What if Ford and General Motors merged? The result would be a global automotive machine so inconceivably huge rivals like Toyota and Volkswagen might not even think of challenging it. And it would be awash with cash, and profits, cutting tremendous expenses at both automaker from research and development all the way to accounting. At least this was the plan proposed by General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner in a private meeting with Ford executives in the summer of 2008.

This shocking revelation is the latest to come from New York Times auto writer Bill Vlasic, in an except from his new book ‘Once Upon a Car: The Fall and Resurrection of America’s Big Three Automakers — G.M., Ford and Chrysler’, set to be published tomorrow.

Seeing it for the desperate move it was with GM out of cash and burning through one billion dollars a month, Ford Chairman Bill Ford and Chief Executive Alan Mulally flatly rejected Wagoner’s appeal. Later on, Wagoner even admitted he understood why.  “But sitting in their shoes, I could understand why they didn’t want to do it,” he said.

The rest, they say, is history, with GM filing bankrupcty protection papers and then emerging from the complex process having slashed $48 billion in debt and obligations, able to once again generate a profit without looming debt payments eating up all its cash.

Yet as shocking as this news is, implications from the book may have more lasting effects. “There was something missing among Mr. Wagoner, Mr. Lutz and Mr. Henderson [CFO], some chemistry or cover-my-back mentality,” writes Vlasic, undermining the leadership at GM, which has been brought into question before. “They worked together, but not ‘together,’ as the Ford guys did.”

Published by William Morrow ”Once Upon a Car: The Fall and Resurrection of America’s Big Three Automakers — G.M., Ford and Chrysler’ is on sale October 4th.

[Source: NYT]

Frederick “Fritz” Henderson has resigned as General Motors chief executive officer.

Henderson (left, in the photo above) was appointed CEO on March 29, replacing Rick Waggoner who shown the door by the Obama administration. Over the last eight months, Henderson worked at reorganizing the company. GM announced that Chairman Ed Whitacre Jr. (right, in the photo) will take over as interim CEO until a permanent replacement is found.

“Fritz has done a remarkable job in leading the company through an unprecedented period of challenge and change,” said Whitacre. “While momentum has been building over the past several months, all involved agree that changes needed to be made. To this end, I have taken over the role of Chairman and CEO while an international search for a new president and CEO begins immediately. With these new duties, I will begin working in the Renaissance Center headquarters on a daily basis. The leadership team – many who are with me today – are united and committed to the task at hand.”

During Henderson’s tenure, GM filed for Chapter 11 protection and, 40 days later, emerged from protection with help from the government. On Nov. 16, Henderson announced GM would begin paying back the government’s $6.7 billion loan.

As part of the company’s recovery efforts, GM scaled back to four key brands: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. Pontiac is shutting down and GM found a Chinese buyer for Hummer. GM also came close to finding new owners for Saturn and Saab. A deal with Roger Penske for Saturn fell apart, while a deal for Saab with Koenigsegg also fell through. GM also announced today it has “has received expressions of interest in Saab” and will evaluate potential bids before the end of December.

[Source: MSNBC and Associated Press]

Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg has canceled its plans to buy the struggling Saab brand from General Motors, leaving the future of the brand in jeopardy.

“We’re obviously very disappointed with the decision to pull out of the Saab purchase,” said GM President and CEO, Fritz Henderson.  “Many have worked tirelessly over the past several months to create a sustainable plan for the future of Saab by selling the brand and its manufacturing interests to Koenigsegg Group AB. Given the sudden change in direction, we will take the next several days to assess the situation and will advise on the next steps next week.”

The news isn’t entirely surprising and has so far been par for the course after GM’s decision to sell its Saturn brand to the Penske Automotive Group fell through a few months back. And just a few weeks ago GM reneged on its plan to sell its European Opel brand to a group headed by Canadian autoparts maker Magna International Inc. GM is in the process of closing its Pontiac brand and is still working to sell-off the Hummer brand to Chinese heavy industry company Sichuan Tengzhong – although it wouldn’t be a surprise to see that deal now fall through.

The move to sell off the brands was part of GM’s larger restructuring plan, arranged as a part of the company’s bailout by the U.S. and Canadian governments.

It is not clear if GM intends to find another buyer for Saab, to keep the brand, or to shut it down. The situation is certain to delay the launch of the all-new 9-5 model.

