Posted without comment from a tweet . . .
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
What's Next?
The decision by Justice Ginsburg to delay the sale of Chrysler to Fiat until further notice may mean a lot or may mean very little. The action taken today is merely a delay - possibly only for a day or so, in order to review the documentation, before deciding to hear or dismiss the appeal.
If that's what is intended, an effort to peer under the hood to see if anything is amiss before dismissing, then look for a decision before Saturday. For some reason 15 June 2009 is important (upon which Fiat's obligation to 'purchase' Chrysler expires. ; -)
If, in the next day or so, the Supreme Court declares that they will hear the appeal, the Fiat deal is gone. Arranging a marriage partner at that point will be difficult at best and the most that can be hoped for is the liquidation of Chrysler, the most valuable piece of which is the Jeep brand.
And if the court does decide to hear the appeal, what has to be done to ensure the GM bankruptcy doesn't suffer the same fate?
If that's what is intended, an effort to peer under the hood to see if anything is amiss before dismissing, then look for a decision before Saturday. For some reason 15 June 2009 is important (upon which Fiat's obligation to 'purchase' Chrysler expires. ; -)
If, in the next day or so, the Supreme Court declares that they will hear the appeal, the Fiat deal is gone. Arranging a marriage partner at that point will be difficult at best and the most that can be hoped for is the liquidation of Chrysler, the most valuable piece of which is the Jeep brand.
And if the court does decide to hear the appeal, what has to be done to ensure the GM bankruptcy doesn't suffer the same fate?
Put Some Time Back On That Clock (and Kiss Fiat Goodbye ; -)
Wow! After seeing Justice Ginsburg was assigned to hear the Chrysler appeal, I called the bookie and got 1 in 9 odds (how appropriate ; -). But then the longshot came in and Justice Ginsburg decided that the Supreme Court would take the appeal. I had expected the deadline to pass without any action, essentially denying the appeal.
Now what? ; -)
Now what? ; -)
The Clock Is Ticking
There is a 4 pm deadline today for the Supreme Court to accept or decline intervening in a decision to let the Chrysler sale to Fiat go through. If the Supreme Court decides to take the case, look for lots of hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth on the part of administration spokespersons and talking heads on the boob tube.
Myself, I give it 1 in 3 odds of the court wanting to stick their noses in this one.
There's also been some discussion about how poorly vetted the deal with Fiat has been. To say the least it was a hastily arranged marriage, kinda like Bank of America and Merrill Lynch. ; -)
Myself, I give it 1 in 3 odds of the court wanting to stick their noses in this one.
There's also been some discussion about how poorly vetted the deal with Fiat has been. To say the least it was a hastily arranged marriage, kinda like Bank of America and Merrill Lynch. ; -)
Sunday, June 7, 2009
The Transparent Car Factory
VW has a plant in the heart of Dresden, Germany that is 'open' to the public. An interesting post-industrial-age take on an industrial process.
As for the car, the VW Phaeton, well as my wife said, "If I'm going to pay $80,000 plus for a car it's going to have something other than a VW badge on the grille." ; -)
As for the car, the VW Phaeton, well as my wife said, "If I'm going to pay $80,000 plus for a car it's going to have something other than a VW badge on the grille." ; -)
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
The Chinese Are Coming! The Chinese Are Coming!
Word has it that a Chinese company is negotiating to purchase the Hummer brand. Ostensibly to sell the existing inventory and continue building the H3 for a year or so. It would be within reason to expect that at some point the production of Hummers will move to China.
MotorAuthority had a piece regarding a new electric car startup called, Coda Automotive. This is a five passenger sedan that looks vaguely like a Volvo. Hmmm, a little digging shows that a Chinese aircraft manufacturer is involved in this venture, Chengdu Aircraft Company.
A couple of years ago a video of a Chinese car undergoing European crash testing made the rounds on the net. It wasn't pretty and showed that there was a lot of work left to do before folks would trust their families in them. But that will be done.
The Chinese manufacturers have a window of opportunity in the American market if they can get product that will pass US safety standards. There are a ton of dealerships that have had (or will have) their franchises stripped from them. They have the property and personnel to sell and service product. While some of that will disappear before the Chinese cars are approved for sale, there's still time to get in on the next upswing of car sales (which at a rate of 10 million or less a year at the moment has a long way to climb before they're back to normal).
Will the Chinese cars be well received right off the bat. No, not likely, this is a tough market (ask Chrysler ; -). But if they can compete on price initially they'll have the opportunity to compete on features and value later. Think of Kia just a few years ago, or the Japanese in the early '60s.
The Chinese are coming!!
MotorAuthority had a piece regarding a new electric car startup called, Coda Automotive. This is a five passenger sedan that looks vaguely like a Volvo. Hmmm, a little digging shows that a Chinese aircraft manufacturer is involved in this venture, Chengdu Aircraft Company.
A couple of years ago a video of a Chinese car undergoing European crash testing made the rounds on the net. It wasn't pretty and showed that there was a lot of work left to do before folks would trust their families in them. But that will be done.
The Chinese manufacturers have a window of opportunity in the American market if they can get product that will pass US safety standards. There are a ton of dealerships that have had (or will have) their franchises stripped from them. They have the property and personnel to sell and service product. While some of that will disappear before the Chinese cars are approved for sale, there's still time to get in on the next upswing of car sales (which at a rate of 10 million or less a year at the moment has a long way to climb before they're back to normal).
Will the Chinese cars be well received right off the bat. No, not likely, this is a tough market (ask Chrysler ; -). But if they can compete on price initially they'll have the opportunity to compete on features and value later. Think of Kia just a few years ago, or the Japanese in the early '60s.
The Chinese are coming!!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Spin, Spin, Spin
Reinvention? Why didn't they think about this - oh say - ten years ago? I was at a press preview of a redone Cavalier in 1999 when the brand manager said, "I don't have gasoline in my blood . . . " and you knew it was going to go downhill from there.
Well here's the spin from GM:
Go back twenty years and Maryann Keller's, "Rude Awakening" was published. Subtitled, "The Rise, Fall, and Struggle for Recovery of General Motors". Some things don't change evidently.
Well here's the spin from GM:
Go back twenty years and Maryann Keller's, "Rude Awakening" was published. Subtitled, "The Rise, Fall, and Struggle for Recovery of General Motors". Some things don't change evidently.
A Long Row to Hoe
Chrysler is said to be emerging from bankruptcy today to be swallowed by Fiat. This is a cashless transaction where Fiat converts equity in Fiat for the purchase price of Chrysler. And some folks will say, "swell".
GM enters bankruptcy today, ostensibly to clear the cancerous brands, Saturn, Pontiac, Opel/Vauxhall, Hummer, and Saab, from the books. The Canadian parts firm Magna has entered an agreement with the German government to purchase Opel (which saves Vauxhall). There has been a series of suitors for the Saturn brand (the brand NOT the products ; -) as well as the Hummer brand.
But, the road to recovery for both Chrysler and GM will be long and fraught with additional peril, especially while the economy continues to under perform. In the long run both will be mere shadows of their former selves.
GM enters bankruptcy today, ostensibly to clear the cancerous brands, Saturn, Pontiac, Opel/Vauxhall, Hummer, and Saab, from the books. The Canadian parts firm Magna has entered an agreement with the German government to purchase Opel (which saves Vauxhall). There has been a series of suitors for the Saturn brand (the brand NOT the products ; -) as well as the Hummer brand.
But, the road to recovery for both Chrysler and GM will be long and fraught with additional peril, especially while the economy continues to under perform. In the long run both will be mere shadows of their former selves.
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