plus 4, Fisker to build hybrid cars at idled GM plant - Forbes

Fisker to build hybrid cars at idled GM plant - Forbes
U.S. auto dealers post profit, outlook cautious - Daily Journal
Delphi Automotive Systems in Indiana wins federal grant to develop new ... - Chicago Tribune
Chrysler seeks approval to sell Delaware plant - Forbes
Sonic Automotive swings to 3Q profit - Lexington Herald-Leader

Fisker to build hybrid cars at idled GM plant - Forbes

Posted: 27 Oct 2009 03:29 PM PDT

WILMINGTON, Delaware -- Luxury automaker Fisker Automotive is buying a shuttered General Motors assembly plant in Delaware to produce plug-in hybrid electric cars, officials said Tuesday.

The California-based company has signed a letter of intent with Motors Liquidation Co. (MLC), formerly known as General Motors Corp., to purchase the Wilmington plant for $18 million after a four-month evaluation period.

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Fisker, which recently won approval for $528.7 million in government loans to develop plug-ins, expects to spend another $175 million to refurbish the facility before production of next-generation hybrids begins in late 2012.

Fisker expects Project NINA will create or support 2,000 factory jobs and more than 3,000 vendor and supplier jobs by 2014, with full production capacity of between 75,000 and 100,000 vehicles per year. More than half the cars will be exported, the largest percentage of any domestic manufacturer.

"This is a major step toward establishing America as a leader of advanced vehicle technology," said CEO Henrik Fisker, who described the production of electric hybrids as part of "the most dramatic change in the car industry ever."

"It's important for America that we take the lead in this new technology," he said.

Vice President Joe Biden of Delaware was among those on hand to announce a new lease on life for the GM plant, which produced the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice roadsters, as well as an Opel version that was exported to Europe, before closing this summer.

"I refuse to believe that we will not once again lead the entire world in the manufacturing of automobiles," Biden told a crowd of more than 1,000, including scores of union workers. "This factory in Delaware, and the industry, are going to get back up off the mat."

The vehicles to be built in Delaware under Fisker's Project NINA will cost about $40,000 after federal tax credits. They will be able to run mainly on electricity for short trips and a combination of electricity and gasoline for longer ones.

The Wilmington assembly plant, built in 1947, churned out more than 8.5 million cars. It employed more than 5,000 workers in the mid-1980s but ended production with a work force of only about 450 hourly workers.

"This is a great day for three reasons: job, jobs, jobs," said U.S. Sen. Ted Kaufman, who replaced Biden in the U.S. Senate.

Fisker officials said the Wilmington site was selected for its size, production capacity, modern paint facilities, access to ports and rail lines and skilled work force.

It was not immediately clear whether former GM workers would be given priority status when Fisker begins hiring. Fisker spokesman Russell Datz said that decision likely will be made by union leaders, but Dave Myers, president of United Autoworkers Local 435, did not immediately return a telephone message Tuesday.

U.S. Sens. Benjamin Cardin and Barbara Mikulski, both Maryland Democrats, said the reopening of the plant will preserve 500 jobs for Maryland residents who worked at the facility.

Jim Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, welcomed the reopening of the auto plant.

"By rehiring laid-off workers, the White House and the company are showing a commitment to reinvesting in our national infrastructure," he said in a prepared statement.

Fisker told reporters that his company will demonstrate to consumers in the U.S. and overseas that electric cars can be powerful and sexy, and needn't be defined by dull styling and "range anxiety," about limited mileage between charges.

But energy efficiency is likely to remain a key selling point. Fisker noted that owners of Project NINA cars who drive 50 miles (80 kilometers) or less each day could rely almost entirely on electricity and might have to fill up the gasoline tank only once a year, an idea that could hit home with European drivers paying the equivalent of $6 to $8 for a gallon of gas.

"We're designing our cars for the world market," he said.

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U.S. auto dealers post profit, outlook cautious - Daily Journal

Posted: 27 Oct 2009 08:51 PM PDT

DETROIT (Reuters) - Group 1 Automotive Inc (GPI.N), the No. 4 U.S. auto dealership, posted a quarterly profit on Tuesday that was double the year-earlier figure, but its cautious outlook for the current quarter sent its shares down 12 percent.

Sonic Automotive Inc (SAH.N), the No. 3, dealership, also reported a third-quarter profit compared with a year-earlier loss after refinancing its debt in late September.

But Sonic also projected 2010 sales would be flat from this year's depressed levels of near 10.5 million vehicles in the U.S. market.

The shares of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Sonic closed down 17 percent.

Both auto dealerships saw their results boosted by the one- time boom in auto sales created by the U.S. government's "Cash for Clunkers" trade-in incentive program this summer.

But investor attention has shifted to the prospect of a slow finish to 2009. Industry-wide auto sales have dropped 27 percent through September.

Sonic projected 2010 U.S. auto sales would be about flat from 2009 levels at 10.5 million vehicles. That is sharply lower than the outlook of industry tracking services that have projected a double-digit percentage rebound in U.S. sales.

