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]

Urban farming in Detroit is not a new idea, indeed it's been gathering strength with the locavore-organic-new-hippy movement. There are little plots dotting the city now. If these people were normal they'd just call it "gardening" but since they need attention they have a catch phrase and websites all about it. That's fine. What's not fine, annoying even, is when people who've obviously never been to Detroit and have no context about it make glib slams against it as a "failed city" and advocate the wholesale demolition of the city to turn it into farmland, which somehow constitutes the "Idea of the Day."

A little known fact about me is that I spent the better part of my youth on a farm in Indiana. The last time I was home I helped my Dad repair the largest tractor in our fleet. Occasionally I'll go home to help with planting, so I have some level of expertise on the subject of farming. The idea of turning vast tracts of urban land into farmland is... how shall I put this, painfully idiotic, and only betrays the ignorance of the Times on the subject.

Let's pretend for a moment the city of Detroit wasn't currently running enormous deficits and had money to buy entire neighborhoods to turn into farmland; alternately they somehow completely abandoned the idea of private property and just took it; continue pretending the residents wouldn't fight the demolition of their neighborhoods; let's just say for the sake of argument the government (which has shown nothing but competence in large scale organization) has the land, complete with all the housing and infrastructure in place.

Farming is a razor-thin margin kind of business. You don't make money by farming tiny plots of land, you need huge, uninterrupted tracts of land to efficiently operate machinery. You also need clean land. I'm sitting here laughing at the idea of pretending to plant in the city, even if it were bulldozed at enormous expense and all of the housing material refuse put into landfills at enormous expense, putting a chisel plough into urban dirt would be a nightmare. Every ten feet you'd have to stop to untangle the equipment from underground electrical, plumbing, sewerage and general what have you. More likely than not you'd just constantly destroy everything. Planting would never work as the delicate planter would be wrecked, not to mention you'd be putting perfectly good seed into often polluted ground. Remember, we're pretending all of the expensive roadways, parking lots, driveways and all manner of concrete has been removed. While we're pointing out how large scale urban farming is ridiculous, might as well mention the pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers that would never be approved for use anywhere within a city.

We could go on about about how this "Idea of the Day" is embarrassing from the farming angle, but almost as sad is the base assumption of Detroit as a "failed city," a "nightmare town" as the Times puts it. Saturday I went to Eastern Market, the city's hundred fifty year old farmer's market and picked up groceries, had breakfast and read the news. Sunday, my girlfriend and I put our bicycles in the car, put the dog on a leash and drove from the nearby suburbs into the city to go riding. We drove up and down the Dequindre Cut, in the past a major rail line running to the water, abandoned during the population and business exodus, formerly the home of gangs and drugs but recently opened as an urban bike and walk path. We drove around downtown for hours, rode along the recently opened river walk which was quite full of people enjoying the last of the sunny warm days of the year. We drove around downtown to check out a new Cuban themed martini and cigar bar, and drove through Hart plaza, where kids were skateboarding and doing bike tricks. The bottom line is this isn't a failed city. It's a city on the way out of the abyss, if just barely. The economic maelstrom the country's in right now isn't helping things, neither are the woes in the US auto industry, but it's not the apocalypse here. Pictures of crumbling buildings and closed factories are sexy, and we're as guilty as the rest in promoting them, but more often than not when your turn the camera around you see a city clawing its way out of the mud.

Is Detroit the nicest city in the world? By no means. The city government is in a continual state of paralysis and corruption, taxes on decent property is painfully high and insurance rates are seriously eye-watering. Crime is certainly still around, but it's below the surface now, nowhere near historic levels. There are certainly many places those unfamiliar with the city should not go. South Detroit is a scary place at night. The neighborhood around City Airport would probably make most softened Americans pee their pants. There are a lot of abandoned and broken-down, burnt-out places. I go to these places because I'm curious. I've lived in the metropolitan area for over a decade, and in that time I've gone from a naive farm boy to a naive auto journalist, but I've watched Detroit get better. Much better. I spend as much time as I can in Detroit not because of a morbid curiosity but because it isn't the varnished over, pretend perfect suburbs. It's honest and interesting.

