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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President Obama Vows Not to Walk Away From Auto Industry

One of the highlights of the delivery that President Obama gave to the joint session of congress was a vow not to walk away from the automotive industry. The tone seemed directed at the American infrastructure of the automotive industry which directly includes the suffering Big 3.

The points that were brought out by autonews and others in the automotive industry were the positive inspirational parts of the speech saying, “We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.” Then later a specific address was directed towards the automotive industry having an obvious effect on the economy where the President said, “As for our auto industry, everyone recognizes that years of bad decision-making and a global recession have pushed our automakers to the brink. We should not, and will not, protect them from their own bad practices. But we are committed to the goal of a re-tooled, re-imagined auto industry that can compete and win. Millions of jobs depend on it. Scores of communities depend on it. And I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it.”

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President Obama sets out to act on Fuel Efficiency Standards

In our economic downturn you start to see several actions taken by President Obama and that includes the Emissions/fuel economy standards that are placed on automakers. Should it be left to the state to decide and draw the line for their own emissions standards?

Earlier it seemed President Obama would be giving states the right to set their own emissions/fuel economy standards. This has sparked a massive discussion. Today President Obama reaffirmed that he is putting in place the California emissions Clean Air act to tighten the air quality standards related to the emissions that cars produce. Regardless of what California does, it was said by President Obama that by the year 2020 all vehicles produced will meet or exceed 35 miles per gallon for cars and 22 mpg for trucks. He went on to say that this will equal a savings of about 2 million barrels of oil a day which is the amount that the USA imports from the Persian Gulf.

I guess that talk about Change was not a lie. He is really CHANGING stuff for the better right?
Do you think this will be devastating to the already struggling Automotive Industry?

The extensive details on the plan can be read at cnn.com’s money site.

President Obama’s Presidential Limousine: The Beast

The new “Beast”, what the secret service calls it, is the latest and greatest creation to hit the road made by GM – Cadillac to transport the 44th President of the United States of America, President Barack Obama. If you tuned into one of your local stations or streamed the inauguration on Tuesday then you know that this new Limousine is not your ordinary vehicle. From some of our photos below you can come to the conclusion from the 5 to 6 inch thick doors, extra thick tires and mammoth size/height of this “Beast” that it is basically a Cadillac-Tank on 4 wheels.

Rumors will tell us that the new Presidential Limo has it’s own ventilation system that seals itself from the outside air and has the most technologically advanced communication system found in a street car in the USA. Looking at the size of this vehicle next to a secrete serviceman or a Chevy Tahoe will tell you a little about massive size of this vehicle. The ride height also suggest that this is a very capable vehicle in the need that it has to go off-road to “get out of the line of fire” God forbid. Still, we all have to speculate what this vehicle is really all about or what is found inside of it. One of the images catches a glimpse of some type of LCD screen mounted low, maybe that is the infamous RED phone.