[Source: Automotive News]

In a surprising move, General Motors has announced that it will begin to pay back $6.7 billion in loans to the U.S. and Canadian governments, starting as early as December. GM wasn’t required (or expected) to begin paying back the loan until 2015.

The news comes as GM releases its third quarter results with a loss of $1.15 billion. That number isn’t good but is significantly less than the losses the automaker has been reporting as of late.

“It’s a lot better than what we had expected,” said company CEO Fritz Henderson in a conference call. “Nonetheless, it’s a loss, and you cannot be satisfied with it.”

Henderson also released a statement in which he said that, “We have significantly more work to do, but today’s results provide evidence of the solid foundation we’re building for the new GM.”

The news comes after General Motors announced its October sales, with the auto-giant posting its first sales gain in 21 months.

The repayment process will begin with a $1 billion payment to the U.S. treasury in December, with a $192 million payment to the Canadian government. The $6.7 billion loan, is however, a small portion of what GM borrowed from the U.S government, with $50 billion in total coming from the taxpayers. The majority of that amount was given in exchange for the Treasury’s 61 percent ownership of the automaker. The treasury has said it will begin selling shares in GM once the 6.7 billion loan is reduced to $3 billion.

“I’ve been asked since we went into the bankruptcy, probably a hundred times, ‘When are you going to start paying back the taxpayer?’ The answer,” said Henderson, “is now.”

[Source: Automotive News]

General Motors has decided to keep it’s European operations after all. GM has announced that due to the improved economy and improvements in the company’s bottom line, it will not sell off Opel and British automaker Vauxhall.

General Motors had been negotiating to sell the group to a Russian-backed group fronted by Canadian autoparts maker Magna International.

“GM’s overall financial health and stability have improved significantly over the past few months, giving us the confidence that the Euroean business can be successfully restructured,” said CEO Fritz Henderson.

GM’s initial plan is to begin a $4.43 billion restructuring effort and says it will work with European labor unions to make it happen. It is not clear if the European Union’s efforts to block the sale to the Canadian held Magna, over a Belgian group had anything to do with the decision. Initially the Magna deal was preferred by the German government as the Candian company agreed to keep most of Opel’s work force in Germany, in exchange for a secured loan. No doubt GM will still be looking for a similar sized loan now.

GM made the decision contrary to its viability plan that was agreed upon wit the U.S. government, stating that Opel is outperforming the assumptions made in that plan.

“This was deemed to be the most stable and least costly approach for securing Opel/Vauxhall’s long-term future,” said Henderson.

[Source: Automotive News]

In the latest chapter of the ongoing sage of corporate restructuring at General Motors, the company’s head of U.S. sales has announced his resignation. Mark La Neve, who became VP of sales and marketing in 2005, has said he will leave on October 15th. La Neve’s position has been in question since industry veteran Bob Lutz was appointed head of marketing when the company emerged from bankruptcy.

“Mark’s going to join another company to pursue an interest outside the auto industry,” said company CEO Fritz Henderson.

La Neve’s departure comes as GM continues to struggle during the worst economic climate in the past several decades. For the first nine months of 2009, GM’s sales have dropped 36 percent.

Henderson commented that the company may look externally for an outside replacement for La Neve.

[Source: Automotive News]

Penske’s deal to buy the Saturn arm of General Motors has reportedly fallen through. Back in June the Penske Automotive Group (PAG) had announced it would buy the brand from GM, along with its dealer network.

“This is very disappointing news and comes after months of hard work by hundreds of dedicated employees and Saturn retailers who tried to make the new Saturn a reality,” said CEO Fritz Henderson in a statement, commenting that the issue was that Penske Automotive Group could not solidify a deal with another automaker to supply vehicles after the contract with GM was scheduled to run out.

Many sources had pointed to Penske rebadging vehicles from French automaker Renault to sell in the U.S., but that appears to have not come to fruition.

GM has announced that it will close the remaining Saturn dealerships and that owners will be able to purchase (hahaha!) or have vehicles serviced at retailers until that point. Afterwards, owners will continue to be able to have their vehicles serviced at a GM facility.

[Source: Globe & Mail]

General Motors has just announced a deal that will see it’s European Opel brand sold off to Canadian autoparts supplier Magna International. The deal has yet to be finalized, but this morning GM announced Magna was the preferred bidder.

