White House tells GM boss to step down

[alfred russel]

You're doing a heckuva job, Brownie.

What it unfortunately reminds me of is shortly after the Iraq invasion the stories of people taking major administrative positions in Iraq who were just out of school and whose major qualifications were a connection with a group like the Heritage Foundation.

[Caliga]

Toyota in Huntsville (AL), Georgetown (KY)

Yeah, if Toyota ever went under or shut that plant down, Georgetown is toast.  Basically everyone either works there or for the various parts suppliers surrounding it.

[Caliga]

GM sells Hummer to mystery buyer
Bankrupt automaker won't disclose details of deal to sell truck line.
By Aaron Smith, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Last Updated: June 2, 2009: 8:28 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- General Motors Corp. said Tuesday that it has signed a deal to sell its Hummer truck unit, just one day after filing for bankruptcy.

But GM (GM, Fortune 500) would not identify the buyer nor name a price, saying only that the deal would close by the end of September.

GM had revealed in April that it was courting three serious offers for the Hummer brand. The automaker would not confirm Reuters' report that offers ranged from $100 million to $200 million.

"I'm confident that Hummer will thrive globally under its new ownership," said Troy Clarke, president of GM North America, in a press release. "And for GM, this sale continues to accelerate the reinvention of GM into a leaner, more focused, and more cost-competitive automaker."

As part of the deal, some GM plants will continue to build the Hummer brand for the new owner, at least for a while. The company said its Shreveport, La. plant will keep building Hummers for the new owner until at least 2010.

GM also said that the deal should protect more than 3,000 jobs in manufacturing and engineering, and at dealerships "around the country."

The Hummer and other large vehicles have been a drag on the U.S. auto industry since fuel prices spiked in 2008 and the recession deepened.

GM said it sold 5,013 Hummers worldwide in the first quarter, down 62% from the 13,050 that it sold in the same period the prior year.

Hummer isn't the only brand that GM is leaving behind. The automaker will also shed its Pontiac, Saturn and Saab brands and cut loose more than 2,000 of its 6,000 U.S. dealerships by next year.

That could result in more than 100,000 additional job losses if those dealerships are forced to close.

GM filed for bankruptcy Monday, just hours after Chrysler's bankruptcy process cleared a hurdle when a federal judge approved its asset sale.

The GM bankruptcy was hailed by President Obama, who wants a complete overhaul of the U.S. auto industry, even though the Chapter 11 filing is expected to result in the loss of 20,000 jobs and the closure of a dozen facilities.

[saskganesh]

won't they have to disclose full details of that transaction in bankruptcy court?

[Ed Anger]

I always wanted an original Hummer (not the pussy H2 and H3), and drive it around in center of commie Ohio, Yellow Springs. Rub it in those Antioch college tard faces. USA! USA! USA!

[Caliga]

won't they have to disclose full details of that transaction in bankruptcy court?

My emoticon was for two reasons:

1.  Exactly what you cited.
2.  Who on Hod's green earth would actually want to buy the Hummer brand?

[Caliga]

I always wanted an original Hummer (not the pussy H2 and H3), and drive it around in center of commie Ohio, Yellow Springs. Rub it in those Antioch college tard faces. USA! USA! USA!

You pretty much described the only reason ANYONE would buy a Hummer.  But then that gets old, and you'd go broke filling the damn thing's tank up, so you'd never get another one.  Car brands don't do so well when they can't earn repeat business. 

[HisMajestyBOB]

I always wanted an original Hummer (not the pussy H2 and H3), and drive it around in center of commie Ohio, Yellow Springs. Rub it in those Antioch college tard faces. USA! USA! USA!

It's the American dream.

[Valmy]

I wonder how long it will be before GM goes bankrupt a second time.

Again the really annoying thing is is that people on this board have been saying GM needs to dump most of its brands and reorganized for years.  It is only now that GM does that very thing.

[Caliga]

I wonder how long it will be before GM goes bankrupt a second time.

Again the really annoying thing is is that people on this board have been saying GM needs to dump most of its brands and reorganized for years.  It is only now that GM does that very thing.

You mean chapter 7?  I give it a year or so.

[Caliga]

Again the really annoying thing is is that people on this board have been saying GM needs to dump most of its brands and reorganized for years.  It is only now that GM does that very thing.

Individuals come to sensible conclusions far faster than groups do.  Groups of people get stupider the larger they get.  It's why government doesn't work.

[Ed Anger]

I always wanted an original Hummer (not the pussy H2 and H3), and drive it around in center of commie Ohio, Yellow Springs. Rub it in those Antioch college tard faces. USA! USA! USA!

You pretty much described the only reason ANYONE would buy a Hummer.  But then that gets old, and you'd go broke filling the damn thing's tank up, so you'd never get another one.  Car brands don't do so well when they can't earn repeat business. 

Baiting leftist 'tards NEVER gets old. NEVER.

[Savonarola]

I wonder how long it will be before GM goes bankrupt a second time.

Again the really annoying thing is is that people on this board have been saying GM needs to dump most of its brands and reorganized for years.  It is only now that GM does that very thing.

It's an easy thing to say; but outside of bankruptcy it's not so easy to do.  Due to franchise laws it was very expensive to dump brands.  IIRC it cost GM a billion dollars to eliminate Oldsmobile.

[alfred russel]

I wonder how long it will be before GM goes bankrupt a second time.

Again the really annoying thing is is that people on this board have been saying GM needs to dump most of its brands and reorganized for years.  It is only now that GM does that very thing.

It's an easy thing to say; but outside of bankruptcy it's not so easy to do.  Due to franchise laws it was very expensive to dump brands.  IIRC it cost GM a billion dollars to eliminate Oldsmobile.

Which is why the original bailouts were such terrible ideas. Giving them $20 billion on some pipe dream that they were going to survive was $20 billion that was completely wasted.

[lustindarkness]

If I could I would buy Hummer, as a smaller niche truck company (like it was) it should be viable. Their mistake was they got greedy and wanted to milk the good name of the original.