We’ve already heard the President call out the “hedge fund holdouts,” and we’ve heard reports of “death threats,” but rumors that the PTFOA’s Steve Rattner threatened to “destroy the reputations” of holdout bondholders is the juiciest rumor we’ve heard over the last several wild-ass days. On Friday, bondholder lawyer Tom Lauria told Detroit talk show host Frank Beckman that the White House was taking off the gloves.
Car and Driver recently got a test drive in a Cruze-bodied Chevy Volt mule, and wrote up the experience with the fawning credulousness of a buff book that desperately wants to be first in line for an equally subservient “exclusive first road test.” If such an event ever comes to pass, of course. But even amidst the regurgitated GM talking points, C&D manages to (gasp) raise a troubling question: if this vehicle is going to be road-ready in just over a year, why is The General limiting test drives to electric mode?
Our C11 guy Toxicroach checks in:
Chrysler/government is even trying to get rule 6004(b) waived, which would give the creditors 10 days to appeal if the order went through (i.e., they want to get this done so that an appeal is moot because the sale is completed). They are trying to bull rush this through. Wow, this is really starting to piss me off! In short, they were trying to pull a fast one. They take it easy Saturday and most of Sunday, drop the CRITICAL motion at 8 PM on Sunday evening, asking that the hearing to approve the motion be held the very next day (never mind the local rule requiring 20 days notice), AND try to deny the creditors the time to appeal. Wow, that is such a scumbag move!
Kathy writes:
Hi, Sajeev. A coworker recently bought a new commuter car. Not some fancy $25K+ sports car (under $20K “sporty” commuter car). He talked about breaking in the new engine hard for the first 120 miles: putting the auto into gears 1 and 2 and redlining it. Driving 0 to 120 to 0 to 120 mph.
Supposedly it makes the engine better. Where does the TTAC community stand on this: easy or hard break in for a new car?
With up to 1,200 dealers and 16 factories set to be uninvited from “the reinvented GM,” union locals and dealerships with their livelihoods on the line are preparing to fight the future. With the UAW leadership on board for an equity position in the new GM, locals are scrambling to show their willingness to give up once-cherished perks to keep their plants open. Bloomberg reports that workers at GM’s Spring Hill plant have ratified a local agreement that “allows GM to schedule its hourly workers for weekend shifts without paying special premiums, ends the policy of paying overtime based on a daily shift instead of a 40-hour workweek and loosens the work rules so that workers may be used for a broader variety of tasks.” Sadly, since Spring Hill’s Chevy Traverse production is likely to be moved to Lansing Delta to take over Saturn Outlook production capacity, this sudden rash of reality probably won’t save the plant.
Section 2.15 Viper. (a) Subject to Section 2.15(b) below, notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, (i) Seller may, at its option, sell Intellectual Property and Purchased Inventories that relate solely to Vehicle Production (as defined in the Transition Services Agreement) and are not necessary or useful in any other line of business (the “Viper Assets”) prior to the Closing Date in an arm’s-length transaction to a party other than Purchaser on terms and conditions reasonably acceptable to the Purchaser, provided that the right of the Seller to sell the Viper Assets shall terminate on June 8, 2009 if no binding written agreement to purchase the Viper Assets has been executed and delivered by a bona fide purchaser at such time, and (ii) in connection with any such sale, Seller and Purchaser, as applicable, shall grant to the purchaser of the Viper Assets on terms and conditions reasonably acceptable to the Purchaser a non-exclusive license of other Intellectual Property of the Seller necessary for Vehicle Production as currently conducted.
With apologies to Monty Python, I had to blog this story just for the headline. Here’s the deal: North Texas Chevy dealers are inviting Metroplex-area license holders to test drive the new Chevy Traverse in exchange for a free one-hour session at any local Massage Envy clinic. “Who doesn’t need a moment away from the madness of everyday life?” Dallas/Fort Worth regional developer for Massage Envy clinics, Lance O’Pry, asked, more or less rhetorically. “A Chevy Traverse test drive and a free Massage Envy massage are relaxing breaks in your routine.” Unless that is your routine. Anyway, let’s assume Mr. O’Pry [not shown] is sick of trying to explain the difference between genuine therapeutic massage and equally genuine but not as socially acceptable during symphony intermission schmoozing massage. But if we jettison the distinction, one wonders if there’s a business case to be made here linking extortion and new car sales. Just sayin’.
But it probably should look something like this. Prices are in Australian dollars. For the moment.
Toxicroach will be here any moment to give us his take on the Chrysler C11 case’s “relax don’t do it” anti-auction action. Meanwhile, here’s a quick heads-up [via Bloomberg]: “The group, calling itself Chrysler’s non-TARP lenders, in reference to the Troubled Assets Relief Program, said the proposed sale to an entity to be managed by Fiat is ‘tainted’ because the process was dominated by the U.S. government, according to papers filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. The group also said the short period of time given to evaluate the sale was improper and the hearing set for today on the bid procedures should be delayed.” And so it was. For a day. Meanwhile, the money shot: “The court should not permit a patently illegal sales process to go forward.” As TTAC reported earlier, the kvetching could well be a simple negotiating ploy to force the feds to pay off the non-TARPies, at a higher rate than the big banks (no less).
