From Automotive News [sub]:
[GM CEO Fritz] Henderson said there was no resolution yet on the [$20 million] pension for former CEO Rick Wagoner, who was ousted by the Obama administration which is overseeing GM’s Chapter 11 restructuring.
“That issue is still being reviewed by the board of directors and the compensation committee,” Henderson said. “I’m not involved in this.”
Henderson is a GM board member.
“I don’t know anything about cars. A business is a business, and I think I can learn about cars. I’m not that old, and I think the business principles are the same.”
—Incoming GM Chairman Edward Whitacre Jr. admits his lack of auto experience to Bloomberg
Based on an Autoweek account it seems that not everyone at GM fears the reaper. Bob Lutz clearly doesn’t, meaning a thousand maximum sycophants are going to have to learn a joke that doesn’t involve the government being here to help. At a recent Automotive Press Association luncheon Lutz characterized the PTFOA’s influence as “benevolent oversight and two-way communication between Washington and the auto industry.” And who doesn’t like a good listener with deep pockets? As Lutz delicately puts it, “jeez, it only took 30 years for somebody to finally figure it out.” So when did Mr “Global Warming’s A Crock Of Shit” become such a fan of soft socialism?
“The automotive industry in Malaysia needs to be energized and revitalized . . . We cannot continue to have protectionist policies forever. We have committed to open up for the auto sector.”
—Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, via AP (LA Times).
“You don’t need banks and bondholders to make cars.”
—Anonymous White House official to the Wall Street Journal‘s Neil King Jr. and Jeffrey McCracken. Check out their detailed breakdown of the White House/Chrysler Bondholder negotiations at the WSJ.
“I want to be absolutely clear: we will not spend a single dollar, neither today, nor in the future. Would we like to call this a barter? Well, yes, it is a barter.”
—Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne on negotiations with Chrysler
President Obama concludes his remarks on the auto industry:
“But there is something I want everyone to remember. Remember that it is precisely in times like these—in moments of trial and moments of hardship—that Americans rediscover the ingenuity and resilience that makes us who we are. That made the auto industry what it once was. That sent those first mass-produced cars rolling off assembly lines. That built an arsenal of democracy that propelled America to victory in the Second World War. And that powered our economic prowess in the first American century.
Because I know that if we can tap into that same ingenuity and resilience right now; if we can carry one another through this difficult time and do what must be done; then we will look back and say that this was the moment when America’s auto industry shed its old ways, marched into the future, and remade itself, once more, into an engine of opportunity and prosperity, not only in Detroit, and not only in our Midwest, but all across America.”
Ironic counterpoint courtesy of CBS News and several recently laid-off employees of a Western Michigan GM dealership.
“If you look at it on a pure-business basis, we are clearly more viable (than GM),” Chrysler CFO Ron Kolka tells Bloomberg.
“I think the first duty of a leader is to keep his company in the black. To accept—and announce—at the beginning of the year that you will lose money is the worst sign of leadership you could give to your troops,” Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne tells Automotive News Europe [sub]. “Car markets have gone from bad to horrible so far this year, but I will fight like hell to keep Fiat Group Automobiles profitable in 2009. Running an automaker these days is like driving in dense fog. You have just 100 meters of visibility so you must continuously adapt to what you suddenly face. Nevertheless, I refuse to accept even the idea that our auto operations will lose money.” Man, is he going to love working with Jim Press.
You just know it’s got to be GM. And so it is. The words flew out of the mouth of Steve Tihanyi, the man who oversees GM’s sponsorships. Or, more accurately, the elimination of GM sponsorships. After all, in Bailout Nation, you can’t be seen to be having a good time on the taxpayer’s nickel. (Although GM spokeswoman Kelly Cusinato helpfully pointed out that there are no advertising or marketing restrictions attached to the government loans or the company’s viability plan.) The latest casualty: GM’s 25-year sponsorship of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Bloomberg:
The company will slash by at least 60 percent on-site spending at the Final Four, even though this year it will be held blocks from GM’s headquarters in Detroit. The company is trimming dealer-incentive trips to the championship rounds and billboards downtown. Tihanyi wouldn’t comment on how much the 60 percent cut in on-site promotion and entertainment would save.
