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Malcolm Tipping Point Gladwell, agrees with our assessment that, when it comes to "auto making," ex'ed-by-the-Obama-administration GM CEO Rick Wagoner was actually pretty effective. Steve Rattner, the ex'ed-by-a-crappy-movie "auto czar" who fired him? Not so much. [The New Yorker] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5672490&view=rss&microfeed=true Ex-GM CEO Rick Wagoner moves from one failing U.S. industry to another. [WashPost via Romanesko] More »
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On what the Chooch-enthusiast Car Czar learned after spending time with automakers. Apparently, looking like Abraham Lincoln doesn't make you a good leader. [Fortune] More »
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During bankruptcy testimony earlier today, GM CEO Fritz Henderson confirmed initial reports that former CEO Rick Wagoner being asked to step down by Steve Rattner, head of the President's auto task force, in a one-on-one meeting. More »
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A naked and unshaven Rick Wagoner appeared today in a globe of light outside GM's Detroit RenCen HQ claiming Fritz Henderson is an evil robot from the future and must be stopped at all costs. More »
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Those of you feeling bad for former GM CEO Rick Wagoner, who was deposed of at the White House's behest, may cheer up at the news he qualifies for $20 million in retirement benefits. More »
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An Obama senior administration official explained to us on background Fritz Henderson will take the reins as interim GM CEO tomorrow once Rick Wagoner's departure is formally announced directly after President Obama's auto strategy announcement. More »
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The NY Times is reporting GM CEO Rick Wagoner is resigning at President Obama's behest one day before unveiling his rescue plan for GM and Chrysler. March Madness? Ha! More like Carpocalypse Carnage! UPDATE! More »
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GM CEO Rick Wagoner gets his priorities straight, using today's press conference to explain why COO Fritz Henderson was wearing a sweater and no tie, before hinting at CFO Ray Young's swinging lifestyle. More »
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On CNBC this morning, GM product czar "Maximum" Bob Lutz said GM CEO Rick Wagoner is "without doubt the best CEO I've ever worked for." Well, duh. Have you seen the other CEOs he's worked for? More »
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You may have seen Sen. Chris Dodd on "Meet The Press" this weekend tell Tom Brokaw GM CEO Rick Wagoner "has to move on." That's a terrible idea. More »
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A bailout bridge loan plan for the not-so-Big Three drawing emergency aid from an existing pool of $25 billion for green vehicle R&D and including a Cabinet-level oversight board could come as early as today. More »
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With all this talk of corporate jets, slumming it on road trips and idling hybrids, it’s easy to lose track of the human cost of Carpocalypse Now. Has anyone thought of the standard of living adjustment the Big 3 CEOs will have to take when their salaries are cut from tens of millions to a paltry $1-per-year? One man has. That man’s name is Donny Miller. He’s taken it on himself to single-handedly help Alan Mulally, Bob Nardelli and Rick Wagoner put food on the table. How? An old-fashioned bake sale at last week's LA Auto Show.

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The not-so-Big Three learned from their corporate travel mistake deciding to drive to D.C. this week for testimony before Congress. Thanks to our man on the scene, here's a look at the cars they chose and their meaning. More »
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We didn't have the video of Wagoner pulling up in the Chevy Volt mule dressed up in the skin of a Chevy Cruze earlier. Now we do. We also have to say, we're pretty happy with how the Cruze looks in motion. Pretty snazzy if you ask us. We'll take ours with a turbo 1.4-liter four-banger rather than the Volt innards and definitely with the "dog-and-pony show" graphics-delete option. Also, we're now told Alan "Boeing! Boeing!" Mulally and Bob "The Builder" Nardelli are seated and Dodd's started flapping his gums. UPDATE: According to CNBC's Phil LeBeau, GM's modifying their request from the gubm'it — they need $4 billion this month and $4 billion in January (from $4 billion in December, $6 billion in March) to stave off the Carpocalypse! More »
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GM CEO Rick Wagoner just showed up to Capitol Hill driving the Chevy Volt mule. No clue where the other CEOs are. More »
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The CEOs of the not-so-Big Three made it to DC for committee hearings beginning today at 10:00 AM. According to Bloomberg's sources, GM and Chrysler execs are considering a pre-arranged bankruptcy (which we've already said is a good thing) as a last-resort of getting a multibillion-dollar government loan. More »
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In yet another stunning display of GM's critical lack of understanding of the importance of transparency when asking for public assistance has asked aviation regulators to block the public's ability to track the company's leased private planes. When will this company learn a little thing called "message?" More »
