The thinking goes that Spyker may have its eye on using that money, promised to any buyer of Saab by the European Investment Bank, to turn around its own ailing finances. The company hasn't made a profit in the last nine years. Spyker's stock prices rose 25% when this news was made public. [via AFP]

Now don't get us wrong — we feel for Sarah, but when you pop them up in public in a place like GM's public page, well, all bets are off. Plus, comments like Ed Whitacre being "selfish" help us to understand the new interim CEO just a little bit more. Here's the full text:

"HE FUCKING GOT ASKED TO STEP DOWN ALL OF YOU FUCKING IDIOTS. IM FRITZ'S FUCKING DAUGHTER, AND HE DID NOT FUCKING RESIGN. WHITACRE IS A SELFISH PIECE OF SHIFT, WHO CARES ABOUT HIMSELF AND NOT THE FUCKING COMPANY. HAVE FUN WITH GM, I HOPE TO NEVER BUY FROM THIS GOD FORESAKEN COMPANY EVERY AGAIN. FUCK ALL OF YOU."

But, it's not like we can blame the kid — we'd be pretty pissed at Ed Whitacre too if he were selfish and wanting to run Government Motors all by himself. (Hat tip to highmileage!)

November 2008 wasn't a particularly golden month for sales, meaning any increase or decrease needs to be considered in context of previous sales. For instance, Ford and Toyota's November sales were roughly on par with last year but both companies are down between 20-24% through the first eleven months of the year compared to 2008.

Overall, the companies turning around their sales appear to be the ones introducing a lot of new product in the last year. [Automotive News (subs. req)]

However, some critics are charging that U.S. calls for renegotiation are an attempt to artificially adjust its market share. U.S. Trade Representatives responded by saying "Yes." [hani.co.kr, The Korea Herald]

GM has been given $52.9 billion in TARP/Federal loans and financing arm GMAC has been given $12.5 billion of which approximately 8.6 billion can be considered GM money. If total car sales reach 10.5 million in 2009 and 12.5 million for 2010 and GM has roughly equal market share next year as it did in 2008 then GM will sell roughly 5.06 million over the next two years. Add and divide and you end up with about $12,200.

Rather than point out that this money protects jobs and keeps American industry from faring worse than it already is, we'll just make a list of all NTU's assumptions used to come up with the $12,200 per car figure plus our own analysis of how many of their assumptions are full of crap:

• GM will sell 5.06 million cars in 2009/2010 combined.
  (NTU's numbers on GM sales for 2010 are okay based on a SAAR of 10.5 million, the reality is they'll possibly do worse than the 2.31 million cars and instead do 2.25 million.)
• GMAC will loan no money back to finance a car to anyone who is also a taxpayer
  (They will)
• GM will have the same market share in 2010 it had in 2008
  (Almost certainly not. It'll probably be worse)
• Total vehicle sales will reach 10.5 million in 2009
  (More like 10.7 million as of late October)
• Total vehicle sales will reach 12.5 million in 2010
  (Maybe.)
• GM will not pay the $6.7 billion back
  (GM's already said it plans to start paying back the loans at the end of this year and even GM's not that PR-illiterate. We think.)
• GM will never pay any loan back
  (See above.)
• GMAC will never pay any loan back
  (GMAC has an unfair advantage according to the NTU study itself, therefore we assume it'll remain in business long enough to pay some portion of the loan back.)
• GM will not sell any cars after 2010
  (OK, here's the real silly part of the study. We all know GM will more than likely still sell cars after 2010, even if they're cars we wish they wouldn't sell.)

*assuming everything above.

[NTU via Carscoop]

Photo Credit: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images

A press release issued today by Aptera indicates the co-founders, Steve Fambro and Chris Anthony will be stepping aside from day-to-day operations. The PR on why each is stepping back is vastly different. According to the release, co-founder Chris Anthony is stepping aside from day-to-day activities to concentrate on his two other companies, Epic Boats and Flux Power. On the other hand, Aptera's other co-founder, Steve Fambro, is taking "a short leave of absence and will re-engage with the company in the new year." Umm, yeah, right. We think that means if Aptera ends up getting money from the DOE he'll be happy to come back and work.