But whatever. Since it's apparently okay to destroy things that might not be running at full tilt, maybe a little frayed around the edges, perhaps for want of better times, we're assuming it'll be cool to make the argument the NYTimes offices would look great as a PetSmart. [NY Times]

With Chrysler sales plummeting to Carpocalypticly horrific levels this past month, a new game plan's clearly needed. We've already reported on some of what we've been told to expect — that certain models will not be long for this earth and Chrysler'll be getting a new logo. It's clear there's very little of the "Old" Chrysler Fiat wants to keep. But apparently, according to the WSJ's Kate Linebaugh, they expect Jeep to play a starring role in Fiat's attempt to turn-around Chrysler:

"As part of a new five-year business strategy it will unveil Wednesday, Chrysler is expected to spell out a plan to expand Jeep's sales dramatically, especially in overseas markets, people familiar with the matter said."

Friend of Jalopnik Jim Hall (of auto consulting firm 2953 Analytics) agrees, telling the WSJ:

"Jeep is an export-viable product that could end up with significant sales...there are lots of countries where Jeeps are desirable vehicles, like Brazil."

The only question is — what product are they talking about exporting? The Journal says four models are expected to be eliminated over the next four years and be replaced by two new Jeeps based on Fiat technology. The Jeep Commander is slated for elimination next year while the mid-size Liberty and Compass and Patriot will be replaced by Fiat-based vehicles in 2013, according to their source.

Well, we always knew Jeep would either doom an automaker — as it did with AMC, Willys and Kaiser-Jeep — or save them. Which will it be this time? We'll be here live covering the event — so follow along with us at my twitter account and here all day long.

[via WSJ]

Photo Credit: AFP

GM Board Decides to Retain Opel

* New GM supports restructuring of Opel
* GM restructuring plan involves lower investment compared to investor proposals
* Discussions with stakeholders on restructuring to begin in earnest

DETROIT – Given an improving business environment for GM over the past few months, and the importance of Opel//Vauxhall to GM's global strategy, the GM Board of Directors has decided to retain Opel and will initiate a restructuring of its European operations in earnest.

"GM will soon present its restructuring plan to Germany and other governments and hopes for its favorable consideration," said Fritz Henderson, president and CEO. "We understand the complexity and length of this issue has been draining for all involved. However, from the outset, our goal has been to secure the best long term solution for our customers, employee, suppliers, and dealers, which is reflected in the decision reached today. This was deemed to be the most stable and least costly approach for securing Opel/Vauxhall's long-term future."

On a preliminary basis, the GM plan entails total restructuring expenses of about €3 billion, significantly lower than all bids submitted as part of the investor solicitation. GM will work with all European labor unions to develop a plan for meaningful contributions to Opel's restructuring. While Opel continues to outperform against its viability plan assumptions and immediate liquidity is stable, time is of the essence.

"While strained, the business environment in Europe has improved." Henderson said. "At the same time, GM's overall financial health and stability have improved significantly over the past few months, giving us confidence that the European business can be successfully restructured. We are grateful for the hard work of the German and other EU governments in navigating this difficult economic period. We're also appreciative of the effort put forward by Magna and its partners in Russia in trying to reach an equitable agreement."

Henderson added that GM also hopes to build on its already significant business in Russia and to resume work directly with GAZ to contribute to both the modernization of its operations and the joint development of the Russian vehicle market on a mutually attractive basis. More details on the next steps in the restructuring will be provided as the plans and developments warrant.

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About General Motors: General Motors, one of the world's largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 209,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 140 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 34 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM's largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. General Motors acquired operations from General Motors Corporation on July 10, 2009, and references to prior periods in this and other press materials refer to operations of the old General Motors Corporation. More information on the new General Motors can be found at www.gm.com.

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Keep in mind that despite a $997 million profit this quarter, it's an aberration more than a real sign that Ford's fully turned around. First, this big showing comes in large part from Cash for Clunkers — both here in the U.S. and in Europe. Secondly, Ford's still showing a net $573 million loss through the first three months of the year — including special items. NOT including special items, they've lost over $1.3 billion. So, good work by Ford this quarter, but in no way does this signify Ford's out of the water.

And don't even get me started on that SAAR number they're predicting for the rest of 2009 and 2010.

Press release and commentary in the gallery of slideshow pages below.

Look, Ford's saving money by even using only black and white in their slideshows. Good work Ford!

Note those nine month losses on the right...

This is sort of a big deal — Ford's now predicting an industry volume — SAAR — of 12.5 million vehicles they're predicting will be sold here in the U.S. Really? That high? Really? Is someone in a Cash For Clunkers-induced fever dream.

