Big Three | featured news

President Obama is making a formal announcement this hour about his plans for troubled automakers General Motors and Chrysler, which have already been given $17.4 billion to keep them running.

The Obama administration asked Rick Wagoner, the chairman and CEO of General Motors, to step down and he agreed, a White House official said.

President Barack Obama will announce the next steps to help General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC on Monday, the White House said, amid signs of progress for GM in talks aimed at slashing its debt and cutting costs in response to slack demand.

General Motors said 7,500 of its U.S. hourly workers accepted buyout offers, as the auto maker continues to shrink its operations amid heavy losses and a global slump in demand.

General Motors frequently holds up the Chevrolet Volt as a symbol of its future and a testimony to its ingenuity when it asks Washington officials for billions of dollars in federal aid.

US carmaker General Motors says it will not need the $2bn it had previously requested for March from the government.

Ford Motor Co said on Wednesday that it expects operating savings of $500 million per year from an agreement with the United Auto Workers that will push hourly wage rates into the "ballpark" of foreign-based rivals.

Ford Motor Company has filed a patent application for something called an Emotive Advisory System, which, according to Autoblog, "simulates emotions when interacting with occupants, and may also use an avatar to express itself." SWDELaw, a blog that follows intellectual property issues, found the patent application.

United Auto Workers union members at Ford Motor Co.’s U.S. plants have ratified concessions in the union’s labor contract with the company and changes to retiree health care funding.

General Motors Corp. is ending its 22-year support for Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns.