General motors // Current TV

Donald J. Trump, named late-night talk show host Arsenio Hall over Clay Aiken as the next Celebrity Apprentice on NBC

On Monday, May 21, 2012 NBC Entertainment Publicity announced that on Sunday, May 20,... more

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General Motors Stops Funding The Heartland Institute

General Motors has decided to discontinue funding of the Heartland Institute, an organization that downplays the risks of climate disruption, three weeks after GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson was asked about it during a Climate One radio interview. GM spokesman Dave Barthmuss confirmed the move today.

Hours before Mr. Akerson went on stage March 7th at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco to record the interview before a live audience of about 200 people, several questions were submitted via Facebook about GM’s financial support of the Heartland Institute, a Chicago-based group that advocates free market ideas. Climate One is the sustainability project of The Commonwealth Club of California, a non-profit and non-partisan public forum.

This question was posted from Bruce:

“Please ask Mr. Akerson why GM funds the Heartland Institute, a group that has tried to push misinformation about climate change into our public schools. Is this funding consistent with their company’s message in marketing of the Chevy Volt?”

That sounded fair game. So during the hour-long conversation I posed that question to Mr. Akerson. His response made it clear he accepts the scientific consensus that rising concentrations of carbon dioxide and other pollutants are increasing the Earth’s average temperatures.

“The first time I was interviewed by the press, I was stunned with the following reaction,” Akerson said. “Some guy says, ‘Do you believe in global warming?’ And I said, ‘Well yeah, I do.’ Several GM executives said, ‘You don’t say that in public. Well this may surprise you, my underwear doesn’t have GM stamped on it and I am an individual and I do have my own convictions and it may sometimes they — they agree and sometimes they don’t. I think it’s actually healthy to have different points of view and perspectives around the table.”

He went on to address the funding question more directly. “This is $15,000 that was committed to before I came in. I also think the Heartland Institute, I’m told, does other things and I find this interesting. I won’t go any further but I’m going to take another look at it when I get back to Detroit. I’ll leave it at that.” Disclosure: General Motors is also a corporate funder of Climate One.

Mr. Akerson said “actions speak louder than words” and mentioned zero-emission auto plants that run off methane and other measures the company has taken to reduce its carbon footprint. Of course, most of the pollution from automobiles comes from driving them around, not making them. That’s on us consumers.

GM famously killed the electric car ten years ago and often obstructed efforts to combat severe climate change. Now, that is changing. GM is producing the Chevy Volt, which runs on electricity and gasoline, and consumers have more options than ever for moving away from oil. GM can still do a lot more with its money and muscle to advance the transition to clean transportation. And my bet is they will, because the free and global auto market is headed toward an electrified future.
by Greg Dalton, reposted from Climate One

More at the linkGeneral Motors has decided to discontinue funding of the Heartland Institute, an... more

JanforGore
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More Than 10,000 GM Owners Demand Company Pull Its Support From Heartland Institute

More than 10,000 current and former owners of General Motors vehicles are calling on... more

JanforGore
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3 months ago
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12 comments

GE; Obamas Halliburton

There have been volumes written about the George W. Bush/Dick Cheney presidency and... more

congoboy
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6 months ago
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6 comments

GHOST CAR FETCHED FOR $308,000

The first transparent car also known as the "Ghost Car" built in America was... more

sassy_len9
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10 months ago
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300 General Motors workers detained

Over 300 workers of General Motors who were agitating in front of the residence of the... more

shital123
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1 year ago
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Female automotive engineers launched first mass-produced electric car by General Motors

Britta Gross, director of Global Energy Systems and Infrastructure Commercialization for General Motors, is literally getting the world ready for the advent of the electric car with the Chevrolet Volt.

Gross, with a degree in electrical engineering, is in charge of preparing states to be "plug-in ready" for the Volt by working with energy and utility companies to produce the necessary charging infrastructure to support the new vehicle. She then goes to federal, state and local governments to help pave the way for the implementation of new policies to support electric cars.

Gross has worked in the field for over 25 years, but she's still an anomaly.

Women have been gaining ground as engineers since the 1980s, according to a National Science Foundation report, but in 2006 women were still only 19 percent of those holding a bachelor's degree in engineering, like Gross.

In late March, Gross joined three other female engineers in a Web chat--online meetings where participants can exchange written instant messages--about the Chevrolet Volt, the first electric car with extended range capability by General Motors that all four women helped create, market and distribute.

