Recently in Automotive Category

It's been a while since I posted anything on the GM bankruptcy, and the hiatus has been completely deliberate.  With so much news and speculation swirling around the proceedings, it would be easy to let the affair completely take the blog over.

But yesterday's opinion from the bankruptcy court judge definitely deserves a post, especially since one of the key points in the opinion deals with the disposition of injury lawsuits against the company.

After years of delays and denials from the Bush EPA, California finally has permission to impose strict regulations on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by cars in the state. 

The formal waiver under the Clean Air Act allows California to require automakers to increase the efficiency of the vehicles they intend to sell in California by 40% over the next seven years, resulting in an average fuel economy of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016.

President Obama proposed a national standard for automobiles in May that would largely mirror California's plan.  Since many states have already signaled their intention to follow California's lead, today's decision could speed implementation of the national standard.

This would be good news for the auto industry, since they could focus on one standard rather than 50. 

This national standard would be just the first step in the Obama administration's plan to expand regulation of pollution linked to climate change. 

As I wrote last week, many corporate counsel in energy and manufacturing companies have already begun consulting with environmental experts to get a sense of their current greenhouse gas impact, and to explore ways of complying with the eventual regulations.

When GM announced the sale of its Hummer brand, it was a rare bit of good news for the troubled automaker as it entered bankruptcy.  Unfortunately, it looks like the honeymoon's over for the Hummer deal.

GM sold Hummer to a dark horse Chinese company that specializes in manufacturing heavy trucks and highway equipment.  Any sale would have to go through Beijing, and state radio is reporting that regulators will likely reject the deal.

After the Supreme Court's decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, which found that the agency has the ability under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new motor vehicles, the Bush administration dragged its feet when it came to actually regulating the gases. 

The Obama administration, on the other hand, is moving forward at full speed.  On April 17, the EPA released a finding that carbon dioxide and four other greenhouse gases are harmful to public health.  This now obligates the EPA to set rules for the emissions from new automobiles.

After a whirlwind trip to the Supreme Court, the Chrysler-Fiat deal has finally gone through.  The deal involved the purchase of the bulk of Chrysler's assets by the Italian automaker, and the creation of a new company outside of bankruptcy protection. 

The new company also has significantly less debt, fewer dealerships and reduced labor costs.  Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne becomes the CEO of the new company, Chrysler Group LLC.

Could it be?  Is Hummer moving to China? 

Yes, that quintessentially American vehicle - the lane-straddling, gas-guzzling Hummer - will soon be owned by a Chinese machinery company, according to a report by CNBC.

If the deal does in fact go down, it will constitute the first purchase of a major American car brand by a Chinese company.

GM bondholders agreed to accept a sweetened ownership deal, but the company still appears to be speeding towards a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

The deal, which bondholders approved earlier today, offered the bondholders the same 10 percent stake in a reorganized GM that the company had offered before, but this time GM added warrants to purchase up to 15 percent of the company if the bondholders sign off on a fast-track bankruptcy and asset sale backed by the US Treasury.

GM said before a crucial vote by bondholders on a tender offer of stock for debt that the company would declare bankruptcy if the bondholders rejected its offer.

The bondholders did, but so far GM hasn't filed any Chapter 11 papers.  Most analysts seem to think that it's only a matter of time, however.  One reason for the delay could be that the company is trying to get approval from the United Auto Workers for a new set of concessions.

In the meantime, GM has already begun bundling its European operations under its German company, Adam Opel, in order to facilitate a sale of the business.

How much more would you pay for a less-polluting, more fuel-efficient car? 

The Obama administration is putting the number at $1,300 for you.  That's how much the new emissions limits and fuel-efficiency standards announced by the administration and automakers will end up costing consumers per vehicle once automakers fully implement them in 2016.

Well, it's finally happened.

After months of speculation and conjecture, President Obama has announced that Chrysler has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court in New York, becoming the first major US auto manufacturer to declare bankruptcy since Studebaker in 1933.

The news of the bankruptcy filing comes in spite of Chrysler's recent breakthroughs with the United Auto Workers and Fiat, and the decision to file for bankruptcy came after a group of Chrysler's creditors broke of restructuring talks after rejecting the government settlement proposal.