“I Do Have a Son in College I have to Pay For Somehow”
By Robert FaragoNovember 27, 2008 -
Posted in Chapter 11 | News Blog | 23 comments 
Elimination of Personal Waste Baskets at the [GM] Warren Tech Center
By Robert FaragoNovember 24, 2008 -
“In the coming weeks we will begin to implement a relatively new cost savings initiative at the Warren Tech Center. This initiative deals with the personal waste baskets that are present in most all of the office work stations and conference rooms. Our plan is to eliminate these waste baskets and transition to a modified method of personal office waste disposal.
Posted in Chapter 11 | News Blog | 51 comments
GM: No Cut Left Behind
By Edward NiedermeyerNovember 24, 2008 -
GM is doing whatever it can to tame its cash conflagration this week, as it seeks to survive another few weeks and prove to congress that it’s serious about shaping up. The Wall Street Journal reports that these efforts have crossed over from the sublime to the ridiculous (always closer than they seem), as everything from clock maintenance to escalator operation budgets are being slashed to save cash. So just how tight is GM cinching its belt? GM is eliminating clock maintenance, stopping RenCen escalator operation at 7pm, eliminating voice mail at plants, buying cheaper pencils, and next year it will reduce its press fleet and cancel its “Mark of Excellence” dealer award. Worst of all? “At GM’s metal-fabricating plant in Grand Blanc, Mich., Steve Bean, a union committeeman, said he recently had to tell workers they would have to wait until at least next year to get $270 stipends they were promised in order to buy T-shirts, hats or coats emblazoned with their union local.” On a more… significant front, Bloomberg reports that GM will seek to reduce its $43b in debt and renegotiate elements of its 2007 UAW contract as part of its restructuring plan which is due to Congress on December 2. Should GM exchange debt at levels less than the original value, Standard and Poors would consider those issues in default while not necessarily cutting the automaker’s overall debt rating, according to S&P analyst Robert Schulz. “A financial restructuring, along with government loans, is an alternative to bankruptcy,” says Schulz. “It doesn’t fix the economic environment, though, and it’s the economic conditions that are causing their cash burn.”
Posted in Chapter 11 | High Finance | News Blog | 17 comments
The Kiplinger Question: Should you buy a Detroit car?
By Bertel SchmittNovember 23, 2008 -
My first American girlfriend’s mother, a Manhattan slumlord, read the Kiplinger Letter. She drove a Ford. My American (former) mother-in-law (different person) read the Kiplinger Letter. She drove a Ford. Kiplinger’s paid circulation is a million; their website receives more unique visits than even TTAC, about 2m a month. When Kiplinger writes, America listens. And what’s on Kiplinger’s mind these days? “Should you buy a Detroit car?” Not a general question. They mean now, considering the dire circumstances. Kiplinger asks the question that is on the mind of the remaining 48.2 percent of Americans that still buy true blue American: “What are the risks of buying a vehicle from a carmaker that’s on the brink?”
Posted in Chapter 11 | News Blog | 11 comments
GM Appoints Sell-Off Team
By Edward NiedermeyerNovember 22, 2008 -
GM has already announced that it’s trying to come up with no less than $5b in savings by the end of the calendar year. To assist these efforts, GM has put Jones Lang LaSalle in charge of 200m Euros worth of sell-offs and leasebacks. Together with its attempt to sell or lease its Renaissance Center headquarters, GM’s fire sale should bring in some $750m. Property Week reports that JLL’s portion of the sell-off will include non-manufacturing sites in Europe and the UK. On their selling block will be Saab’s properties in Gothenberg and Trollhatten, while Vauxhall’s Luton headquarters, GM’s headquarters in Dublin and other Chevy, GM, and Opel sites are said to be on the sale list. Including factories, GM is estimated to own some $43b in real estate around the globe.
