Tagged: Chrysler

At the North American International Auto Show today, the Chinese-owned Guangzhou Automobile Group, or GAC Motors, announced plans to build Jeeps to sell in the Chinese market.

GAC Motors is a state-owned automobile business located in the city of Guangzhou in southern China.

More on the announcement from Brent Snavely of the Detroit Free Press:

Italian automaker Fiat, already Chrysler's majority owner, has announced plans to acquire another stake in the Detroit car company.

Fiat currently owns 58.57 percent of Chrysler.  The rest is held by VEBA - the Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association.  The VEBA was given stock in Chrysler in lieu of cash payments to cover union retiree health care costs, which were shifted to the UAW in 2007.

Fiat says it intends to exercise an option for 3.3% of VEBA's stock, for $198 million.

Chrysler announced last week that it would be closing The Walter P. Chrysler Museum located at its Auburn Hills headquarters.

The museum, which opened in 1999, will merge with the Chrysler Foundation by the end of the year.

Chrysler Group LLC will purchase the 67 historic vehicles housed in the museum, the oldest being a 1902 Rambler Runabout Roadster.

The collection of classic cars will be be closed off to the public except for special events and exhibitions.

From the press release:

GM, Ford, and Chrysler all say November sales were the best they've seen in a long time.

More from the Detroit News:

General Motors Co. said Monday it had its best November sales month since 2007, as its 186,505 sales rose 3.4 percent over the same month in 2011...

Ford Motor Co. posted November sales of 177,673, an increase 6 percent, with retail sales jumping 12 percent...

Chrysler Group LLC earlier reported its best November sales since 2007, as it sold 122,565 vehicles in the month, up 14.4 percent from the same month in 2011.

Michigan Radio's Tracy Samilton will have more for us on these numbers later today.

General Motors was a deeply troubled company in 2008.

Eh.  Make that deeply, deeply, deeply troubled.

So was its finance arm, GMAC, which had plunged head-first into subprime mortgage lending, in addition to automotive lending.  That left the company awash in billions of dollars worth of bad mortgages.

The federal government had to figure out a way to bail out both companies - because GM wouldn't survive if it didn't have a place to send customers for car loans, and if its dealers didn't have a place to get financing to buy the inventory.

I-96 shooter suspect to undergo competency exam

The man accused of randomly shooting at motorists along Interstate 96 made his his first appearances in court yesterday. Raulie Wayne Casteel was arrested last week for the shootings.

More from the Detroit Free Press:

Making his first physical appearances in court, the 43-year-old father from Wixom had pre-examination conferences Wednesday in district courts in Howell and Novi. He faces numerous felony charges, including assault with intent to murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, carrying a weapon with unlawful intent and intentionally firing a firearm from a vehicle.

Neither of Casteel's attorneys would comment after the hearings.

Chrysler to announce new jobs today

More signs of recovery for Chrysler. From the Detroit Free Press:

Chrysler will provide more evidence today that its recovery is in full swing as it details plans to invest $238 million in three Michigan plants and add about 1,250 jobs so it can ramp up production of its engines and pickups.

Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and UAW Vice President General Holiefield are scheduled to be at Chrysler's Mack Avenue Engine I plant this morning for the announcement.

Firearm deer hunting season starts today

Hunters are taking to their favorite spots as firearm deer season begins today.

Michigan Radio's Steve Carmody reports, fewer licenses are being handed out this season:

The day before the start of firearms deer season is usually the busiest day at retailers who sell hunting licenses. The state has reduced the number of antlerless deer licenses because of a viral disease, known as Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease or EHD.   The disease has been present in Michigan for decades.   But this year, weather conditions led to an unusually early outbreak of the disease.

State officials say virus has killed more than 13,000 deer this fall in more than 30 Michigan counties.

A third-quarter earnings report from Chrysler shows that profits are up 80 percent from last year.

The automaker earned $381 million over the past quarter, up from $212 million for the same period last year.

Brent Snavely from the Detroit Free Press has more:

A third shift beginning next week at Chrysler’s Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit will add about 1,100 new jobs.

The new shift is being added to keep up with increased demand for the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Brent Snavely from the Detroit Free Press has the story:

Adding the third crew now was driven by the mounting cost of overtime Jefferson North's workers have logged in recent months. Newly hired workers start at a lower wage to which the UAW agreed in its 2011 contract.