Aptera'll need that money as we're also told production on the all-electric Aptera 2e's been moved from 2009 to 2010 because it's run into a bit of a funding snag. Yeah, well, we'll wait and see what happens. In the meantime, here's the full press release from Aptera:

FIRST ALL-ELECTRIC APTERA 2e PUSHED BACK TO 2010

Co-founders Fambro and Anthony step aside from day-to-day operations

VISTA, Calif. (Nov. 18, 2009) — In September 2008, when fledgling vehicle manufacturer Aptera named Paul Wilbur president and CEO, the 27-year Detroit auto executive set forth a series of financial goals and product deadlines. "Aptera's production and delivery will be tied directly to funding," said Wilbur.

During the past 12 months, the company's initial offering – the aerodynamic Aptera 2e, an all-electric, three-wheeled two-seater that gets the equivalent of 200-plus mpg – has evolved from concept to near reality. Companies including Google and IdeaLab have made significant investments in the southern California auto manufacturer, and numerous potential private and public backers are in the process of doing their due diligence. However, according to Wilbur, the vehicle development progress has been outpacing the rate of fundraising.

"We're making significant progress every day with product refinements, the completion of engineering and design details, and securing meaningful strategic partnerships," says Wilbur. "However, we now have to adjust our production schedule to align with financing realities. Properly managing the resources of the company means we'll complete our first vehicles in 2010, not by the end of 2009 as previously projected.

"Aptera management is being a prudent steward of all resources to ensure future viability for the company and strong returns for its stakeholders. Therefore, we'll begin volume production vehicles once our current series of private funding has closed or when we secure financing through the Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Vehicle loan program, whichever comes first."

The aerodynamically-inspired Aptera 2e goes from zero to 60 in under 10 seconds, tops out at 90 mph and has already received nearly 4,000 deposits, which are fully refundable and remain in an escrow account. The production vehicle includes enhanced safety features, a redesigned interior cabin that is airy and user-friendly, a monocoque, structural composite body as well as a telematics and infotainment system.

"I'm as disappointed as any of our depositors and loyal followers around the country that we're delaying initial production," says Wilbur. "There's no one who's more anxious than we are to put the 2e on the road.

"Because of this production delay, we've unfortunately been forced to lay off some hard working employees. It's a strategy to streamline our spending to hone in on the items that advance our fundraising and completion of our first vehicle.

"Additionally as part of this plan, co-founder Chris Anthony is stepping aside from day-to-day activities to concentrate on his two other companies, Epic Boats and Flux Power."

Aptera's other co-founder, Steve Fambro, who started tinkering with the idea of building an aerodynamic vehicle five years ago, is taking a short leave of absence and will re-engage with the company in the new year.

"Right now my advanced work is a lower priority for Aptera," said Fambro, the company's Chief Technical Officer who directs all advanced concept development activities. "We've got to be wholly focused on funding and getting the first 2e on the road.

"Paul's leadership and (chief engineer) Tom Reichenbach's talent have led to changes in the vehicle that are spot-on. They've made the vehicle safer, it's better handling and more comfortable. Once we get through this stage, we'll begin mass producing the 2e – the most aerodynamic and efficient vehicle in the world."

According to Wilbur, "Building and launching a new car company is the challenge of a lifetime – even in the best economic times. At Aptera, this is especially true because we didn't start with an existing architecture for our vehicle. The 2e was designed from scratch, which is why we're focused on properly, and painstakingly, creating a foundation that can succeed over time; it's a chance for everybody working at Aptera to reshape the automotive world for the next generation."