’Cause that would be telling. Oh, and Bloomies forgot to mention that GM’s not going to use its swanky skybox seats at this year’s final four. What’s the bet they’ll go empty?
“All of the North American factories will resume production at some point this quarter.” That’s the reassuring bit from GM’s spinmeister re: GM’s expected announcement that it’s trimming North American production. Again. Still. The bad news: GM will cut about 2k jobs at two plants and plans periodic shutdowns at about half of its 16 U.S. factories. The good news– at least for United Auto Workers members– “cut” does not mean “out of the street” by any stretch of the imagination. Now the cynical amongst you will join me in thinking that the “resume production at some point” sop is aimed at Congress and the freshly elected President, to convince theses bestowers of federal largess that the bailout bucks WILL support American manufacturing jobs. You know; as the $13.4b was supposed to do. I mean, it’s slightly embarrassing to ask for more money to protect jobs when no one’s actually working. So it’s best to suggest that production will resume you know, later. (Or as my RSA-raised wife likes to say “later soon.”) And if you think I’m guilty of hyperbole (perish the thought), here’s GM PR Chris Lee’s reasoning for the slow down/shut down [via Automotive News]: “Nobody was able to buy any cars,” he said, referring to the credit crunch that has deepened the U.S. recession while dragging vehicle sales to 26-year lows.” Yup. No question. That sucks.
I know it’s a bit early in the day for a quote of the day, but I have to go test drive a XXXXXX for the TTAC Ten Worst Awards. Hopefully, Eddy will wake up from his birthday celebrations soon, equipped with enough functional brain cells to continue to feed the beast (that’s you) with fresh autoinfotainment. So before I leave my garret to drive a POS on your behalf, I’d like to leave you with this thought: “the Tesla is really just another example of why gasoline is still king.” These words of wisdom come to us via Ralph Kinney Bennett, who pens paen to petrol for The American. “A gallon of gas weighs about 6.3 pounds and produces roughly 35 kilowatt hours of energy. That’s enough to burn a 100-watt light bulb continuously for more than two weeks. A lead-acid battery could do the same thing without needing a recharge—if it were the size of a desk and weighed a ton. Energy density is the point. We just haven’t come up with a fuel or a device that will safely and economically offer the same calorific value in such a small space as an automobile’s gasoline tank.” OK, lithium ion batteries. OK, range. Specifically, a 911 vs. a Tesla Roadster…
A British eBayer, selling a rather unusual car for the UK, describes one of the many flaws of his Ford Thunderbird 3.8:
SIDE WINDOW SMASHED DUE TO SOMEONE SMASHED IT.
Winner.
Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne has been schmoozing with Automotive News Europe [sub]. “By the time we finish with this in the next 24 months, as far as mass-producers are concerned, we’re going to end up with one American house, one German of size; one French-Japanese, maybe with an extension in the U.S.; one in Japan; one in China and one other potential European player,” Sergio predicts. And now, the WQOTD: “Companies can only survive if they produce at least 5.5 million cars a year.” So, someone special, who will it be? Someone special like… “Toyota, General Motors, Volkswagen, Ford Motor and Renault-Nissan.” Note: we could have gone another way on this one. In the same article, the thoughts of Jürgen Pieper, analyst at Metzler Bank in Germany, gets major play. Herr Pieper opines “Size in the current situation is what matters.” Small and nimble gets subsumed by big and… stupid? Stimt. “Daimler has been scarred by its experience with Chrysler, BMW bought Rover but sold it again after high investments failed to pay off. Analysts say both episodes showed that synergies between premium and volume carmakers are elusive.” “Elusive” as in non-existent?
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