Filed under: Industry , Ford Motor (F) , General Motors (GM) , Financial Crisis This is part of a weekly series about the car business. The auto industry plays an important role in the global economy, and record-high oil prices and a global slowdown have contributed to a crisis in the sector. This column will highlight some of the interesting stories that emerge as that crisis plays out. And I thought things looked bad last week ( Car Biz: Dark days in Detroit and beyond ). The skies do indeed look dark in Detroit and the auto industry as a whole. But now instead of weak sales and slow growth, we are looking at plummeting sales and the very real possibility of bankruptcy and further consolidation throughout the industry. Yesterday, as Zac Bissonnette noted , General Motors (NYSE: GM ) dropped like a stone to a 58-year low . This earlier low point came before the Korean War, when gas cost less than 30 cents a gallon. Looking back, of course, we can see that GM had some great years ahead of it. If only the future looked so bright now. Today, an S&P analyst quoted on Bloomberg said that the Big Three could face bankruptcy as macroeconomic factors "overwhelm them." This follows yesterday's comment from S&P that debt from GM and Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F ) may have to be downgraded again, even deeper into junk status. GM has replied to S&P's comments, saying that while it does indeed face "unprecedented challenges," it does not cons ...
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Filed under: Industry , Ford Motor (F) , General Motors (GM) , Financial Crisis This is part of a weekly series about the car business. The auto industry plays an important role in the global economy, and record-high oil prices and a global slowdown have contributed to a crisis in the sector. This column will highlight some of the interesting stories that emerge as that crisis plays out. And I thought things looked bad last week ( Car Biz: Dark days in Detroit and beyond ). The skies do indeed look dark in Detroit and the auto industry as a whole. But now instead of weak sales and slow growth, we are looking at plummeting sales and the very real possibility of bankruptcy and further consolidation throughout the industry. Yesterday, as Zac Bissonnette noted , General Motors (NYSE: GM ) dropped like a stone to a 58-year low . This earlier low point came before the Korean War, when gas cost less than 30 cents a gallon. Looking back, of course, we can see that GM had some great years ahead of it. If only the future looked so bright now. Today, an S&P analyst quoted on Bloomberg said that the Big Three could face bankruptcy as macroeconomic factors "overwhelm them." This follows yesterday's comment from S&P that debt from GM and Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F ) may have to be downgraded again, even deeper into junk status. GM has replied to S&P's comments, saying that while it does indeed face "unprecedented challenges," it does not cons ...