WEEKLY POLL
- Most Popular
- Latest Issue
- Most Commented
- Most Recommended
FINANCE
VIDEO
  | |||
| |||
|
Retail
| Heard’s Scottsdale, Ariz., store to leave GM fold >> |
| Capital One stops some auto inventory financing >> |
| VW revives lease incentive program >> |
Marketing
| Hyundai fills Oscar ad void left by GM >> |
| Nissan tries new luxury branding at home, in lieu of Infiniti >> |
| Nissan's multicultural account finds new home at Omnicom >> |
Remarketing
| Manheim says economy batters used-car sales, too >> |
| CarMax plans 600 job cuts >> |
| CarMax plans 600 job cuts >> |
Service & Parts
| Chrysler offers service contracts on certified vehicles >> |
|
| Chrysler seeks to build loyalty with service >> |
GM says it's not considering bankruptcy
A day after its stock price fell to lows not seen since 1950, General Motors says it isn't considering bankruptcy reorganization. "Clearly we face unprecedented challenges related to uncertainty in the financial markets globally and weakening economic fundamentals in many key markets,” a GM statement says. “But bankruptcy protection is not an option GM is considering.” GM stock closed the day at $4.89, up 13 cents. [REG] 8:30 am U.S. ET | Oct. 10 | UPDATED: 10/10/08 4:31 p.m. EDT
Capital One stops some auto inventory financing
Capital One Financial Corp. said today it will stop financing vehicle inventory for auto dealers in the states of New York and New Jersey, starting November. The decision comes at a time when the global credit crunch has put a squeeze on auto dealers, who face more expensive credit to finance consumer purchases as well as their own inventory amid a steep plunge in U.S. vehicle sales. [REG] 2:45 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 10
DAVID SEDGWICK
LaNeve's dilemma
General Motors sales chief Mark LaNeve is in the fight of his life, and he's got one hand tied behind his back. At the very moment when he is trying to fend off a sales meltdown, GMAC is slashing leases, sub-prime loans and long-term loans to anyone who isn't named Bill Gates. [SUB] 5:06 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 10
GM, lender write fewer longer-term loansAmid a virtual freeze on consumer credit, General Motors is emphasizing cash transactions over long loans, the company's sales chief said today. “We've been writing fewer 72-month loans,” Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president of North American sales, service and marketing, told Automotive News. “In September and October, we did a much higher percentage of cash -- meaning non-lease or non-APR, than we did in decades.” [REG] 3:36 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 9 | UPDATED: 10/9/08 6:11 p.m. EDT |
Lentz: Toyota battling low consumer confidenceToyota's 0-percent financing offer was an attempt to combat low consumer confidence, Toyota's U.S. sales president said today at the grand opening of the Toyota Technical Center. Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. President Jim Lentz blamed the auto industry's current sales woes on consumer confidence problems after the ribbon-cutting of the new facility south of Ann Arbor. [REG] 1:30 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 9 | UPDATED: 10/9/08 9:00 p.m. EDT |
S&P may cut GM, Ford deeper into junk territory
Standard & Poor's said today it may cut its ratings on General Motors and Ford Motor Co. and their finance units, deeper into junk territory on weak global auto sales.The downgrade watch "reflects the rapidly weakening state of most global automotive markets, along with capital market conditions that will remain a serious challenge for the foreseeable future," S&P analyst Robert Schulz said in a release. [REG] 4:00 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 9
Porsche says it bought small VW stake off bourse
Porsche bought a small stake in Volkswagen in an off-bourse transaction on Tuesday in which it paid far less than peak prices during the session, a Porsche spokesman said. Porsche has already said it planned to increase its 35 percent VW stake to a majority by next month. [REG] Oct. 8 09:45 CET
GM seeks public funds for its headquartersGeneral Motors this week plans to ask one or both of Detroit's pension funds to invest in the Renaissance Center, its world headquarters in downtown Detroit. [REG] Oct. 8 06:01 CET | UPDATED: 10/7/08 3:17 p.m. EDT |
We all meet at the corner of Wall and Main Streets
GM seeks public funds for its headquartersGeneral Motors this week plans to ask one or both of Detroit's pension funds to invest in the Renaissance Center, its world headquarters in downtown Detroit. GM executives are expected to make an investment pitch to the city's Police and Fire Retirement System at 9 a.m. Thursday. [REG] 2:41 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 7 | UPDATED: 10/7/08 3:17 p.m. EDT |
