Posts Tagged ‘gm bankruptcy’
Courts side with airbag maker; GM derails $1b settlement over faulty ignition switches.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Aug.18, 2017
As many as 18 people are known to have died due to faulty Takata airbag inflators.
Motorists looking for settlements related to two of the biggest safety scandals in recent years were in for some unpleasant surprises this week.
General Motors derailed a deal that could have forced it to provide $1 billion in stock to thousands of plaintiffs suing over the company’s faulty ignition switches which were linked to more than 100 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
The Last Word!
Separately, a Delaware bankruptcy court halted a collection of lawsuits filed against the Japanese auto partsmaker seeking damages related to faulty airbags now linked to as many as 18 deaths and about 180 injuries worldwide – though the suits may continue after a 90-day ordered by Judge Brendan Shannon.
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Tags: Takata bankruptcy, Takata lawsuit, Takata news, auto news, car news, gm bankruptcy, gm ignition switch, gm ignition switch lawsuit, gm ignition switch settlement, gm news, gm payout, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, takata airbag, takata reorganization, takata sale, takata settlement, thedetroitbureau
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“Live Another Day” – but at what cost?
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Sep.12, 2016
Storm clouds over Detroit. At the depth of the recession, two of the three US makers went bankrupt.
The economy was collapsing more rapidly than during the Great Depression, and nowhere was that more apparent than in Detroit, where the Big Three automakers faced the very real prospect of going out of business – destroying a million or more jobs in the process.
Ford Motor Co. was able to survive by mortgaging everything; not only its factories, but even its Blue Oval logo. General Motors and Chrysler didn’t move fast enough to secure equity lines. They had to be salvaged with the help of the largest federally funded bailout in history. It broke precedent and, many would argue, broke the law. The rescue effort may also have saved the economy, according to its proponents.
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Was it good or bad? “It was something in-between,” contends Bill Burke, suggests Bill Burke. He’s a media industry veteran and co-producer of the new documentary, “Live Another Day,” which has received strong praise on the film festival circuit and which will open at theaters nationwide on September 16th.
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Tags: GM Chapter 11, auto bailout, auto bailout documentary, auto bailout film, auto news, bob lutz, car news, chrysler bankruptcy, chrysler news, detroit bailout, gm bankruptcy, gm news, live another day, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, ron bloom, steve ratttner, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automobiles | 4 Comments »
Automaker likely to be center of Presidential campaign this fall.
by Joseph Szczesny on Jul.20, 2016
Donald Trump's selection of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is likely to keep GM as well as Fiat Chrysler in the news. Pence was a critic of the auto baillout.
If you listen to General Motors executives, the company’s 2009 bankruptcy is an event from the company’s distant history. For GM’s lawyers, however, the bankruptcy and its aftermath is still very much alive.
Many of the creditors have never given up trying to recover the money they say is owed to them by what has come to be known as “Old GM,” and the trust that has liquidated assets, primarily real estate that the company abandoned, during its short trip through bankruptcy court back seven years ago.
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Earlier this week, the dissatisfied creditors won the right from bankruptcy judge in Manhattan to pursue a $1.5 billion claim, stemming from the bankruptcy. (more…)
Tags: GM unsecured creditors, J.P. Morgan loan GM, Old GM unsecured creditors, TheDetroitBureau.com., auto news, gm bankruptcy, gm news, joseph szczesny, new gm, old gm, thedetroitbureau
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Taking a “forward lean” into a “downside scenario.”
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Mar.28, 2016
GM's Alan Batey introducing the 2017 Chevy Bolt.
Seven years after Detroit’s auto industry nearly collapsed, officials at the two largest domestic makers are taking pains to assure investors they will not only survive but thrive during the next big economic downturn.
Fears that the U.S. car market has peaked after hitting record sales of 17.5 million vehicles last year has made Wall Street increasingly wary, driving down the share prices for all the domestic makers, even as they report strong profits. But two top General Motors and Ford executives painted very different pictures for investors as the New York Auto Show opened to strong public attendance.
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“We believe the market is eventually going to plateau, but not in the immediate future,” declared Alan Batey, president of GM North America, during the annual Automotive Summit sponsored by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. And even if sales do take a tumble, he stressed, “We have reduced our break-even point to between 10 million and 11 million annual sales for the industry.”
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Tags: 2016 ny auto show, Ford Sales, GM sales, alan batey, auto news, autonomous vehicles, bob shanks, car news, ford autonomous, ford earnings, gm autonomous, gm bankruptcy, gm profits, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
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Removing protection allows lawsuits to proceed.
by Michael Strong on Feb.18, 2015
GM CEO Mary Barra may be facing a tougher year in 2015 if a federal judge rescinds the company's bankruptcy shield.
After securing an important court victory in January, General Motors is on the precipice of a potentially devastating loss as the federal bankruptcy judge that approved the maker’s plan is rethinking the company’s liability shield.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber heard arguments about whether or not GM can keep the shield, which blocks victims of the company’s faulty ignition switches from suing the automaker, which exited bankruptcy in 2009.