Here's the big number — $1.3 billion in full pre-tax operating losses for the year. Here's the full press release:

FORD POSTS THIRD QUARTER 2009 NET INCOME OF $1 BILLION; CASH FLOW TURNS POSITIVE; NORTH AMERICA PROFITABLE+

* Reported net income of $997 million, or 29 cents per share, an improvement of $1.2 billion from the third quarter of 2008. Pre-tax operating profit totaled $1.1 billion, an improvement of $3.9 billion from a year ago. It is Ford's first pre-tax operating profit since the first quarter of 2008
* Ford North America posted a pre-tax operating profit of $357 million, its first profitable quarter since the first quarter of 2005
* Reduced Automotive structural costs by $1 billion, bringing the total reduction to $4.6 billion through the first nine months of 2009, and exceeding the full-year target of $4 billion
* A strong product lineup drove market share gains in North America, South America and Europe as well as continued improvements in transaction prices and margins
* Ended the quarter with $23.8 billion of Automotive gross cash, up $2.8 billion from the end of second quarter 2009++
* Achieved positive Automotive operating-related cash flow of $1.3 billion for the third quarter, a $2.3 billion improvement over the second quarter
* Ford Credit reported a pre-tax operating profit of $677 million, a $516 million improvement from a year ago
* Ford now expects to be solidly profitable in 2011, excluding special items, with positive operating-related cash flow

DEARBORN, Mich., Nov. 2, 2009 – Ford Motor Company [NYSE: F] today reported net income of $997 million, or 29 cents per share, in the third quarter as strong new products, structural cost reductions and improved results at Ford Credit lifted the company's results despite continued weak global economic conditions. This is a $1.2 billion improvement compared with the same period last year.

Excluding special items, Ford posted pre-tax operating profits totaling $1.1 billion, an improvement of $3.9 billion from a year ago. This marks the company's first operating profit since the first quarter of 2008. On an after-tax basis, excluding special items, Ford posted an operating profit of $873 million in the third quarter, or 26 cents per share, compared with a loss of $3 billion, or $1.32 per share, a year ago.

Ford's North American operations posted a pre-tax operating profit of $357 million, its first quarterly profit since the first quarter of 2005. Ford South America, Ford Europe and Ford Asia Pacific Africa also posted pre-tax operating profits in the third quarter.

"Our third quarter results clearly show that Ford is making tremendous progress despite the prolonged slump in the global economy," said Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally. "Our solid product lineup is leading the way in all markets. While we still face a challenging road ahead, our One Ford transformation plan is working and our underlying business continues to grow stronger."

Ford's third quarter revenue was $30.9 billion, down $800 million from the same period a year ago. Automotive revenue is up $100 million from a year ago. This improvement was offset by a decrease in Ford Credit's revenue reflecting a decline in receivables.

Ford reduced its Automotive structural costs by $1 billion in the quarter, largely driven by lower manufacturing and engineering costs, which included benefits from improved productivity, personnel reduction actions primarily in North America and Europe, and progress on implementing its common global platforms and product development processes. Through the first nine months, Ford has achieved $4.6 billion in Automotive structural cost reductions, exceeding its full-year 2009 target of $4 billion.

Ford finished the third quarter with $23.8 billion in Automotive gross cash, compared with $21 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2009. Automotive operating-related cash flow was $1.3 billion positive during the third quarter of 2009, an improvement of $2.3 billion from the second quarter 2009. Automotive operating-related cash flow was $3.4 billion negative during the first nine months.

"The Ford team delivered another solid quarter of results with strong contributions from all our business regions," said Lewis Booth, Ford executive vice president and chief financial officer. "Positive cash flow, a stronger balance sheet and a third quarter operating profit are evidence that Ford is meeting the global economic challenges."

The following discussion of third quarter highlights and results are on a pre-tax basis and exclude special items. See tables following "Safe Harbor/Risk Factors" for the nature and amount of these special items and any necessary reconciliation to U.S. GAAP. Discussion of Automotive overall operating cost changes is at constant volume, mix, and exchange, and excludes special items; discussion of Automotive structural cost changes is at constant exchange and excludes special items.

