Home
Cars Blog
April 26, 2009 - May 2, 2009 Archives
Auto sales plunge to near 30-year lows
CHICAGO - U.S. auto sales in April were on the road to plunging to their lowest levels in nearly 30 years according to sales reports released on Friday, the day after Chrysler filed for bankruptcy, according to Reuters. Japan's Toyota...
May 1, 2009 4:13 pm
Comments
Chrysler's speedy bankruptcy case gets started
NEW YORK -- Attorneys for Chrysler will ask a federal bankruptcy judge Monday to let the ailing automaker start using a new infusion of $4.5 billion in loans from the Treasury Department so it can operate under bankruptcy protection, according...
May 1, 2009 1:50 pm
Comments
Ford April sales off 32 pct, gains market share
DETROIT -- Record sales of its fuel-efficient Fusion helped Ford grab a bigger slice of the U.S. car market in April, even as its overall sales dropped 32 percent. The gains could come at the expense of its Detroit rivals,...
May 1, 2009 1:45 pm
Comments
NYT Editorial: The Chrysler Bankruptcy
Here is The New York Times's excellent lead editorial on Chrysler: When President Obama outlined his plan to restructure Chrysler under bankruptcy-court protection, we shared his view that keeping a company "afloat on an endless supply of tax dollars" was...
May 1, 2009 9:42 am
Comments
Chrysler is in court today for bankruptcy hearing
DETROIT -- Chrysler's first hearing in a New York courtroom Friday morning may offer the first clue as to whether a quick, "surgical" bankruptcy is possible, according to The Associated Press. The nation's third-largest automaker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy...
May 1, 2009 9:30 am
Comments
GM bondholders seek to take majority stake
NEW YORK -- General Motors bondholders want a majority stake in the restructured automaker in exchange for forgiving their claim to $27 billion of GM debt, a committee representing the bondholders said Thursday, according to The Associated Press. The bondholders'...
April 30, 2009 1:38 pm
Comments
Backseat Driver: Don't cry for me, Chrysler LLC
The news that Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli would be stepping down following the government's decision to force the automaker into bankruptcy should not come as a surprise. And it marks the second time Nardelli has left a corporation under the...
April 30, 2009 1:38 pm
Comments
Chrysler's CEO says he'll leave after bankruptcy
DETROIT -- Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli says he will step down after the company emerges from bankruptcy protection, according to The Associated Press. President Barack Obama announced Thursday that the automaker would file for Chapter 11 after the government could...
April 30, 2009 1:20 pm
Comments
Backseat Driver: Chrysler bankruptcy could be harbinger of GM's
Chrysler's bankruptcy could well set the stage for a similar filing by General Motors. While GM has another month to sort out its affairs, obdurate unions and debt holders could scupper its restructuring plans. Midweek, both the government and Chrysler...
April 30, 2009 12:53 pm
Comments
Chrysler Bankruptcy Plan Is Announced
DETROIT -- Chrysler, the third-largest American auto company, will seek bankruptcy protection and enter an alliance with the Italian automaker Fiat, the White House announced Thursday. The bankruptcy case, which officials envisioned as a swift, "surgical" process, was set to...
April 30, 2009 12:23 pm
Comments
Chrysler to get up to $8 billion for bankruptcy
WASHINGTON -- Chrysler will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York on Thursday and will be eligible for up to $8 billion in federal aid to rebuild the ailing automaker, according to senior administration officials, according to The...
April 30, 2009 12:23 pm
Comments
Backseat Driver: General Motors now a second banana
With its announcement that it was planning to: eliminate 21,000 jobs with the closure of 13 plants; idle most of its plants for about two months this summer; cut the number of its dealerships by 42 percent; and sell part,...
April 30, 2009 10:11 am
Comments
Chrysler Bankruptcy Looms as Deal on Debt Falters
DETROIT -- Last-minute efforts by the Treasury Department to win over recalcitrant Chrysler debtholders failed Wednesday night, setting up a near-certain bankruptcy filing by the American automaker, according to people briefed on the talks, according to The New York Times....
April 30, 2009 10:11 am
Comments
Obama Said to Plan for Chrysler Bankruptcy, Alliance with Fiat
President Barack Obama plans to announce tomorrow that Chrysler will be placed into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, leading to an alliance with Italian automaker Fiat SpA, people involved in the matter said and reported by Bloomberg.com. Administration officials are still resolving...
April 29, 2009 5:12 pm
Comments
Backseat Driver: So long, Pontiac
It was not exactly a shock General Motors had been making noises about dropping the Pontiac marque (along with Hummer, Saab and Saturn) for some time, but it was still a sad occasion when the formal news came through this...
April 29, 2009 5:01 pm
Comments
Nardelli says Chrysler making progress
YORK -- With one day left to go before its deadline, Chrysler LLC's chief executive said Wednesday that the automaker is making progress toward meeting the government's restructuring requirements, according to The Associated Press. In a letter to Chrysler employees...
April 29, 2009 1:42 pm
Comments
AP sources: Gov't, Chrysler lenders reach deal
WASHINGTON -- The Treasury Department has reached a tentative agreement with four of Chrysler's major debt holders in a bid to keep the automaker out of bankruptcy protection, two people familiar with the talks said Tuesday, according to The Associated...
April 28, 2009 12:14 pm
Comments
For Pontiac lovers, it's like running out of gas
They were stylish cars that drove into history on power and hormones: V8s under the hoods and a grill or hood emblem of an Indian chief's war feathers (and later an arrow head) slicing through the wind. The favorites were...
April 28, 2009 10:53 am
Comments
UAW leaders recommend approval of Chrysler deal
UAW leaders recommend approval of Chrysler deal By DAVID N. GOODMAN and TOM KRISHER Associated Press Writers AP Photo/Paul Sancya Advertisement Document Governors' letter seeking federal help for auto industry (PDF) Multimedia Look at Detroit automakers The Cars That Made...
April 28, 2009 10:13 am
Comments
G.M.'s Latest Plan Envisions a Much Smaller Automaker
DETROIT -- For all the uncertainty swirling around General Motors, the troubled automaker said Monday that one thing was clear: it must become drastically smaller if it hopes to remain a viable company, regardless of whether it has to file...
April 28, 2009 10:13 am
Comments
GM dealerships will be cut by half
General Motors, speeding up its restructuring in a bid to survive, said it plans to shut half of its U.S. dealerships by 2014 and phase out its Pontiac brand by next year, according to Automotive News. GM's revised viability plan...
April 27, 2009 8:49 am
Comments
Chrysler reaches labor deals in fight for survival
DETROIT -- It looks like Chrysler might yet escape the auctioneer's gavel, according to The Associated Press. The smallest U.S.-based automaker cleared two major hurdles on Sunday in its quest for survival, reaching a concession agreement with the United Auto...
April 27, 2009 8:31 am
Comments
GM to cut 21,000 US factory jobs, shed Pontiac
DETROIT -- General Motors says it will cut 21,000 U.S. factory jobs by next year and phase out its storied Pontiac brand as part of a major restructuring effort needed to get more government aid, according to The Associated Press....
April 27, 2009 8:29 am
Comments
GM to announce brand changes, restructuring moves
DETROIT -- General Motors will announce a restructuring plan at 9 a.m. EDT today, according to The Associated Press. The storied Pontiac brand is dead and more car factories and jobs are about to disappear - the latest casualties of...
April 27, 2009 8:26 am
Comments