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Essentially, since the defective parts were on vehicles manufactured prior the bankruptcy, the “new” GM can claim it is not liable for those vehicles. However, the shield can be revoked in some cases, including if it can be proven that GM executives knew about the problem when it was putting together it’s plans in 2009. (more…)
Tags: GM Recall, GM death benefits, GM faulty ignition switches, GM lawsuits, GM liability shield, TheDetroitBureau.com., U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber, auto news, general motors bankruptcy, gm bankruptcy, gm news, judge rethinks GM liability, michael strong, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automobiles | 1 Comment »
Fund receives 455 total filings for death benefits.
by Michael Strong on Feb.03, 2015
GM saw 1,100 new filings for benefits from its victims compensation fund just before the Jan. 31 deadline.
The Jan. 31 deadline for claims to General Motors’ victim compensation fund spurred a flurry of 1,100 new filings.
The rush brought the total number of filings to 4,180, including 455 death benefits: an increase from 338 the week prior. Claims for the most severe injuries rose to 278, up from 224 a week earlier, and filings for less severe injuries jumped to 3,447 from 2,508 a week earlier.
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The fund is administered by Kenneth Feinberg, an attorney whose firm oversaw similar funds related to the BP oil spill and other issues, who said in a radio interview yesterday that he expects the total number of filings to rise a bit more because any claims post marked for Jan. 31 will be accepted. (more…)
Tags: GM Recall, GM compensation, GM deaths, GM injuries, GM payouts, General Motors compensation fund, TheDetroitBureau.com., auto news, compensation fund deadline, gm bankruptcy, gm fund, gm news, gm victims fund, ignition switch recall, kenneth feinberg, michael strong, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automobiles | 3 Comments »
Treasury made more than $2 billion on GMAC deal.
by Michael Strong on Dec.30, 2014
The Treasury exited GM more than four years after the maker's 2009 bankruptcy.
The U.S. government lost less than $10 billion rescuing the auto industry, which was four times less than some estimates.
The Treasury initially estimated the loss would be $44 billion, but revised it to $30 billion in 2009. Under government accounting rules, the U.S. Treasury actually lost $16.56 billion on paper because interest and dividends paid isn’t applied toward the principal owed.
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The government was repaid through a combination of stock sales, partial loan repayments, dividends and interest payments. (more…)
Tags: TARP, TheDetroitBureau.com., Troubled Asset Recovery Program, auto bailout, auto industry recovery, auto industry rescue, auto loans, auto news, chrysler bailout, chrysler bankruptcy, gm bailout, gm bankruptcy, gm loans, government auto bailout, michael strong, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automobiles | 11 Comments »
Most of the cases claim economic losses.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Aug.13, 2014
One of the replacement ignition switches.
A federal judge is encouraging attorneys to settle over 100 lawsuits that have been brought against General Motors in cases involving the maker’s defective ignition switches.
The majority of those cases involve economic losses, claims that used GM vehicles have lost value as a result of the maker’s ignition switch recall. But about a dozen of those cases involve personal injury claims, according to the Associated Press. In all, attorneys represent nearly 1,000 individual plaintiffs suing GM.
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U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman said he intends “to encourage settlement as much as possible.” But whether the plaintiffs’ attorneys take the jurist’s advice may depend on what happens in another courtroom.
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Tags: Brooke Melton, GM lawsuit, auto news, car news, gm bankruptcy, gm ignition switch, gm ignition switch death, gm ignition switch lawsuit, gm news, gm victims compensation fund, gm victims fund, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automobiles | 2 Comments »
Total rises to $11.2 billion after accounting error.
by Michael Strong on Apr.30, 2014
The government bailout of General Motors is going to cost taxpayers $11.2 billion: $826 million more than originally expected.
U.S. taxpayers are taking a bigger loss on the General Motors bailout package than $10.3 billion originally reported. Due to an accounting error, the loss is actually $11.2 billion, according to a report released today.
The Treasury Department reported an $826-million administrative claim had been written off on March 20. However, the claim, which has not been revealed, cannot be written off.
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The figure surfaced in a report by the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which was charged with overseeing the federal government’s economic stimulus program. (more…)
Tags: $49.5 billion bailout, TARP, TheDetroitBureau.com., U.S. taxpayers, auto bailout, bailout news, gm bailout, gm bankruptcy, gm news, michael strong, taxpayer auto bailout, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automobiles | 3 Comments »
Last Alero rolled down the line on April 29, 2004.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Apr.28, 2014
Lansing workers watch the last Oldsmobile Alero as it comes off the assembly line.
It was supposed to be the car that would help save the troubled brand. But instead, it was the last car Oldsmobile would build. This Tuesday marks the 10thanniversary of the demise of the once popular brand, a decade since a dark red Alero sedan rolled off the line at the old Lansing Car Assembly Plant as the last car Oldsmobile would ever build.
Lansing had been the home for the brand for more than a century, Ransom Eli Olds cobbling together his first motorized carriage in his father’s shop in Michigan’s capital city in 1897. The Curved Dash Oldsmobile he started producing four years later was to become the country’s first truly mass-produced automobile, an early pop culture sensation that inspired the 1905 hit song, “In My Merry Oldsmobile.”
Perspective!
Purchased by General Motors in 1908, Oldsmobile would eventually sell as many as 1 million vehicles a year. But as the new millennium approached, the brand was clearly past its prime, and like the proverbial canary in a coal mine, it was sounding the alarm for a crisis that would ultimately drive GM itself into bankruptcy.
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Tags: auto news, car news, gm bankruptcy, gm news, john rock, last olds, last oldsmobile, oldsmobile, oldsmobile alero, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau, your fathers olds, your fathers oldsmobile
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