THIRD QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

* Ford again increased year-over-year market share in North America, South America, and Europe and continued to achieve improvements in transaction prices and margins. Ford maintained market share in the Asia Pacific Africa region and Volvo gained market share. Other sales highlights:
o In the U.S., third quarter market share increased 2.2 percentage points compared to last year as the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands all posted sales gains
o Ford Europe's market share was 9.2 percent for the quarter, up 0.6 points from last year and the highest third-quarter level in 10 years. Market share was 10.1 percent in September, the highest monthly share in eight years
o Record growth in China continued as Ford third quarter sales jumped 63 percent
o At the end of the third quarter, worldwide sales of the new Ford Fiesta reached 470,000 units since its launch last fall. The No. 2 best-selling car in Europe posted its highest September sales since 1994. In September, Fiesta also had its best sales month ever in China. Fiesta arrives in the U.S. market in 2010
o Began selling the new Ford Taurus and Transit Connect in North America. Taurus sales in September were up 60 percent from a year ago
o The Ford Focus and Ford Escape were among the top new vehicles purchased in the U.S. government's "Cash for Clunkers" program
o Ford's U.S. hybrid sales have risen 73 percent this year compared to a 14 percent decline in U.S. hybrid industry sales. More than 60 percent of Ford Fusion hybrid sales have come from non-Ford owners
* Began production of the Ford Transit Connect small commercial van at the new manufacturing plant in Craiova, Romania
* Announced investment of $500 million at Ford India's Chennai assembly plant to build the new Ford Figo, a small car targeted at the heart of the Indian market, debuting in 2010
* Announced a new $490 million assembly plant in Chongqing, China, which will be completed by 2012, and will produce the Ford Focus for the Chinese market
* Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brand vehicles in the U.S. had the fewest number of "things gone wrong" among all automakers, according to the third quarter GQRS study of new vehicle quality
* Received $886 million in loans from the U.S. Department of Energy for development of more fuel-efficient vehicles. Ford has been approved for up to $5.9 billion in loans in support of projected expenditures through mid-2012
* Raised $565 million in new equity as Ford completed its previously-announced plan to issue up to $1 billion of equity
* Ford Credit completed $10 billion in funding in the third quarter, including $2.8 billion unsecured, and now has essentially completed its full-year funding plan
* The Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKT both earned a "Top Safety Pick" from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Ford Motor Company continues to have more IIHS "Top Safety Pick" ratings than any other automaker
* Unveiled the all-new Ford C-MAX at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The C-MAX and the Grand C-MAX will debut in Europe in 2010, and the Grand C-MAX debuts in the U.S. in 2011. The new global C-car platform will underpin up to 10 models and more than 2 million units annually by 2012
* Announced that Ford's 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter four-cylinder EcoBoost engines will make their debut in 2010 across Europe, North America, and Australia
* Unveiled the new Ford Figo to compete in India's small car segment beginning in 2010
* Launched the new Ford Fiesta in Taiwan and continued the successful rollout of the Ford Focus and Ford Everest SUV in additional Asian markets
* Revealed the new 2011 Ford F-Series Super Duty and two new powertrains developed by Ford – a 6.7-liter V8 diesel engine and a 6.2-liter V8 gasoline engine
* Began selling the 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, an off-road performance truck, which captured the "2009 Pickup Truck of Texas" award from the Texas Auto Writers. The Ford F-150 won the overall "Truck of Texas" award, the seventh straight year a Ford truck has earned the honor

Booth, in a statement today says,

"Ford believes Geely has the potential to be a responsible future owner of Volvo and to take the business forward while preserving its core values and the independence of the Swedish brand"

Yes, because any time we see a Chinese restaurant offering Swedish meatballs, we think we're getting the heights of culinary delight.

Of course that can't be any worse than when we see Swedish meatballs at Denny's — which, come to think of it, we've been seeing since 1999's sale of Volvo Cars to Ford for $6.45 billion. [via AutoNews]

DMC and an undisclosed partner had hoped to restart the 3.2 million sqaure-foot Wilmington, Delaware plant with renewed production of the Kappa-based coupes, which were the last vehicles built at the plant.

This turn of events put those plans in question.

"I'm glad to see some progress with Fisker's project and glad to see some of the DOE/ATVM money used to support green cars and green manufacturer," said James Espy, Vice President of the DeLorean Motor Company in a quick chat with us today. "I still hope there's a future for a Solstice/Sky product to carry on and until we hear otherwise we'll continue our efforts towards that end."

How much hope is there? According to Fisker, production likely won't begin until late 2012, which means the plant will sit, tooled for building Solstices, until renovations and retooling starts.

It's possible Fisker could consent to making money off the plant and putting people back to work immediately by starting limited production on Solstice vehicles before all the tooling is scrapped, but we've yet to hear anything confirming this as a possibility.

In the meantime, Solstice/DeLorean fans will have to wait.