Posted in Chapter 11 | Europe | News Blog | 13 comments
GM BOD: Bankruptcy IS An Option
By Robert FaragoNovember 22, 2008 -
While steering the artist formerly known as the world’s largest automaker into career suicide, GM CEO Rick Wagoner has steadfastly maintained that “bankruptcy is not an option.” As many members of TTAC’s Best and Brightest have pointed out, that kind of stonewalling A) Is insane and B) reveals guarantees a class action lawsuit against GM’s Board of Bystanders. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Board has released a statement which illustrates their feeble-mindedness, managerial paralysis, blantant cowardice and compelling desire not to end up folding shirts at a federal prison farm. “GM said the board had discussed bankruptcy but didn’t view it as a ‘viable solution to the company’s liquidity problems.’ The board “is committed to considering all options in light of circumstances as they may develop.” In other words, NO BANKRUPTCY. Unless there is. Meanwhile, the Journal hints at disagreements between Board members and Wagoner, the company’s CEO AND Chairman.
Posted in Chapter 11 | News Blog | 16 comments
GM is a Joke
By Robert FaragoNovember 21, 2008 -
When I’m not busy boning-up on Mustangology on Autoblog (c’mon guys it’s been TWO DAYS!) I sometimes trace-back links to TTAC material. Today’s forensic surfing uncovered this little gem on MarketWatch. It’s a financial results press release from a company called CableOrganizer.com, claiming that they made “$21.2 billion more in profit than General Motors Corporation (GM) for the nine months ending September 30, 2008.” Yup, it’s a joke. “‘We are very pleased about our 2008 profitability and are obviously honored to have beaten GM by such a wide margin,’ said Paul Holstein, senior vice president of CableOrganizer.com, Inc. ‘Obviously we couldn’t match their revenue, but we were able to beat them handily on costs and expenses,’ notes Holstein. ‘For example, we put off buying a fleet of Gulfstream G5 private jets. That, right there, saved us millions of dollars.’ I called the company’s Marketing Coordinator, Juan Ribero. He was kind enough to send me the original press release, before MarketWatch’s editors toned it down.
Posted in Chapter 11 | News Blog | 20 comments
Bailout Watch 231: Jet-gate
By Robert FaragoNovember 21, 2008 -
I waited until now to repost this ABC report on “Jet-gate” because I wanted to put this story into some sort of context. While members of TTAC’s Best and Brightest have defended the CEO’s travel arrangements as either a drop in the bucket or CEO SOP, that’s not the kind of context I’m talking about. I mean the wider issue of the mainstream media’s (MSM) treatment of the auto industry. The change in tenor is palpable. Before the Congressional hearings, the MSM treated the automakers with kid gloves. And no wonder. Back in the day (less than six months ago), GM pumped over $2b into advertising. Add in the budgets for Chrysler and Ford and you can see how that whole hand, feed, bite prevention thing works. Now that The Big 2.8 have been unveiled as mortally wounded, the gloves are off. For some. Is it any coincidence that the jet chasing reporter hails from ABC, not CBS? I don’t think so. Where was Rush and Sean when this story was aborning? Driving promo cars from “our friends at GM” and slipping mentions into their rants. So be it. These days, the MSM “gets it”– if only because they can afford to do so. More importantly, there’s the internet. Not only can you read the real deal here on TTAC, but there’s now a worldwide webwise conspiracy of souls digging, prodding and rooting for the truth. We live in terrible, wonderful times.
Posted in Chapter 11 | News Blog | 28 comments
CBS Hearts Honda, Toyota and Nissan
By Robert FaragoNovember 21, 2008 -
Posted in Chapter 11 | News Blog | 7 comments
Carlos Ghosn: GM Merger? Non. Chrysler? Peut-être…
By Adrian ImontiNovember 19, 2008 -
Carlos Ghosn wants your help, and he isn’t shy about asking for it. In an interview yesterday with The Wall Street Journal, the Renault-Nissan chief announced his intentions to obtain a €40b ($50b) loan package from the French government, in addition to some undisclosed additional quantity of yen from their Japanese counterparts. Today, before a packed house during his keynote address at the LA Auto Show, Ghosn continued along this path, turning his attention to obtaining tax credits and other government assistance here Stateside. Citing October 2008 as the worst month for US car sales in the last 25 years, Ghosn claimed that the severity of current economic conditions were “putting the usual rules of business up in the air” and that “nobody knows” how long these conditions would continue. As he tore a page from Detroit’s eco-efficiency bailout pitch book, Ghosn stressed retooling for the development of Earth-friendly technology as a key driver for receiving state support.
Posted in Chapter 11 | Industry | News Blog | People | 2 comments
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