The U.S. auto industry expects 2011 to be a second year of recovery from the depths of the recession. The three outsider CEOs at General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler are all looking for higher sales and better profits. The Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt will be competing for miles-per-charge bragging rights while arguing about the importance of range anxiety. European luxury car makers will begin diverting shipments from the cooling Chinese market to fill their depleted U.S showrooms.
As General Motors welcomes its fourth CEO in 18 months, a frequently-asked question is "Why can't somebody be found who can run GM?"
As General Motors gets ready to take its show on the road in support of its initial public offering after Election Day, one of its biggest question marks is the future of Opel and its European division.
After resigning as president and CEO of General Motors in December, Fritz Henderson might have gone into hiding or decided to sit out the harsh Michigan winter on a Florida beach.
General Motors chairman and chief executive, Ed Whitacre, Jr. will receive a compensation package worth $9 million, the automaker said Friday.
General Motors will pay off a $6.7 billion federal loan by June, well ahead of the deadline for the repayment under terms of the bailout, company CEO Ed Whitacre said Tuesday.
General Motors is considering repaying all of its $6.7 billion in government loans in one lump sum, rather than through quarterly payments as currently planned, Chief Executive Ed Whitacre told journalists during an online press briefing Tuesday.
Ed Whitacre, the chairman and for now the CEO of General Motors, is still not answering questions about the leadership shakeup at the taxpayer-owned automaker, a week after he promised he would make himself available to such questions.
Stocks struggled Wednesday as investors sought more evidence that a recovery is taking hold, one day after the Dow industrials closed at its highest point in 14 months.
General Motors tried to keep the focus on its cars at the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show even as the carmakers' plans were disrupted by the abrupt resignation of its chief executive just the afternoon before.
The captains of bailed-out companies can't seem to stop bailing out.
Stocks were headed for a mixed open Wednesday as investors considered the General Motors shakeup, awaited some employment data and watched gold soar above the $1,200 an ounce mark.
In a surprise move, General Motors chief executive Fritz Henderson resigned Tuesday, giving the battered government-owned automaker its third boss in less than a year.
As one veteran Detroit observer put it, General Motors' board of directors gave Rick Wagoner an endless amount of time to flop around, but they nearly strangled his successor Fritz Henderson on a short leash.
General Motors said better results will allow it to start repaying government loans sooner than expected, although the company continued to lose money in its first quarter since emerging from bankruptcy.
updated: Wed Nov 11 2009 07:37:00
UK is thrilled that GM will keep Opel and Vauxhall, as Jim Boulden reports.
General Motors has decided to keep its European Opel unit, canceling the planned sale to Canadian firm Magna, the company said.
If you think General Motors should bring in some "new blood" to shake up its hidebound corporate culture, CEO Fritz Henderson agrees with you. He just has one problem.
I've written a lot about car companies since I started covering business in the 1960s, but I've written very little about cars, because they just don't interest me much.
General Motors is losing its top U.S. sales executive, a key player in the automaker's reorganization, to a job in another industry, CEO Fritz Henderson announced Wednesday.
No city in America has been more entwined with the fortunes of a single industry as Detroit with autos. The nicknames "Motor City" and "Motown," coined years ago, have stuck for good reason.
If you want to understand how the old General Motors stumbled for 30 years until it collapsed into bankruptcy, consider the story of GoFast.
General Motors' rapid trip through bankruptcy is done. Now comes the hard part.
The hallway leading to the conference room on the third floor of the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington, D.C. is lined with oil portraits of past secretaries, and the conference room itself is sufficiently ornate to serve as a setting for treaty signings and other momentous affairs of state.
The other day, General Motors did two things it has never done before:
The Chevrolet Volt, GM's electric car that's expected to go on sale in late 2010, is projected to get an estimated 230 miles per gallon, the automaker announced Tuesday.
From the cries of protest emanating from Washington this week, you would think that General Motors and Chrysler were guilty of clubbing baby seals. Or perhaps drowning kittens.
After a six-week trip through bankruptcy, the "new" General Motors was born Friday owned by the government and free of tens of billions in debt and shed of unaffordable brands, dealerships and plants.
There are a lot of changes at the "new" General Motors. Billions less debt. Fewer plants. Fewer workers.
A leaner General Motors was close to starting a new life under government ownership Friday.
