TRENDING NOW:
GM has just announced that it has completed fresh-start accounting as part of its goal to once again become a public company. At the same time, GM also reported a $4.3 net billion loss for the time period of July 10 through December 31, 2009.
The $4.3 billion loss consists of a $2.6 billion settlement loss related to the UAW retiree medical plan and a $1.3 billion foreign currency re-measurement loss.
That said, GM also reported a $1 billion surplus of net cash provided by operating activities. Going public will enable The General to invest in designing, building, and selling the world’s best vehicles, attract the best people, and access the (much-needed) capital markets.
This is not to say that there still isn’t work to be done. According to GM’s new Vice-Chairman and CFO Chris Liddell,
“As the results for 2009 show there is still significant work to be done. However, I continue to believe we have a chance of achieving profitability in 2010,” said Liddell. “We are also dedicated to delivering on our commitments to our stakeholders. For example we remain committed to repaying the outstanding balance of the U.S. Treasury and Export Development Canada loans by June 2010 at the latest.”
This isn’t the first time Liddell has expressed his belief that 2010 will be a profitable year for The General, as he has done so back in March.
Later today, GM will file its third quarter 2009 Form 10-Q and 2009 Form 10-K with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
We have GM’s full presser after the jump!
Some may look at the $4.3 billion loss as terrible news while others have even gone so far as to say that – given GM’s involvement with the Federal Government and TARP Funds – this is the equivalent of paying off one credit card with another. What these individuals fail to take into consideration, however, is the time period of this news – the last six months of 2009. Even though GM went through Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and came out as New GM (General Motors Company, to be exact) during the summer of 2009, this was mostly in name. Only now are we seeing the effects of GM’s turnaround plan in action, which includes executive reassignments and product repositioning, among other things. (more…)
As General Motors shuts down HUMMER, it is offering rebates of as much as $6,000 on remaining inventory on dealer lots. GM is also in the process of sending letters to dealers ending their franchises.
GM says that it would still consider “viable alternatives” to acquire all or part of the brand after the collapse of the sale of Sichuan Tenzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. in late February.
If a party is interested in buying the go-anywhere brand from GM (rescuing it in the process), they would have to show that they have the financial resources to back it up. The last thing GM wants is to sell Hummer and commit to manufacturing vehicles for the new owner, only to later have the venture flop and idle manufacturing plants. A few firms have expressed interest but none have successfully negotiated a deal with The General.
“Anyone who buys it needs cash to make it work,” Jim Hall, principal of consulting firm 2953 Analytics in Birmingham, Michigan, said of Hummer. “That’s why GM has been turning buyers away left, right and center.”
It’s worth noting that General Motors took the same approach during its divestiture of Saab earlier in the year, declining offers it deemed unsuitable for the long term. (more…)
I saw this in the local paper and – after attempting (and failing) to read it as a regular article – realized it was an ad for OnStar. This is a very interesting ad – at least to yours truly (who rarely picks up a hard copy newspaper).
It appears that the goal is to draw readers’ attention with a locally-relevant headline – in this case – Coastal Cities Brace Themselves For More Hurricanes (yours got this paper in south Florida). Upon realizing that two articles are unreadable due to the scrambled words, the intention is to focus attention on the short article in the bottom right titled Dangerous High-Speed Chaces Could Come To And End. This short story is, as you would expect, explains the benefits of OnStar’s Stolen Vehicle Slowdown feature.
As typically seen in other OnStar print ads, the tagline at the bottom reads
We’re working with police to take speed out of high-speed chases.
What do you think of the ad? Is it effective? Before you let us know in the comments, keep in mind that his humble writer didn’t immediately realize it was an OnStar ad; the only reason I kept it around is because of the OnStar logo.
March 2010 proved to be a very successful month for GM U.S. Overall, Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac gained 43 percent in the U.S. year-over-year. Total sales for GM’s four core brands came in at 185,406 units for the month, which is a 34 percent increase from February 2010. This also marks the sixth consecutive month of increased combined total and retail sales for GM’s four core brands.
These results attest to GM’s progress in creating sustainable and profitable growth:
“Our March results show continued progress toward our growth plan. By investing in our brands and remaining disciplined in our approach to the U.S. market, we posted solid results,” said Susan Docherty, Vice President of Marketing at GM North America. “Our new vehicles, like the Chevrolet Equinox, Buick LaCrosse, GMC Terrain, and Cadillac SRX, are being well-received by customers for many good reasons, including quality, safety, excellent fuel economy, and higher resale values.”
Here are some March 2010 quick facts, followed by model-by-model breakdown (after the break):
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, GM has disclosed that it is paying Vice Chairman of corporate strategy and business development Steven Girsky approximately $5 million per year.
Approximately 90 percent of Mr. Girsky’s salary will be made up of stocks, with $500,000 a year in base pay.
GM has also name Patricia Russo, a member of the company’s board since July 2009, as lead independent director.
Now before all the fans of the term Government Motors begin shouting obscenities at The General and/or the Federal Government, let’s get one thing perfectly clear: as long as most of the pay comes in the form of stocks, it is not the end of the world! In fact, stocks (and stock options) serve as an incentive for employees to work harder to reach common organizational goals. So let’s call this what it really is – a non-starter.
