Archive for the ‘Auto industry’ Category.

visteon Visteon announces results to date for tender offer

VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Mich., June 3, 2008 – Visteon Corporation (“Visteon”) (NYSE: VC) today announced that it received tenders from Eligible Holders (as defined below) of 77.02 percent or $423,624,000 of the $550,000,000 of the aggregate principal amount of its 8.25 percent Senior Notes due 2010 (the “Old Notes”) as of 5 p.m., New York City time, on Monday, June 2, 2008 (“Early Tender Deadline”), in connection with its previously announced tender offer for up to $344,000,000 in aggregate principal amount of Old Notes (the “Tender Offer”). As of the Early Tender Deadline, subject to certain exceptions, withdrawal rights have terminated.

The Tender Offer remains open for the tender of Old Notes not previously tendered and is scheduled to expire at 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on June 16, 2008, unless extended.

The Tender Offer is being made upon the terms and subject to conditions set forth in the offer to purchase and the related letter of transmittal, each dated May 19, 2008.

As noted previously, each Eligible Holder who tenders Old Notes in the Tender Offer is required, as a condition to such Eligible Holder’s participation in the Tender Offer, to purchase a principal amount of Visteon’s new 12.25 percent Senior Notes due 2016 (the “New Notes”) equal to 60 percent of the aggregate principal amount of Notes purchased from such Eligible Holder pursuant to the Tender Offer at a purchase price equal to 91.621 percent of the principal amount thereof. The Tender Offer and offering of New Notes are being made only to holders of the Old Notes that are qualified institutional buyers and institutional accredited investors inside the United States, and to certain non-U.S. investors located outside the United States (”Eligible Holders”).

The total consideration for each $1,000 principal amount of Old Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn prior to Early Tender Deadline is $978.30 (”Total Consideration”), which includes an early tender payment of $40 per $1,000 principal amount of Old Notes tendered. Only Eligible Holders who validly tendered and did not validly withdraw Old Notes and committed to purchase the applicable amount of New Notes on or prior to Early Tender Deadline are eligible to receive the Total Consideration for such Notes purchased in the Tender Offer. Holders who validly tender their Old Notes and commit to purchase the applicable amount of New Notes after the Early Tender Date and on or prior to the Expiration Date will be eligible to receive an amount, paid in cash, equal to the Total Consideration less the $40 Early Tender Payment per $1,000 principal amount of Old Notes tendered (the “Tender Consideration”). In the event of an over-subscription of the Tender Offer, the Company will allocate acceptances on a pro rata basis and make corresponding reductions to the amount of New Notes to be purchased by each Eligible Holder in accordance with the terms of the offer to purchase.
Visteon’s obligation to accept for payment and to pay for Old Notes validly tendered and not withdrawn pursuant to the Tender Offer is conditioned upon (a) the tender of no less than $300,000,000 in aggregate principal amount of Old Notes, (b) the consummation of the concurrent offering of New Notes to the Eligible Holders and the satisfaction by each Eligible Holder tendering Old Notes of such Eligible Holder’s obligation to purchase its applicable amount of New Notes in the concurrent note offering and (c) satisfaction of certain general conditions.

The New Notes have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act or any state securities laws. Therefore, the New Notes may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and any applicable state securities laws. This press release does not constitute an offer to purchase any securities or a solicitation of an offer to sell any securities. The Tender Offer and the offering of New Notes is being made only pursuant to an offer to purchase, an offering memorandum and related letter of transmittal and only to such persons and in such jurisdictions as is permitted under applicable law.

GM Announces New Products, Capacity Adjustments; Continues Transformation of North American Business

New car, powertrain programs to meet the changing needs of U.S. customers
Chevy Volt production gets the green light from the GM board
GM builds on car momentum with additional capacity; adjusts truck capacity
Hummer brand set for strategic review
WILMINGTON, Del. - GM today announced a range of strategic initiatives to aggressively respond to growing demand for fuel-efficient vehicles and to economic and market challenges in North America. Rick Wagoner, GM chairman and CEO, made the announcements here as part of the GM annual meeting of stockholders.

Major initiatives announced by Wagoner include:

A new global compact car program for Chevrolet, a next generation for the popular Chevy Aveo, and a high efficiency engine module for the U.S. market.
Funding for production of the Chevy Volt extended-range electric vehicle.
Addition of third shifts to Lordstown and Orion, which build hot-selling Chevy and Pontiac cars.
Cessation of production at four plants that build pickups, SUVs and medium-duty trucks.
A strategic review of the Hummer brand.
“From the start of our North American turnaround plan in 2005, I’ve said that our goal is not just to return GM to profitability, but to structure GM globally for sustained profitability and growth,” said Wagoner.

“Since the first of this year, however, U.S. economic and market conditions have become significantly more difficult,” he said. “Higher gasoline prices are changing consumer behavior, and they are significantly affecting the U.S. auto industry sales mix.”

