Let's Hear It for Government Motors GM!

[Howey]

Yes and no..


politfact.com

Umm...yeah. WSS!

I ate up the mainstream's reassurance that GM was all good now

Who says it isn't.

it was true, they paid back the 'loan' portion.. the misconception is that they got more than just a 'loan'.. and that other part is still owed..

The "other part" bought the government's stocks in the New GM.

We, meaning the government, may end up losing after the stock sale. Primarily due to the increased gas prices.

But, as I said, what could have been would have been much, much worse.

[lil mike]

GM paid back the loans with TARP money left in escrow that it didn't need to use. Money that wasn't use as GM ownership stock. Whether it's a "baloney story GM floated before their IPO after the reorganization" is, according to FactCheck, untrue in that the President was correct although the TARP funds were, as I said, repaid with existing TARP funds.

http://factcheck.org/2010/04/sunday-replay-2/

As far as the remaining stock in the government's hands expect a sell later this year since the president doesn't want folks like lilMike to use it as an election issue next year.

Yes the Prez is scared of me!  Yippee!

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iQ772RYgyZRuijNjN58Syvf8HExw?docId=CNG.862196b5b90a6d3e5734cc272997d1cd.a51

GM stock lower amid report of quick govt sale


A report that the US government plans to sell off much of its remaining stake in General Motors this year despite the firm's lackluster share price caused investors to flee the stock Tuesday.

After the Wall Street Journal reported a government sale could come within the next six months, GM's shares fell by nearly 1.3 percent to end at $29.59.

The government sale would "almost certainly" mean that US taxpayers would take a loss from a politically controversial $50 billion rescue of the auto giant in 2009, according to the paper.

The government would need to sell its roughly 500 million shares for $53 dollars each in order to break even, but GM's stock is currently hovering at a price of just under $30 per share.

At the current price, the government would lose more than $11 billion, but the Obama administration is willing to accept the loss in order to cut its last ties to the auto manufacturer, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources.

The summer sale would make it more likely that the government could unload the remainder of its shares before the 2012 election season.

But officials said planning is still at an early stage and the Treasury Department was still considering options that would protect taxpayers while ending its stake in the company as soon as practicable.

The paper added that GM would back the sell-off because it would lift restrictions on executive pay that remain in place as long as the government is part owner.

Marking its successful emergence from bankruptcy in July 2009, GM raised $23.1 billion last November in the largest public offering in history.

It posted a 9.6 percent increase in US auto sales in March, but it has also been hit by rising gas prices and its stock has suffered since the exit last month of chief financial officer Chris Liddell, a key architect of the revival.

[Howey]

Yes the Prez is scared of me!  Yippee!

Didn't I post the same story earlier?

[Howey]

Congratulations to GM's Halo car!

The Chevrolet Volt won the World Green Car of the Year award at the 2011 New York Auto Show, beating out the Nissan Leaf and BMW 320d for the title.
 
The World Car of the Year award is made up of 66 jurors from 25 countries, who are responsible for selecting the vehicles. This year, the Nissan Leaf ended up taking the honors for World Car of the Year, despite losing the “Green Car” title to the Chevrolet Volt. Other winners included the Ferrari 458 Italia for Performance Car and the Aston Martin Rapide took home top honors for Design. Check out AutoGuide‘s coverage of the New York Auto Show for more.

[FooFa]

I ate up the mainstream's reassurance that GM was all good now

Who says it isn't.

We think the TV ad would leave most reasonable viewers with the impression that GM has fully settled up with the government. Whitacre can accurately claim that GM has retired its $6.7 billion in loans from the U.S. government. But with the government still owning 60 percent of the company and the prospects slim for getting all its money back, we think that's highly misleading. And so we rate Whitacre's statement Half True.

politfact.com

Are you saying that this part isn't true? If it is true then I don't consider that good or representative of the idea that GM is taken flight from the forced  socialism. That term sums up my opinion on Obama. He's worse than W.

[Howey]

I ate up the mainstream's reassurance that GM was all good now

Who says it isn't. politfact.com

Are you saying that this part isn't true? If it is true then I don't consider that good or representative of the idea that GM is taken flight from the forced  socialism. That term sums up my opinion on Obama. He's worse than W.