[Source: Reuters]
As we reported yesterday, GM’s upcoming Alpha platform, set to underpin the Cadillac ATS, next-gen CTS, as well as the 6th generation Camaro, is being protected for three sets of powerplants, including four-, six-, and eight- cylinder engines.
It seems that GM engineers are currently in the process of deciding on transmission design. More specifically, GM is working on its first eight-speed automatic transmission, with the question right now being whether the eight-speed will be designed for front- or rear-wheel drive applications.
The process of designing a transmission is very costly to begin with. Adapting a drivetrain to both drive applications can very quickly raise these costs – sometimes doubling the original development expenditures of a single-drive application. (more…)
Here they are, ladies and gentlemen – the specs we’ve all been waiting for! These are the official specifications for the upcoming Chevrolet Volt that has just begun production testing.
Unfortunately, these specs don’t give us official EPA mpg numbers. However, Chevy did tell us about the Volt’s electric range:
“…up to 40 [mpg] (based on EPA city cycle) actual mileage may vary depending on driving habits/conditions, weather and battery age
Nevertheless, we’re now one step closer to knowing everything there is to know about the much-awaited PHEV! Click past the break for the full table! (more…)
Now that GM has its North American leadership in order with Mark Reuss at the helm, it is time for the executive shuffle to make its way to Australia. Holden just announced that Mike Devereux is the new Chief Managing Director of GM’s Australia subsidiary. Devereux replaces Alan Batey, who has been appointed Vice President of Sales and Service for Chevrolet in the United States (during the latest executive shuffle at GM NA).
Devereux holds a Bachelor’s Degree from GMI Engineering and Management Institute as well as an MBA from Harvard Business School. His career with GM began in 1986 in Ontario and has spanned the globe, most recently as the President and Managing Director of GM Middle East Operations. This recent experience predisposes him to success in Australia, since Holden exports its products to the Middle East. For example, the Holden Commodore (long-missed Pontiac G8 in North America) carries the Chevy badge and wears the Lumina nameplate in the Middle East.
His experience and span of knowledge make him well-suited for the position according to Tim Lee, President of International Operations:
“Mike brings rare experience across almost every area of the automotive business including manufacturing, product development and senior management roles in GM’s international operations, marketing, sales and aftersales including the then newly formed e-Business group.”
Moreover, Mr. Lee thinks very highly of Mark Reuss’ and Mike Devereux’ dedication standards:
“Recent leaders such as Mark Reuss and Alan Batey have set a very high benchmark in dedication to the people and products that define the famous Holden brand – and Mike will be no exception.”
Devereux worked in engineering in Canada in the 1980s followed by Service Parts Operations International Group, where he served until becoming the product launch manager for the 2000 Cadillac DeVille. He later worked in e-Business as well as the Global Sales, Service and Marketing Organization.
We have GM’s presser after the jump!
GM is in the process of developing the platform that will underpin the 3-series fighting Cadillac ATS range. Dubbed Alpha, GM is expected to also use the architecture for the 2014 CTS as well as the 2015 Chevy Camaro (sixth gen).
The 2014 CTS will make the move to definitively compete in the midsize luxury class and is expected to add approximately six inches to its length. This would peg the overall length of the next-generation CTS at 195 inches.
Moreover, Motor Trend has learned that the Alpha platform is being “protected” for a range of engines including fours, supercharged and turbocharged sixes, as well as GM’s excellent small block eights.
The protected classification is an engineering stage where the design of an architecture (and/or part) is not finalized. Rather, the project remains open to include other features and/or characteristics.
In the case of the Alpha platform, the design has a classification of protected to allow for proper fitting of various engines. It should be noted that this does not actually guarantee that all of the aforementioned powerplants will be offered to the public. Instead, the platform will be made flexible to accommodate the various engines should the product team decide to offer them in the final product. (more…)
The Chevrolet Volt has reached a new milestone last Wednesday at its Detroit Hamtramck Assembly Plant. The milestone, known as the validation of the production process, marks the commencement of pre-production manufacturing that’s used to make sure all steps in the production process meet quality targets set by the Volt engineering team.The pre-production Volts, which will continue to be built in the coming months, will not be sold at dealerships. Rather, they will be examined by manufacturing engineers as the plant gets ready to build retail models later in the year.
“We have a very experienced workforce at this plant and through all of their preparation and training workers here have been given the privilege to take GM into the future with this car,” said Detroit-Hamtramck plant manager Teri Quigley.
This comes to us on the heels of the announcement that the U.S. Federal Government has pre-ordered the first 100 Volts from Chevrolet. These first 100 units will be delivered later in the year and will not include any of the pre-production manufacturing models discussed here.
The GM Authority team thinks it’s truly awesome to witness a vehicle such as the Volt go through its various stages before reaching the full-blown manufacturing process. This – ladies and gentlemen – is history in the making!
We have GM’s full presser, along with a high-res gallery of the Volt, after the jump.
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