General Motors' plan to restructure, with a lot of help from the federal government, has been approved by a bankruptcy judge.
General Motors returned to bankruptcy court Thursday seeking approval of its plan to restructure and create a "new GM."
General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson has argued this week that a bankruptcy court needs to approve plans to create a new GM, one unburdened by many of the contracts and liabilities of the past.
The head of General Motors, seeking swift approval of a plan to leave the automaker's debt behind, told a bankruptcy court Tuesday that the company's June sales are stronger than expected -- in part because the bankruptcy process is going swiftly.
General Motors is racing through the early stages of its bankruptcy, in the hope of emerging as a new, independent company by August or early September.
These are hard times for car dealers. Across the nation, General Motors and Chrysler dealerships are pulling down their big roadside signs and closing their doors.
General Motors took a big step toward its reinvention as the "New G.M." today when it opened what it calls the largest automotive battery laboratory in the United States, a move the struggling company believes will hasten the development of electric vehicles.
Ever since it filed for bankruptcy protection on the morning of June 1, General Motors has been energetically trying to get the word out that the new GM will be a much better company than the old GM. Executives have been interviewed on radio, appeared on television, and held endless rounds of conference calls with securities analysts and the media. The message, according to CFO Ray Young: "We will fix GM once and for all."
General Motors, with bankruptcy looming, pledged Friday to build a small car in the United States in an idled car plant that will be revamped.
It's coming down to the wire for General Motors.
The next auto businesses on the chopping block will be 2,600 General Motors dealerships.
General Motors, the quintessential U.S. company, sold more vehicles in Asia in the first quarter than it did in the United States.
General Motors intends to keep its headquarters in Detroit, even though its U.S. operations are in far worse shape than some of its growing overseas units, CEO Fritz Henderson said Monday.
Will General Motors succeed in its efforts to restructure itself and turn the embattled automaker around? That could depend on how well the bankruptcy process plays out over the next month at rival Chrysler LLC.
The Obama administration has signaled its support for a congressional effort that aims to boost the troubled car industry by subsidizing new cars sales for consumers who scrap old ones.
General Motors announced plans Monday to cut 23,000 U.S. jobs by 2011, drop its storied Pontiac brand and slash 40% of its dealer network in its latest bid to stay out of bankruptcy.
The Pontiac car brand, once marketed as General Motors' "excitement division," will be killed off by the end of next year, the carmaker announced Monday.
For most Americans, Topic A in the auto industry right now is the fate of GM. Mike Jackson, 60, the outspoken CEO of the nation's largest auto retailer, AutoNation, has some definite opinions about that subject--and we'll spell them out below. But his own Topic A today is the level of gas prices, which he thinks intolerably low. Here is the conversation that he and FORTUNE senior editor at large Carol Loomis had a few days ago.
General Motors will announce more job cuts and plant closing plans in the coming weeks, CEO Fritz Henderson said Friday.
Preparations for a possible bankruptcy filing at General Motors have become "intense and earnest", according to a source familiar with the company's plans.
Stocks tumbled Tuesday morning, extending the previous day's selloff, as investors geared up for what is expected to be a wretched period of corporate results.
Stocks retreated Monday, losing some momentum after a four-week rally, with a breakdown in IBM and Sun Microsystems talks leading a technology selloff.
In his first week as president and chief executive officer of General Motors, Fritz Henderson expressed optimism that he can steer the company out of the economic rut in which it has stalled.
Now that Rick Wagoner is out as chairman and CEO of General Motors, two different leaders are at the wheel of the nation's two troubled auto companies.
Now that Rick Wagoner is out as chairman and CEO of General Motors, two different leaders are at the wheel of the nation's two troubled auto companies.
President Barack Obama announced Monday that struggling automotive giants General Motors and Chrysler will be given a "limited" period of time to "restructure in a way that would justify an investment of additional taxpayer dollars."
General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner announced his resignation early Monday -- the latest change for the troubled automaker.
Depression-era conditions in the auto industry means lots of assets for sale. More brands may change hands than at any time since the late 1980s. Trouble is, nobody seems to have the interest - or the equity - to make a deal.
General Motors and Chrysler LLC have four weeks to win deep concessions from unions and creditors to prove they are viable, or they risk losing the $17.4 billion in government loans that are keeping them from bankruptcy.
General Motors cut its forecast for industrywide U.S. auto sales Thursday, a development that could lead the company to ask for additional loans from the federal government.
