http://www.maxauto.co.za/CntView.aspx?CatID=26&CntID=1063
In an effort to save Saab, CEO Jan Ake Jonsson and several Swedish government officials have traveled to Detroit to lobby GM's board of management for an emergency rescue plan.
While details are unclear, it appears the officials will try to get GM to sell Saab to another bidder. Since Koenigsegg backed out of plans to buy Saab, reports have indicated several bidders (Beijing Automotive Industry Corp, private equity firm Renco, and investment company Merbanco) are still interested in the company.
At a China-European Union business summit, Beijing Automotive's general manager, Wang Dazong, said "I would just say, stay tuned a little bit." This likely means Koenigsegg's former partner is now considering purchasing Saab (or a large share of the company) by themselves.
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2010 Volkswagen Amorak Revealed
http://www.maxauto.co.za/CntView.aspx?CatID=26&CntID=1064
Looking virtually identical to the concept, the Amorak features bold styling, a modern grille, and distinctive tail lights. Available exclusively in crew cab form (a "single cab" will debut in the first half of 2011), the truck has a bed height of 525mm, a cargo area of 2.52 square meters (1,555mm in length by 1,620mm in width), and a payload capacity of up to 1.15 tonnes. When equipped with the optional hitch, the Amorak can pull trailers that weigh up to 2.8 tonnes.
Riding on a ladder frame chassis, the Amorak will be offered with full-time all-wheel drive, switchable all-wheel drive, or rear-wheel drive. The switchable all-wheel drive system uses a positive clutch that is activated via the push of a button. When activated, "the truck can even conquer 100 percent gradients (45 degrees) with full cargo loading." On the other hand, the full-time all-wheel drive system has a torsen differential that "distributes drive forces at a 40:60 ratio to the front and rear axles". Regardless of what setup is selected, all models can be equipped with an optional locking rear differential.
At launch, the Amorak will be offered with a 2.0-liter TDI engine that produces 120 kW and 400 Nm of torque. In mid-2010, Volkswagen will introduce another four-cylinder TDI engine that churns out 90 kW and 340 Nm of torque. With all-wheel drive and a six-speed manual transmission, the 90 kW TDI engine consumes 7.6 liters per 100 kilometers while CO2 emissions come in at 199 g/km. Likewise, the 2.0-liter TDI averages 7.8 liters per 100 kilometers while emitting 206 grams of CO2 per kilometer.
In terms of equipment, the base Amorak has manual controls (windows, door locks and mirrors), unpainted exterior components (the front bumper, door handles and mirrors), 16-inch steel wheels, height-adjustable front seats, and a folding rear bench. The mid-level Amarok Trendline boasts body color exterior components, a CD stereo system, cruise control, fog lights, 16-inch aluminum wheels and power windows, door locks and mirrors. The range-topping Amarok Highline comes with chrome exterior trim, 17-inch aluminum wheels, a contrasting interior color scheme, a premium sound system and automatic climate control.
Set to go into production at VW's Pacheco plant in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the Amorak will go on sale in South America in early 2010 while the European launch is scheduled for the second half of 2010.
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GM CEO ousted
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General Motors chief executive Fritz Henderson abruptly resigned on Tuesday, after the company's board decided it wanted to chart a new course for the restructuring automaker.
Henderson was asked by the board to step down at a meeting in Detroit after being on the job for just eight months, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
GM chairman Ed Whitacre, 68, will become interim chief executive as the automaker begins an immediate search for a replacement, the company said.
The announcement of Henderson's sudden departure underscored the tough oversight being exerted by a slate of new GM directors led by Whitacre and selected by the automaker's majority shareholder, the US Treasury.
March appointment
Henderson, 51, became CEO in March after his predecessor, Rick Wagoner, was forced out by the Obama administration as part of the US government-funded restructuring of GM.
"The board decided - and Fritz agreed - that given where we are, it was time to make some changes," GM spokesman Chris Preuss said at a hastily arranged news conference.
Whitacre, a former AT&T chief executive, became chairman of GM in July as part of a new board vetted by the US Treasury and intended to safeguard the government's $50 billion investment in the automaker.
The US government has a majority stake in GM, but the Obama administration has repeatedly said that it is leaving oversight of the company to Whitacre and the board.
"This decision was made by the board of directors alone. The administration was not involved in the decision," a White House spokeswoman said.
Who's next?
Whitacre, who became the public face of GM in its first ad campaign after bankruptcy, appeared briefly before reporters at GM's headquarters in Detroit but did not take questions on why the board had chosen to part ways with Henderson.
Whitacre said Henderson, who helped GM through its July bankruptcy, had "done a remarkable job in leading the company through an unprecedented period of challenge and change."
"While momentum has been building over the past several months, all involved agree that changes needed to be made," Whitacre said.
Whitacre, a plain-spoken Texan who said he knew nothing about the auto industry when he became GM chairman, has surprised GM insiders by making unannounced plant visits and putting blunt questions to workers at all levels.
With his move to become GM's interim CEO, all three US automakers are now headed by outsiders to Detroit.
Ford Motor Co CEO Alan Mulally left Boeing Co in 2006. Chrysler is now run by Fiat SpA CEO Sergio Marchionne.
Whitacre has complained that pay restrictions imposed on GM have made it hard to hire external talent, but the board will likely look for an outsider who can better sell the vision of a revived GM, analysts and industry executives said.
"Whitacre wants an outside CEO. He's looking for another Alan Mulally," said Logan Robinson, a longtime auto industry executive and professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.
Efforts to sell brands
Henderson, a career GM executive, had vowed when he became CEO to reform the slow-moving culture that contributed to the automaker's collapse.
But GM's faltering efforts to sell off its laggard brands dominated Henderson's short tenure and tarnished his reputation as a dealmaker and raised questions about the company's strategy.
First, Detroit-based dealership group Penske Automotive Group pulled out of a deal that would have had it acquire GM's Saturn brand in late September.
Then last month, GM's board shifted course on a planned sale of the company's European Opel unit, rejecting a deal that Henderson had backed and helped broker.
In the most recent setback, Swedish luxury car builder Koenigsegg dropped a planned acquisition of GM's Saab brand.
Last month, in statements that some read as an implicit rebuke of Henderson, Whitacre seemed to question the aggressive timetable for an initial public offering of GM stock that had been outlined by Henderson.
"At the end of the day, it seems a little bit inevitable," said David Bitterman, managing director at Huron Consulting. "Obviously, Whitacre and Fritz didn't envision the new GM in the same way."
GM's board said on Tuesday it would consider other potential deals to sell Saab over the next month but wind down its operations if it concluded that none could be reached.
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