General Motors took a big step toward its reinvention as the "New G.M." today when it opened what it calls the largest automotive battery laboratory in the United States, a move the struggling company believes will hasten the development of electric vehicles. GM invested $25 million in the 33,000-square-foot Global Battery Systems Lab to develop and test the drivetrains underpinning the Chevrolet Volt and other hybrid, battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The automaker believes the facility, at its ...

Chrysler and General Motors announced this week that they would shrink their dealer base in the U.S. Chrysler will close 789 dealers, leaving them with approximately 2400 stores in the U.S. General Motors announced the closing of 1,100 dealers and hopes to be at a size of 3,600 dealers at the end of 2010. While Chrysler dealers will be "forced out" by June 9, GM is positioning for a smoother closing of its stores, with each shutting down ...

Finnish prosecutors will file genocide charges against a Rwandan man in the killings of 15 people during Rwanda's ethnic cleansing bloodbath in 1994, authorities said Monday. GM will file a bankruptcy petition at 8 am ET (12 pm GMT), paving the way for a de facto government takeover, according to a source with direct knowledge of the bankruptcy proceedings. Chapter 11 bankruptcy will aim to help GM emerge with only its more profitable plants, brands, dealerships and contracts. Unprofitable plants, ...

The future of thousands of car industry jobs in Europe remained uncertain Monday as General Motors prepared to file for bankruptcy after reaching a deal to sell off its European operations, including German automaker Opel and UK-based Vauxhall. GM will file a bankruptcy petition at 8 am ET (12 pm GMT), paving the way for a de facto government takeover, according to a source with direct knowledge of the bankruptcy proceedings. Chapter 11 bankruptcy will aim to help GM emerge ...

The future of Opel remained uncertain Friday after Italian car giant Fiat withdrew from talks in Berlin due to concerns over emergency funding demanded by the German government for the ailing automaker. Fiat had been one of two potential bidders, along with Canadian-Austrian supplier Magna, still in the running to take over Opel, which is currently owned by General Motors. Fiat said in a statement Friday it remained interested in taking control of Opel but said the German government's demand ...

Two groups remain in the hunt to take over carmaker Opel from the umbrella of General Motors' European operations: Canadian-Austrian supplier Magna and Italian car company Fiat The German government met Wednesday to discuss the future of the carmaker. The chief concern is to make sure the car company does not become embroiled in the bankruptcy protection proceedings of parent company GM. At stake are four plants that employ 25,000 people in Germany. The German government is expected ...

The German government plans to meet Wednesday night to discuss the future of carmaker Opel and weigh bids for the General Motors subsidiary. A spokesman for the German chancellor's office said he did not expect a final decision on Opel to be made Wednesday. "It's just to check the offers of the investors, then to see how we can go on," said the spokesman, who declined to be named. The German government is expected to discuss bridge financing that would ...

General Motors appears to be on a fast road to bankruptcy . Chief executive officer Fritz Henderson has already described a bankruptcy filing as 'probable' as the U.S. Treasury's June 1 deadline for reorganizing the company draws near. Also, the fact GM actually announced it was moving up its normal date for paying suppliers from June 2 to May 28 further suggests bankruptcy is likely, says Brad Coulter of O'Keefe & Associates of Bloomfield Hills, which specializes in helping distressed manufacturing companies. 'To ...

Eighteen months ago, when the world was awash in asset bubbles, there was perhaps no market more overheated than commodities. Prices of everything from iron ore to palm oil to corn reached dizzying heights. Crude oil nearly quintupled in five years; rice tripled in only five months. World Bank President Robert Zoellick called rising food and oil prices a "man-made catastrophe" that had the potential to quickly erase years of progress in overcoming poverty. Protests and riots over high prices for necessities erupted across the developing world. ...

Jack Welch "would bet on" a U.S. comeback in the automotive business if unions and other parties make appropriate concessions, the former General Electric chairman and CEO said on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. Welch also said he wasn't surprised by the government's role in the resignation of General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner, who said last week he stepped aside at the request of Obama administration officials. Welch said that because the government was "keeping the company alive" ...