dan akerson

GM profit down, but "seeds planted" for growth, says CEO

Tracy Samilton — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 15:06:14 +0000

General Motors made nearly $5 billion in 2012.

That's down a lot from 2011, when the company made $7.6 billion.

But GM CEO Dan Akerson says it was a strong year for the company nonetheless.

He says G-M "planted the seeds of growth in every region of the world."

The Detroit automaker reduced its pension obligations, bought an international finance division, and put new cars in the pipeline for 2013 and beyond.

The dark side of Detroit's auto show... dreaded scrums

Tracy Samilton — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 15:44:44 +0000

For the average person, there's a lot of "wow" at the North American International Auto Show.

But for reporters and auto company executives, that "wow" can sometimes be more like "ow."

Especially during the impromptu, free-for-all press conferences that are known as "scrums."

Problem is, nobody tells you what a scrum is before you attend your first Detroit auto show.

They all wait until it's too late to back out. It's almost a kind of hazing.

GM CEO defends safety of Chevy Volt at Congressional hearing

Tracy Samilton — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:17:50 +0000

General Motors CEO Dan Akerson strongly defended the safety of the Chevy Volt during his testimony before a House subcommittee Wednesday.

The hearing was entitled "Volt vehicle fire: What did NHTSA know, and when did they know it?"

Last June, a fire broke out in a Chevy Volt, three weeks after it had been damaged in a crash test.

GM CEO says European division Opel is not for sale

Mark Brush — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 16:43:40 +0000

Reports have swirled that GM plans to sell its European division, Opel, for more than a month:

Raising Gas Taxes

Jack Lessenberry — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:01:14 +0000

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/michigan/local-michigan-972260.mp3

Yesterday, as the congressman from New York was going through his excruciating televised confession, someone called to ask me, “why don’t we have any good sex scandals in Michigan?”

General Motors Wins a Star

Jack Lessenberry — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 17:18:37 +0000

Two years ago, when President Obama decided to spend billions to prop up General Motors, and then to guide it through a cushioned, “soft landing” bankruptcy, there were a lot of doubters. Many thought nature should have been allowed to take its course, and that the once-mighty General should have been allowed to die.

At the time, a commentator on NBC News said “As the GM bailout goes, so goes the Obama presidency.”

GM CEO to meet with Michigan lawmakers

Zoe Clark — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 11:43:35 +0000

Dan Akerson, Chairman and CEO of General Motors, is planning to meet Friday with members of Michigan's congressional delegation. That's according to an official familiar with the meeting. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that, "it will give Akerson a chance to meet some Michigan lawmakers for the first time".

Akerson was named GM's CEO in September, 2010. GM has not yet commented on the meeting.

As the AP notes:

Michigan's 15 House members and two senators were key allies for GM as it underwent a government-led bankruptcy in 2009. The Detroit company had its initial public offering last November, reducing the government's ownership share to 33.3 percent.

GM CEO says automaker has been humbled

Zoe Clark — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:13:27 +0000

Dan Akerson, General Motors' CEO, told the Economic Club of Washington D.C. this morning that his company was humbled by its "near-death experience" during its 2009 bankruptcy.