CEO Rick Wagoner

Wagoner Had to Go We heard more realism from the president yesterday than we've heard from Detroit in years. PAUL INGRASSIAWhat's good for General Motors really is good for America after all. And vice versa. Martin KozlowskiThat's the best way to read the sad but necessary -- in fact, long overdue -- departure of General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner Sunday, at the behest of President Barack Obama's Automotive Task Force. Give the Obama team credit, too, for replacing most of GM's pet-rock board...Read Full Story

Previous government involvement in the U.S. auto industry came from a quote by the Secretary of Defense in the 50s, Charles Wilson. True enough, Wilson was the former head honcho of General Motors when he suggested that, "for years I thought what was good for the country was good for General Motors and vice versa". Earlier this week, U.S. government involvement in the domestic auto industry reached a new level when, as a 'preexisting condition' for more loans, the Obama administration firmly...Read Full Story

"This is a remarkable move by the federal government -- I think unprecedented in the history of this country. ... What does this signal send to other corporations and financial institutions about whether the federal government will fire them as well?" -- Senator John McCain on the Wagoner firingRick Wagoner was the CEO who pushed the Big Trucks and SUVs model for General Motors these past few years. Despite, higher gas prices at some intervels, the two combined for one of GM's only profit...Read Full Story

Following reports that General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner is stepping down at Obama's request comes reports that the Commander in Chief has decided to grant both GM and Chrysler additional short-term aid. In effect, the Obama administration has rejected the latest restructuring plan from both automakers, claiming that the plans don't go far enough. As usual, both automakers must satisfy certain conditions in tandem to the short-term aid they will receive. Here is what the Obama's administration...Read Full Story

General Motors’ board and shareholders have for too long time failed to get Rick Wagoner to resign as its CEO but the Obama Administration appears to have had the final say. Just prior to the Obama Administration’s newest announcement on what it intends to do with the American Automobile Industry planned for Monday news has come out that Wagoner will resign. According to a story by Justin Hyde and Tim Higgins of the Detroit Free Press, President Barack Obama’s rescue plan for Detroit...Read Full Story

Obama puts GM, Chrysler on short leashWASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama asserted unprecedented government control over the auto industry Monday, bluntly rejecting turnaround plans by General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, demanding fresh concessions for long-term federal aid and raising the possibility of quick bankruptcy for either ailing auto giant.Obama took the extraordinary step of announcing the government will back new car warranties issued by both GM and Chrysler, an attempt to...Read Full Story

GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner resigns  one day before Obama announces bailout terms for automakers One day before Barack Obama announces the next financial aid step for Detroit automakers, Bloomberg reports that “General Motors Corp. Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner will step down after more than eight years running the largest U.S. automaker.”    The people, who asked not to be named because the announcement hasn’t been made, didn’t give a reason why Wagoner, 56, is leaving the job...Read Full Story

According Bloomberg and other sources, General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner will step down as the head of the struggling automaker. This news comes as a little bit of a surprise because Wagoner, who has led GM for eight straight years, had strongly indicated that he had no intentions of stepping down. But there are obvious reasons for his departure.....Rick Wagoner is stepping down as the head of GM at the request of the Obama Administration and its task force. In order to survive, struggling GM...Read Full Story

It's not all bad news for Rick Wagoner - after being ousted as the head of GM (see here), news comes in that he will be receiving a retirement package worth $20.2 million. Since becoming General Motors executive in 1992, Wagoner has accumulated $63 million in salaries. A severance package off $20.2 million is ridiculously large. And with all the rage directed towards executives in the banking industry who recently received millions of dollars in bonuses, we can expect the public to react...Read Full Story

President Barack Obama on Wednesday imposed a $500,000 cap on senior executive pay for most of the financial institutions receiving taxpayer bailout money. He promised that new steps that will be taken to end a system that rewards “executives being rewarded for failure.â€Â?All of the Detroit 3 automakers have accepted $1 dollar salaries while their [...]President Barack Obama on Wednesday imposed a $500,000 cap on senior executive pay for most of the financial institutions receiving...Read Full Story