About Aptera
Aptera Motors (www.aptera.com) was founded in 2006 to develop and build the safest, most energy efficient commuter vehicles on the road. Utilizing streamlined aerodynamic design, lightweight composite structures and unique drive systems, Aptera (which means wingless flight) delivers vehicles that are attainable and efficient. The company operates two Southern California facilities in north San Diego County, where it designs, engineers and manufactures the vehicles and their composite systems to create an exceptionally strong, sleek body.
# # #

It was little more than half-a-century ago the armies of Rome, Berlin and Tokyo were defeated by Detroit's "Arsenal of Democracy" equipped by American carmakers. Yet to hear it lately from conservatives and leaders in the Republican Party, American automakers are what's wrong with this country, should be boycotted, and go bankrupt.

Senator John McCain told reporters that we should have never bailed out Chrysler and GM and let them go under.

"No, I don't think we ever should have bailed out Chrysler and General Motors," McCain told The Detroit News. "We should have let them go into bankruptcy, emerge and become viable corporations again."

This, of course, while he was out drumming up support for his 2010 Senate run while serving as the grand marshal of a NASCAR event where the very good ol' boys he was drumming up support from were watching Chrysler and GM products race. And, as The Detroit News points out, we did let them go into bankruptcy. We're still waiting to find out whether they'll emerge as stronger companies.

Confusingly, McCain seems to be channeling John Kerry in being for the bailout before he was against it. Now, of course, he's going so far as to refer to it as "Socialism."

And just this weekend RNC Chairman Michael Steele responded to the news of GM going further in debt by pointing out this statement:

"Today's release of General Motors' financial results is further proof that President Obama's economic experiments are wrong for America."

Of course, GM lost $4.2 billion in the third-quarter last year so this is actually an improvement, of sorts. And GM also announced they'd be repaying loans ahead of schedule.

So who do the Republicans like? At last year's Detroit Auto Show we had a conversation with Senator Bob Corker, the Republican who lead the charge against the bailout, and he talked about the Volkswagens he loves. Not a surprise given VW is joining Nissan in building a huge plant in his state.

In fact, there have been a number of foreign car companies moving better-than-minimum-wage assembly plants into states represented by Republican senators, including BMW in South Carolina, Toyota in Texas, Nissan/VW in Tennessee, and Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai in Alabama. Of course, we can't blame the Chrysler-Fiat "Global Strategic Alliance" alliance on the Republican party.

So when the far right goes to Boycott GM they're doing so for the benefit of companies like Volkswagen and Toyota, who have both surpassed GM as the world's largest automaker in the last year.

Ironically, this is the same Republican party upset about the Chinese purchase of Hummer. As Republican Representative Duncan Hunter told the Wall Street Journal: "Any money that is going to China or to Chinese companies is contributing in some way to China's military buildup."

So supporting American car companies is socialism and supporting every other country's investments in production capacity is capitalism and therefore good for America.

But hey, the Germans, Japanese, Chinese and Italians are our friends so who says we need any domestic car production or car companies? Of course, we're probably just paranoid. Maybe the real reason the Republicans hate GM and Chrysler is just that they really like Ford.

Photo Credit: DiggerHistory

Hummer brand CEO Jim Taylor, speaking with Automotive News, discussed Hummer's rather hazy future. Though the sale has not yet been finalized, the agreements are in place to sell the brand to Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery for $150 million, while that doesn't include any kind of manufacturing capacity, it does have a good deal of intellectual property in the transaction. GM will be providing contract manufacturing of the current Hummer brand products until the negotiated contract ends, but it's up to Tengzhong, Hummer, and Jim Taylor to work out a plan after that.

Currently Hummer is working with Austrian consulting firm AVL to determine a future path for brand and product lineup. The idea is to continue pushing the brand smaller, lighter, and more environmentally friendly. That includes the introduction of the smaller-than-the-H3 Hummer H4 and after that an apparently microscopic Hummer H5. The H4 will be based on the HX concept car and may include a hybrid drive system to push fuel economy up to respectable levels.