The sale will see Magna and Russian backer Sberbank take a 55 percent stake in both Opel and Vauxhall. Opel employees will get a 10 percent stake in the new company. GM will continue to hold on to a 35 percent stake in Opel.

“The hard work over the past two weeks to clarify open issues and resolve details in the German financial package brought GM and its Board of Directors to recommend Magna/Sberbank,” said Fritz Henderson, GM President and CEO. “We thank all parties involved in the intensive process of the last few months — especially the German government — for their continued support that enables this new venture. I’d also like to thank the Opel and Vauxhall customers for their continued loyalty. GM will continue to closely collaborate with Opel and Vauxhall to develop and produce more great cars, such as the new Insignia and the new Astra,” Henderson added.

The deal will see continued cooperation by GM and Opel, allowing the two automakers to take advantage of economies of scale. The cooperation will also extend to projects like the Ampera (pictured above), a European version of the Chevy Volt.

Official release after the jump:

Continue Reading…

During GM’s product technology even held yesterday CEO Fritz Henderson confirmed that the automaker’s top-tier Cadillac brand will bring a new flagship sedan, as well as an entry-level sedan to market shortly.

The new high-end model will replace the DTS and is reportedly to be called the XTS. This full-sized luxury sedan will be based on the same platform as at the 2010 Buck LaCrosse and will be offered in both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive configurations. The vehicle will reportedly use design cues from the Cadillac Sixteen Concept.

The most exciting news, however, comes from the lower-end of the luxury spectrum where Cadillac says it will build a new model to compete directly with the BMW 3 Series.

“We are determined to repeat what CTS has already achieved in design, quality, driving dynamics, performance and fuel economy to grow our presence in this high-volume and highly competitive segment,” said Henderson.

Unofficially known as the ATS, this new model will initially be offered only as a sedan in rear-wheel and all-wheel drive, but a coupe is likely if the sedan sells well.

Additionally, GM re-confirmed that the CTS Sport Wagon and new 2010 SRX will go on sale this month. The SRX will be offered with both a direct-injection 3.0-liter V6 as well as an optional turbocharged 2.8-liter V6.

Official release after the jump:

Continue Reading…

If you’re a car junkie, Twitter is the place to be today. Ahead of a webcast tomorrow morning by GM CEO Fritz Henderson, the General arranged for a select few media to meet with its PR folks and get a preview of what the New GM has to offer.

Many of those folks have been tweeting on Twitter and so we have a good idea of what’s going on. In a press release from earlier today, GM said that Fritz will unveil a new model during the webcast. The only problem is, the tweets cover so many new models that we don’t know which one it will be.

Some of the biggest stories of the day include a new Cadillac model named the ATS, which is aimed at taking on the BMW 3 Series (yes pulease)! And it would be offered as both a coupe and sedan. Other Cadillac news includes a story we ran earlier today about the new CTS Coupe and CTS-V Coupe coming in May. Tweets also covered a story we ran several weeks back about the DTS replacement being called the XTS and using the LaCrosse platform – meaning AWD will be optional.

As for the Buick brand, there will reportedly be a new model added to that lineup – a mid-sized sedan due out in the next 24 months. This will no doubt the the Chinese market Regal, a story we reported on several weeks back as well.

In Chevy news, those lucky enough to be at the General’s party today got to glimpse the 2012 Malibu, well ahead of its unveiling. Additionally Bob Lutz still isn’t done getting peoples’ hopes up, saying that the Pontiac G8 might still have a life at GM.

[Source: Twitter via Autoblog]

Yesterday we urged GM CEO Fritz Henderson to sit down with his new Vice Chairman Bob Lutz to get their stories about the future of the Pontiac G8 straight. Now they have, and the news isn’t good.

Bob Lutz posted on GM’s corporate Fastlane Blog that the G8 will not live on as the Chevrolet Caprice. In fact, it won’t live on at all. “The G8 will not be a Caprice after all. I’d mentioned it, and said we were studying it, giving it a serious look, because a car like the G8 was just too good to waste,” wrote Lutz, who continued; “But I have to say that, with my new ‘marketing’ hat on, upon further review and careful study, we simply cannot make a business case for such a program. Not in today’s market, in this economy, and with fuel regulations what they are and will be.”

