Will this Nice Lady Kill Opel?
By Bertel SchmittJuly 3, 2009
After a lot of arm twisting, and several deadlines set by the US court and the German government, the Opel deal finally is entering the final round—for now. After a suitor has been found, a French woman may spoil the whole wedding.
Posted in Chapter 11 | Germany | News Blog | 6 comments 
New Chrysler Liability Warning Label?
By Robert FaragoJuly 3, 2009
Sean Kane of safetyresearch.net gave us the heads-up on a move to put warning labels on products manufactured by pre-C-11 Chrysler.
WARNING! This vehicle was produced prior to the date when the Chrysler bankruptcy was approved. If you buy this vehicle and are injured or killed, even if your injuries were caused by the manufacturer, you or your survivors will not be able to recover your losses by taking action against the manufacturer. If your passengers are injured or killed, even if their injuries were caused by the manufacturer, they and their survivors will not be able to recover their losses by taking action against the manufacturer.
Posted in Chapter 11 | News Blog | Safety | 9 comments
GM’s Toxic Assets
By Bertel SchmittJuly 2, 2009
In the market for a parking lot in Flint, Michigan? Or a nine-hole golf course in New Jersey (needs TLC)? How about some scenic acreage way upstate New York that features prominently on New York State Registry of Hazardous Waste Sites and on the federal superfund list of contaminated places? All—and more—available now to the highest bidder. Come on down!
While the supposedly best of GM is sold to the supposedly new GM, the worst will be auctioned off in bankruptcy court. Call it the Adam and Eve of all foreclosure sales.
Open house in Massena, New York. This fine waterfront property, abutting the St. Regis Mohawk Indian Reservation in the east and the St. Lawrence River to the north, was home to a GM foundry. It made aluminum cylinder heads for the Chevrolet Corvair. It also mass-produced PCB sludge.
Posted in Chapter 11 | Green | News Blog | 15 comments
GM: Don’t Buy and Say Goodbye
By Robert FaragoJuly 1, 2009
Straight from the horse’s mouth:
GM management has noticed the continuing high trading volume in GM’s common stock at prices in excess of $1. GM management continues to remind investors of its strong belief that there will be no value for the common stockholders in the bankruptcy liquidation process, even under the most optimistic of scenarios. Stockholders of a company in chapter 11 generally receive value only if all claims of the company’s secured and unsecured creditors are fully satisfied. In this case, GM management strongly believes all such claims will not be fully satisfied, leading to its conclusion that GM common stock will have no value.
Posted in Chapter 11 | News Blog | 16 comments
Opel Watch: Buyback Is a Bitch
By Bertel SchmittJuly 1, 2009
A month ago, we reported that GM offered to buy back Opel some day “when we do better after a restructuring phase.” Offered? GM downright demands the right to buy back Opel after a buyer has successfully resuscitated and restructured Opel.
The rumors of such a demand have been around for a while. GM is pretty much the only one on the planet who thinks this is a swell idea.
Posted in Chapter 11 | Germany | News Blog | 7 comments
Payback’s a Bitch: New GM Stock Must Hit $68 Billion
By Robert FaragoJune 30, 2009
The Washington Post reminds us that Uncle Sam’s chance of recouping taxpayers’ $50 billion “investment” in New GM shares are somewhere between slim and none. To recover the money poured down the GM rathole so far, not including “extraneous” bailouts to lender cum banks, suppliers, dealers and car buyers, the automaker’s stock must rise to the point where it’s worth $68 billion. And remain at the level as the feds attempt to off-load their/our 60 percent share. As we like to say in these parts, good luck with that. Or, as the WaPo puts it, “Even at its recent 2000 peak, GM’s stock was worth only $56 billion.”
Posted in Chapter 11 | News Blog | 19 comments
GM: Fitter, Happier, More Productive?
By Edward NiedermeyerJune 29, 2009
Automotive News [sub] indulges in the optimism that dare not speak its name, courtesy of the omnipresent Center for Automotive Research. “A happier GM? Billions in costs disappear,” runs AN’s headline. And then comes the equivocation [emphasis added]:
During its reorganization, General Motors should be able to shed about $12.5 billion in annual costs — paving the way for possible profits, higher product spending and improved supplier health once U.S. vehicle sales recover to more normal levels.
Inspiring stuff! Why, if these “shoulds” and “possibles” come true, CAR research shows that “GM could even eliminate almost $3,000 per vehicle in incentive spending, adding an additional $8 billion in savings when compared with the pre-bankruptcy GM.” It’s already a stretch to believe that GM can hold steady at a 10m SAAR, given its long-term market share losses, but eliminating incentives? Why not a flying, carbon-neutral Camaro?
Posted in Chapter 11 | News Blog | 4 comments
GM Kicks HUMMER, Saturn, Saab to the Curb; Can’t Spell
By Robert FaragoJune 29, 2009
Date: 06/29/2009
Ref. number: Marketing / Programs and Promotions / G_0000032412
Subject: Miltary, College and Credit Union Member Discount Program Change
Beginning Monday July 1, 2009, Saturn, Hummer and Saab vehicles will no longer be eligible for the GM Military, College, or Credit Union Member Discount programs.
Dealers will still be able to get approvals for any Saturn, Hummer or Saab vehicles delivered prior to July 1, 2009, but BARS will not pay on deliveries of these vehicles that occur after July 1, 2009.
Posted in Chapter 11 | News Blog | 9 comments
GM (a.k.a. Obama Administration) Cave on Old to New Product Liability. Ish.
By Robert FaragoJune 28, 2009
Facing mounting political pressure, GM’s new masters have agreed to allow new liability cases against products made by old (pre- and intra-bankruptcy) GM to proceed against New (post-pre-bankruptcy). According to the New York Times, the deal went down in federal bankruptcy court on Friday. “G.M. and the administration’s [hands-off] auto task force have been negotiating with more than a dozen state attorneys general who have objected to the company’s plan to sell its desirable assets to a new, government-financed entity. A hearing to approve the plan is scheduled for Tuesday in federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan.” So, that’s that then. The Ad Hoc Committee of Consumer Victims of GM and Chrysler can relax. Comcast can kick back. Rep. Andre Carson can chill. Or can they?
Posted in Chapter 11 | Crime & Punishment | News Blog | Safety | 17 comments
Upside Down? Bankrupt? No Bailout for You, Bub!
By Casey W. RaskobJune 27, 2009
For those who would make the unwise decision to roll the old car’s debt into the new car, yet another reason not to. Policy wonks may recall how during the Bush administration the banking industry got its fondest (pre-bailout) wishes granted. The bankruptcy rules were re-written to make it substantially more difficult for a normal person to discharge debt. (Interestingly, mansion owners in Texas and Florida somehow survived unscathed while the vast majority of bankrupts are still done in by medical bills.) The upshot is that fewer qualify for a full Chapter 7 discharge and more must file a Chapter 13 repayment plan. Here’s what that means for the “typical” car buyer.
Posted in Chapter 11 | News Blog | 26 comments
POWERED