Toyota offers 0% financing on 11 modelsToyota Motor Corp., reeling from its steepest drop in U.S. sales in at least four decades, is offering no-interest loans on 11 models. The “unprecedented” move is designed to relieve consumers' worries about tight credit, Toyota said in a statement late on Thursday, Oct. 2. It follows General Motors' decision to provide interest-free deals after industry sales last month fell below 1 million for the first time since 1993. 12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 7 | UPDATED: 10/3/08 3:20 p.m. EDT |
NADA's Sykora: 'Action is better than no action'Auto dealers hope the federal government's $700 billion bailout package will thaw credit markets so they can finance floorplans and consumer purchases, the chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association said today. Chairman Annette Sykora called credit “the lifeblood of our industry” in her address here today to the Automotive Press Association. She urged quick implementation of the bailout package to save the country's more than 20,000 dealers. [REG] 2:35 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 7 | UPDATED: 10/7/08 3:50 p.m. EDT |
Many dealers floored by floorplan limits, costs |
GMAC is out of leasing -- at least for now
Lenders move fast to liquidate Heard's stores |
Study: $25 billion in auto loans past due
Daimler says it has 'extremely comfortable' liquidity
German carmaker Daimler played down on Tuesday any immediate impact from the credit crisis and said it had an "extremely comfortable" cash pile. A spokeswoman said even a "solidly financed" company like Daimler could be affected amid such market volatility. [REG] Oct. 7 10:00 CET | UPDATED: 10/07/08 11:46 CET
Ford launches parental control technologies
Many dealers floored by floorplan limits, costsThe credit crisis -- which has made lenders reluctant to finance dealerships' vehicle inventories -- is helping force hundreds of dealers out of business. The National Automobile Dealers Association projects that as many as 700 dealerships could close this year, out of 21,461 as of Jan. 1. The last decline of this magnitude occurred during the recession of the early 1990s. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 6 |
GMAC is out of leasing -- at least for now
GMAC Financial Services, the nation's largest auto lessor as recently as midyear, virtually has stopped writing leases in the United States. In September, leases accounted for less than 2 percent of General Motors' U.S. new-vehicle sales, according to J.D. Power and Associates. A year earlier, Power noted, GM's leasing rate was 16.8 percent. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 6
Ford launches parental control technologies
Ford Motor Co. is giving parents a new tool to keep their teenage drivers safer. Ford today introduced MyKey, a technology that would allow parents to program a teen's vehicle key to limit speed and audio volume, and even to mute the sound system if the driver's seat belt isn't fastened. MyKey will debut as a standard feature in the 2010 Ford Focus small car and eventually will be offered in several other Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles. [REG] 3:31 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 6
Study: $25 billion in auto loans past due
Nearly $25 billion worth of consumer auto loans are delinquent, a new study reports. In the second quarter of 2008, Experian Automotive says, 2.48 percent of all auto loans were 30 days past due, compared with 2.28 percent in the year-ago quarter. Auto loans that were 60 days past due in the second quarter rose to 0.75 percent from 0.67 percent in the second quarter of 2007, Experian says. [REG] 1:23 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 6
Lenders move fast to liquidate Heard's storesBill Heard's empire is headed for a quick breakup. Hours after Bill Heard Enterprises Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection in an Alabama court last week, the company signed an agreement with GMAC Financial Services to sell eight of its 14 stores by Oct. 14. GMAC isn't buying the dealerships, but it is a creditor. It is joining another floorplan lender, Alphera Financial Services, a division of BMW Financial Services, in loaning Heard a combined $6.7 million to pay for Heard's liquidation. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 6 |
Suzuki seeks floorplan credit partner for dealers
As lenders cut back on floorplan credit, American Suzuki Motor Corp. is making an urgent priority of helping its dealers get financing for their vehicle inventories. Suzuki's 480 U.S. dealers now must arrange their own inventory financing. Gary Akin, Suzuki's vice president of sales, says the company is seeking a floorplan credit partner for its retail network. He declined to identify lenders with whom Suzuki is talking. [SUB] 12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 6