Lutz then expressed his personal disappointment, but said there was just no way to make the car happen and that the company’s resources had to be placed elsewhere.

He then tried to reassure rear-wheel drive, performance enthusiasts saying that, “in no way does this mean we are backing away from performance, or backing away from rear-wheel drive.” He applauded the Holden team in Australia and said that he would like to look to their products to bring another RWD vehicle over in the future, but not now.

Sadly, the G8 will bow out after a short stay in the North American marketplace, an emotional product that fell victim to “further review and careful study.”

How about an apology for getting our hopes up Bob?

[Source: GM Fastlane Blog]

Perhaps General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson and his newly appointed Vice Chairman Bob Lutz should sit down, have a talk and get their stories straight.

After consistently saying that the Pontiac G8 would be eliminated with the rest of the Pontiac brand, it seemed as though Henderson had a change of heart after his newly appointed Vice Chair and product boss Lutz proudly proclaimed that the G8 would live on as a Chevrolet Caprice. Calling it “too good to waste” Lutz said the rebadged G8 would be available for consumers and as a special model for police departments.

Now, according to an Autoblog interview with Henderson , it seems only the latter is true. “We’ve been looking at it for police applications. As for whether or not it’s broader than police applications, I am not a believer in re-branding and re-badging. We’ve been talking about in terms of potential police applications and we’ll leave it at that.”

So there you have it… the official word on the future of the Pontiac G8… at least until Lutz opens his mouth next.

For a company that recently emerged from bankruptcy and that is trying to promote confidence in its leadership, General Motors certainly isn’t doing a very convincing job.

[Source: Autoblog]

Calling the Pontiac G8 “Too good to waste,” GM’s new product boss, Bob Lutz, has just announced that the car will live on, rebadged as a Chevrolet Caprice. The news comes as a surprise, considering GM’s CEO Fritz Henderson has been unwavering in his insistence that the car would be eliminated from the New GM.

Apparently part of the reason for the move is due to the fact that GM has an internal agreement with Holden, the Australian arm of the company that makes and sells the car as the Commodore in its home market. Currently GM sells the Comodore in markets like the middle east badged as a Chevy.

Lutz did not say if the new body style would be available for the U.S. market by 2010, of if consumers would have to wait until 2011.

So while GM looks to pave a new future full of green cars, it appears as though old-man-Lutz still wants General Motors to build cars for performance enthusiasts. He even said that a high-performance “V” version of the upcoming Cadillac CTS Coupe is still a possibility.

In addition, Lutz even commented that a “V” version of the Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon was not completely out of the question. “I’m sure we’ll build at least one,” he said.

[Source: Automobile Magazine]

Today the sun rose on a New General Motors, a move which will also see the sun set on a lot of people’s careers. GM emerged from bankruptcy protection at 6:30 a.m. Eastern Time with news of a serious corporate restructuring plan that will take effect over the next few months.

Due to leadership (and in some cases arm-twisting) by the Obama Administration, the new GM,  headed by CEO Fritz Henderson, is poised to return to its once-great status after shedding its debt and healthcare obligations by a massive $48 billion. Much of this comes as the UAW made serious concessions in accepting a new contract with the automaker. GM also hopes to significantly reduce its cash-burn after eliminating a third of it’s dealership network. Additionally, the automaker looks to profit from the sale of the Saturn, Saab and Hummer brands, as well as through selling-off much of its stake in its European operations, including Opel to Canadian autoparts manufacturer Magna International.

“Today marks a new beginning for General Motors, one that will allow every employee, including me, to get back to the business of designing, building and selling great cars and trucks and serving the needs of our customers,” CEO Fritz Henderson said in a statement.

Henderson’s plan will see 6,000 (or 20 percent of) white-collar employees lose their jobs by October, with 35 percent of all executives being dismissed. Many executives will be cut from the company’s old Automotive Strategy Board and Automotive Product Board, a complex, multi-tiered system of management which will be axed in favor of a small committee that will meet weekly to make decisions about the future of the company.

Henderson says the move will cut those making the decisions at GM in half as the automaker focuses on its four key brands – Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac.

Sales and Marketing will also no longer be under the leadership of one individual, as that part of the company is split. Sales will report directly to Henderson, who was unclear about what that meant for the current Sales & Marketing boss, Mark LaNeve. GM will also bring back veteran Bob Lutz to manage marketing, as well as design, brands and communications.

