GM Facts and Fiction

GM Card earnings will continue to be honored in accordance with the program rules.

will — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:12:52 +0000

You can keep using your card at more than 18 million outlets where MasterCard is accepted to accumulate earnings and redeem them toward eligible, new GM vehicles.

You can expect to see new products and technologies in GM’s future portfolio.

will — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:11:12 +0000

GM will continue to make a significant investment in future products and new technologies. The New GM will have a number of key vehicle launches in 2009 and 2010, including:
• Chevrolet Camaro, a dramatic, moderately priced sport coupe with highway fuel economy of up to 29 mpg
• An all-new Buick LaCrosse premium midsize sedan
• The luxury midsize Cadillac SRX crossover and CTS Sport Wagon
• The Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain, midsize crossovers with class-leading highway fuel economy of 32 mpg
• The Chevy Cruze, GM’s new global compact car
• The revolutionary Chevy Volt, an extended-range electric vehicle that can travel up to 40 miles on battery power alone

GM will honor customer warranty claims.

will — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:08:12 +0000

New GM will assume the obligations to support the express warranties issued by GM to its customers.

There will be no interruptions in GM’s ability to take care of our customers and honor customer programs, warranties and provide replacement parts.

will — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:04:00 +0000

In fact, GM has asked the court for specific orders authorizing GM to honor customer warranties and programs as it always has. You should have total confidence that:

• Our products are safe and sound;
• We will honor your existing warranty;
• GM dealers will have the same access to replacement parts as they always have;
• Customers of discontinued brands or dealerships that have closed as part of GM’s viability initiative will continue to be supported by other GM dealerships;
• Customer promotions and incentives will continue without interruption;
• You do not need to do anything differently regarding your warranty;
• There is no impact on OnStar service; your OnStar subscription will remain in place
• GM continues to have a nation-wide network of Goodwrench technicians trained to perform maintenance and repairs on your GM vehicle

This is good news for customers who want to buy cars from an automaker with an award-winning lineup of cars and trucks with rock-solid warranties and other customer-support programs, one that is a leader in green technology, and one that has a promising future. All customers should have confidence in New GM’s ability to serve the needs to customers in every way, including the commitment and ability to honor warranties for many years to come.

GM has announced “faster and deeper” steps to restructure the company.

will — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:19:51 +0000

On April 27, 2009, GM President and CEO Fritz Henderson announced new “faster and deeper” steps necessary to restructure the company. They include:

Focusing on our four core brands - Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. We will accelerate the resolution of Saab, Saturn, and Hummer by the end of 2009, and phase out Pontiac by the end of 2010.
Reducing the size of our dealer network from 6,246 in 2008 to 3,605 by the end of 2010.
Reducing the total number of assembly, powertrain, and stamping plants in the U.S. from 47 in 2008 to 34 by the end of 2010, and to 31 by 2012. This reflects six accelerated plant idling/closures from the Feb. 17 plan, and one additional plant idling.
Reducing U.S. hourly employment from about 61,000 in 2008 to 40,000 in 2010, and leveling off at about 38,000 starting in 2011. This is a further reduction of 7,000 to 8,000 employees from the Feb. 17 plan.

These lower structural costs will allow us to break even (on an adjusted EBIT basis) at a U.S. total industry volume of about 10 million vehicles.

We also took a major step today toward restructuring our balance sheet by commencing public exchange offers for $27 billion of our unsecured public notes.

These tough actions still keep the development of our mainstream and alternative technology vehicles on track, including the much-anticipated Chevrolet Volt. They are crucial to the reinvention of General Motors.

Customer service is a GM priority even as we reduce our number of dealers.

will — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:51:55 +0000

Just as GM has had to aggressively restructure its brands, nameplates and production to reflect business realities forced by the global recession, we are also working with dealers to reduce the number of U.S. dealerships from 6,248 in 2008 to 3,605 by the end of 2010, a reduction of 42 percent. This is a loss of 500 more dealers than we projected in our Feb. 17 Viability Plan, and four years sooner.

We believe this can be accomplished in a way that ensures our strongest dealers will be even more competitive, delivering the outstanding levels of sales and service our customers and deserve. We will keep customers informed of ongoing developments, including those who own vehicles by brands that will not be part of GM going forward.

GM continues to invest in future products and new technologies.

will — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:49:47 +0000

We recognize that our future competitiveness depends on fresh vehicles and technology leadership. Strengthening our balance sheet allows us to invest in the vehicles and technologies that will allow GM not only to survive, but thrive in an intensely competitive marketplace.

GM will continue to make significant investments in future products and new technologies, about $5.4 billion in 2009 and from $5.3 billion to $6.7 billion annually from 2010 to 2014. Development and testing of the highly anticipated Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car remains on schedule for start of production by the end of 2010 and arrival in Chevrolet showrooms shortly thereafter. The heart of the Volt’s propulsion system is a lithium-ion battery pack that will be manufactured at a plant to be built in the U.S.

In addition to financial research and development investments, GM is creatively partnering with universities around the world - including the University of Michigan School of Engineering - to hasten the development of technologies that will help reinvent the automobile.

Fact: GM Europe and the Opel Supervisory Board are submitting a long-term plan for viability to European government representatives.

will — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:04:39 +0000

Please refer to GM Europe Facts and Fiction for the most up-to-date information on GM’s European operations.

Fact: GM’s Saab brand is in the process of becoming an independent business entity.

will — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:02:43 +0000

One of the strategies that GM outlined in the Feb. 17 Restructuring Plan that we submitted to the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury was our intention to focus on four core brands - Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC, with Pontiac as a niche brand. To that end, we completed a strategic review of the global Saab business. On Feb. 20, the Saab Board announced that Saab would file for reorganization under a self-managed Swedish court process to create a fully independent business entity that would be sustainable and suitable for investment.

Saab is exploring all available options for funding and/or sale to a new owner. In the meantime, Saab will continue to operate as usual. Over the next year and a half, three all-new Saab vehicles will launch (9-5, 9-3X and 9-4X). Saab customers in the U.S. will continue to be covered under the 4 year/50,000 mile bumper-to-bumper limited warranty, and this coverage is absolutely safe and sound, now and well into the future. Saab dealerships remain open for sales and service.

Fact: GM is not using any funds from the bridge loan we received from the U.S. government to invest in our Brazilian operations.

will — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:01:04 +0000

This is a piece of bad information that apparently just won’t die. Something must have gotten lost in translation by a reporter who wrote a story that appeared in the “Latin American Herald Tribune” (Venezuela). That article claimed that GM is planning to invest $1 billion of U.S. federal aid money in our Brazilian operations; it subsequently spread all over the internet. This story is unequivocally wrong and has no basis in fact. None of the funding that we received from the U.S. government will be allocated to investments in Brazil, or any of our operations outside the U.S. Our Brazilian operations are fully self-funded. You can take that one to the bank.