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Saturday Night Live took on the not-so-Big Three's congressional testimony and "jetpooling" incident in this weekend's "cold open," and unfortunately fell into the trap of shamelessly mocking tired stereotypes. Which is sad, because we'd watched SNL take on a new level of relevancy as of late thanks to the uber-adorable Tina Fey and an election season devoid of real political commentary. That's not to say watching Will Forte as Rick Wagoner, Darrell Hammond as Bob "The Builder" Nardelli and Jason Sudeikis as Alan Mulally isn't funny, but hearing about quality issues on the upcoming Ford Fiesta and a Cadillac XLR-V is a bit ol' and busted if you ask us. Now quality issues on a Chrysler 300C? That's comedic genius. But hackneyed and tired jokes aside, we were more concerned with further evidence the automakers have done the world's worst job of getting their message out. For example, when we heard Casey Wilson as NY Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Clueless) explaining to the auto chiefs Congress mandated 200 MPG cars and in doing so they've "done their part." The joke on cluelessly ineffective CAFE over-reaching was met with absolute silence. Contrast that with a moment later when Hammond, as Nardelli, responds to the question "What is Chrysler doing to make more fuel efficient cars?" with "I don't know." The joke's greeted with massive laughter. Here's a tip for GM, Ford and Chrysler — when you become a bigger punchline than Congress, you know you've done a piss-poor job at message management. Just sayin'... [SNL via Crooks and Liars] More »
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It's probably a bad thing to fly a private jet from Detroit to Washington, DC when you're going to ask Congress to provide you a multi-billion dollar loan to bail you out of a financial crisis. That fact hasn't stopped Ford's Alan Mulally, along with the heads of the other automakers, who not only flew to D.C. in the Ford private jet but are, apparently, unwilling to fully cut themselves from the corporate crack that is their private air forces. This really disturbs us. We've been having all sorts of problems with the way the US automakers have managed their message in making the ask for money from the Feds for survival. First they weren't getting their message out. Now, however, they're getting the wrong message out. Frankly, when folks begin saying things like this: More »
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Barack Obama took time away from talking about his mother-in-law and a college football playoff system to talk about the automaker bailout in an interview on CBS' 60 Minutes. While admitting Detroit needs help, he said it's important to make sure it's conditioned on the stakeholders (labor, suppliers, execs) coming up with a plan for a sustainable domestic auto industry as opposed to just giving out "a bridge loan to nowhere." Oh, yes, he went there. This was taped before the scary GM video, which at the very least we're hoping, convinced him to buy a Save GM t-shirt. More »
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As if the late-breaking Friday night news of merger talks between Chrysler and GM weren't astonishing enough, Bill "Pickles" Vlasic at the New York Times continued the onslaught of amazement with a follow-up story that GM had initially approached Ford before speaking to Chrysler. Apparently, GM execs approached Ford about a possible merger in July but Ford rejected the idea despite the talks progressing until as late as last month. And we though it was hard creating a name for a merger of GM and Chrysler — try coming up with one for Ford and GM. Best we could come up with was "Big Blue Moval." More »
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The Wall Street Journal is reporting GM plans to remove another 5,000 salaried workers from payrolls by November as part of its re-restructuring announced earlier this month. The cuts would amount to about 15% of GM's North American white-collar staff, continuing what has become a 40% salaried headcount reduction since 2000. News of the job losses comes as GM is preparing analysts and the media to expect a large second-quarter loss when the company reports earnings tomorrow. Rather than layoffs, GM hopes to encourage staffers to leave with early retirement packages and cash incentives. Hey, it works for the cars, so why not try it on the employees? [WSJ (sub. req.)] More »
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In a move that GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner described as "A major step forward for General Motors," the company today dedicated its new Global Powertrain Engineering Development Center. The center is located in Pontiac, MI, spitting distance from the defunct Silverdome — the former home to the Detroit Lions, and consists of a 450,000 square-foot facility touted as the most technologically advanced powertrain development center in the world. What makes it so? Join us after the jump for our look around. More »
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According to reports out of Japan today, Toyota plans to lower its global sales estimate to 9.5 million vehicles this year, down from a previous sales estimate of 9.85 million. The report comes the day after GM's "Sweeping-Reorganization Press Conference, Part II," thus making their significant 385,000-unit sales forecast cut seem like a paltry hiccup in comparison. Well played, Toyota, but will it be enough for the win and the title of the world's super best number one automaker? More »
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In the now-infamous press conference from General Motors this morning, Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner not only spelled out GM's strategy to save itself from impending doom, but also revealed pretty much every upcoming GM vehicle that hadn't already been shown to the public. This includes the first photos of the 2010 Chevy Cruze, 2010 Cadillac SRX, 2010 Saab 9-4X, and the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox. This comes in addition to official confirmation of the 2010 Buick LaCrosse, 2010 Cadillac CTS Coupe and 2010 Cadillac CTS Wagon. So basically, along with GM's own downsizing, they're also putting plenty of enterprising spy photographers out of business too.
