-based models save gas, but they're still costly

(Newser) - As sales drop for traditional SUVs, GM and Chrysler have high hopes for hybrid versions of their popular truck-based vehicles—but sales thus far haven’t been impressive, the New York Times reports. GM has sold 1,100 of its Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon hybrids—pacing far behind the...

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