More daunting than working out Hummer's product plan is laying out a production system including manufacturing and engineering capacities, supply chains and the like. Essentially, once GM production ceases on the current H2 and H3, Hummer will be starting with a seven bar grille and a name synonymous with gas-guzzling behemoths. Tengzhong has promised to spend big on Hummer with increased production and a wad of advertising cash to re-tool the brand's image, but still, it'll be an uphill battle. Best of luck with all that, Mr. Taylor. [AutoNews (sub req.) via Hummer Guy]

That's because they went from an astounding $95 billion in debt pre-bankruptcy to $17 billion under the "New" GM. Here's the full press release. Items to note:

● GM Q3 earnings: EBIT loss before special items of $261 million and managerial net loss of $1.2 billion.'
● Cash reserves increased by $3.3 billion to $42.6 billion.
● GM posted revenue of $28 billion in the third quarter of 2009 (July 1-Sept. 30, 2009), which was up approximately $4.9 billion in Q2
● GM will burn $8.3 billion in cash this next quarter on debt repayments, Delphi and restructuring so expect the 4th quarter to look worse than this quarter.
● GM "anticipates modest growth, with total industry volumes estimated at 62 to 65 million." Expects US SAAR at a rose-colored 11-12 million units sold in 2010.
● GM spent $320 million for cull of 2,042 U.S. dealers.
● These aren't "real" financial results. All these numbers are not provided using GAAP principles. So, you know, if you're an accountant, prepare to vomit a little bit before you go any further.

General Motors Announces the New Company's July 10-September 30 Preliminary Managerial Results

* Operating actions result in EBIT loss before special items of $261 million and managerial net loss of $1.2 billion
* Continued progress on structural cost reductions
* Healthier balance sheet with significantly lower debt
* $3.3 billion positive managerial operating cash flow favorably impacted by working capital; $42.6 billion third quarter liquidity position expected to decline materially in the fourth quarter
* Accelerated plan to repay U.S. and Canadian taxpayers; first $1.2 billion payment in December

DETROIT – General Motors Company (GM) released today preliminary non-GAAP managerial results1 for its first 83 days of operation, providing an initial look at its financial performance since it began operations as a new company on July 10, 2009.

"We have significantly more work to do, but today's results provide evidence of the solid foundation we're building for the new GM. With a healthier balance sheet and a competitive cost structure, our focus is on driving top line performance. We'll achieve that by winning customers over, one at a time, with vehicles that deliver performance and value," said GM President and CEO Fritz Henderson.

Revenue

GM posted revenue of $28.0 billion in the third quarter of 2009 (July 1-Sept. 30, 2009), which was up approximately $4.9 billion compared to the revenue recognized by General Motors Corporation, or "Old GM," in the second quarter of 2009.

The improvement was largely attributed to a higher global seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 67.8 million units in the third quarter, compared to 62.7 million units in the second quarter of 2009, and GM's stabilizing global share. In China, Brazil, India and Russia (BRIC), GM had 13.0 percent of the combined market share in the third quarter, up 0.2 percentage points from the second quarter of 2009.

GM's global share was 11.9 percent in the third quarter, up 0.3 percentage points from the first half of the year for Old GM. GM's U.S. market share in the third quarter was 19.5 percent, flat in relation to Old GM's U.S. share for the first half of the year.

GM finished the third quarter with U.S. dealer inventories of approximately 424,000 vehicles; a reduction of approximately 158,000 units from the end of the second quarter.

Contributing to GM's sales in the U.S. was the strong retail performance of some of its newest vehicles, including the Chevrolet Camaro and GMC Terrain, as well as the Chevrolet Equinox, Buick LaCrosse and Cadillac SRX which are generating higher average transaction prices and higher residual values than previous model year vehicles.

In other markets around the world, strong consumer appeal for a number of GM's newest vehicles including the Holden and Chevrolet Cruze, Daewoo Matiz Creative, Opel/Vauxhall Astra and Chevrolet Agile are helping to reclaim global share. In fact, the Astra recently claimed its first major award by winning the prestigious Golden Steering Wheel award by the Auto Bild magazine and the Agile was just elected the 2010 Car of the Year by AutoEsporte magazine in Brazil.

