Letter from Rick Wagoner, and other news articles.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Just today...I found some pretty darn interesting stuff.

It's a lot, but if you want to have an informed opinion about the current situation; I strongly suggest you read it all.

Originally Posted by Rick Wagoner

"Why GM Deserves Support" - The Wall Street Journal
By Rick Wagoner (Commentary)
Nov. 19, 2008

Much has been said about the impact of the credit crisis on U.S. auto makers, and whether or not the government should assist the industry during this extraordinary financial turmoil. In these discussions, many critics simply ignore the substantial changes that U.S. auto companies have already made -- changes much like those the critics are calling for as part of any aid package.

At General Motors, we have been responding to fierce competition here and abroad by transforming our business. Over the past decade, we have taken tough actions to cut costs, at the same time investing billions in fuel-efficient vehicles and new generations of advanced propulsion technologies.

On the cost-cutting side, we have been streamlining our U.S. operations while simultaneously improving quality and productivity. Since 2000, we have reduced our U.S. hourly workforce by 52%, from 133,000 to 64,000, through buyouts and other programs. During the same period, we have cut our U.S. salaried employment from 44,000 to fewer than 30,000, and reduced our U.S. executive ranks by 45%.

However, we know we cannot just slash our way to prosperity. We have closed the quality and productivity gaps with the imports, as confirmed by J.D. Power and Associates (the consumer ratings firm) and the Harbour Report (which benchmarks North American plant-floor performance). New GM product programs launched earlier this decade have produced award-winning cars and crossovers like the Saturn Aura, Cadillac CTS and Buick Enclave. And that is just the beginning.

The new Chevy Malibu is a clear response to critics who say that GM cannot build cars that customers want. The Malibu leads its segment in highway fuel economy at 33 mpg (2009 EPA figures), and was named best midsize car for initial quality in the most recent J.D. Power and Associates study. No surprise that, even in the worst car market in decades, Malibu sales are up 39% so far this year.

GM has also been working to re-establish its leadership in advanced propulsion technology. We have committed to producing the Chevy Volt -- a revolutionary car that can go 40 miles on electricity alone -- in 2010 in a U.S. factory. We are expanding our family of hybrid vehicles, investing in advanced biofuels, and continuing development of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. We are also applying our global technical resources to improve the fuel economy of conventional vehicles. Just one example: The new Chevy Cruze, a global compact car that goes into production in Ohio in 2010, is expected to lead its segment in fuel economy.

GM's commitment to these new products and technologies will help everyone. Consumers will benefit from lower fuel costs, our nation will use less imported petroleum, and our air will become cleaner. Development and production of these new vehicles here in the U.S. will maintain our nation's competitive standing and provide good paying jobs here at home. It also ensures that the U.S. does not trade its current dependence on imported oil for a future dependence on imported batteries and technology.

The auto industry may be historically anchored in Detroit, but it reaches into every state and community in our nation. Take Kansas, for example. GM assembles the Malibu and the Saturn Aura in Fairfax, Kan., making us a major employer there. The wages of our 2,500 workers flow into that community through spending on everything from mortgage payments to high-school bake sales.

Fairfax is not unusual. U.S.-based companies have 105 assembly and component plants in 20 states, including California, Texas, Louisiana and Maryland, states not typically thought of as auto country. GM, Ford and Chrysler last year purchased $156 billion in parts, materials and services, supporting jobs in all 50 states.

Because of GM's deep commitment to its employees, dealers and communities, the company has been restructuring itself without the storm and drama some pundits mistake for actual progress. Working with the UAW, we have transformed our labor agreements to close the competitive gap. We have taken $9 billion out of our annual structural costs since 2005 alone, and we have substantially reduced legacy costs inherited from decades past. In the face of the current credit crisis, we have moved to improve our liquidity by $20 billion through 2009 through cuts in salaried employment, capital spending and other areas.

The future of the domestic auto business is critical to the health of the U.S. economy. It is a vital engine of economic growth and a foundation of economic stability. It remains a path of upward mobility for millions of American families. For America to compete in the global marketplace in the 21st century, it needs a strong manufacturing base and a vital domestic auto industry.

Nearly a half-century ago President Kennedy declared that his generation of Americans was living in extraordinary times and facing extraordinary challenges. Our times are no less challenging. They demand solutions that are creative and courageous.

Short-term government support to bridge the current financial crisis will enable GM to continue as an engine for prosperity and as a creator of vehicles and technologies that America needs. Such assistance will save millions of jobs now, and produce enormous benefits for years to come.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Wagoner: GM ready with plan for survival
Robert Snell / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. CEO Rick Wagoner declined to say Thursday whether the automaker has retained bankruptcy counsel and denied receiving assurances from U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that GM could receive short-term funding in anticipation of a larger loan.

"I didn't get any wink or a nod from anybody," Wagoner, 55, said during an interview with The Detroit News.

There had been speculation on Capitol Hill and among the automakers that Paulson was helping craft a potential short-term loan for GM until more funds could be obtained as part of a broader federal aid program for automakers.

Retaining bankruptcy counsel would signal the automaker is considering filing for court protection from creditors. Wagoner said Wednesday that bankruptcy is not an option because revenues would dry up and GM likely would have to liquidate.

Consumers are generally reluctant to buy big-ticket items like cars from a bankrupt company. A filing also could trigger adverse market reactions and demands from suppliers and lenders.

