Justin Bimmer

What does General Motors want to save Opel from? General Motors is worried that Russian investors will be able to take the German automaker's designs and technology and use it to directly compete against Chevrolet in Russia. Read More at the link: GM wants to keep Opel's technology away from the Russians.

By TOM KRISHER (AP) – 1 hour ago DETROIT — Behind GM's hesitation to sell its unprofitable car business in Europe lies a Cold War fear: American technology will fall into Russian hands. It's among the main reasons why General Motors Co. has balked at finishing a deal to sell its Opel unit to a group led by Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc. and Russia's state-owned Sberbank. GM announced the tentative deal with Magna in May at a time when it was desperately trying to avoid bankruptcy protection. But now, after exiting Chapter 11 in better financial shape and encouraged by signs of better sales, the Detroit-based automaker is second-guessing the deal, worried that future auto designs could wind up with Russian rival GAZ, which competes with GM's Chevrolet, the No. 2 brand in a growing Russian market. GM is pushing a competing bid from Brussels-based investor RHJ International SA and may even keep Opel if its worries can't be resolved. It's playing hard ball, even thought the German government, eager to preserve many of Russelsheim-based Opel's 25,000 German jobs in an election year, has offered 4.5 billion euros ($6.5 billion) in credit for the Magna-Sberbank deal. In the murky world of Russian capitalism, both Sberbank and GAZ, maker of the Volga sedan, have strong ties to the Russian government, which has made no secret of its desire to help its ailing and outdated auto industry. "It makes sense that GM is looking to the other alternative," said Jan Svejnar, a professor international business and public policy at the University of Michigan. "In Russia these days large companies that have a significant state stake are obviously linked." Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin repeatedly has said that the government supports Magna and Sberbank's bid and hopes that the deal would help the Russian car industry. While GAZ is years behind GM and other Western automakers in vehicle technology, GM fears that down the road, GAZ could catch up by getting GM car architecture for Opel's small and midsize vehicles and other property at no cost, using it to compete with GM in its second-largest European market. Under the German financing deal, Opel would stop paying technology royalties to GM if Opel defaulted on its private loans, yet GM would still be required to provide new technology to Opel, said a person briefed on negotiations between GM and the German government. The person didn't want to be identified because the talks are private. GM and Magna worked out a deal to protect GM's current technology, but the GM board fears future technology could be lost if Opel goes into default, the person said. GAZ, maker of popular trucks, buses and minivans, has had trouble selling cars like the outdated Volga sedan. It is owned by Russian aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, who has strong ties to Putin. GAZ once owned a stake in Magna and recently hired GM's top purchasing executive to head its board of directors. Also, the German government increasingly relies on Russia for oil and natural gas, so it wants to stay on Russia's good side, said Svejnar. Some analysts believe Russia may create a national holding company by bundling its ailing domestic car manufacturers in an effort to drive efficiency and set out a strategy for the sector. Yet others say GM's fears are overblown because GAZ has such a long way to travel to be competitive with Western automakers. GAZ remains in business only because its cars are cheaper than other manufacturers due to Russian government subsidies and import tariffs, said Serguei Netessine, associate professor of operations and information management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. "GAZ is in the business of producing very cheap cars from very, very old technology," he said. GAZ, known in Russia for quality and corrosion problems, has tried to modernize through joint ventures or buying used technology from Western automakers. In 2006, it bought factory equipment from Chrysler that made old versions of the Sebring and Dodge Stratus sedans and used it to make the Volga Siber. The U.S. government, which now owns 60.8 percent of GM and has given it $50 billion in aid, would not comment on the prospect of technology going to the Russians. Netessine said that even if GAZ received Opel technology today, it would take years for it to begin producing vehicles because its manufacturing operations are so inefficient. Also, GAZ, Sberbank and the Russian government don't have the capital to invest in new factories, nor do they have the political will to eliminate thousands of jobs by updating production from 1970s technology. "Even if GM completely stops doing any research and doing any product development, maybe they're going to catch up with them in five or 10 years at the earliest," he said. "I think those fears of GM are sort of a little overestimated." Associated Press Writers Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow, Matt Moore in Frankfurt, Germany, and Ken Thomas in Washington contributed to this report.

New Hampshire is an alcoholic beverage control state, and through the State Liquor Commission it takes in $100 million from the sale and distribution of liquor.[25] The state also leads the country in per capita sales of all forms of alcohol.[26] Much of the high rate of sale, however, is attributable to out-of-state consumers who take advantage of the state liquor stores' advantageous pricing and absence of sales tax. LOL

reg, i think you should buy the x-type

Who cares? The SHO will sell like 1500 units.

Bailout Blues: GM can’t afford to throw out its Opel baby By: John LeBlanc The latest has Government Motors refusing to explain the “why” it can’t make a decision between what the German government wants (Canadian Magna’s Russian-backed bid) and what the automaker wants (Belgian private equity RHJ International’s bid that would give GM more control in a new Opel.) Now listen up. Your Canadian pride may be backing Magna (Way cool—Canada’s first modern automaker!!) But as a Canadian taxpayer now with a share of GM, you may want to start cheering for the RHJ guys. Here’s why. Full Story at Wheels.ca

Cadillac Converj May Still Get Green Light With the GM corporate naysayers out of the picture (Troy Clarke, former GMNA President and Mark McNabb, former Cadillac, Hummer, Saab General Manager) Bob Lutz may get his way and get to see the Volt's more luxurious cousin appear at local Cadillac Dealers. Cadillac Converj May Still Get Green Light

The VW is pretty cool. Glad you could unpimp zee ahuto

With GME running GM now, do you really think they would want to lose their E portion of the company?

You know when ThePenske shows up its important.

1,000 people is A LOT of workers.

patience whiteknight use the force

with cruise

turn signal switch

more gauges

gauges

Um, its the Intrepid M thank you

I remember going to K-Mart as a kid and begging for an icee and popcorn.

The reason why the cutlass parts are cheaper: They sold A TON of them when they were new.

What if they were losing a ton of money on the import program? It could have been an major accounting work around for Holden and GM to have the cars here in the first place. With the debts being pushed into Motors Liquidation, there was no need to be creative anymore. That could be one reason why lutz said YES! Then Fritz said NO! But, I know. . . bean counters. But I want GM to MAKE MONEY!!!

California says you can have 5% on all windows behind the drivers doors. NO Tint on drivers windows or on windshield below a certain point.

On some things, they certainly need to be drug out onto the carpet for. But, I'm not about to yell at them for making a business decision to NOT import a car from Australia. I own a pontiac, I love pontiac. I'm not going to blow it up and let it burn in effigy because GM got rid of pontiac.

You forgot another option: They bought a new GM vehicle that was not Oldsmobile. I know Oldsmobile and Pontiac are important to a lot of people here, but at least you still have a choice as to which American car you can purchase. Almost nothing electronic is made here. Almost nothing clothing wise is made here. I'm glad I can still get a Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, or GMC that is still mostly made here, at least for now. Keep booing and buying used and then we may have only Toyota, Honda, Kia, and Hyundai to buy from. Because people that really don't care about what car they drive, that's what they drive. They are the majority of the customers too. So two options: 1. Build cars they want to buy. 2. Try to change their minds and prove to them they need to feel something when they drive their cars. Now, being a BUSINESS. . . which one is easier and will make you more money?