GM says Chryler talks are off.

[Chazman]

From AN:

Bradford Wernle

DETROIT -- General Motors is calling off talks with Cerberus Capital Management LP about a possible acquisition of Chrysler LLC.

GM CEO Rick Wagoner, without naming Chrysler specifically, confirmed the end of the negotiations during a conference call with journalists today.

"We have recently explored the possibility of such an acquisition based on the analysis that it would strengthen our industry position in the long term," Wagoner said.

"We've concluded at this particular time that we are better off to put 100 percent of our efforts on the liquidity side. We've set aside such (acquisition) actions as a near term priority."

Chrysler spokesperson Shawn Morgan confirmed Chrysler was aware of the GM statement but declined further comment on the talks.

Chrysler issued its own ...

[Oracle of Delphi]

Good, I whined inside GM about this almost as much as I did about Zeta. My main point was, we can't manage 8 brands, so how are we going to manage 11?

Edited November 7, 2008 by Pontiac Custom-S

[vonVeezelsnider]

THANK GOD.

[ZL-1]

GM warned they may not have enough money to make it to the end of the year, so they better be watching liquidity...

[Oracle of Delphi]

GM warned they may not have enough money to make it to the end of the year, so they better be watching liquidity...

Like I said, they may not be able to make payroll after 12/31/08 or 31/12/08 for you Pedro.

[Chazman]

Just me, but I think this is the first bit of good news all day.

Good because...

1) Maybe, just maybe, Chrysler has a slim chance of survival, (for a short time), if Cerberus resigns itself to the fact that it must actually try to make this company work.

2) Maybe a humbled Cerberus will be more open minded about Carlos Ghosn's offer - and maybe if Cerberus takes him more seriously, he'll sweeten the deal.

3) GM doesn't have the time nor energy to be dealing with this kind of "merger" right now - or really at any time. It needs to concentrate on it's own business and make the tough decisions required to restructure. Of course, you need strong leadership for that.

4) GM won't be the ones dismantling and closing down Chrysler. That part was giving me a sick feeling ever since word of this leaked out.

[mustang84]

HALLELUJAH!

[Lamar]

[regfootball]

Good, I whined inside GM about this almost as much as I did about Zeta. My main point was, we can't manage 8 brands, so how are we going to manage 11?

o cmon, wouldn't it have been fun picking between zeta, sigma, and the LX chassis and still saying, 'we need a new rear drive platform for the next camaro that nobody will buy in europe.'

[enzl]

Best news I've heard in a while from GM.

Time to buckle down and get things right, boys and girls...

[regfootball]

my guess.......the US Govt is fine bailing out GM and Ford...i.e. AUTOMAKERS, but wants no part of bailing out CEREBUS, a private equity firm....with the likes of nardelli getting measured up for golden parachutes......

[pow]

my guess.......the US Govt is fine bailing out GM and Ford...i.e. AUTOMAKERS, but wants no part of bailing out CEREBUS, a private equity firm....with the likes of nardelli getting measured up for golden parachutes......

+1

[enzl]

my guess.......the US Govt is fine bailing out GM and Ford...i.e. AUTOMAKERS, but wants no part of bailing out CEREBUS, a private equity firm....with the likes of nardelli getting measured up for golden parachutes......

That's why you'll see the first $25 Billion of the DOE moneys , as well as further monies, have some strings that guarantee jobs for the Chrysler workers---that merger bloodbath was never going to fly.

[daves87rs]

Good.

Downside is that things are going to get ugly........

[MyerShift]

Ha! Thank God.

Now if Chrysler can help itself...

[ZL-1]

Like I said, they may not be able to make payroll after 12/31/08 or 31/12/08 for you Pedro.

So they're watching liquidity fade away

[enzl]

Could $2.00/gallon gas save GM?

An extra 100k trucks couldn't hurt, right?

[BigPontiac]

Could $2.00/gallon gas save GM?

An extra 100k trucks couldn't hurt, right?

Interestingly, I built a 2008 GMC Sierra SLT vs a 2009 GMC Sierra SLT and the 2009 costs about $2K more! That's a pretty big price hike for the privilege of getting bluetooth...and still no 6-speed auto for that extra money.

[CARBIZ]

Could $2.00/gallon gas save GM?

An extra 100k trucks couldn't hurt, right?

My greatest fear is the $65 a barrel oil puts Detroit back to sleep. Vehicles like the Volt will not be cost effective in a $3.00 a gallon world.

At the risk of getting spit on, I thing Obama should hike gas taxes to be in line with the rest of the world (gradually, if that would soften the blow) and use the extra monies to fund alternate fuels, etc. to wean America off oil dependency.

Canada's auto sales did just fine in $147 a barrel oil, and even now we are paying about $3.50 a gallon and auto sales were UP 1.4% last month. Taxes could save the day, BUT ONLY IF THEY ARE USED TOWARD TRANSPORTATION RELATED IMPROVEMENTS.

[CARBIZ]

Interestingly, I built a 2008 GMC Sierra SLT vs a 2009 GMC Sierra SLT and the 2009 costs about $2K more! That's a pretty big price hike for the privilege of getting bluetooth...and still no 6-speed auto for that extra money.

By January all Silverado/Sierra (except the 4.3) will have the 6 spd. Right now, it depends on which model and which engine you order. Avalanches all come with the 6 spd now. As capacity allows, GM has been trickling down the 6 spd availability.

[smk4565]

Could $2.00/gallon gas save GM?

An extra 100k trucks couldn't hurt, right?

Nope, because many of their products are still out of date, or have poor resale values and consumers are going away from GM. I think the only thing that can save GM is Toyota. Toyota has the money to buy them, shut down half (or more of) the brands, lay off 30-40% of the workforce and manage them the right way. GM would get ripped to shreds in the process, but 60% of GM surviving is better than 0% surviving.

[BigPontiac]

By January all Silverado/Sierra (except the 4.3) will have the 6 spd. Right now, it depends on which model and which engine you order. Avalanches all come with the 6 spd now. As capacity allows, GM has been trickling down the 6 spd availability.

That is a refreshing bright spot of news I am happy to hear...thank you for posting it.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Good, I whined inside GM about this almost as much as I did about Zeta. My main point was, we can't manage 8 brands, so how are we going to manage 11?

And I'm sure all of those mop buckets, broom sticks and trash can liners agreed with you.