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Filed under: Government/Legal , Chrysler, LLC. , Ford , GM , Earnings/Financials No matter how you slice it, a proposed $25 billion loan from the Feds is a bailout, and that's exactly what Detroit's Big Three automakers are after, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. Lobbyists for General Motors, Chrysler and Ford have met with White House officials, Rep. John Dingell and a smattering of Michigan Democrats to discuss the loan, with plans to unveil the proposal after Labor Day. The plan includes lending $25 billion to automakers in its first year at an interest rate of 4.5 percent (about one-third of what the companies are currently paying), with the government having the option to defer any payment for up to five years. Details are scarce, and naturally, GM, Ford and Chrysler reps aren't saying much, but if the automakers and the Feds are serious, expect more information to leak out before the proposal is officially announced. [Source: WSJ , Photo by Tracy O | CC2...
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Filed under: Government/Legal , Chrysler, LLC. , Ford , GM After nearly eight years of getting little or no attention from the White House, it seems as though Detroit's automakers will be a major focus the 2008 Election. With the economy looking worse by the day, lawmakers in Washington have been kicking around the idea of a second economic stimulus package to get people shopping again, and Mowtown's lawmakers want in on the money. Michigan's two Democratic senators are attempting to use the prospect of such a bill to include federally-backed loans to help automakers and suppliers build new factories and engineer new models. The $4B would be used to offset the costs associated with the Treasury Department giving automakers $25B in loans at a discounted rate. Automakers have been against such a loan in the past, but with worsening conditions and tighter lending practices the idea is likely to sound much more exciting this time around. Presumed Democratic Presidential candidate...
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Filed under: Government/Legal , Chrysler, LLC. , Ford , GM In the wake of GM's Tuesday press conference detailing its plans to have enough cash on hand through 2009, politicians have been eager to voice their thoughts regarding the possibility of a government bailout. President Bush gave the possibility a strong no , but the two guys in line for his job have taken a different route. Senator Obama has said that he supports automaker's attempts to restructure without outside help, but says he's willing to work with the companies on fuel saving tech. Republican Senator John McCain took an even stronger pro-automaker stance, saying "if it looks like it is approaching that, everyone has to consider every option." The Arizona Senator and presumed Republican nominee has stated in the past that he wouldn't support a buyout, but would instead provide tax breaks and infrastructure support to create more fuel efficient vehicles. McCain's "every option" comment...
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Filed under: Government/Legal , GM In the wake of GM's restructuring announcement , some observers are beginning to talk about government assistance to get automakers through tough times. President Bush has quickly shot down the idea of assitance for US automakers, saying that the government shouldn't be "bailing out companies." GM spokesman Greg Martin said the General isn't looking for a free pass from Uncle Sam, instead insisting the company is going to take care of itself. While it's nice to see GM taking care of its own problems, there really isn't much else the Detroit automaker can say. Admitting that it needs help would be an admission of doom, which would further deplete its stock while signaling to customers that bankruptcy is near. A company in bankruptcy protection can go under, and companies that expire don't (theoretically) honor warranties or have parts available for repair. As for President Bush's comments, it deserves noting that few...
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Filed under: China , Government/Legal , Plants/Manufacturing , Chrysler , Ford , GM , Earnings/Financials American automotive companies have been doing rather well for themselves these last few years in China. Still, the majority of manufacturing those vehicles is done in China using locally sourced parts. For this reason, the Chinese government has been facing pressure to ink more deals with American companies for the export of goods there, which is apparently now beginning to take place. Ford, for instance, has announced that it will be sending 30,000 complete vehicles (no word on which ones) to China along with other various auto parts. General Motors has also signed on with about $1 billion in vehicles and parts for export to China. Chrysler too will get in on the trading, though its deals will likely be smaller than either Ford's or General Motors'. All in all, the automotive sector will make up about $2 billion of the recently announced deals, which total more than $8.3 billion...
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Filed under: Government/Legal , Chrysler , Ford , GM Barack Obama has been less than friendly with Detroit automakers in the past, but he's promised to meet with them both during his campaign and afterwards if he makes it into the Oval Office. The presumed Democratic nominee told a crowd in Flint, MI that he would meet with executives to discuss how "we're going to build the cars of the future right here in Michigan." Obama also criticized President Bush not meeting with automakers until his sixth year in office, which actually isn't true. President Bush met with automakers in 2003, though his second meeting with industry execs was delayed several times in 2006. Obama has also promised to deliver $150 billion in funding over 10 years and 5 million jobs in the "green sector." Some of the money is being promised to automakers to retool older plants for plug-in electric vehicle production, which would be welcome news to the financially struggling automakers...
