Weekly Wrap-Up – 23 October 2011
North Korea – The 105-story Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital, is expected to open in April of 2012 thanks to Egyptian investment. The hideous megastructure began construction in 1987 and ceased in 1993, left to rot away as an empty concrete carcass. Travel restrictions for Americans have been relaxed.
Chevrolet – Despite much criticism, the “Chevy Runs Deep” slogan is here to stay, according to GM. The campaign focuses too heavily on Chevrolet’s heritage and too little on engineering, design, and innovation. It is, at least, an improvement over the irony of “We’ll Be There” which predated the company’s bankruptcy by only nine years or “An American Revolution” which featured Korean-built cars like the Chevy Aveo.
Saab – Two Chinese automakers pledged support but the funding has been caught in red tape. Youngman and Pangda upped the ante this week by offering to buy a majority stake in the company, giving them access to intellectual property which would increase the likelihood of receiving approval from Chinese regulators, but the offer was rejected by Saab.
Saab – A North American private equity firm has offered $70 million for shares of the comapny, 60 million of which would be in the form of a loan.
GM, Tesla, Nissan – “Revenge of the Electric Car,” a documentary by Chris Paine, covers the development of the Chevy Volt and touches on Tesla and Nissan’s Leaf. Paine was also behind 2006’s “Who Killed the Electric Car,” which was 98% bullshit.
Chrysler, UAW – The two are closer to approving a labor contract that would increase the wages of new (2007+) workers by $4 an hour. Union members, with apparently short memories, are annoyed that they haven’t been able to win back pre-bankruptcy concessions.
Summary:
Saab is dead. It just isn’t official yet.
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