The China market in particular is proving to be a strong contributor for the company's results. Maintaining a leading market share position in China, GM and its joint venture partners continue to see an upward trend, selling more than 478,000 vehicles in the third quarter of 2009, up from approximately 451,000 and 364,000 units in the second and first quarters, respectively.

Managerial Results

After the inclusion of special items, GM's managerial earnings before tax for the July 10-Sept. 30 period was a loss of $1.0 billion. GM recorded special items for the same period of $505 million, attributed primarily to dealer restructuring, attrition-related charges and Delphi.3 For the July 10-Sept. 30 period GM posted a managerial loss after-tax of $1.2 billion.

GM managerial earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) before special items for the July 10-Sept. 30 period was a loss of $261 million, with GM North America reporting a loss of $651 million and GM International Operations reporting a profit of $238 million. Managerial earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was $1.5 billion before special items.

Total structural cost for the company has been significantly reduced by the resizing and delayering of the company including salaried and hourly headcount reductions, engineering savings and volume related savings. GM structural cost for the period July 10-Sept. 30, 2009 was $9.1 billion. Structural cost for Old GM for the period Jan. 1-July 9, 2009 was $22.0 billion. For the 9-month period ending September 30, 2008, Old GM had structural cost of $37.8 billion.

While financial statements between Old GM and GM are not comparable, the above structural costs breakdowns for the two companies are provided for perspective.

Balance Sheet and Cash

For the period July 10-Sept. 30, GM had positive managerial operating cash flow before special items of $3.3 billion, reflecting the favorable working capital impact from production start up, timing of supplier payments and lower capital spending. The favorable working capital impact is not expected to repeat itself in the fourth quarter (see the "Looking Ahead" section below). For the period July 1-July 9, Old GM had negative operating cash flow of $3.6 billion, reflecting extremely low production in North America.

As of September 30, 2009, cash and marketable securities totaled $42.6 billion. Included in this amount was $17.4 billion held in escrowed funds from the United States Treasury (UST) and Export Development Canada (EDC), with $8.1 billion of this amount allocable for future repayments of the UST and EDC loans, $2.8 billion for the recently completed Delphi settlement and $900 million for healthcare in Canada, leaving a remaining escrow cash balance of $5.6 billion.

In light of improving global economic conditions, stabilizing industry sales and its healthier cash position, GM announced today that it plans to accelerate repayment of its outstanding $6.7 billion in UST loans as well as the C$1.5 billion (US$1.4 billion) in EDC loans ahead of the scheduled maturity date of July 2015.

GM plans to repay the United States, Canadian and Ontario government loans in quarterly installments from escrowed funds, beginning next month with an initial $1.2 billion payment to be made in December ($1.0 billion to the UST and $192 million to the EDC), followed by quarterly payments. Any escrowed funds available as of June 30, 2010 would be used to repay the UST and EDC loans unless the escrowed funds were extended one year by the UST. Any balance of funds would be released to GM after the repayment of the UST and EDC loans.

In addition, the company has begun to repay the German government loans which were extended to support Opel, and had a balance of €900 million (~US$1.3 billion) as of September 30, 2009. Opel has already repaid €500 million (~US$0.7 billion) of that in November, and will repay the remaining €400 million (~US$0.6 billion) balance by the end of the month. The cash balance in Europe as of September 30, 2009 was US$2.9 billion.

GM's total debt as of September 30, 2009 was $17 billion, including $6.7 billion in U.S. government loans, $1.4 billion in Canadian government loans, $1.3 billion in German government loans and $7.6 billion in other debt globally. The $17 billion debt level does not include the UAW or CAW VEBA notes or preferred stock, which are $2.5 billion, $0.7 billion and $9 billion, respectively.

While GM has reached settlements for the UAW and CAW VEBAs, the debt associated with the agreements will not be recognized until all preconditions are met and they become effective, which will be December 31, 2009 or later. Prior to the start of the new GM, total debt of Old GM was $94.7 billion as of July 9, 2009.

