August 11, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
• The 2 members returning from Ft. Wayne will, unfortunately, not be released by that plant to arrive here until Monday, Aug. 29.
• The following committees will be having meetings after first shift tonight at the Union Hall: Veterans, Union Label, CAP and Education.
• VCAP cruise raffle tickets are currently being sold. If you currently give to VCAP you will receive raffle tickets at a discounted rate. If you don't give to VCAP now is the time to sign up and receive bonus raffle tickets. If you haven't bought your tickets yet, see Van Simpson, Bill Loretto or your committeeman.
• Sunday, Aug. 14 is General Motors Families and Friends night at the Shoe Carnival in O’Fallon. From 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm you will receive an additional 30% off all prices, including sale prices, by presenting your employee ID (does not apply to buy 1, get 1 half off sales). The store is located at O’Fallon Retail Walk, 2209 Highway K – (636) 240-5810.
• Despite reporting what was the best quarter of earnings in most of our GM careers, GM stock has fallen to new lows ($23.92 as of yesterday). Undeterred, CEO Dan Akerson bought another 10,000 shares Tuesday. After that day’s presentation to analysts, there was unanimity among them that the stock is undervalued. A Bloomberg News average of about a dozen analysts predicts GM's stock price will be $42.42 in a year. Individually, Goldman Sach’s Patrick Archambault predicted a $40 price. Barclays analyst Brian Johnson is at $40 and Citi analyst Itay Michaeli predicts $48. Jefferies analyst Peter Nesvold is the most pessimistic. He put the price at $33. Citi’s Michaeli wrote that in context, GM shares look inexpensive under reasonable downside scenarios, and the company has a low break-even point that would allow it to generate cash in a down economy, unlike the past. GM, he wrote, will benefit from new products coming to market in the next year, strong cash reserves and efficiencies gained from cutting engineering and development costs by selling more models worldwide. "We still consider GM as the most compelling 1 to 3-year auto turnaround story," he wrote. GM executives said the company has $37.9 billion in cash and other liquidity, but the U.S. pension plan is $10.8 billion short of its obligations. "Depending on the extent of parts commonality between vehicles, we believe that the global platforms can drive significant operating leverage," Johnson wrote. He also wrote that stronger new products would help GM command higher prices for its vehicles, helping GM to grow earnings before interest and taxes.(a $53 share price is necessary to make the taxpayers whole)
• Leftlane News compiled an interesting list of popular and common vehicle features that are strangely absent from vehicles in price ranges you would expect to find them. For example, At $17,295, the cheapest Focus definitely delivers more space, pace and refinement than is typical in the compact sedan class, but only front seat passengers are treated to power windows unless you step up to the $18,195 SE model. The Honda Civic, whose redesign has drawn the ire of Consumer Reports among others, is the most expensive “normal” car to come tunes-free that they could come up with. The price - $17,375 - also doesn’t buy you air conditioning or power adjustable mirrors. Going futher upscale, a Land Rover Range Rover Sport cannot be had with a power rear liftgate. And buyers of a BMW 335i, Lexus IS350 or a Mercedes-Benz E550 will not be entitled to split folding rear seats as standard equipment.
• From the Wall Street Journal: The auto industry isn't taking its foot off the gas in the wake of the turbulence on Wall Street, at least not yet. Auto makers, dealers and industry analysts are all still expecting the pace of new-car sales to pick up in the second half of the year, undeterred by recent stock-market gyrations. "The only question is the rate of the recovery in auto sales, not if there is going to be a recovery," Michael J. Jackson, chairman and chief executive of AutoNation Inc., the country's largest chain of car dealerships, said during an interview. He added that he is sticking to his forecast that U.S. auto sales will total roughly 12.5 million cars and light trucks this year. That would represent about an 8% rise from 2010. In a presentation Tuesday for financial analysts, General Motors Co. reiterated its forecast for U.S. industry sales between 13 million and 13.5 million vehicles this year, including medium and heavy trucks. Making note of the turmoil on Wall Street, GM Chief Executive Dan Akerson said, "My personal expectation is on the low end of that." Toyota Motor Corp. and KBB.com, an auto-information website, also reaffirmed their 2011 sales forecasts of about 12.5 million light vehicles. Industry analysts said auto sales are underpinned by good credit availability. Most consumers with good credit records have no trouble getting car loans right now—a key difference from two years ago, during the recession, when the lack of credit helped drive down auto sales. Many consumers also deferred purchases of new vehicles during the recession and are now shopping for new wheels to replace aging vehicles.
• From AutoblogGreen: A team of researchers from the University of Michigan and Ford has assessed the global availability of lithium and compared it to the potential demand from widespread use of electric vehicles. The result? Don't you worry your pretty little head about it. The researchers concluded that sufficient lithium exists to power electric vehicles until 2100 or beyond. The researchers compiled data on 103 lithium-containing deposits. The data collected included deposit location, geologic type, dimensions and lithium content. Using this data, the researchers estimate global lithium reserves at 39 million tons. Additionally, the study examined lithium demand for a 90-year period (2010-2100) and estimates that total demand for the silver-white metal is in the range of 12 to 20 million tons, depending on assumptions regarding economic growth and recycling rates. These findings led the research team to conclude that: Even with a rapid and widespread adoption of electric vehicles powered by lithium-ion batteries, lithium resources are sufficient to support demand until at least the end of this century. Lithium, it seems, won't be the bottleneck in the plug-in vehicle push
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