Once again, TTAC has received an embargoed press release. Once again, please don’t send us anything you don’t want us to publish before you want us to publish it unless we agree beforehand (which we won’t). An agreement requires two parties. And party they might down at your local Buick dealer’s service department. A Consumer Reports (CR) survey of 349k vehicles (full methodology unavailable upon request) reveals that, “Among the top scoring in dealership maintenance satisfaction were Lexus, Buick, and Acura, with 85, 83 and 82 percent satisfaction rates, respectively. At the other end of the spectrum, Volkswagen, Suzuki, Jeep, and Nissan owners were far less satisfied with dealer service at 67, 69, 70, and 70 percent respectively.” But wait! There’s more! “Despite the turmoil surrounding the American auto industry, six American automakers (Buick, Saturn, Mercury, Cadillac, Lincoln and Oldsmobile) ranked among the top ten in terms of customer satisfaction with dealership maintenance.” Pay no attention to the word “Oldsmobile.” Notice the word maintenance. Not repair.
When GM banned TTAC from its press cars some thirty-five years ago, I told the local delivery guy not to fret (as if). After GM filed for C11, things would change. The warm winds of glasnost would sweep through the company’s corridors, opening the company’s corporate culture to outside criticism. A new era of openness and honesty would begin. Man did I get the munchies that day. Anyway, we shall see. Meanwhile, with 27 days left to go, TTAC’s not riding phat in no Pontiac and it’s the same old spinmeistery at RenCen. Here’s what I discovered in GM’s increasingly taciturn press site this morning:
DETROIT – General Motors is proceeding to the next step with respect to the sale of Saturn. A number of potential buyers have surfaced and expressed interest in the Saturn brand and retailer network. GM will be reviewing expressions of interest from the potential buyers and will look to secure an agreement with a specific buyer later this year. S.J. Girsky&Co. has been retained by GM as advisor for this transaction. Saturn will continue to keep its retailers updated on its progress throughout this process.
Automotive News [sub] reports that Ford has decided to shelve plans to introduce a diesel F-150 in 2010. Last spring, Ford demoed dealers with a 4.4-liter oil burning V8 F-150. It boasted an estimated 350 hp and 500 lb·ft of torque—more power and twist than the F-150’s 5.4-liter gasoline V8 while quaffing 20 percent less fuel. And then F-150 sales dried-up and gas prices cratered—especially relative to diesel. “No new date has been scheduled [for the diesel pickup],” Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas, told Automotive News late last month. “We’re still looking at the appropriate time to do that. We’ve put it on the back burner for right now.” According to AN‘s source/speculation, the diesel F-150 has officially been delayed until 2013. “But it will likely be canceled outright unless diesel prices fall substantially below gasoline for a prolonged period.” And then what? You’d think Ford would want a fully developed, tried and tested diesel F-150 in their quiver ahead of any such completely unexpected development. Then again, money’s too tight to mention.
When Dale Lee Underdahl and Timothy Arlen Brunner were both charged with DUI in separate cases in 2006 and 2007, they sought access to the source code for the Intoxilyzer 5000EN. Minnesota state officials resisted the defendants’ requests, claiming the software controlling the device was not relevant and, in any case, it was private information under the sole control of the machine’s manufacturer, CMI Inc. CMI claimed the information was a “trade secret” and refused a district court order to produce the code. This led to the prospect that the charges against Underdahl and Brunner would be dismissed for lack of evidence. So before this could happen, the state asked the court of appeals to strike down both discovery requests. The appeals court agreed with the state. The Minnesota supreme court found fault with the reasoning of the appeals court and split the difference.
I don’t know what the hell to do. I’ve got an old Lexus SC400 that’s getting a new amp and I’m trying to figure out what adapter out there can make it work. Circuit City is shuttered. I should know that since I got a video camera there for nearly bupkis a few months ago. Other than that, well, I guess I’m kinda screwed. Nobody nearby replaces amps and has that friggin’ adapter. Which reminds me . . .
In “General Motors Death Watch 251,” I suggested that The Presidential Task Force on Automobiles (PTFOA) terminate GM’s entire management “team” and replace them with fresh talent. Easier said than done. The number of people qualified to run a car company may stretch to a couple of dozen. But it may not. The number of executives who’d want to run GM—or Chrysler or GMAC—is some fraction of that number. Finding board members for these federally administered companies will easier, but not easy. As The Wall Street Journal‘s pet expert points out, “Executives and directors at these companies will have to balance obligations to taxpayers and other shareholders, all the while under close scrutiny by Congress and the media. Directors ‘are in an impossible position,’ said Charles Elson, head of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware’s business school. ‘No one who has much sense will want to put themselves in that position.'” Oh, and did we mention? Your salary would be capped. Can’t upset the voters. Evil bankers and all that. Still, that’s why recruiters SpencerStuart and Ennis Knupp & Associates get the big bucks, courtesy of you-know-who (hint: you).
Recent Comments