Looking Ahead

Globally, GM expects total vehicle industry volume to moderate in the fourth quarter of 2009, with an estimated SAAR to be approximately 65.4 million units, down from 67.8 million units in the third quarter. Following the expiration of the successful ‘Cash for Clunkers' stimulus program in the U.S. which contributed to GM's strong sales in the third quarter, the company anticipates the U.S. industry total vehicle SAAR volume in the fourth quarter will be approximately 10.7 million units, compared to 11.7 million units in the third quarter.

Looking ahead to 2010, GM anticipates modest growth, with total industry volumes estimated at 62 to 65 million units, with a modest recovery in the U.S. market where the outlook for the 2010 calendar year for total vehicles is estimated at 11-12 million units.

GM expects to have negative net cash flows in the fourth quarter of 2009 due to a number of factors including cash outflows relating to the Delphi settlement of $2.8 billion, the working capital impact of payment term adjustments of approximately $2 billion, payments for U.S., Canada, Ontario and Germany government loans of approximately $2.5 billion and continuing restructuring cash costs of approximately $1 billion. As a result, global cash balances at the end of 2009 are expected to be materially lower than third quarter levels of $42.6 billion.

# # #

Keep in mind that although a move like this would suggest GM's now a fiscally stronger company, it's not expected to show a profit when financial results are reported on Monday.

In its last quarterly earnings report, in May, the company said its had lost $6 billion and had used $10.2 billion more in cash than it generated from operations. One would assume they'll have to show numbers a bit better than that. We guess we'll have to wait and see whether this early repayment is a financial victory or a pyrrhic one.

Frankly, the video's worth it just to see Obama advisor Austan Goolsbee defend the administration's impact on Truckasaurus.

[The Daily Show]

Here is what he said, specifically, about the $500K limit on executive pay according to Automotive News:

"To find top-level people where you need them, that's a more difficult thing to do at that salary level. I don't think (the caps) will be lifted, but hopefully they'll be modified."

Whitacre's right. We'd imagine it's going to be tough to find really talented people to work at GM for any price — especially with a randomly-derived ceiling. But we think they're going about it the wrong way. GM really should be advertising working for the automaker as a public service. So, you know, do it for America. [Automotive News]

How do we know it's not an important speech? It's at Texas Lutheran University way out in Seguine, Texas. I'm Lutheran and I live in Texas, and I forget Texas Lutheran University exists sometimes. Though to be fair to Chairman Whitacre, it's quite possible he's just shamelessly promoting his wife, who is a regent at TLU.

Buy hey, it'll be streamed live right here at 8:30 PM (EST) tonight and maybe, just maybe, he'll break some news. Go ahead, Ed, I dare you. Make alerting the world to your completely random and almost certainly unimportant speech somehow necessary.

GM Press Release

General Motors Chairman Ed Whitacre will speak to students and faculty of Texas Lutheran University tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET.Whitacre, who taught business policy at Texas Lutheran University in 2007 following his retirement from AT&T, will talk about the automobile industry and the global economy.
Texas Lutheran University will broadcast the lecture via live webcast. To view the lecture live, visit: http://www.stretchinternet.com/flash/player/tluadmin.html
Please note: the speech will only be available live. A replay will not be immediately available following the speech.

Photo Credit: Jamie Rose/Getty Images

At this point, it's not clear why or how this suicide occurred, though the mayor of the town where his business is located said he'd been told by Richard Burd himself that business was good and mentioned they were in the process of replenishing their sold-out stock. It's possible he was just one of the many Americans suffering from depression and the location of this suicide isn't significant. Until the police release a note or details it's all just speculation.

You can see Christine in one of their "Burd Is The Word" commercials below. (Hat tip to Carrew!) [IndyStar]

Photo Credit: MICHELLE PEMBERTON/Indianapolis Star

This doesn't mean Chrysler isn't still working on electric cars, but as Kicking Tires points out, they're just not working on the three battery-electric vehicles — the ENVI program — they unveiled to great incredulity at this year's Detroit Auto Show are DOA. [Automotive News, Kicking Tires]