July 17th, 2009 by DaveAdmin
Spending bill H.R. 3170RH, passed by a narrow margin by Congress, included an amendment which read:
SEC. 745. (a) None of the funds made available in this or any other Act may be used to obtain a financial or ownership interest (or right to acquire such an interest) in an automobile manufacturer that deprives an automobile [...]
June 3rd, 2009 by DaveAdmin
Republican Nebraska senator Mike Johanns has, with the public support of several colleagues, introduced an amendment to an FDA bill to vote on Obama’s plan for General Motors. If successfully attached to the bill, it could delay GM’s bankruptcy process and possibly result in the auto giant’s liquidation, given opposition by Republican leaders and some Democrats [...]
June 3rd, 2009 by DaveAdmin
Dozens of blogs have reported that President Barack Obama forced Chrysler to remove franchises from 789 dealerships for political reasons. On June 2, Jim Press testified that not renewing franchises for these dealers was necessary for corporate profitability. The 25% of dealers being dropped accounted for 14% of Chrysler’s overall sales; but sales are not [...]
June 1st, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
Two events once unthinkable have taken place. General Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this morning, before Wall Street opened for business; the company has already selected Al Koch of AlixPartners LLP to be its chief restructuring officer. The GM filing is the third-largest ever by a U.S. company and the largest by an American [...]
May 20th, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
President Barack Obama has announced sweeping new fuel efficiency and emissions standards for American vehicles. The proposed standards include the first-ever U.S. government regulation of greenhouse gases and would end the dispute between California and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Speaking at the White House, the President said “Right now, the rules governing fuel economy in this [...]
May 12th, 2009 by Bill Cawthon
President Obama’s auto task force flexed its muscle by cutting in half the $134 million Chrysler wanted to spend on advertising during its bankruptcy proceedings.
While they did chop the budget, the task force understood the need for advertising, which put them ahead of Judge Arthur Gonzalez who said: “Idle plants; why market?”
Robert Manzo, executive director [...]
May 5th, 2009 by DaveAdmin
The number of creditors objecting to the Chrysler-Fiat-Treasury plan appears to be dwindling, if a motion filed today by the “Attorneys for the Chrysler Non-TARP Lenders” (Thomas Lauria, who claimed death threats as the sole named attorney) is any evidence.
In part II, the document tellingly describes the “Non-TARP Lenders” as holding “over $300 million of [...]