Frederick “Fritz” Henderson has resigned as General Motors chief executive officer. Henderson (left, in the photo above) was appointed CEO on March 29, replacing Rick Waggoner who shown the door by the Obama administration. Over the last eight months, Henderson worked at reorganizing the company. GM announced that Chairman Ed Whitacre Jr. (right, in the...
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Earlier this week General Motors produced its last Pontiac for the U.S. market, ending the brand’s 82 year run. The final vehicle to roll off the assembly line at 12:45 p.m. on Wednesday, November 25th at the Orion Township plant was a rather unspectacular white G6 sedan which is scheduled to be sold to a...
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Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg has canceled its plans to buy the struggling Saab brand from General Motors, leaving the future of the brand in jeopardy. “We’re obviously very disappointed with the decision to pull out of the Saab purchase,” said GM President and CEO, Fritz Henderson. “Many have worked tirelessly over the past several months...
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In a surprising move, General Motors has announced that it will begin to pay back $6.7 billion in loans to the U.S. and Canadian governments, starting as early as December. GM wasn’t required (or expected) to begin paying back the loan until 2015. The news comes as GM releases its third quarter results with a...
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General Motors has decided to keep it’s European operations after all. GM has announced that due to the improved economy and improvements in the company’s bottom line, it will not sell off Opel and British automaker Vauxhall. General Motors had been negotiating to sell the group to a Russian-backed group fronted by Canadian autoparts maker...
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Frank Weber, the engineer that is currently running Chevy’s Volt project is parting ways with General Motors. Weber, will be returning to his homeland of Germany, where he will take up a senior management roll at Opel. GM is currently in the process of selling Opel to Canada’s Magna International and Opel is set to...
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GM’s sales numbers for October must be good because the company is already announcing that it expects to post its first monthly sales increase in 21 months. Still several days away, Mike DiGiovanni, GM’s executive director of global market and industry analysis, told the Detroit Free Press the good news. Looking back to October of...
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The sale of GM’s European Opel division to Russian-backed Canadian autoparts maker Magna has been put on hold. The on-again, off-again saga is off-again as GM board is set to meet on November 3rd to review changes to the agreement. The changes, include a request by the German Economy Minister to GM, asking the company...
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General Motors has sold its Hummer brand of SUVs to Chinese heavy industrial machinery builder Sichuan Tengzhon. No details have been released but the sale was reportedly made for a sum of just $150 million. GM CEO Fritz Henderson had estimated in documents filed during GM’s bankruptcy proceedings that the brand could be worth as...
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Saab has secured a $610 million loan from the European Investment Bank after the Swedish government said it would stand behind the loan. This may just be the last step in finalizing the sale of Saab to a group of investors headed by Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg. The sale of Saab by General Motors to...
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In the latest chapter of the ongoing sage of corporate restructuring at General Motors, the company’s head of U.S. sales has announced his resignation. Mark La Neve, who became VP of sales and marketing in 2005, has said he will leave on October 15th. La Neve’s position has been in question since industry veteran Bob...
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As expected, auto industry sales were way down for the month of September, after record highs posted during the previous month with the Cash for Clunkers program in effect. Compared to September of 2008, GM’s sales declined 45 percent, while Chrysler dropped 42 percent. Ford’s posted just a modest 5 percent loss due in part...
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Penske’s deal to buy the Saturn arm of General Motors has reportedly fallen through. Back in June the Penske Automotive Group (PAG) had announced it would buy the brand from GM, along with its dealer network. “This is very disappointing news and comes after months of hard work by hundreds of dedicated employees and Saturn...
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Koenigsegg’s bid to purchase GM’s Swedish Saab brand was contingent on the company securing additional funding, either through external investment or through loans. With the Swedish government not overly excited about bailing out Saab and after rejecting attempts by Volvo to secure assistance, Keonigsegg has looked to the private sector and overseas for an interested...
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General Motors has just announced a deal that will see it’s European Opel brand sold off to Canadian autoparts supplier Magna International. The deal has yet to be finalized, but this morning GM announced Magna was the preferred bidder. The sale will see Magna and Russian backer Sberbank take a 55 percent stake in both...
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Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen couldn’t be more clear about his thoughts on the upcoming Chevy Volt, calling it “a car for idiots.” De Nysschen made the comments to MSN while previewing a few of Audis upcoming electric cars. He believes that there just won’t be enough demand for a vehicle that is...
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According to a recent Consumer Reports survey, the overwhelming majority of car shoppers are considering a domestic vehicle as their next purchase. Results of the “Auto Pulse” survey indicate that 81 percent of respondents looking at a new car are considering buying American. That number is significantly higher than the numbers for Asian imports (47...
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The U.S. auto industry showed continued improvement in the month of August, helped on by the Obama Administration’s Cash for Clunkers program. Ford was once again a big winner as sales increased 17.2 percent over last August, a significant improvement over the 2.4 percent growth in July – which was thought to be good at...
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According to a recent report on CBC Radio’s French website Radio Canada, the Penske Automotive Group plans to close all the Saturn dealers in Canada once its deal to buy the brand from General Motors is complete. At one time there were 60 Saturn dealers in Canada, but half of those dropped out of the...
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General Motors’ sale of its Hummer brand to China’s Tengzhong may be completed within a week. The two companies have been working on a deal for Hummer since June, and an unnamed source said to be the discussions said a deal is imminent. “Tengzhong executives have been traveling between the U.S. and China in the...
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The last time the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro was spied, it was outside the car’s production facility in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. These latest spy shots come from the other side of the world. GMInsideNews forum member isszy captured two photos of eight of the drop-top Camaros at a Holden facility in Fisherman’s Bend, Australia. The Camaro...
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After announcing earlier this week that it has not reached a deal to sell Opel, General Motors is now apparently exploring options to keep the European unit. This news comes as a surprise considering selling off Opel is a part of the company’s viability plan as submitted to the U.S. government in order to receive...
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In a shocking turn of events, General Motors has decided to cancel its plans to build a Buick PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) crossover just weeks after announcing plans to build the new model. According to Buick communications boss Michelle Bunker the idea was not well received by, well, anyone and so GM has decided...
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In a sign that the Cash-for-Clunkers program is working and that car sales are finally starting to turn a corner, General Motors has announced that it is increasing production and adding overtime shifts at several plants. Shifts will be added at GM’s CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada and at the Lordstown, Ohio plant. The...
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