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GM Shifting Pension Plans
General Motors will be changing the way it allocates money to employee retirement benefits, away from defined-benefit plans to plans that depend on bigger employee contributions. The AP reports that GM's new plan will freeze accrued pension benefits for about 40,000 current employees on January 1, leaving currently retired employee benefits intact. After Jan. 1, employees hired before 2001 will retain pension plans that will pay out a reduced amount from today's levels. Those hired after Jan. 1, 2001, will be moved to a defined contribution plan that will allow employees to cash out when they reach retirement age. GM also will change its matching plan to half of employee contributions up to four percent. The changes could reduce GM's pension liabilities at the end of the year by about $1.6 billion.
Wagoner Rumors Start to Swirl by Joseph Szczesny
(3/6/2006)
Will GM lose its CEO to financial churn?
DC Has New Latin Region HQ
DaimlerChrysler AG has created a new regional
headquarters in
The new headquarters will have
responsibility for 30 countries including
Chrysler Group sales in Latin America increased 48 percent in 2005, and new small and mid-size vehicles will reach the markets during 2006 and 2007 as part of the DaimlerChrysler's ongoing effort to increase the group's sales outside the U.S. "Latin America is a critical region for our operations, and the new organization in Mexico will allow us to capitalize on existing synergies, increase efficiency, and improve our reach and service to our customers," said Thomas Hausch, Executive Director for International Sales and Marketing, Chrysler Group.
Klaus Maier, executive vice president Mercedes Car Group sales and marketing, also said the new structure of DaimlerChrysler Latina demonstrates the increasing collaboration between Mercedes Car Group and Chrysler Group. "It will help us to further enhance the presence of Mercedes-Benz, Maybach, and smart in the region," he added. -Joe Szczesny
Spy Shots: '08 Chrysler
Minivans by KGP Photography
(3/6/2006)
More upright and more international, by
design.
Volkswagen AG Posts Upbeat Earnings
Volkswagen posted year-end 2005 earnings of $1.3 billion, a 61-percent gain from the year before, while revenues were up 7.1 percent to $114 billion.
But behind that rosy news was calamity at the German automaker. CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder, who is under pressure from supervisory board chairman Ferdinand Piech and the labor unions, said this about the union's opposition to his plan to cut 20,000 jobs from VW's rolls and move some production to Eastern Europe: "There is no alternative for our group," Pischetsrieder told a press conference in the northern German city of Wolfsburg where the group is based. "Volkswagen has to build cars more cheaply."
Volkswagen AG Posts Upbeat Earnings by Jim Burt (3/7/2006)
WJR Auto Report: GM Alliances Fade Away
General Motors will sell off most
of its shares in its longtime Japanese partner, Suzuki. It's quite a surprise,
since Suzuki's the most successful part of GM's global alliance strategy. Most
automakers have international partnerships, usually formed by merging or buying
their competitors. There's DaimlerChrysler, and Ford owns Jaguar, Land Rover,
Aston, and a chunk of Mazda. But, with few exceptions, GM's approach has been to
simply swap shares. It'd take more than this short report to discuss the logic
behind the strategy, but it's had, at best, mixed results. Isuzu is all but
bankrupt. GM sold off its stakes in Subaru last year. And it had to pay several
billion dollars to back out of its relationship with Italian automaker Fiat.
Suzuki seemed the one bright light, with the Japanese automaker assisting with
GM products like the Korean-built Chevy Aveo. The sell-off will provide GM cash
to cover the buy-out of workers at its former parts subsidiary,
From TCConfidential
NYT: Ambien A Growing Drugged-Driving Problem
Drunk driving's an acknowledged
problem on the country's highways, and drugged driving is a growing concern that
TheCarConnection.com has reported on in the past year. Now, the New York Times says one drug in
particular, the sleeping pill Ambien, is being cited as a factor in an
increasing number of accidents. "Ambien drivers," the Times say, sometimes have no memory of
driving under the influence of the drug, and are distinct from other drugged
drivers in that the accidents include an element of oblivion, from driving into
light poles to failing to recognize the presence of police officers after the
accident.
READ the full story at the New York Times
FROM THE SOURCE headlines from the latest press releases
Chrysler Group reported that its Five Star dealers
posted a new Certified Pre-owned Vehicle (CPOV) February sales record of 9319
units, up two percent from February 2005 totals and advancing ten percent from
January 2006 results. Year-to-date sales totaled a record 17,764 units, three
percent above year-to-date sales last year. Chrysler Group CPOV sales grew in
several key areas in February. Large vehicles made a turnaround with notable
sales increases for both the Dodge Ram Truck in the large pickup segment and the
Dodge Durango in the full-size SUV segment. The Jeep(R)
| Name | Symbol | Last | Change |
| |||
| Autobytel, Inc. | ABTL | 4.17 | |
| |||
| Autoliv Inc. | ALV | 52.20 | |
| |||
| AutoNation Inc. | AN | 22.26 | |
| |||
| ArvinMeritor Inc. | ARM | 14.36 | |
| |||
| American Axle & Mfr. Holdings Inc. | AXL | 15.34 | |
| |||
| Ballard Power Systems Inc. | BLDP | 6.16 | |
| |||
| BorgWarner Inc. | BWA | 54.92 | |
| |||
| Cummins Inc. | CMI | 105.40 | |
| |||
| Dana Corporation | DCN | 0.66 | |
| |||
| DaimlerChrysler AG (ADR) | DCX | 54.40 | |
| |||
| Dura Automotive Systems | DRRA | 2.10 | |
| |||
| Eaton Corporation | ETN | 69.41 | |
| |||
| Ford Motor Company | F | 7.65 | |
| |||
| General Motors Corporation | GM | 20.29 | |
| |||
| Gentex Corporation | GNTX | 16.30 | |
| |||
| Goodyear Tire & Rubber | GT | 12.94 | |
| |||
| Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (ADR) | HMC | 29.18 | |
| |||
| Johnson Controls Inc. | JCI | 72.68 | |
| |||
| Lear Corporation | LEA | 18.11 | |
| |||
| Magna International Inc. | MGA | 73.46 | |
| |||
| Motorola Inc. | MOT | 21.69 | |
| |||
| Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (ADR) | NSANY | 23.00 | |
| |||
| Sonic Automotive Inc. | SAH | 26.52 | |
| |||
| Siemens AG | SI | 89.29 | |
| |||
| Sirius Satellite Radio | SIRI | 4.92 | |
| |||
| Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) | TM | 105.21 | |
| |||
| TRW Automotive Holdings | TRW | 23.38 | |
| |||
| Tower Automotive Inc. | TWRAQ.PK | 0.047 | |
| |||
| United Auto Group Inc. | UAG | 43.34 | |
| |||
| Visteon Corporation | VC | 4.56 | |
| |||
| XM Satellite Radio Hold. | XMSR | 21.35 | |
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