CSM Worldwide has forecast industry-wide U.S. sales of 11.8 million cars and light trucks. J.D. Power forecasts 11.5 million vehicle sales in 2010.

"If the other guys are right, we'll take that too. We're just planning our business conservatively," said Sonic Chief Financial Officer Dave Cosper.

Houston-based Group One offered a full-year 2009 profit forecast that implied fourth-quarter earnings could be lower than the current consensus among analysts tracking the stock.

The company, which operates 96 dealerships, expected flat revenue from its parts and service operations, an area that contributed almost half of its gross earnings in the third quarter.

For the full year, Group One forecast earnings per share of $1.66 to $1.76. That would imply fourth-quarter earnings of between 31 cents and 41 cents per share. Analysts on average had been expecting fourth-quarter earnings of 39 cents per share.

Group One shares, which rallied over 40 percent over the past month, dropped 12 percent in trading on the New York Stock Exchange to close at $29.12. Sonic shares closed at $10.38, down 17 percent.

For the third-quarter, Group One posted adjusted income of $16.8 million, or 71 cents per share, compared with $8.2 million, or 37 cents per share a year earlier.

Sonic reported third-quarter earnings from continuing operations of $15.6 million, or 22 cents per share, compared with a lost of almost $27 million, or 38 cents in the same quarter a year earlier.

Group One, which like other major dealerships scrambled to cut spending, said it had reduced annual costs by almost $113 million by the end of the third quarter from 2008 levels. Most of the savings came from the 1,850 jobs it cut this year.

Group One has set a target of $120 million in cost-cutting and expects that a quarter of that will be permanent.

AutoNation Inc (AN.N), the largest U.S. auto retail group is scheduled to announce quarterly results on Thursday.

AutoNation said on Tuesday it was acquiring two dealerships in Spokane, Washington. The company said the Valley Honda and Valley Acura stores accounted for $38 million in sales in 2008.

AutoNation Chief Executive Mike Jackson said last month the company was ready to begin acquiring independent dealerships, including Ford Motor Co (F.N) and General Motors Co GM.UL franchises.

Penske Automotive Group Inc (PAG.N), the No. 2 U.S. auto retailer, is set to report on Friday.

(Reporting by Kevin Krolicki; editing by Andre Grenon)

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Delphi Automotive Systems in Indiana wins federal grant to develop new ... - Chicago Tribune

Posted: 26 Oct 2009 01:57 PM PDT

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3:55 p.m. CDT, October 26, 2009

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Chrysler seeks approval to sell Delaware plant - Forbes

Posted: 27 Oct 2009 05:53 PM PDT

DETROIT, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Chrysler has asked a federal bankruptcy court to approve a sale of its shuttered Newark, Delaware, plant to the University of Delaware for $24.25 million.

A hearing in bankruptcy court in Manhattan before Judge Arthur Gonzalez is scheduled for Nov. 12 on the proposed sale, which would mark the first time a major deal has been clinched by the company managing Chrysler's assets stranded in bankruptcy.

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'While other parties have continued to express interest in the property, no party has actually come forward with a higher and better offer,' attorney's representing the Chrysler bankruptcy estate said in a court filing.

The University of Delaware, which hopes to use the 270-acre (109 hectare) site of the former Chrysler plant to expand its campus, set up a Web page on Tuesday to provide information to companies interested in bidding to provide salvage and clean-up services for the plant.

Chrysler and the University of Delaware have been negotiating a potential sale of the property since late last year. The brief seeking court approval for the sale was filed on Friday.

Chrysler's shuttered Delaware plant once produced SUVs such as the Dodge Durango and the Chrysler Aspen. The facility was one of the assets stranded in Chrysler's continuing bankruptcy in a process managed by Old Carco LLC.

Chrysler's most valuable assets have been sold to a new entity under the management control of Fiat ( FIATY.PK - news - people ) SpA in a deal brokered by the Obama administration.

Under the proposed transaction, the university would pay $24.25 million to Old Carco, including a $2 million deposit. In addition, the university would take on the property without any additional environmental remediation by the company.

(Reporting by Kevin Krolicki; Editing by Phil Berlowitz) Keywords: CHRYSLER/PLANT

(kevin.krolicki@thomsonreuters.com; + 1 313 967 1902)

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Sonic Automotive swings to 3Q profit - Lexington Herald-Leader

Posted: 27 Oct 2009 02:25 PM PDT

The recent quarter's results included a gain of 1 cent per share related to the repurchase of convertible notes, while the prior year quarter included impairment charges, lease exit accruals and hurricane damage that reduced its profit by 53 cents per share.

Sales dropped 5.9 percent to $1.52 billion from $1.62 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a profit of 24 cents per share on $1.48 billion in sales.

New vehicle sales fell 12 percent to $825.4 million, while used vehicle sales rose 19 percent to $365.5 million. Revenue from parts, service and collision repair fell less than a percent to $255.4 million.

In morning trading, shares of Sonic Automotive slid $1.37, or 11 percent, to $11.13.

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