» Chrysler’s best quarterly profit in 13 years: Just a couple years away from a bailout that shook the company to the core and the merger with Fiat that saved it, Chrysler is on a little bit of a winning streak, with several car models posting their best monthly results ever.
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» What a record to break! One year removed from bankruptcy, American automaker General Motors posted record-setting earnings for the 2011 fiscal year. In recent weeks/months many investors worried that GM’s overseas operations would drag down the company’s year-end totals. GM lost a total of $747 million in European markets, with $562 million of the losses occurring in the fourth quarter alone. In South America, where the company reported $818 million in earnings for 2010, GM reported a net loss of $122 million. However, not only did the company defy global expectations, GM managed to break its former $6.7 billion earnings record, set in 1996.
On the day I took office, our auto industry was on the verge of collapse. Some even said we should let it die. With a million jobs at stake, I refused to let that happen. In exchange for help, we demanded responsibility. We got workers and automakers to settle their differences. We got the industry to retool and restructure. Today, General Motors is back on top as the world’s number one automaker. Chrysler has grown faster in the U.S. than any major car company. Ford is investing billions in U.S. plants and factories. And together, the entire industry added nearly 160,000 jobs. We bet on American workers. We bet on American ingenuity. And tonight, the American auto industry is back.
Was this the right thing for us to do, seeing the success we’ve had? (more here)
As America struggles with record levels of unemployment, we aimed to protect the jobs of our members - to guarantee good American jobs at a good American company. And we have done that. This contract will get our members who have been laid off back to work, will create new jobs in our communities and will bring work back to the United States from other countries.UAW President Bob King • Announcing an agreement with General Motors on a new four-year contract. They haven’t made specifics available, but the UAW says they successfully fought back on retirement plan and health care changes, while improving profit-sharing.
Fans of the federal govern ment’s auto bailout will push the “GM comeback” story at this week’s New York International Auto Show. Good luck with that one.
Taxpayers still own about 26 percent of GM, and it looks increasingly unlikely that they’ll ever get their money back: The share price would have to rise to more than $54, and it’s stuck in the low thirties. Here’s why:
GM’s management team lacks stability, with Dan Akerson being the fourth chief executive in less than two years (oh, and CFO Chris Liddell recently resigned).
One of Akerson’s main focuses has been to ballyhoo the Chevy Volt, but Consumer Reports says GM’s hybrid “just doesn’t make a lot of sense.” More important, it isn’t selling — only 1,210 Volts have sold this year through the end of March.
But considering that they only plan to produce 10,000 Volt units for the entire year — and that the product hasn’t even rolled out nationwide yet — it’s clear they weren’t trying to sell that many yet. Come on, those estimates are bunk until GM’s actually rolled the car out in more places. If you want to rip on GM’s numbers, wait to do it until there’s actually a good reason to rip on them.
» It’s not all up-and-up, though: At $510 million, the company’s fourth-quarter numbers, while still profitable, paled in comparison to the rest of the year. Still though, the fact that it’s a profit is definitely Dougie-worthy, no matter how you look at it.
I haven’t gotten any questions yet today like, ‘Will you be here next year?’Chrysler chief executive Sergio Marchionne • On the company’s slow bounceback. Chrysler hasn’t had the dramatic turnaround that Ford and GM have had since the nadir of the financial crisis, but they appear to be making headway with a new generation of vehicles – particularly the newest Jeep Grand Cherokee, which has done well despite the fact that SUVs have fallen out of fashion lately. The company’s collaboration with Fiat has also helped buoy Chrysler. So, how about paying back those loans from the bailout and other sources? “We are going to repay one hundred cents on every dollar of loans we received,” Marchionne said. source (via • follow)
» What’s needed next? If the government hopes to break even on its huge investment in GM, the stock needs to hit around $50 a share. It’s currently at $33.80, but if, say, the Chevy Volt is a huge success on the market, it could definitely hit that mark.
I don’t know where the market is going to be a year or two down the road, so I can’t make such a bold statement. Sure, I’m hopeful, and I’m not saying it can’t happen. I think the company is well positioned … so things look good for General Motors.GM CEO Dan Akerson • Not committing to a full repayment of the taxpayers’ money from the bailout. It sounds like a hedging of the bets, honestly. If he says it now and the stock goes south, he’s on the record offering a promise he can’t keep. For what it’s worth, though, GM’s stock is doing boffo so far in its first day of trading, already up six percent in early-morning trading. source (via • follow)
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“Pontiac, 84, Dies of Indifference”: We admit to stealing this headline: The New York Times came up with a better headline than we ever will, so rather than trying to fight it, ta-da! Here it is again – for the first time. source
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