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Weekly Recap: Obama reflects on the auto bailout's legacy

President Obama took a victory lap of sorts this week at the Detroit Auto Show, lauding the industry's progress and reflecting on the decision to bail out General Motors and Chrysler seven years ago. While the rescue was controversial at the time, historians will likely judge the president's actions to help save two of America's industrial symbols in a positive light. Much like Theodore Roosevelt's trust-busting tactics were controversial in the early 20th century, Obama's plan drew fire from critics who argued the free market should be left to its own devices. But providing financial aid and forcing the automakers to restructure had an enduring impact on the US economy. The auto industry has added more than 646,000 jobs since the companies emerged from bankruptcy, including manufacturing and retail positions. Make no mistake, GM and Chrysler were nearly dead in 2009. Now, GM is a powerhouse that's set to capitalize on a market that could see 18 million vehicles sold this year. Chrysler, which was renamed FCA US, survived as part of the Italian-American Fiat Chrysler Automobiles conglomerate. It's also performed well amid the strong industry conditions, though CEO Sergio Marchionne very publicly went looking for alliance partners last year, something from which he's since backed off. While Obama can claim a win, the bailout was actually started by George W. Bush, who provided short-term loans to GM and Chrysler in December 2008. Without that, they might not have made it much past Obama's inauguration. NEWS & ANALYSIS News: Spy Shooters captured the next-gen BMW Z4 during extreme cold weather testing. Analysis: The upcoming Z4 (which might be called the Z5) looks sharp. But the big deal is that BMW's much-anticipated sports-car project with Toyota is coming to fruition. Refresher: BMW and Toyota agreed to work together back in December 2011 and then announced an expansion of that deal to include sports cars in June 2012. Ultimately, it will provide BMW with a new Z4 and Toyota with another sports car, perhaps the Supra replacement. BMW is developing the platform, while Toyota is expected to chip in with hybrid technology. Big picture, this project is a good thing. It's providing enthusiasts with two modern sports cars that Toyota and BMW might not chose to develop on their own. This template has been shown to work, as the Fiat-Mazda alliance produced the MX-5 Miata and 124 Spider. News: The Jeep Grand Cherokee Hellcat was also spied, briefly.

FCA worker in Indiana tests for coronavirus, but the plant will stay open

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said Thursday that an employee has tested positive for COVID-19 at its Kokomo, Indiana, transmission plant, but the location will remain open. The Italian-American automaker said the company placed the employee and his immediate co-workers and others he may have come into direct contact with in home quarantine. The automaker said it is “deploying additional sanitization measures across the entire facility, re-timing break times to avoid crowding and deploying social spacing.” Fiat Chrysler is canceling all in-person meetings unless “business critical” and conducted meetings through video conferencing technologies. Automakers also have canceled non-essential travel. Ford, meanwhile, said its plants in North America remain unaffected. General Motors spokesman Jim Cain said the Detroit automaker has not had any cases of the coronavirus in its North American plants yet, citing such measures as reduced travel and restricted entry to plants as helping. How the No. 1 U.S. automaker would respond to a positive test would depend on the situation, he added. “You do plan to operate with a certain amount of absenteeism, but every facility has a different operating plan,” he said. The Fiat side of the FCA operation, meanwhile,  is temporarily halting operations at some plants in Italy and will reduce production rates in response to coronavirus in the country, the largest outbreak in Europe, a spokesman for the automaker said on Wednesday. FCA said in a statement it had stepped up measures across its facilities, including intensive sanitation of all work and rest areas, to support the government's directives to curb the spread of the infectious disease. "As a result of taking these actions the company will, where necessary, make temporary closures of its plants across Italy," it said. The spokesman said affected plants were Pomigliano, Melfi, Atessa and Cassino, each of them halted for two or three days between Wednesday and Saturday. FCA said that to allow greater spacing of employees at their workstations, "daily production rates will be lowered to accommodate the adapted manufacturing processes." However, a source close to the matter said FCA did not expect an impact on overall production rates. The source added that temporary closures were in no way linked to disruptions of auto parts supplies following anti-virus measures imposed by Rome all over Italy.

Tier 1 suppliers call GM the worst OEM to work with

Among automakers with a big US presence, General Motors is the worst to work for, according to a new survey from Tier 1 automotive suppliers, conducted by Planning Perspectives, Inc.
The Detroit-based manufacturer, which has been under fire following the ignition switch recall and its accompanying scandal, finished behind six other automakers with big US manufacturing operations. Suppliers had issues with trust and communications, as well as intellectual property protection. GM was also the least likely to allow suppliers to raise their prices in the face of unexpected increases in material cost, all of which contributed to 55 percent of suppliers saying their relationship with GM was "poor to very poor."
GM's cross-town competitors didn't fare much better. Chrysler finished in fifth place, ahead of GM and behind Dearborn-based Ford, which was passed for third place this year by Nissan. Toyota took the top marks, while Honda captured second place.