Cash For Clunkers: The Official Rules

After you turn your car in, all the valuable parts will be sold off except the engine, which will be destroyed so it doesn’t end up in an old Volvo. The only major change from the previous summaries of the bill is the removal of a “voucher” system for getting a new vehicle. There are no vouchers. You’ll instead get a credit for the car, just like with any other discount. Read more

Obama Says U.S. Will Guarantee GM, Chrysler Warranties

Today is my “what to do in case of Automotive Industry emergency” news day. All of the major news networks are steadily reporting today updates of the Obama administration’s plans for the automotive industry. It seems they already want federally regulate everything else so why not do it with the Automotive industry. I mean, heck, they already gave Rick Wagoner, GM’s CEO, the boot and now they will guarantee the federal government paying for any warranty repairs on a General Motors or Chrysler vehicle if either company can’t because of financial problems or a bankruptcy filing. That’s actually good news now that I think about it because all my neighbor has to say about his Chevy Tahoe other than it is gas guzzler is that GM may not be able to fulfill their 100,000 mile warranty if they go under.

This has been the topic of discussion for thousands who happen to drive a GM or Chrysler vehicle currently. Many of these cars are still under warranty considering the 100,000 mile warranty offered in the past couple of years by both GM and Chrysler.

“Given where the industry is, these highly unprecedented actions are consistent with the unprecedented times we’re in,” Standard & Poor’s analyst Robert Schulz told Reuters today.

Let’s face it, bankruptcy is a very feasible option for Chrysler and GM and many are finally realizing this. We all knew it may come to this. I guess for now it is good that the government and/or Obama administration is on our side… or are they?

GM CEO Rick Wagoner Calls It Quits

General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner will step down from his position immediately as recently reported by various news associations. This comes about maybe as a slight surprise on the eve of President Barack Obama’s expected announcement of a deadline for Chrysler and General Motors to finalize their terms for restructuring or deciding on a Chapter 11 bankruptcy package.

As the economy shows no apparent signs of improvement except for the recent stock market rallies the auto industry continues to suffer and look for some type of outlet. The outlet for Rick Wagoner was specifically requested by the Obama administration.

Rick Wagoner spent 32 years with GM and in part over-seeing the operations of General Motors all through its better days and recent slump.

Below after the jump is the official message from Rick Wagoner and GM’s board restructuring announcement.

[source: Associated Press]

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The Automotive Industry Has A New Friend Headed To The Whitehouse

Automotive industry analysts have said today that an Obama Presidency is going to help US automakers in many ways.

Union leaders will have an Employee Free Choice Act put in place making it easy to unionize the foreign automakers plants in the USA. Think of it as more Toyota-GM type set-ups where a larger portion of the foreign automakers set up shop here in America to produce cars for America. A win win situation to help many automakers get back on their feet.

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