"The Volt is a great demonstration of the opportunities that exist for women," Teri Quigley, plant manager at Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly, the production place for the Chevrolet Volt, said during the online forum. "It requires hard work just like any job, but the door is wide open for success."

Women make up less than 11 percent of working engineers and earn 86 percent of the salaries of their male counterparts in engineering.

Engineering salaries are among the highest earnings for college graduates, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In electrical engineering, the median salary for the lowest 10 percent of the field is $52,990, while the median salary for the highest paid 10 percent of engineers is $125,810.

Read the full story at Women's eNews http://womensenews.org/story/women-in-science/110419/female-engineers-put-buzz-gms-voltBritta Gross, director of Global Energy Systems and Infrastructure Commercialization... more

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Idea de trading de corto plazo con las acciones y CFDs de General Motors (GM)

Según los analistas de Research for Traders, los papeles de la automotriz... more

sdieditor
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Thanks For The Bailout Suckers; GM to invest extra $540 million in Mexico to build motors

US giant General Motors will invest $540 million to produce two low-emission motors in... more

bundlebear
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GM Posts Very first Financially rewarding Calendar year Since 2004

General Motors posted a $510 million profit in the fourth quarter and $4.7 billion for... more

Wade_Dokken
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Headphone Tech Helps Crank Up MPG

The quest for better fuel economy has General Motors cribbing from headphone... more

jasonshurb
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Chris Martin: last stand-up standing

"Elton John performed for for one million dollars at Rush Limbaugh's... more

ChrisMartinComedy
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From Muscle Car Glory to Graveyard: Pontiac Vanishes After 84 Years

General Motors shut down its 84-year-old Pontiac brand on Monday, the victim of a... more

theblogismine
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1 year ago
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An apology is due to Barack Obama: his takeover of GM could have gone horribly wrong, but it has not

AMERICANS expect much from their president, but they do not think he should run car... more

ampersand
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GM Rakes in $1.33B in 2Q Ahead of Stock Sale

;contentBody

(AP) General Motors Co. said Thursday it made $1.33 billion in the second quarter, a sign it's getting healthier as it prepares to sell stock to the public.

It was the second straight quarterly profit for GM, which made $865 million in the first quarter.

CEO Ed Whitacre said last week that the company is eager to sell its shares in an initial public offering so it can end its dependence on the government and pay off $43.3 billion in bailout funds that were converted into a majority stake in the company.

The U.S. government has owned a 61 percent stake in GM since the company left bankruptcy protection in July 2009.

GM's second-quarter revenues totaled $33.2 billion, up 5.3 percent from the first quarter on growing sales in every region except Europe. In the U.S., GM saw strong sales of new and redesigned models like the Chevrolet Equinox wagon and Buick LaCrosse sedan.

GM said it earned $2.55 per share for the quarter. GM didn't report second-quarter results last year because it spent part of the quarter in bankruptcy protection, but on Thursday, GM said it lost $12.9 billion in the second quarter of 2009, or $21.12 per share.

Before this year's first-quarter results, GM hadn't reported a profit since the second quarter of 2007.

GM ended its latest quarter with $32.5 billion in cash, down from $36 billion in the first quarter.

GM has been working to streamline operations and slash costs. It has shed four brands, changed leadership and last week announced its U.S. dealership network would number 4,500, about 25 percent smaller than it was in early 2009.

But it still faces hurdles. GM's U.S. sales rose 14 percent in the first six months of this year compared to the same period in 2009, according to AutoData Corp. That was slightly less than the average industry increase of 17 percent. GM had the highest incentive spending of any major automaker at $3,691 per vehicle, almost $1,000 more than the industry average, according to Edmunds.com.

GM has also relied heavily on sales to rental-car, government and corporate fleets, which are less profitable than sales to individual customers. Retail sales - or sales to individuals - were up 11 percent industry wide through June, but up only 1 percent at GM.

GM is the last of the Detroit automakers to report second-quarter results. Ford Motor Co. made $2.6 billion, its fifth straight quarterly profit. Chrysler Group LLC, which got $15.5 billion in federal aid, narrowed its second-quarter loss to $172 million.;contentBody (AP) General Motors Co. said Thursday it made $1.33 billion in the... more

TimALoftis
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1 year ago
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General Motors and Google working together?

Soon Android will be in your car too! Thats right it was reported that General Motors... more

itgrunts
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2 years ago
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GM Repays Government Loan?