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Filed under: Government/Legal , Safety , Crossovers/CUVs , Chrysler , Dodge Click above for high-res gallery of the 2008 Dodge Journey Chrysler is recalling 6,692 Dodge Journey crossover vehicles equipped with its 3.5L V6 engine due to a wiring harness problem that could potentially result in an engine fire. NHTSA says the issue can occur when the wiring harness becomes dislodged and makes contact with the transaxle mount. Effected vehicles need to be checked out at your local Dodge dealer where the wiring harness will be inspected for damage. If the harness is damaged it will be replaced, and all harnesses will be secured with a tie wrap to ensure the issue doesn't reoccur. Chrysler has known about the issue since mid-March, but no actual fires have been reported as of this time. The Journey recall is the second NHTSA action on a new vehicle this month, the Volkswagen Tiguan being the other, with each model having less than 7,000 units effected. Though nobody wants to see a time-consuming...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Government/Legal , Green , Chrysler , Ford , GM , Earnings/Financials Click above for more shots of the Ford Escape PHEV In what seems like a convenient answer to Mark Fields' request just yesterday for government assistance for the development of plug-in hybrids, the Department of Energy has just announced that it will be granting up to $30 million for just this type of vehicle. Not that thirty-mill is a small sum or anything, but that amount of money will be spread rather thin, being divided across three separate projects from three different manufacturers. Ford is one of them, while General Motors will receive funding for battery development and Chrysler, in partnership with General Electric, will also get some love. The end-goal of this funding is a plug-in hybrid vehicle that is capable of traveling 40 miles on electric power alone. The DOE hopes that these specifications can be cost-effective by the year 2014 with vehicles on the road around...
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Filed under: Coupes , Etc. , Government/Legal , Chrysler , Dodge Click above for high-res gallery of the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/odd_stuff/Border_Guards_Halt_Traffic_to_Check_Out_Challenger'; If any of you were stuck in traffic trying to get through the Detroit Windsor tunnel late last week, we may now know why. There was no major international incident or terrorist crackdown happening. Apparently, Chrysler Canada CEO Reid Bigland grabbed a fresh-off-the-line Dodge Challenger SRT8 and headed over to Detroit from his office in Windsor, Ontario. Agents of the Customs and Border Protection Service decided they wanted to check out Chrysler's new muscle car. Several agents spent time going over the new Challenger and asking questions about it rather than processing travelers through the downtown Detroit border crossing point. Traffic quickly got backed up and according to Bigland there was about an hour delay by the time the agents let him proceed...
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Filed under: Government/Legal , Plants/Manufacturing , Chrysler It looks as though production will continue at the four idled Pastech plants , thwarting the possibility that Chrysler would have to halt all of its assembly operations . Plastech and the Pentastar peeps were able to reach an agreement earlier today that allows production to resume during the second shift today. There's no word on whether or not the two companies reached an agreement about who owns the manufacturing equipment, something that's likely to be held up in court. [Source: USAToday] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Government/Legal , Green , Chrysler , Ford , GM , Toyota If you found it slightly strange that automakers went from being ardently opposed to any new EPA legislation to 100-percent behind the new proposal, you're not alone. Now the picture appears clearer, as the EPA has deemed any new CARB legislation an unnecessary evil. The significance of the new ruling is so far-reaching that the OEM savings can be heard all across our great land. In short, it means that California and the 17 other states vying for independent CO2 regulations are completely helpless in enforcing automakers to be held to a separate standard. Of course California is now threatening to sue the EPA, which will provide interesting headlines but likely no alternative outcome. While we will never know if automakers were tipped by the EPA of this eventuality, we can definitely say that every exec in the auto industry is today dancing the jig over this news. Besides, we've been keeping...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Government/Legal , Chrysler When the Canadian Loonie reached parity with the U.S. dollar a few weeks ago, consumers north of the border began to fully grasp how much more they are paying for automobiles nearly identical to those sold in the U.S. The Loonie has increased in value further since then, and the price disparity is now even more pronounced. Porsche was the first automaker to respond by lowering the retail prices of its entire lineup in Canada , but more mainstream automakers have been hesitant to change the MSRP on their vehicles. The solution appears to be increasing incentives on cars sold in Canada, which Chrysler recently announced it would do for all the cars and trucks it sells in Canada. Canadian consumers could be paying anywhere from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars more for vehicles sold in their country versus the U.S., so Chrysler is jacking up incentives and cash rebates or slashing finance rates to make up for the difference...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Government/Legal , Green , Chrysler , Ford , GM Domestic automakers may be losing market share, but it appears their clout is intact. The Department of Health and Human Services issued an apology for a recent newsletter...
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Filed under: Government/Legal You might recall about this time last year, California State Attorney General Bill Lockyer filed a lawsuit in Northern California's U.S. District Court asserting that automakers selling vehicles in the Golden State were liable...
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Filed under: Etc. , Government/Legal , Chrysler , Ford , GM Charges of anti-Americanism have followed the transmittal of an e-mail from the US Department of Health and Human Services to 67,000 federal workers. The e-mail, written by an unnamed member...
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