Earlier this week General Motors officially turned off the lights and locked the doors at its Boxwood Road assembly plant for the last time, marking the end of the line for the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky.

The two vehicles (along with the Opel GT) were manufactured at the plant in Wilmington, Delaware, which is being closed as a part of GM’s restructuring process.

General Motors has decided to eliminate the Pontiac brand and sell Saturn to the Penske Automotive Group. The announcement to close the plant came on July 1st when GM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. At the time GM gave short notice to plant workers saying the facility would be shuttered by the end of July.

GM spokesman John Raut said the final vehicle to roll off the assembly line was a silver Pontiac Solstice.

[Source: SaturnFans]

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]

After continued rumors that General Motors was still shopping-around its European Opel operations, it appears as though a new buyer has been found. RHJ International, a Belgian company has been cited as the latest bidder and apparently a tentative deal could be signed by the end of the week.

Initially Opel was slated to be sold to Canadian autoparts manufacturer Magna International, but those plans have hit several roadblocks. Magna’s deal did not guarantee the same amount of job protection to Opel’s German workforce and so it put in jeopardy a $2.1 billion loan from the German government. Additionally, GM was not excited about the prospect of handing over its technology so that Magna and Russian partners Sberbank and GAZ could use it to build vehicles for the Russian market.

The deal put forward by RHJ, on the other hand, is more likely to be attractive to the German government and GM would not have to fear competition in the Russian marketplace.

According to the Financial Times, however, the RHJ deal is more attractive because of one factor, the price. An initial bid by the holding company had GM sign an agreement with Magna instead, but apparently RHJ has now upped its offer.

According to the Financial Times, GM could sign tentative agreements with both companies, meaning that the sale of Opel to Magna is not completely out of the question.

One of the other Opel bidders, China’s Beijing Automotive Industry Corp., is also expected to make GM a more attractive offer in the near future.

So it looks like Opel is in hot demand and GM is back in the driver’s seat as it looks to get the most for its European operations and emerge from bankruptcy in the best financial state possible.

[Source: Automotive News]

According to a report on Chinese state radio, the sale of Hummer by General Motors to heavy-equipment manufacturer Tengzhong will not go ahead. The report on China National Radio states that Tengzhong’s acquisition of Hummer goes against the government’s efforts to reduce pollution by manufacturing companies in China.

Tengzhong released a statement in response to the report saying that just because the comments were made on state radio, it does not necessarily reflect the will of the Chinese government.

While neither side has released any details of the agreed sale, it is reported to be worth roughly $100 million.

The China National Radio report also stated that China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) would also seek to stop the sale of Hummer because Tengzhong lacks expertise in auto manufacturing.

Tengzhong also dismissed this report saying that as no NDRC official was cited. The Chinese heavy-equipment manufacturer did admit that no official agreement with Hummer or GM had been signed but did say that it is continuing to work with the U.S. automaker and the Chinese government.

[Source: BBC]

Dalgleish Cadillac, the only remaining Cadillac dealer in the city of Detroit, is being forced into closure next year as a part of General Motors’ restructuring plan. This isn’t just sad because the dealership has been selling Caddy’s in Detroit since 1954. And its symbolism extends beyond GM’s current problems or even the company’s 100 year history.

The city of Detroit, originally Fort Pontchartrain du Detroit, was founded in 1701 by a French explorer. That man’s name was Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac. Yup, the guy the cars are named after.

And in case that isn’t sad enough for you, Dalgleish Cadillac is located across the street from where the first Caddy was made, back in 1902.

When Doug Dalgleish, the 80-year-old owner of Dalgleish Cadillac got the news from GM he was appalled. “They didn’t even have the guts to sign anyone’s name.”

The dealership actually passed an initial round of closings but was later notified that its contract would not be renewed in 2010. The notice was appealed, but GM rejected it.

Doug Dalgleish’s son (also named Doug) believes that the closure will hurt General Motors and says that a lot of Cadillac customers buy from Dalgleish not so much because of the cars, but because of the relationships they have built up over the years.

