The new Chevy Camaro presented a rare glimpse of good news, beating Ford Mustang in its first month of sales. (Photo: Chevrolet)
General Motors, which started off June by jumping into bankruptcy court, has endured a harrowing month of gleaning the Good GM from the Bad GM, trying to sell off major hunks of itself and attempting to reinvent the company into a lean, mean car-selling machine.
GM execs, attorneys, workers, debtors and dealers are spending the three-day July Fourth weekend in a grueling limbo as they await a judge’s decision about whether the automaker has presented a compelling case for selling its still-viable parts to new ownership, mainly the American taxpayer.
That would create what they’re calling the New GM, a scaled-back company made up of Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC, and about 1,200 fewer dealerships and 14 closed factories. The company will ditch those “bad” parts that have bogged down the formerly mammoth corporation, which hasn’t turned a profit since 2005.
The so-called fast-track bankruptcy, designed to be completed in 60 to 90 days, has hit a few potholes. Loads of people are upset about the closures, the loss of brands and livelihoods, and the probability that most current bondholders and investors will lose their shirts in the deal.
Parts suppliers are desperately holding on, hoping to weather this dead period without going bankrupt themselves.
Not to mention the government taking on most of the financial risk. This unprecedented U.S. investment has jangled nerves and roused suspicions, with about $30 billion more poised for pouring into the New GM.
The sales of both Hummer and Opel have not gone as smoothly as projected. The intrusive Chinese government could kill Sichuan Tengzhong's bid to buy Hummer because such a high-priced, low-mileage vehicle would not comply with China’s policy to encourage fuel-efficient vehicles. The government also fears that Tengzhong, a builder of heavy equipment, does not have the expertise to run a car company.