This will be a particularly vital role as GM looks to introduce a new line of vehicles into the marketplace to help re-brand the company. In total 10 new vehicles will launch in the U.S. in the next 18 months, with 17 overseas.

[Source: Automotive News]

Late Sunday a judge approved the sale of GM’s assets to a group comprised of the U.S. government, the UAW and the Canadian and Ontario governments under the name NGMCO, Inc. The decision will see GM exit bankruptcy court quickly with the ‘New GM’ assets going to NGMCO, while the ‘Old GM’ assets will be sold off to the highest bidder.

Judge Robert Gerber then placed a stay on the proceedings to for four days to hear objections or appeals, but as most of those have already been dealt with, GM is expected to reemerge as a new government-owner company by Thursday.

In a statement Judge Robert Gerber said that he would, “prevent the death of the patient on the operating table.”

Gerber pointed out the seriousness of the matter and the alternative, stating that, “The only alternative to an immediate sale is liquidation – a disastrous result for GM’s creditors, its employees, the suppliers who depend on GM for their own existence, and the communities in which GM operates.”

The New GM will be majority owned by the U.S. government with a 60 percent stake in the automaker. The UAW will get 17.5 percent, while the Canadian and Ontario governments will get 12 percent.

In response to the news GM’s CEO Fritz Henderson released a statement saying that, “A healthy domestic auto industry remains vital to the global economy and we deeply appreciate the support the U.S., Canadian and Ontario governments and taxpayers have given GM, and the sacrifices that have been made by so many. This has been an especially challenging period, and we’ve had to make very difficult decisions to address some of the issues that have plagued our business for decades. Now it’s our responsibility to fix this business and place the company on a clear path to success without delay.”

The Obama Administration’s auto task force has said that sale of GM back to the private sector could begin as early as next year.

[Source: Automotive News]

Toyota may share a version of its Prius hybrid with General Motors according to a recent report by Bloomberg. Sources say Toyota President Akio Toyoda and GM CEO Fritz Henderson will meet in August in Michigan to discuss the possibility of selling a version GM-badged Prius – or possibly using Toyota hybrid technology to build a different hybrid vehicle.

News of the product sharing comes on a day when GM announced it would pull out of its 50/50 sharing of the California NUMMI facility with Toyota – where the Vibe and Matrix are built. As GM sheds its share in the facility Toyota is left looking for ways to make use of the facility.

One possibility is that both automakers will be able to reach a new agreement once GM exits bankruptcy. Toyota is already looking at moving some Prius production to the facility after it shelved plans to build the popular hybrid at facility in Blue Springs, Mississippi late last year.

While it’s unlikely that Toyota would give up its Prius technology to GM, a licensing agreement could see Toyota profit as GM profits. Currently Toyota has this arrangement with Ford.

As Toyota brings out its plug-in Prius, however, it may not be so worried about giving up older technology to GM.

General Motors is expected to launch its own plug-in hybrid, the Volt, next year, but pricing for that model is already expected to be well-above the cost of a Prius.

[Source: Bloomberg]

Contrary to recent reports that the Vibe would be the sole Pontiac model to continue on into 2010, General Motors has now decided to end production of the utilitarian vehicle early. Production of the Vibe at the GM/Toyota joint-venture New United Motor Manufacturing Incorporated (NUMMI) facility will end this August.

Several weeks ago GM’s interim CEO Fritz Henderson stated that the G8 would not continue on past 2009, while other reports highlighted the elimination of the G3 and G5. The G6 will be offered to rental, corporate and government fleets.

There is no official word on when the Solstice, but it is also expected to be phased-out this year as GM seems dedicated to eliminating the Pontiac brand before 2010 even gets started.

GM continues to reiterate that it wants to work with Toyota to develop another shared platform at the NUMMI facility. Toyota may, however, have its hands full with the upcoming Toyota-Subaru project.

[Source: Edmunds]

GM’s interim CEO Fritz Henderson is starting to open up on some of the company’s fuel-efficiency plans and the future involves a pair of turbocharged four-cylinders.

The first turbo-four will be offered in the new Buick LaCrosse but won’t be available immediately. Currently the LaCrosse is slated to get a standard 3.0-liter V6 that makes 255hp thanks to direct injection. The larger optional engine is a direct-injection 3.6-liter V6 which makes 280hp.

