After we reported yesterday that the talks between Geely and Ford about Volvo are intensifying, China’s Xinhua news agency runs a terse one-liner today: “China’s Geely Holding Group said Friday it was having a detailed and in-depth discussion with Ford over relevant terms and contracts about acquiring Volvo.” That’s it. Short, sweet, and to the point. Read More >
There still is faint interest in Saab after Koenigsegg had pulled out. China’s BAIC, Merbanco Inc. and Renco Group Inc. have made advances to GM about Saab, says Bloomberg, quoting the usual “two people familiar with the situation.”
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Roland Koch, the premier of Opel’s home state Hesse is pissed. GM’s plans to cut 2,500 jobs there are “completely unacceptable.” Koch said that Nick Reilly had told him just 24 hours earlier that GM’s restructuring plan would “in principle” orient itself on job cuts agreed with Canada’s Magna.
We know what Reilly will say. The Magna plans called for 10,000 cut jobs all over Europe, GM wants to cut only 9000, so “in principle” that’s a better deal. Except for the Germans.
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Well, it’s that time of year when we call a quick time-out here at TTAC and retreat to our families to celebrate Thanksgiving. Having already celebrated their Thanksgiving, our crack Canadian tech team will be taking advantage of our holiday lull to perform some maintenance behind the scenes. TTAC will be down for several hours today, but we’ll be back to our usual coverage tomorrow, barring any tryptophan-related brain damage. On a final housekeeping note, our moderator team will be trying out a new tool known as disemvowelment, for comments that straddle the line of acceptability.
With that out of the way, thank you all for reading and supporting TTAC. Thanks to our talented contributors, our brilliant commenters, our dedicated moderators and our patient owners. A special thanks is owed (once more and always) to Robert Farago for creating this amazing community. Happy Thanksgiving!
It’s the day after the Saab-bomb exploded in Sweden, and the media are pouring all over it. Of course, all kinds of “car experts” and “auto analysts” are having their say. Saab workers are expectedly sad and disappointed. And everybody’s blaming everybody and anybody. The unions blame the government, the government blames Koenigsegg, Koenigsegg Group are blaming time and bureaucracy, and the public is generally pretty pissed off with GM. And it all seemed to have come as julekvelden på kjerringa. But what on earth happened? Who pulled the plug? Who said enough is enough? And why now, all of a sudden? The EIB loan was allegedly just around the corner. Will anyone else buy Saab? What about the Swedish government? GM? Does anybody even care? Well, the 500 or so who bought a new Saab in October care – what about their warranties?
Last year, Porsche gave Magna an eight-year contract to build the Cayman and Boxster models from 2012 on. Magna engineers immediately went to work and toiled with tricky tasks, such as the stiffening of the Boxter’s body. Which they say wasn’t, well, stiff enough. Then Porsche went to Volkswagen. Then Opel came and went. Finally, Volkswagen bought parts of bankrupt Karmann and needed to use the capacity. Cayman and Boxster will be built in Osnabrück, Instead of the Boxster body, Magna was stiffed and asked to pound sand.
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While bumbling GM so far hasn’t closed any of their cast-off brands deals, Ford’s Volvo sale to Geely appears to progress quietly, but steadily. The usually well informed and reliable China Car Times says that Geely is “feeling secure about the Volvo purchase.”
Ford has enlisted JP Morgan and Citigroup to assist with the sale, Geely has employed Rothschild. The deal is expected to close soon, “before the start of 2010.”
According to CCT, Geely is working off a seven point checklist:
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Pontiac was declared “officially almost all the way dead” at about 12:45 p.m. today, when a white, G6 sedan rolled off the assembly line in Orion Township. The Detroit News reports a distinct lack of “cake or commemorative banner or senior GM official on hand.” Media was not invited. The DetN notes:
Unlike the last Oldsmobile, an Alero signed by hundreds of plant workers and donated to the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum in Lansing, the final G6 models will be sold as part of a fleet order.
Nearly unbelievably, Pontiac’s “officially official” demise will be even more depressing: a Mexico-built G3 Wave (neé Aveo) to be sold to a lucky Canadian. For real.
[Hat Tip: supremebrougham]
Thank goodness for Autoweek. Someone has to ask the goofy questions that turn internet forums into raging wildfires of obtuse wishful thinking, and A-Dub is there to lay it all on the line. The latest episode centers around a line from Ralph Gilles’ press release on the new Viper ACR:
When we have partners across the ocean who are known as the best sports-car makers in the world, the future opportunities are huge
Which is like giving a two-thirds of a through-the-clothes handjob: just plain mean. If disappointment undimmed by crushing obviousness isn’t your thing, skip the next bit.
The Civic’s messy engine compartment was quite a challenge. But blkstss stepped up and called it out pronto. He must have spent some time staring into that abyss of vacuum hoses before. Somebody in the comments asked for an interior shot, and here it is, along with my best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. Just don’t forget to take a short break from the eating and find out if your guess was right. See you then.
Managing debt is a most American exercise, and after finishing the third quarter of this year owing $26.9b in debt, Ford is in management mode. According to Reuters, Ford will repay $1.9b of its $10.7b “mother of all subprime mortgages” revolving credit line, part of $23.5b in loans Ford backed with all of its assets (up to and including its logo) in 2006. $7.2 billion of revolver debt is being pushed on down the road though, from November 2011 to November 2013, and $724m has been converted to a term loan due in December 2013. More worryingly, lenders refused to roll over $886m of the debt Ford requested, bringing it due in December 2011.
No wonder GM decided it couldn’t give up Opel… it would have lost Buick as well! Expect this Buick Excelle (a rebadged Opel Astra in the style of the new Regal) to arrive in the US under a different name (and probably in sedan form only) around the 2012 model year.
Our daughters have a beautiful first name that must not be associated with a car, so let us unite to bring pressure on a multinational which is going to destroy this pretty name for our children. It is a scandal that they are able to use common first names for products
Sébastien Mortreux of Auby complains about Renault’s use of the name “Zoé” for a new electric car, being shown in concept form. French parents are rising up in anger, reports the Times of London, signing online petitions protesting Renault’s choice of a name that recently became one of Frances most popular. Now, I don’t plan on ever having children, but if I did, “Twingo” would have to be at the top of my list of potential names. Besides, as a Renault spokesfolks point out, the practice has good precedent, dating all the way back to Emil Jellinek’s 1902 decision to name a car after his daughter, Mercedes. Plus Renault already has the Clio and Mégane. And really, would these people be any happier if the car was named something like Bipper Tepee?
When Wendelin Wiedeking fought the battle against Porsche being taken over by Volkswagen and himself sent to Siberia, his last bullet was a threat that the takeover by Volkswagen could cost €3b in additional taxes.
BS, we said, “there are ways to circumvent this nasty detail.” The best way to avoid taxes are losses. Actually, losses will get you a hefty tax refund. We were sure that VW’s CFO Hans Dieter Poetsch would know how to come up with hefty losses. Poetsch did not disappoint.
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