Auto Industry Bailout, Auto Industry | featured news

Welcome to an unlikely beacon of hope for the global auto industry -- Detroit. Executives arriving this week for the Detroit auto show find a U.S. car market that has morphed from meltdown three years ago to a safe haven as concerns grow about the stability of other big economies, from Europe to China.

The Treasury Department said Thursday it has exited its investment in Chrysler LLC after Italian automaker Fiat SpA purchased the U.S. government's remaining holdings in the auto company.

The Treasury Department said on Thursday it reached an agreement to sell its remaining 6 percent equity stake in Chrysler to Italy's Fiat in a deal that will net Washington $560 million.

Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday credited the Obama administration's intervention for the American auto industry's recovery from "the brink of extinction."

The Treasury department said on Tuesday that automaker Chrysler Group LLC has repaid $5.1 billion in bailout loans and ended its ability to draw a remaining $2.1 billion.

Chrysler Group LLC is expected to announce today that it will repay about $7.5 billion in U.S. and Canadian government loans on May 24 -- about a month earlier than it recently said, and years ahead of the original schedule.

In an impressive comeback from bankruptcy, General Motors last year posted its first annual profit since 2004....

Sixty-four former Chrysler dealers sued the U.S. government on Thursday, saying the Obama administration violated their rights by closing their stores during the automaker's bankruptcy without compensation.

An optimistic Chrysler narrowed its net loss significantly in the fourth quarter and forecast a net profit for 2011 as it continued a comeback from bankruptcy protection.

General Motors Co has withdrawn its application for $14 billion in subsidized loans from the U.S. Department of Energy, saying it has the financial strength to fund investment in more fuel-efficient and electric vehicles.