In North America, GM has been moving rapidly and successfully to revitalize its car lineup and grow its crossover business. New GM cars and crossovers, including the Cadillac CTS, Chevy Malibu, Pontiac Vibe and Buick Enclave, have been selling strongly, and GM intends to build on this success. In fact, 18 of the next 19 new GM products for the U.S. will be cars or crossovers.

Additional operational and strategic actions will be required to position GM for sustainable profitability and growth. These initiatives fall into three broad areas: product and technology, manufacturing facilities and capacity, and the Hummer brand.

New Chevrolet models and a high-efficiency engine module approved

To further strengthen GM’s lineup of fuel-efficient cars, the GM board has approved a next-generation compact Chevy for the U.S. and global markets, a next generation of the popular Chevy Aveo, and a U.S. production module of GM’s 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine.

The new Chevy compact will be better equipped than today’s compact cars, and will be designed to set quality and safety benchmarks for the compact class. Production will begin in mid-2010 at GM’s Lordstown, Ohio, plant, subject to final negotiations with state and local authorities.

“This car will represent the first U.S. application of our global architecture strategy,” said Wagoner. “This strategy will pay major dividends as we leverage our extensive car product development capability in Europe, Korea, and other locations to accelerate the shift in our U.S. product portfolio.”

The next-generation compact will be pure Chevrolet in design, and will feature the 1.4-liter turbocharged version of GM’s global four-cylinder engine. With this engine and a manual transmission, the new Chevy is expected to achieve a 9 mpg improvement over Chevy’s current entry in this segment. The engine will be produced in Flint, Michigan, again subject to final negotiations with state and local authorities.

Also recently approved was a next generation of the popular Chevy Aveo. Based on a global architecture, the Aveo is also expected to have segment-leading fuel economy when it goes on sale in the U.S. market in the second half of 2010.

These new Chevy models will help build on GM’s leadership in fuel efficient vehicles. For example, GM continues to offer more vehicles with a 30-mpg or better highway fuel economy rating than any competitor.

Chevy Volt is a go

The Chevy Volt took a major step toward the showroom with formal approval by the GM board of funding for production of the extended-range electric vehicle. This approval, which includes funding for production development and tooling, indicates that GM leadership believes that the technology for the Volt, including its lithium-ion batteries, will be ready for volume production on schedule.

“The Chevy Volt is a go,” said Wagoner. “We believe this is the biggest step yet in our industry’s move away from our historic, virtually complete reliance on petroleum to power vehicles.”

“We intend to show a production version of the Chevy Volt publicly in the very near future, and we remain focused on our target of getting the Volt into Chevrolet showrooms by the end of 2010,” Wagoner said.

Preliminary plans are to produce the Volt at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center, subject to successful discussions with state and local governments.

Capacity adjustments address market shifts

GM will react to the shift in the U.S. market by increasing production of small and midsize cars and reducing production of pickups and truck-based SUVs.

GM will add a third shift in September to the Orion Assembly Center in Michigan, which builds the hot-selling Chevy Malibu and Pontiac G6. Also in September, the company plans to add a third shift at Lordstown Car Assembly in Ohio, which builds the Chevy Cobalt and Pontiac G5.

On the other side of the mix equation, market-related declines in truck sales mean that, over time, GM will cease production at four truck plants.

Oshawa Truck Assembly in Canada, which builds the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra, will likely cease production in 2009, while Moraine, Ohio, which builds the Chevy TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy and Saab 9-7x, will end production at the end of the 2010 model run, or sooner, if demand dictates. Janesville, Wisconsin, will cease production of medium-duty trucks by the end of 2009, and of the Tahoe, Suburban and Yukon in 2010, or sooner, if market demand dictates. Chevrolet Kodiak medium-duty truck production will also end in Toluca, Mexico, by the end of this year.

GM expects that these actions, along with the recent announcement to remove shifts at two other U.S. truck plants (Pontiac and Flint, Michigan), will result in an additional GM North America structural cost savings of more than $1 billion, on a running rate basis, by 2010. This is on top of the approximately $5 billion running rate reduction by 2011 that we announced earlier this year, and also in addition to the $9 billion reduction accomplished over the 2006-07 period in North America.

GM will work closely with its union partners to mitigate the impact of these difficult actions, which are made necessary by long-term changes in consumer demand for trucks and SUVs.

Strategic assessment for Hummer brand

Finally, GM is undertaking a strategic review of the Hummer brand to determine its fit within the GM portfolio. At this point, the company is considering all options, from a complete revamp of the product lineup to a partial or complete sale of the brand.

Moving forward

“We are making a number of important announcements today, covering everything from product and technology investments to capacity adjustments to a strategic review of our Hummer brand,” said Wagoner. “These moves are all in response to the rapid rise in oil prices and the resulting changes in the U.S., changes that we believe are more structural than cyclical.