“GM thinks their product is stronger than it is,” he said in an interview with Automotive News. “But people buy from us and other mom-and-pop dealers around the country because we’ve served them for generations. Once we’re gone, I think GM will lose those customers.”

[Source: Automotive News]

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]

There is hope, be it ever so slight, that the Pontiac G8 may live on even though the brand it’s attached to is most certainly slated for elimination.

“I know there’s still discussions on it,” GM’s product boss Tom Stephens told Automotive News, giving some hope to the legions of G8 fans that haven’t had anything to get excited about since the fourth generation Firebird came out in 1993.

Stephens did add, however, that as Chevrolet already has several sedans, another one wasn’t really necessary.

The G8 could work as a high-performance SS version of the Impala, or even as the basis of a Buick vehicle – although that seems highly unlikely. And unfortunately for G8 fans, GM already has an excellent rear wheel drive platform that underpins the Cadillac CTS.

Still, the sun hasn’t quite set on the G8 and there’s plenty that can happen between now and the end of 2010 when Pontiac is scheduled to be scuttled.

GM has continued to insist that the Pontiac brand isn’t for sale and that it will be eliminated as a part of its Viability Plan. While the brand as a whole has struggled significantly in recent years, the G8 has been a success, with high sales and rave reviews from journalists. This has prompted some to speculate that the closing of Pontiac (a brand known for performance) may be more of a political decision than an economic one.

[Source: AutoWeek]

The long list of General Motors dealerships got a lot shorter recently, but it will get shorter still as the company has made known plans to reduce the number of Cadillac dealerships in its network.

“Our current footprint of 1,400 Cadillac dealers, most of which are dualed, is out of sync with modern luxury automotive retail,” said GM’s sales boss Mark LaNeve at a dealership conference last week.

Those 1,400 dealers sold an average of 110 cars last year. Other luxury brands operate on almost the reverse, with Lexus selling 1,158 cars on average from just 226 dealers.

As many of those dealers are paired up with other GM brands it often means that there are Cadillac dealers in regions that might not normally sustain such a business. Despite that, GM’s plans are to focus on cutting dealerships in urban centers where customers have another Caddy retailer in close proximity.

The number of dealers to be cut is reported to be significant and it would have to be for the Cadillac brand to be as streamlined as its German and Japanese competitors.

Based on the numbers, the amount of Cadillac dealership closings could be as many as 700. After the recent announcement that GM would cut 1,124 dealers from other parts of its company, followed by news that 405 Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Hummer dealerships would close, the total number of GM dealerships left totals 4,300 – that’s 700 more than what GM listed in its viability plan to the U.S. government.

There is no word on how much advance notice the terminated dealerships would get but the deadline for closures would be the same as with the other dealerships – October 31, 2010.

[Source: LeftLaneNews]

General Motors has reached an agreement with the Penske Automotive Group on the sale of its Saturn brand. An official announcement is expected to be made by both parties later today.

The Penske Automotive Group was thought to be one of the front-runners in the bidding war, which also reportedly included Nissan/Renault, Mitsubishi and investment firm Telesto Ventures.

The news comes just days after GM sold off its Hummer brand to Chinese industrial equipment manufacturer Tengzhong.

The Penske Automotive Group is comprised of several key automotive related companies and boasts the second largest dealer network in the U.S., accounting for sales of 171,872 vehicles in 2008.

Penske also distributes the SMART car throughout the United States under a deal with Mercedes parent company Daimler.

As a former race car driver, Roger Penske continues to be involved in motorsports, and currently runs teams in three major racing series: the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and the Indy Racing League (IRL).

The sale of Saturn would leave GM with just the Swedish brand Saab to dispose of. It has been reported that buyers for Saab have been narrowed down to just two: Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg and the U.S.-based Renco Group.

The news was reported this morning in the New York Times, which also said that after an initial contract with GM runs out, the Penske operated Saturn brand is expected to sell Renault vehicles in the United States. Does this mean North America will finally get cars like the Clio and Megane…. or even the Megane R.S.? (pictured above)

[Source: New York Times]