President Bush has thrown a lifeline to GM and Chrysler, but problems at their financing arms could throw a wrench into recovery plans.
Now that President-elect Obama has suggested that General Motors and the rest of the Detroit Three may need to install new management as a condition of a bailout, the question is: Who will become GM's next CEO?
The stock of General Motors plunged Monday to a six-decade low as investors worried that a federal government bailout of the embattled automaker could essentially wipe out the stakes of current shareholders.
General Motors Corp. officially blew up its old business model Tuesday, closing four pickup truck and sport utility vehicle factories, announcing a new small car
If you are a shareholder of General Motors, you couldn't be too happy about what you heard at Tuesday's annual meeting.
Truly determined optimists purported to divine good news amidst the wreckage of General Motors' $3.25 billion first-quarter loss. To be sure, the financial results were better than some had expected, GM made money everywhere except in North America, and the automaker is doing better controlling its costs.
General Motors Corp. reported a large first-quarter loss Wednesday, due in large part to struggles at its former finance wing GMAC, a strike at American Axle and slumping U.S. car sales.
As most economic indicators continue to flash yellow - and occasionally red - a vigorous debate is unfolding about how far auto sales will fall this year.
Stock futures fell early Friday as a weak monthly job report and mounting credit worries took a toll on sentiment and investors.
Buried deep in the slide deck that General Motors distributed to analysts and journalists today with its 2007 financial results is a page that, better than anything else, helps describe the unusual mindset at GM these days. It is a chart that the company has never published before, and it could be the source of comfort to observers and investors - or dismay.
If you are looking for a discouraging word on the U.S. economy, you couldn't find it around the General Motors stand at the Detroit Auto Show Sunday. Executives are putting the best face on some fairly dour economic statistics.
General Motors, no stranger to hard times and red ink, still managed to shock Wednesday when it reported an operating loss more than 11 times larger than expected and a $39 billion charge that was among the biggest profit hits ever reported.
General Motors Corp. which has struggled to overcome losses and reach a non-competitive labor agreement over the last three years says it will take a $39 billion charge to close the door on that period.
General Motors Corp. Wednesday lowered its forecast for industry-wide U.S. sales in 2007 and said it would be "challenging" to achieve its target of selling 3 million vehicles at showrooms.
General Motors Thursday reported improved results from its auto operations in the first quarter, but problems in subprime mortgages contributed to earnings that missed Wall Street forecasts by a mile.
General Motors' CEO Rick Wagoner and other top executives at the troubled U.S. automaker will continue to take the voluntary pay cut that was announced in February 2006, a filing revealed Friday.
General Motors reversed a year-earlier loss to post a profit Wednesday, but it badly missed Wall Street forecasts, as a big improvement at its core North American auto operations was partly offset subprime woes as its suddenly troubled home mortgage business saw a $661 million loss.
At this year's Detroit auto show, General Motors is trying to shift the focus from its financial woes to its new vehicles and innovative technology. But as Chief Financial Officer Fritz Henderson revealed in an interview with Fortune's Alex Taylor III, GM still has a long way to go to return to financial health.
Stocks looked poised Friday to build on a record-high close for the Dow after a key inflation report showed no rise from the previous month.
Carlos Ghosn was expected to tell General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner that GM could save at least $10 billion a year by entering into an alliance with the two automakers Ghosn heads, Renault and Nissan Motor, according to a published report.
General Motors roared past even the most optimistic Wall Street forecasts Wednesday as it reported a large operating profit and made money from its core auto operations for the first time since 2004.
Maybe the light in the tunnel is closer for General Motors than you think. Or maybe the light is still the headlight of an oncoming train.
When it rains, it pours and General Motors is in the middle of a typhoon. The storm clouds include, but are not limited to: grand jury probes, SEC subpoenas, admissions of inadequate financial controls and restated earnings.
Just when it seemed things couldn't get worse for General Motors Corp., they did, as the embattled automaker said Thursday it lost a total of $4.8 billion in just the last three months of 2005, far worse than Wall Street expectations.
The advisor to GM's largest individual shareholder called for a 50 percent cut in the automaker's dividend along with compensation cuts for the company's directors, management and hourly employees.
Embattled U.S. automaker General Motors Corp. is showing signs of stemming losses from its European operations, according to a published report.
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