“While some of the actions, especially the capacity reductions, are very difficult, they are necessary to adjust to changing market and economic conditions and to keep GM’s U.S. turnaround on track and moving forward.”

Firestone Racing Announces Switch to 3M Wheel Weight System

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (June 2, 2008) – Beginning at last weekend’s Indy Racing League IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights events at The Milwaukee Mile, Firestone Racing made the switch from traditional lead wheel weights to the 3M™ Wheel Weight System for all of its operations.

“This change to non-lead wheel weights is just one of many efforts to protect and conserve our environment under Bridgestone’s global ‘One Team, One Planet’ program,” commented Al Speyer, Executive Director, Bridgestone Firestone Motorsports. “As a very visible part of Bridgestone Americas and Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC, Firestone Racing has been looking at ways we can be more ecologically sensitive, and the 3M Wheel Weight System provides us with the perfect opportunity to put our company’s principles into action. When it comes to protecting the environment, we’re all in this together.”

The 3M Wheel Weight System is constructed of a non-lead composite material for reduced environmental impact and corrosion-free results. Unlike traditional metal weights, the 3M material is flexible and can be custom cut to weight so wheels are precision balanced for increased performance and a better ride.

“We at 3M are working continually to develop technologies and products that have less impact on the environment while meeting the highest standards of performance. The 3M wheel weight system meets this objective, and helps support our customers’ environmental and performance goals,” said Scott Taylor, technology manager, 3M Automotive Market Center.

The wheel weights are attached using 3M™ Automotive Attachment Tape, a known and trusted technology that 3M has been providing to the industry for decades, which provides reliable, long-term performance for the 3M wheel weight system.

HUMMER H3 Alpha and H3 first stock class vehicles to finish Baja

DETROIT - Off-road racing legend and Team HUMMER owner Rod Hall, Reno, Nev., entered the record books once again as he earned his record-breaking 18th career Baja 500 win in the 2008 SCORE International Baja 500. Hall and Mike Winkel, also of Reno, piloted his Rod Hall Racing HUMMER H3 to first place in the Stock Mini class in a time of 14:42:54.

Hall, 70, finished an hour and a half after his youngest son Chad Hall, also of Reno, won the Stock Full class in the #862 H3 Alpha for Team Hummer in 13:09:53 for his first win in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 and second class win this season. The H3 Alpha was the first production vehicle to cross the finish line.

“The entire team did a fantastic job preparing these trucks for this race and it showed in the results,” said Rod Hall. “It was an honor to earn my 18th Baja 500 win behind the wheel of the H3 and with the members of Team HUMMER.”

The 2008 Baja 500 was the third consecutive Baja 500 Hall has won the stock mini class and is the 7th consecutive SCORE International race that Hall has piloted the H3 to a class win.

The 2008 Baja 500 marked the 40th anniversary of the grueling off-road race and covered 441.15 miles around Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, May 31, 2008. It also was the second Baja race that the H3 Alpha and H3 were the first production class vehicles to finish the race. The Team HUMMER H3 Alpha and H3 were the first production class vehicles to finish in the 2007 40th Anniversary Baja 1000.

“It was a great course this year and the H3 really excelled in the rugged terrain,” said Chad Hall. “We ran the entire race without any problems and the Alpha really gives us an edge on the competition.”

Team HUMMER races in the SCORE International full and mini stock classes which feature production-based vehicles with stock frames, stock suspension designs and production-based engines. With 18 entries, the 2007 race boasted the most stock class vehicles in the history of the 1000 and included models from seven different automakers.

Two other HUMMER entries did not fare as well, as the Team HUMMER stock full H2 SUT and the Robby Gordon Off-Road HUMMER trophy truck ended their races early due to electrical and mechanical part failures.

Team HUMMER’s next race is the Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno, August 21-23, 2008.

About HUMMER

HUMMER is a division of General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world’s largest vehicle manufacturer, which employs about 321,000 people globally. HUMMER is a premium off-road vehicle manufacturer with sales in 37 countries and a product line-up that consists of the H2, H2 SUT, H3, H3x, and award-winning H3 Alpha. Information on HUMMER products is available at www.hummer.com.

Robby Gordon Motorsports is based in Huntersville, N.C., and owned by Gordon. In addition to its Dakar effort, the team focuses its attention on competing in America’s biggest racing series - the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. The team has run numerous seasons in various racing series, including CART, the Score International Off-Road Series, the NASCAR Busch Series, the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and several one-off efforts in the famed Indianapolis 500, with Gordon enjoying success at every level of his storied career as an owner and driver. He prides himself on his meticulous nature, which includes building cars, trucks and other racing machines that are among the best in their respective disciplines. For more information visit www.robbygordon.com.