Just saw it today. Are they serious? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbXpV0aqEM4

Agent_Alpha
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2 years ago
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2 comments

CNSNews.com - Rep. Burgess: Government Can Force Us to Buy General Motors Products If Obamacare Mandate Upheld in Court

(CNSNews.com) – Representative Michael Burgess (R-Texas) told CNSNews.com that... more

Monkey_Films
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2 years ago
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Hummer's fate as a Chinese Humdinger

Each day this week seemed to bring news about the fate of Hummer, America's polluting elephant in the room. Early in the week it seemed that an obscure Chinese machinery company called Sichuan Tengzhong would buy the General Motors marque for $150 million.

But as it turned out, Tengzhong couldn't get its act together. Chinese banks withdrew lending offers and American banks are weary of becoming involved. Tengzhong even tried to go through a subsidiary outside China to buy Hummer, according to Chinese media.“The deal is on the ropes, if it’s not on the canvas yet,” Michael Dunne, the president of a Hong Kong auto consulting firm told The New York Times.

Also, the Chinese government didn't approve regulation for the deal. Why, you might ask? The New York Times reports, that it's in large part because "senior Chinese officials are trying to put a new emphasis on limiting China’s dependence on imported oil and protecting the environment."

And to think that in the early days of the Iraqi war, the Hummer epitomized pro-America. Now that sustainability is on our radar, it would seem that things have changed. Now everyone wants in on a piece of the sustainability pie.

As of Wednesday, the bid is off. Hummer could be destined for the junkyard. A New York Times editorial said, "We suspect the deal collapsed because the Chinese Communist Party — which rarely shows much shame — is worried about China’s image as the most polluting nation on the planet."
GM said it would shut down Hummer after the Tengzhong's bid collapsed.

Then on Thursday, Hummer had a come-back when news broke that GM contacted four Chinese companies to gauge interest in the brawny military-derived SUV.

It’s unlikely a Chinese firm will buy the entire unit, analysts said, but the firms may only be interested in buying parts of Hummer's assets (i.e. tooling and equipment at Hummer's Louisiana factory.)

In response to GM's announcement, Detroit Free Press joshed that "flags across oil-rich Saudi Arabia were lowered to half-mast while the entire Exxon/Mobil board of directors were seen at a group grief counseling session. On Wall Street, oil speculators were jumping from windows while in Michigan, some people were mourning the possibility of a world without Hummers."

Photo: All Right Released.
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LilyBixler
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2 years ago
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GM's Hummer running out of gas

Each day last week seemed to bring more news about the fate of the Hummer, America's polluting elephant in the room. Early in the week it seemed that an obscure Chinese machinery company called Sichuan Tengzhong would buy the General Motors marquee for $150 million.
But as it turned out, Tengzhong couldn't get its act together. Chinese banks withdrew lending offers and American banks are weary of getting involved. Tengzhong even tried to go through a subsidiary outside China to buy Hummer, according to Chinese media. “The deal is on the ropes, if it’s not on the canvas yet,” Michael Dunne, the president of a Hong Kong auto consulting firm told The New York Times.

Also, the Chinese government didn't approve regulation for the deal. Why, you might ask? The New York Times reports, that it's in large part because "senior Chinese officials are trying to put a new emphasis on limiting China’s dependence on imported oil and protecting the environment."
And to think that in the early days of the Iraqi war, the Hummer epitomized pro-America. Now that sustainability is on our radar, it would seem that things have changed. Now everyone wants in on a piece of the sustainability pie.
As of last Wednesday, the bid is off. Hummer could be destined for the junkyard. A New York Times editorial said, "We suspect the deal collapsed because the Chinese Communist Party — which rarely shows much shame — is worried about China’s image as the most polluting nation on the planet." GM said it would shut down Hummer after the Tengzhong's bid collapsed.
Then on Thursday, Hummer had a come-back when news broke that GM contacted four Chinese companies to gauge interest in the brawny military-derived SUV.
It's unlikely a Chinese firm will buy the entire unit, analysts said, but the firms may only be interested in buying parts of Hummer's assets (i.e. tooling and equipment at Hummer's Louisiana factory.)
In response to GM's announcement, Detroit Free Press joshed that "flags across oil-rich Saudi Arabia were lowered to half-mast while the entire Exxon/Mobil board of directors were seen at a group grief counseling session. On Wall Street, oil speculators were jumping from windows while in Michigan, some people were mourning the possibility of a world without Hummers." Each day last week seemed to bring more news about the fate of the Hummer,... more

LilyBixler
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2 years ago
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