Yes. It's not true. The government does not own 60% of GM.

Just because the government steps in to help a storied American company survive in order to prevent the mass collapse of our economy does not make it socialist.

Oh. And welcome to the Dark Side of ObamaHate. I'm sure lilMike appreciates having you as his Wing Man. Now, if only we could get Gryff and Iceman over here, his life would be complete.

[FooFa]

Racism and socialism are constantly hot buttons pressed which divert attention from the issues. 'Hate' is another word that doesn't come to mind as encouraging civil discourse. It's not accurate at least for me. GM was a poor choice for me to throw in the socialism thing, it doesn't apply to what I was thinking.

I have no idea if people hate him. I don't hate people ever because it affects you and not them. I simply believed what he said when he was running and I've seen none of the things happen that he ran on and therefor find very little if anything to support him about. Monkey pics or not, racism is constantly run up the pole to inflame and divert attention from the real issues. While I'm sure his race is a non starter for some, I don't think it's the real reason for many of the struggles. Don't do me any favor's on recruiting  I had already stopped ever saying anything to a couple of them and there would be no reason to change that.

[Howey]

GM #1!

General Motors is almost certain to claim the title of world's biggest automaker this year, retaking the top spot from Toyota, which has been hurt by production problems since the Japanese earthquake and still can't escape the shadow of major safety recalls.
 
The No. 1 title, a morale booster for the winner's employees and managers, would cap GM's remarkable comeback from bankruptcy.
 
GM's sales are up, mainly in China and the U.S, the world's top two markets. Cars are better than in the past, especially small ones.

Source for this post applauding GM's "remarkable comeback from bankruptcy is Fox News. I'm sorry.

[lil mike]

Yes. It's not true. The government does not own 60% of GM.

Just because the government steps in to help a storied American company survive in order to prevent the mass collapse of our economy does not make it socialist.

Oh. And welcome to the Dark Side of ObamaHate. I'm sure lilMike appreciates having you as his Wing Man. Now, if only we could get Gryff and Iceman over here, his life would be complete.

It was originally 61%, and since the IPO it's dropped to about 36%.

And where do you get the idea that I hate Obama?

[Howey]

Tight work, GM!

Will the voters will ever give President Obama credit for rescuing the American auto industry? I have no idea. But it looks more and more like they should.
 
On Thursday General Motors announced that, for the fifth consecutive quarter, it had made a profit. And not just a measly one, either. The $3.2 billion was higher than experts had predicted and more than three times the profit of the same quarter in 2010, when the company was still struggling to emerge from its bankruptcy.
 
GM sales in North America were up 25 percent over that period. That reflects the recovery, obviously, but the increase in GM sales was still larger than the industry average. Even if GM can't keep up that pace, it's an sign of increasing health.
 
Still, the most interesting part of the news is not the profit itself. It's how GM made it. From the New York Times:
 
The company has benefited from a better lineup of fuel-efficient cars and crossover vehicles in an environment where the national average for gasoline is almost $4 a gallon.
 
The new Chevrolet Cruze, for example, has been G.M.’s most successful entry in the compact car segment in years. G.M. has also transitioned away from large, seven-passenger S.U.V.’s to smaller crossovers like the Chevrolet Equinox. ...
 
The automaker has also reduced excess capacity in its assembly plants, and cut tens of thousands of jobs through buyouts and early retirements. Its break-even point in the United States has been lowered to about two million vehicles, a sales goal that it should achieve easily this year...

Still, if not for the Obama Administration's intervention, the entire American auto industry might very well have collapsed and taken the Midwest with it. Instead, the industry is on the rebound, at least for now.
 
That's not bad for government work. Not bad at all.

[lil mike]

Now why do you say I hate Obama?

But first the good news...

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/05/gm-q1-profits-triple/

GM Q1 Profits Triple !


But now the downside...

