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General Motors has just revealed the plan it has submitted to Congress today, and the details show just how far the largest U.S. automaker is willing to go in order to secure bridge loans from the federal government. The plan includes selling Saab, possibly killing Saturn and scaling back Pontiac, as well as reducing dealers and shedding more workers, among other things. Here's the breakdown...

Focus on "core brands": Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac
Launch predominately high mileage, energy-efficient cars and crossovers
Sell Saab, HUMMER
Sell or kill Saturn
Reduce Pontiac to a "niche" brand
Trim dealerships from 6,450 to 4,700
Reopen talks with UAW to cut manufacturing costs further
Reduce total workforce from 96,000 to 65-75,000
Negotiate with lenders, remove $35.6 billion in debt

To do all this, GM is asking for a total of $18 billion in loans, which is considerably more than the $10-12 billion that CEO Rick Wagoner requested in front of Congress a few weeks ago. It needs $12 billion in loans by the end of next March to make it through the rest of 2009 and another $6 billion in revolving credit if conditions don't begin to improve by then. The troubled automaker also states that it needs $4 billion by the end of this month to continue operating and intends to start repaying the loans by 2011.

In exchange for government loans, GM is also open to a government oversight board that would monitor how the money is used, as well as giving taxpayers a stake in the company. Also, not only would Rick Wagoner get his salary dropped to $1, a number of other unnamed senior execs would get pay cuts, too.

Is it all enough? Sound off in the comments after reading the official press release from GM after the jump.

[Source: GM, Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Continue reading GM asks Congress to kickstart its heart with ambitious plan

GM asks Congress to kickstart its heart with ambitious plan originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Trucks/Pickups, Ford, Misc. Auto Shows

Click above for a hi-res gallery of the Ford Ranger Max Concept

At the Thailand Motor Expo this week, Ford's rolling out a show truck based on the locally-produced Ford Ranger. Dubbed the Ranger Max, it's a styling exercise designed to infuse the compact pickup with some visual muscle and toughness. According to Ford, power tools were among the inspirations for the project, hence the blend of matte accents and this OSHA-friendly orange paint job. Anyway, it's pretty cool, what with the embossed "RANGER" logos on the grille and tailgate; vented, domed hood; chunky wheel/tire package; flared fenders and integrated step rails. If Ford were to (finally) replace the U.S.-market Ranger with something incorporating the main cues from this (especially the overall grille/front-end treatment), you wouldn't hear a peep of complaint from us -- we'd be too busy listening to "One Night in Bangkok" on the stereo while we cruised down that street from the Ford Flex ads. PR from Ford Asia-Pacific follows the jump.

UPDATE: Video added after the jump. (Thanks, Mike.)

Gallery: Ford Ranger Max Concept