It’s not clear what size or output the new turbo engine will provide but if the Envicta concept on which the LaCrosse is based it could be a 2.0-liter engine with 250hp and 220 ft-lbs of torque. It could, however, a a version of the Ecotec 2.4 or even a direct-injection version of the turbo 2.0-liter currently offered in the Cobalt SS.

This would fit in between the two V6 options, although it’s not clear that the 3.0-liter six would continue on past the introduction of the turbo-four.

Little more is known about the second turbocharged four-cylinder, which will sit as the base engine in the upcoming Chevy Cruz. It will be just a 1.4-liter four-banger and while actual output figures are not available they will likely be in the 150hp range.

Henderson also confirmed that the Corvette will live on in a V8 rear-wheel drive package. He did, however, reiterate the company’s position that the Pontiac G8 will not survive past 2010

[Source: MotorTrend]

Yesterday President Obama announced a new proposal being put forward to increase fuel-economy standards across the board. If enacted, the legislation would see the fleet average for passenger vehicles rise to 35.5 mpg by 2016.

Currently automakers are facing an 8 percent increase in fuel-economy standards that would see fleet averages for light-vehicles (cars and trucks) at 27.3 mpg for 2011. Cars would have to achieve a fleet average of 30.2 mpg by that date.

The new legislation would see increases of 5 percent annually after that, with a fleet average of 35.5 mpg by 2016.

President Obama made the announcement at the White House yesterday and was joined by representatives of 10 supporting automakers and the UAW.  In attendance were GM CEO Fritz Henderson, Ford’s Alan Mullaly, Chrysler’s Bob Nardelli, Toyota’s Jim Lentz, Honda’s John Mendel, BMW’s Friedrich Eichiner, Nissan’s Dominique Thormann, Daimler’s Dieter Zetsche, Mazda’s Jim O’Sullivan, Volkswagen’s Stefan Jacoby and the UAW’s Ron Gettelfinger.

If enacted the proposal would reduce America’s fuel-consumption by 1.8 billion barrels of oil.

The agreement was arrived at with the consent of California, which will cease to have its own fuel-economy standards.

The cost of achieving the new fuel-economy standard is expected to be roughly $600 per vehicle, a tab that will no doubt be passed along to the consumer.

[Source: Automotive News]

Apparently General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson thinks the upcoming Saab 9-5 is so good, he doesn’t want to sell the Swedish automaker. In an interview in Sweden’s Expressen magazine he declares that he’d rather see Saab fail in bankruptcy court than sell off the brand.

The magazine cites an unnamed source within Saab, who says Henderson does not want the 9-5 as a competitor in the future. Internal GM testing has apparently shown that the car is far superior to a major competitor, the Opel Insignia – which the source says the Germans at Opel confirmed.

The article goes on to suggest that because of how good the upcoming 9-5 is Henderson would prefer to see Saab sold to Fiat along with the rest of GM Europe – an arrangement that could either see GM retaining a stake in GM Europe, or gaining a stake in Fiat.

We do, however, have a hard time believing that with Saab’s niche market status and small production numbers that any major automaker could see the company mounting a significant threat.

[Source: Saabsunited]

It’s not exactly the sort of news worthy of a celebration, but some cautious optimism is certainly appropriate as word comes that the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky might not suffer the same fate as almost every other fun vehicle under the General Motors umbrella.

Fritz Henderson, GM’s new CEO said that the company would be willing to part with the plant where the two sports cars are assembled. The Wilmington, Del. plant is also the location where GM manufactures the Opel GT – a European version of the car.

“If someone were to approach with a proposal that made good sense for our people, we’d be open to it,” Henderson said.

Both the Solstice and Sky were introduced in 2006 as front-engine, rear-wheel drive roadsters. The models come standard with a 173hp four-cylinder, with a turbocharged 260-hp four-cylinder optional.

General Motors is still intent on selling off the Saturn brand and scuttling the Pontiac nameplate, however, it won’t rule out selling the Wilmington facility as there is likely to be some interest in the niche-market vehicles.

Last year GM moved close to 20,000 units of the two American models, with the Solstice selling 10,739 units and the Sky 9,162 units.

The move is similar to the one made by Chrysler in regards to the Dodge Viper. Chrysler has yet to find a buyer for that iconic nameplate.

[Source: AutoWeek]