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Hot sales have Detroit automakers shortening summer shutdowns

Back in May, there was speculation that the Detroit Three automakers would maintain or perhaps even extend their traditional summer shutdowns, mostly due to a bitingly cold winter that saw below-freezing temperatures infiltrate the southernmost reaches of the US, putting a chill on auto sales. Now, though, the numbers are in, and thanks to some promising sales figures, it looks like some domestic line workers are going to be working clear through July, in some cases.
According to Automotive News, Ford has slashed its traditional two-week hiatus for factory workers in half at four of its plants, while both Chrysler and General Motors will keep factories running nonstop (two plants in Chrysler's case and a third of GM's factories).
This is, as we said, thanks to some positive numbers. Chief among those is the Seasonal Adjusted Annual Rate, which was at an eight-year high of 17 million units. Individual figures were less promising. GM, embroiled in its recall scandal, still saw a one-percent increase while Ford dropped six percent in year-over-year sales. Chrysler was the big winner, though, with a nine-percent jump in June.

Canada bailed out GM, Chrysler without really knowing what they were getting into

The Auditor General of Canada recently issued a report that makes at least one thing clear: it doesn't know how effective Canadian government loans given to General Motors and Chrysler in 2009 were in ensuring the viability of both companies. That year, the Canadian and Ontario governments dished out $10.8 billion CAD ($9.6B US) to GM and $2.9 billion CAD ($2.6B US) to Chrysler, but hadn't yet sorted out precisely how the funds were to be used before disbursing them. This happened in spite of the fact that, according to a piece in Bloomberg, the loans weren't meant to be handed out until authorities were clear on the manufacturers' plans for reorganization. In fact, federal officials hadn't finished establishing the concessions made by all the involved parties, the pension liabilities, nor the long-term soundness of the automakers' financial positions. On top of that, apparently it didn't keep close tabs on the money after loaning it: the report says that $1B CAD should have been applied to GM Canada pension plans but was instead given to GM to use. Chrysler repaid $1.7 billion, while GM handed back $3.8 billion and Bloomberg believes the feds in Ottawa still own 110 million shares of The General, which, at the stock price as of writing, would be good for another $3.9 billion. Those were mad, bad days, though, and we're not sure what point the report serves, other than to say, "Oh, by the way...." News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Bill Pugliano / Getty Images Government/Legal Chrysler GM bailout

FCA recalling 63k Jeeps, Vipers and Ram ProMaster City vans

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has announced a pair of recalls cover nearly 63,000 vehicles. The bigger of the two actions covers manual-transmission-equipped vehicles from 2006, including the Jeep Liberty and Wrangler, as well as the Dodge Viper. FCA engineers uncovered that the clutch ignition interlock switches use a kind of wire that was part of a previous recall campaign. Because of this, the company said that affected vehicles may not start, although in rare cases, "if recommended starting procedures are not followed," the affected vehicles may lurch forward after turning the key. Those recommended starting procedures "include activating the parking brake, placing the shift lever in neutral and pressing the clutch pedal before turning the vehicle's ignition key." Recall number two affects the company's 2015 Ram ProMaster City cargo and passenger vans. Owners will need to report to dealers to have a piece of tape removed from the side-curtain airbags. The tape is added during assembly and in some cases, may not have been removed. That could prevent the airbags from deploying in the event of a crash. Just under 59,000 vehicles are included in the first recall, including 43,874 in the United States, 11,309 outside of North America, 2,944 in Canada and 706 in Mexico. The ProMaster City recall includes just over 3,900 vehicles. FCA claims it's unaware of any injuries, fatalities or accidents related to either recall and will perform repairs free of charge. Scroll down for the official press release on both campaigns. Related Video: Statement: Clutch Ignition Interlock Switch April 23, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US LLC is launching a voluntary recall of an estimated 43,874 older-model U.S.-market cars and SUVs equipped with manual transmissions. The Company will replace their clutch ignition interlock switches at no charge to customers. The action follows an investigation by FCA US engineers that discovered these vehicles are equipped with switches that contain a certain type of wire implicated in a previous campaign. The wire, which was temporarily substituted by a supplier for the specified material, may break. As a result, the vehicles may not start, and in rare cases – if recommended starting procedures are not followed – a vehicle may exhibit unintended movement when its ignition key is turned. FCA US is unaware of aware of any related injuries or accidents involving this population of vehicles.