Auto Industry

How do we fix GM, Ford and Chrysler? That's the question being asked from Detroit to D.C.    The issues being discussed and debated are sold as complex.  At first glance they seem to be, primarily because everybody is trying to analyze every possible problem and solution.  Me included. Then I realized that over analysis is unnecessary.  The problems are easy to understand and ... read more

Quick thoughts on the auto rescue loan news... GM and Chrysler received their loans from the U.S. government today.   Ford is not participating in the program.    General Motors and Chrysler will get $13.4 billion now, with GM to receive another $4 billion in February.    The loan requires the automakers to become "viable" by the end of March, 2009.    As I wrote last week, ... read more

This just crossing ... the UAW is unhappy with some terms of the auto loan and will ask President-Elect Barack Obama to change some of the terms it views as 'unfair.' The union demanded the loan - got it  less than 2 hours ago - and now wants it changed.  You can't make this stuff up, folks. Below is the official UAW release.   It's clear they believe the incoming administration will ... read more

Here's the scenario: The roof of your house is on fire.   At the same time a tree falls in your yard, smashing your neighbors fence.   The neighbor comes out and you begin discussing the broken fence, how to fix it and who should cover the cost.   You spend lots of time talking about this, reach a deal and feel good about it.    All while your roof keeps burning and eventually the ... read more

Interesting interview with Grant Thorton Partner Kim Rodriguez today.  She has been working in and around the auto industry for 20 years and few know more about the industry from a financial perspective than she does. We discussed the big issue few seem to be talking about - the pension obligations.  It is an incredibly difficult situation.   On one hand the men and women of the industry ... read more

Cheap and easy credit helped get the American economy into this mess, but apparently cheap and easy credit is going to get us out.   At least that's what General Motors is hoping, but the government-backed easy money may create more headaches than it cures. Today the government agreed to give GM financing arm G.M.A.C an additional $6 billion dollars.  It's a move to help GM provide ... read more

Lost in the headlines about the Chrysler bankruptcy and Fiat purchase is that Fiat says it will use this to return to the North American market for its Fiat and Alfa brands.   It is already here with the Ferrari brand, but it wants a piece of the American mass market. ... read more

Remember the Chrysler TC?   Don't worry, few do and those who do wish they didn't. Today's Fiat / Chrysler deal is not the first time the now bankrupt automaker has partnered with an Italian car company.   Back in the mid-1980s Chrysler partnered up with (now Fiat owned) Maserati to build the "TC."  It was meant to help Chrysler enter the luxury market, but was really just a ... read more

Bus tours of GM and Chrysler execs' homes?   Angry marches through the bucolic neighborhoods of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan? Let's hope not.   But one wonders if GM will end up getting  any of the same treatment so far reserved for AIG... given that it's entirely possible the bankrupt car company could replace the insurance company as the taxpayers' biggest debtor. Consider ... read more

Cash for Clunkers is officially a success.    Consumers are streaming into showrooms and cars are selling.   But less than a month into the plan, that success is generating concerns among dealers which may stall the program less than a month into it. The problem has to do with money, paperwork and time. The government has allocated $1 billion for the Cars Allowance Rebate System ... read more