GM to Merkel: „Get out of the car, bitch!“

The Opel saga gets ever more embarrassing for German chancelloress Anjie Merkel from the former GDR, a failed state. She got bitch-slapped by GM for trying to sell something she (Germany) does not own. Her pre-election ramshackle deal with Magna is yet another display of her inaptitude. German politicians are lived. Forget their ramblings against the locusts, it is now „the ugly face of turbo-capitalism“ as a certain Mr. Rüttgers put it.

It remains to be seen how many factories will be closed and how many workers laid off. Can it be a coincidence that this developed as the chancelloress was in Washington DC?!! And remember that the Economist called the Magna deal a stink.

Opel saga or the chick from the east does not count

First the Economist

On October 16th the competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, announced in effect that she had proof of cheating. Ms Kroes, a tough Dutchwoman, said there were “significant indications” that aid promised to Opel was conditional on Magna buying the firm, and on business plans that set out where future production would be based. She invited Germany to pledge that its money would be available to any investor. The government in Berlin issued a letter saying just this.

Then the assessment in Detroit that there will be legal blood if that illegal shoved-down your-throat-by-the-German-gov Opel deal will get signed. The good thing was, is and will be: the decision is done in the US of A. And that is good.

Weak end reads

1. The Opel saga continues to bore because German politicians still believe they are deciding the fate of this doomed car company.

Don’t believe everything you hear, says J. Smith, group VP of GM.

2. Secret Apple app rejection code revealed (TC)

3. Rejoice all Windows 7 fucktards. Here is your personal upgrade chart. Jerk off before upgrade.

4. Oh those Goldman bitches (H/T GS666)

5. Germany’s export dependence

The presumption that what is good for exports is good for the economy partly explains why consumer spending in Germany has historically been weak. Its typical response to a faltering economy is to trim manufacturing costs, including wages, in order to keep exports keenly priced against other countries.

No idea about Opel-Magna thingy, but…

It might be a good idea for da Germans from ze government to next time send some real hard dicks to the negotiation table and not some punk ass like Roccoponte Steinbrück and certainly no cackhanded vicar’s daughter. BECAUSE if Fiat should be approached again by Berlin, bear this in mind:

In the span of 2 days, Fiat has downgraded its commitment to Chrysler from ‘married for life’ to ‘get yourself together in 6 days or you’re toast’. Evidently the Justice Department’s delay in dealing with the pesky Indiana pension funds is starting to test Fiat patience.

On Monday Fiat’s CEO Sergio Marchionne’s response to whether or not they would walk away from a deal with Chrysler it it wasn’t completed by June 15th was emphatic

GM sendet Repo Man zu Opel

Der deutsche Steuerzahler darf sich nicht nur bei der EU Wahl austoben, nein, die „Perspektive für die Zukunft“ hat auch Repo Man angelockt.

Repo Man meint in Richtung der Schaumtreter in Berlin „Pay up or we bust your fuckin’ asses“

Das „Handelsblatt“ berichtete am Donnerstag in seiner Online-Ausgabe.

Nach Berechnungen der Zeitung wird die neue Gruppe Opel/Vauxhall bis zum Jahr 2018 voraussichtlich mehr als sieben Mrd. Euro Zahlungen an den bisherigen Mutterkonzern General Motors Corp. (GM) (ISIN US3704421052/ WKN 850000) leisten müssen. Demnach kassiert GM auch nach der Abkoppelung von Opel weiter allein 6,5 Mrd. Euro Lizenzgebühren. Unter Berufung auf interne Unterlagen der Bundesregierung schreibt das „Handelsblatt“, dass GM seiner Ex-Tochter zwar Zugang zu allen geistigen Eigentumsrechten des insolventen US-Autobauers gewährt – Opel dafür aber weiter Lizenzgebühren zahlen muss, die lediglich für eine Übergangsphase reduziert werden.

Dass in Berlin wieder einmal eine Lobotomie-Séance erfolgreich ihren Verlauf nahm, legten schon die ersten Vertrags, pardon M.O.U., Details klar. FiMi Roccoponte belegte abermals seine völlige Dilettanz. Und das Geld geht hier hin.

Opel-Magna deal not sure

According to the German FAZ the Opel-Magna deal should be finalized by September. It is hard to see what is so time-consuming in buying a car company that you were interested in for at least two months. The reason is the O-M deal is just a luke warm M.O.U.

In fact the deal is far from a done deal. According to La Repubblica:

Il governo tedesco è ancora aperto a tutte le potenziali offerte per Opel. Lo ha fatto sapere il portavoce dell’esecutivo di Berlino, Ulrich Wilhelm. „Il dossier è ancora aperto a tutti gli offerenti“, ha detto Wilhelm, precisando che le trattative tra la casa automobilistica tedesca e il gruppo austro-canadese Magna sono ancora in fase preliminare. 

Short translation is the deal is open still to any offer – apperto a tutti gli offerenti! There is more. Yesterday were talks with the Chinese:

il gruppo cinese avrebbe avuto colloqui con il governo tedesco ieri.

Opel’s future just happened?

Could this be just a coincidence or is it ominous? Four wheels off at the same time …

The German government dorks should take heart as this might also be a solution, however not exactly as intended:

Further fueling the speculation is Stronach’s comments to The Globe and Mail where he said he wants to see Opel vehicles built in Canada. Building Opels in North America means whoever wins the Saturn auction — should it continue under the bankruptcy process — can maintain the Saturn-Opel affiliation rather cost-effectively, since importing Opels from Germany may have been prohibitively expensive for a potential mass market branding.

Fortunately, a northern country remains level-headed.