Menu
  • FCA/Mopar
  • Ford
  • GM
  • Electric cars
    • Rivian
    • Tesla
    • Smaller Companies
  • Contact

AutoBison BisonOriginals,Ford,General Motors Detroit delays restarts, GM and Ford grab cash as Ford loses billions

Detroit delays restarts, GM and Ford grab cash as Ford loses billions

04/28/2020 Clark Westfield

Detroit automakers were planning to restart production on May 4, barring any interventions by state governors—but it appears Michigan’s governor, not to mention the UAW, had other ideas. The Wall Street Journal claims that the new date is May 18, though the UAW apparently hasn’t been told about it yet. The companies are working with the UAW on new safety systems.

GM ventilatorsGM has been making ventilators, but without any profit.

GM and Ford have both drawn heavily on lines of credit recently, and both suspended dividends until further notice; Ford is expected to announce a $2 billion loss for the first quarter. Both companies have drawn billions of dollars from their credit lines.

Automakers have been reaching out to customers with offers of fully digital sales and home delivery of sterilized cars; buyers can get reasonably good terms on new cars as well. New car sales may be hurt, though, by the collapse of used-car prices. With cars routinely lasting 200,000 miles, it’s often hard to justify a new car over a relatively new used model.

2019 Ford Mustangs

Import automakers, not affected by unions and largely in the less-regulated Southeast, have generally stopped production as well, as the new-car market has died down. Toyota, for one, only closed their plants for “inventory adjustment,” not attributing US plant closures to the coronavirus itself. Tesla only closed down after being visited more than once by local police, defying government orders. Tesla was planning to reopen this week but seems to have been ordered to stand down; the earliest they are likely to be allowed to reopen is May 24, though they might reopen earlier and face some fines.

GM

The plants will be running relatively slowly for a while, as they try to physically distance workers and, presumably, do all their work while wearing protective gear.

The economy is expected to start picking up again in May as governors reduce their lockdown measures—not because of reduced health risks, but because states are not getting federal support (though the cruise-ship, airline, or coal industries are well funded). States have been providing massive amounts of unemployment benefits even as tax collections collapsed, especially in states without income taxes; and states are not allowed to declare bankruptcy or run deficits from year to year.

Clark Westfield
Clark Westfield

Clark Westfield grew up fixing up and driving past-their-prime American cars, including various GM and Mopar V8s. He has ghostwritten auto news for the last few years, lives in Farmingdale, New York, and can be reached at +1.516-531-4021.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Related

hello

Post navigation

Previous Previous post: The Hellcat-powered Ram TRX “Raptor-killer” and a new Gladiator
Next Next post: Whatever happened to the Chrysler turbo six?

Talk back! What did you think? Cancel reply

Random

GMC Hummer EV quietly breaks the inter...Is it good or bad for Chrysler when th...The Ford Bronco lineup is finally here...GM has plenty of cars, but parts may b...GM’s new tech can stop a truck (and ...Wow, Ford is in good shape, despite th...

Recent Posts

  • Stellantis is real, Rivian is nearly here
  • Who won and lost in 2020 sales? GM, Ford both win in trucks.
  • Wrangler 392 at $77,000? and Turbo-2s delayed
  • AutoBison will return
  • Stellantis “dropping new engines”—does that include the Mopar turbo six?

© 2019 AutoBison Associates • Driving School Theme