Wagoner spoke Thursday hours after congressional leaders asked Detroit's Big Three automakers to present a plan by Dec. 2 for restructuring their businesses and how they would spend $25 billion in government loans.

The carmakers will have to provide reports to the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee on how they would use the money to remain viable.

'We've got the plans'
Democrats had been pushing for automakers to receive a $25 billion piece of the $700 billion Wall Street bailout while Republicans and the White House favored taking the money from an Energy Department loan program funded in September. The GOP proposal dropped restrictions that the money be used to retool factories to build more fuel-efficient vehicles.

GM is ready to respond with detailed plans that will address congressional concerns about the automaker's viability and show the company can survive and pay back taxpayer-funded loans, Wagoner said.

He did not, however, offer any details on what GM's plan might entail. "We've got the plans and are ready to go," Wagoner said. "We're not starting from ground zero here."

Lawmakers not convinced
GM's quest for aid comes as the automaker copes with falling sales and dwindling cash reserves, a situation that has prompted the company to warn it might not have enough money to meet minimum funding requirements early in 2009.

The demands from Washington came after Wagoner and the CEOs of Chrysler LLC and Ford Motor Co. spent two days testifying on Capitol Hill about the need for immediate aid -- a request that was rebuffed Thursday when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the auto executives failed to convince lawmakers they deserved the investment.

The latest developments mean the automakers might have to wait until January before receiving any aid, if at all.

Another delay "is something that would be a bit nerve-racking for us," Wagoner said, "but it's the reality we face."

Bankruptcy filing risky
Wagoner has previously testified on Capitol Hill. This time, he said, comments from some lawmakers exhibited a good understanding of the industry, while others reflected an outdated perception. "It was a little more hostile than I might have expected," Wagoner said.

Wagoner reiterated concerns that filing bankruptcy would be risky and could lead to a meltdown of the auto industry.

"Why would you take that risk at a time when the economy is teetering on the brink," he said.

"We need to do everything we can to get the business structured to get through a tough time and onto the future."

After listening to lawmakers, Wagoner said there is some agreement -- though not a consensus -- that the auto industry needs to survive and that taxpayers need to be protected if Congress provides a loan.

"What's not so clear is how that support should be provided," he said. "We need to make sure the auto industry contributes to the resurgence of the U.S. economy rather than contributes to driving it into a deep, deep recession."

A day after Wagoner and the other CEOs endured needling from lawmakers about traveling to Washington on corporate jets and then asking for a loan, the GM executive didn't disclose his travel plans for a likely return trip to Washington next month.

"We haven't decided how we're going to go down there," he said. "It may surprise some people."

another

[Mr. Wyndham]

another

GM to return two leased jets amid criticism
By Poornima Gupta

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp will return two of its leased corporate jets amid intense criticism in Washington this week on the luxury travel arrangements of its chief executive even as the company pleads for federal aid.

CEO Rick Wagoner was in the capital to testify on the company's dire financial situation but his testimony was overshadowed by irate lawmakers who blasted him for flying on a private jet to ask for public funds and failing to make personal sacrifices in exchange for federal assistance.

Chief executives from Ford Motor Co, and Chrysler LLC, who were also there to plead for $25 billion in federal aid, came under fire too for flying to Washington in private jets.

GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson said on Friday GM decided to return the aircraft because of a "really aggressive cutback in travel."

The company, which is in a cost-cutting mode, is scrutinizing every trip, he said, but declined to disclose the name of the company it leases the airplanes from.

Wilkinson said the decision to return the leased corporate jets was made before this week's hearings and that the company in September returned two other of the seven jets it had at the beginning of the year.

"There is a perception issue," Wilkinson said of Wagoner's travel to Washington on a private jet. "We need to be very sensitive to that going forward."

He, however, said the company has not decided on what mode of transportation Wagoner would take if had to travel to Washington again.

Wagoner and Ford CEO Alan Mulally are required by their companies to fly by private aircraft for security reasons, according to company documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The policy for Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli is not required to be disclosed because the company is not publicly traded.

Skeptical lawmakers took to task the three CEOs for their luxurious travel arrangements at congressional committee hearings.

"Couldn't you have downgraded to first class or something, or jet-pooled or something to get here?" Rep. Gary Ackerman, a New York Democrat, asked the executives at a hearing held by the U.S. House Financial Services Committee.

Even Democrats who said they were sympathetic to the automakers' plight expressed frustration that the executives used private jets while professing ruthless cost-cutting measures.

A Chrysler spokesman said the automaker also leases or charters jets. He, however, declined to comment on whether the company was rethinking the use of private jets for executive travel, saying it was a "private matter."

Ford did not have an immediate comment on its corporate jet policy.

According to Ford's proxy, CEO Mulally's compensation included $752,203 in 2007 for personal use of company aircraft.

About two years ago, the head of Ford's North American operations, Mark Fields, gave up use of a corporate jet for personal travel to his home in Florida after the arrangement came under criticism at a time when the automaker was losing billions and slashing jobs.

He now flies first class on commercial planes.

[zebra]

thanks man. i can't wait for things to get better, not just for the Big 3, but the country as a whole.

[SS One]

Please take the time to personally contact the Senators from your state and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, (I did). Express to them the need to approve the loan package for the "Big Three" as soon as possible; it can not wait until January. If enough of us contact our elected officials, maybe they will listen, (this is suppose to be a Representative Government), and they represent us!