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GM announced in a press conference this morning that its turnaround progress was proceeding so well that significant layoffs were needed. Oh, and please, send money. But the more pressing concern this week is to come up with $15 billion through cuts to the cost of salaried employees, particularly among white-collar staffers, along with spending in areas like health care costs and dividend payments. As part of its second restructuring this year, the company also announced that the 2010 Cadillac CTS Coupe and Saab 9-4X have been green-lighted. Details on where the job cuts will hit hardest were absent, but if our job description had the word "truck" in it anywhere, we'd be dusting off the resume quick-like. More analysis after the jump. More »
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On the heels of yesterday's WSJ story that GM was planning to eliminate thousands more jobs and potentially cut another brand, GM spokespeople are denying at least half the claims. Further brands are, supposedly, not under strategic review. Job cuts? Well...yeah, those are probably still going to happen. Our snap analysis after the jump. More »
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According to the WSJ, GM's early-August board meeting is likely to result in layoffs affecting both blue- and white-collar workforces. They're also reporting GM is seriously exploring sloughing off another brand, either by outright closure or by placing it up for sale, a-la Hummer's "strategic review." We've put together a quick brand-viability scorecard breakdown after the jump for those of you playing along at home. More »
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We were beginning to think GM had developed a masterpiece of long-range marketing with the 2011 Chevrolet Volt program. Let reporters in every once in a while, strategically leak images while actually showing nothing, all the while keeping a late-2010 entry on the lips of every eco-dork in the motoring press. Let them build the buzz for you! Genius. However, with Slick Rick's statement that we'll be getting a look at the production sheetmetal for the Volt, we wonder if they've made a strategic error. What it looks like is practically the only thing we don't know about the car. More »
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The times, they are a changin', and this week GM Chairman and Chieftain Rick Wagoner seems to have noticed. Wagoner announced a "strategic review of our Hummer brand," yesterday. Translation: "Anyone want to buy Hummer? Anyone? C'mon...cheap! Cerberus, I'm lookin' at you." Also included in the statement was news that four truck plants will be making the ultimate sacrifice: Moraine, Ohio; Janesville, Wisconsin; Toluca, Mexico; and Oshawa, Ontario. More »
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Let's put our hands together for Rick Wagoner, the CEO and Chairman of General Motors, who just discovered how to clean up after his s**t-loving Vice-Chairman, "Maximum" Bob Lutz. It was exactly a month ago when we first told you about product czar "Maximum" Bob's claim that global warming was simply a crock of...you know...stuff and finally Wagoner is ready to touch on the topic. Wagoner told reporters in Washington that Lutz's comments about global warming "weren't coming out of the company." More »
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Though we doubt many care, we've got an embedded journalist in San Francisco reporting out to us on what's going on at the NADA annual whatever out there tonight. Our embed will be covering the event live for us but for reasons of NADA-nal security, can't reveal his or her name — so we've nicknamed them "Rick_Fan_001" to protect them. Without further ado, here's our live instant messenger chat of this evening's keynote by GM CEO Rick Wagoner after the jump. Just keep hitting refresh as we add more: More »
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What are we to make of a dapper Rick Wagoner and his lovely wife taking a tailgate moment at the auto show prom charity preview the night before the public opening of the Detroit Auto Show? We throw it to you, dear readers. Caption away! Caption like you've never captioned before! [via the Detroit News] More »
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Looks like Rick Wagoner making nice at CES ended up being a smart move. The trip to the geekfest by GM's top man has led to gadget industry stalwart CNET giving GM some free press, and it's mostly favorable. CNET Executive Editor Charles Cooper comes close to damning GM with feint praise, but his article comes off as hopeful the General is actually turning the corner on tech and environmentalism. Pretty soon we'll be hearing how more companies should be like GM. Before you know it, exurbanites will be gushing about how environmentally friendly their Cadillac Escalade Hybid is (snicker). [CNET.com] More »
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