“Net income attributable to common stockholders includes gains of $1.6 billion and $0.3 billion respectively related to the sales of the company’s ownership interest in Delphi Automotive LLP and Ally Financial Inc. preferred stock.  It also includes a $0.4 billion goodwill impairment charge at GM Europe (GME) resulting from a change in accounting standards and charges totaling $0.1 billion at GM International Operations (GMIO) related to revised tax regulations affecting the company’s India joint venture.  Combined, these special items increased net income attributable to common stockholders by $1.5 billion or $0.82 per fully-diluted share.”



So selling assets and accounting changes accounted for these profits.  Of course 4 additional cents a share is better than no cents.

Stock is still below the IPO price and way below the break even price...

And of course sales are down from this time last year in China...

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/05/investigative-reporting-reveals-that-gm-china-lost-4-57-percent-in-china/

[Howey]

Now why do you say I hate Obama?

But first the good news...

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/05/gm-q1-profits-triple/

GM Q1 Profits Triple !


But now the downside...

“Net income attributable to common stockholders includes gains of $1.6 billion and $0.3 billion respectively related to the sales of the company’s ownership interest in Delphi Automotive LLP and Ally Financial Inc. preferred stock.  It also includes a $0.4 billion goodwill impairment charge at GM Europe (GME) resulting from a change in accounting standards and charges totaling $0.1 billion at GM International Operations (GMIO) related to revised tax regulations affecting the company’s India joint venture.  Combined, these special items increased net income attributable to common stockholders by $1.5 billion or $0.82 per fully-diluted share.”



So selling assets and accounting changes accounted for these profits.  Of course 4 additional cents a share is better than no cents.

Stock is still below the IPO price and way below the break even price...

And of course sales are down from this time last year in China...

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/05/investigative-reporting-reveals-that-gm-china-lost-4-57-percent-in-china/

Wow. Life must be depressing in your dark world of negativity.

China? Sales are still 10% higher so far this year than last but were slightly down after government incentives ended. Ford sales in China were down too, btw.

GM profit? 1.7 billion after the sale of the parts company. Best quarter in over ten years. But ya gotta find something to bitch about, huh?

Tell that to your import-biased Truth about Cars, mmmmkay? Tell me...do they still have their GM and Ford Death Watch and Chrysler Suicide Watch going on? Or have they given up on it?

[lil mike]

Wow. Life must be depressing in your dark world of negativity.

quote]

Now that is some irony!

Now, why do you think I hate Obama?

[FooFa]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/42972164

This is one of those days the US auto industry should savor.

Just two years after being bailed out by the US government, General Motors is announcing today that it will spend $2 billion to add approximately 4,200 jobs at 18 plants in eight states.

This follows a horrific decade of closing dozens of plants and slashing hundreds of thousands of jobs.

The investment is a welcome shot in the arm for US manufacturing. But this is about more than just adding jobs. It's about re-tooling to make GM more competitive.

Some of the money will go into next generation power trains built in plants like the GM facility in Toledo, Ohio. Some of it will go into GM final assembly plants in Arlington, Texas, Kansas City, Kansas and elsewhere. You get the point, GM is gearing up for the next generation of cars and trucks.

This will inevitably lead to questions about whether GM is leading a renaissance in the US auto industry. After all, Ford and Chrysler have also announced they are adding thousands jobs and sinking hundreds of millions of dollars into their plants. Renaissance might be a bit strong.

But make no mistake: the Big Three are taking the next step in a revival for Detroit that should continue for the foreseeable future.

GM, Ford and Chrysler are all profitable and expect to stay profitable. And they are putting out perhaps the best cars and trucks they've ever built. Their quality, styling and fuel economy are all improving. That will keep buyers coming back to the showroom and give Detroit's automakers the momentum to grow their business.

Will GM, Ford, and Chrysler ever get back to the point where they were in the late '90's where they employed more than 400,000 workers in the US?

No. Back then there were too many plants building too many cars and trucks for too few buyers. Today, the industry has right sized itself at approximately 170,000 workers and even as it grows in the next 3-4 years it's only expected to employ just over 200,000.

But after all that's happened in the last decade, Detroit (and the US) will take it.

RELATED LINKS
Track GM News and Stock Here
GM's Bailout Victory Lap
Slideshow: 15 Companies That are Hiring Now

[ekg]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/42972164

That's pretty great news..