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Crunch watch Mar 09: the auto industry in crisis

By Ben Pulman and Tim Pollard Motor Industry 31 March 2009 13:48 Tuesday 31 March 2009• Porsche said that its earnings before tax rose to €7.3 billion in the six months to the end of January – including a €6.8bn windfall from its VW share options (Financial Times)• Fritz Henderson, GM's president and chief operating officer, will step up to replace Rick Wagoner, who was ousted on Sunday as CEO of General Motors (Financial Times)• President Obama is essentially CEO-in-chief of GM – despite not owning a single cent of stock, says Detroit News commentator (Detroit News)• German chancellor Angela Merkel gives assurances that any would-be investors in GM's European arm will be given state support. Opel is asking for €3.3 billion in aid – and up to 25,000 jobs in Germany depend on it, with up to 300,000 jobs across Europe including Saab and Vauxhall (BBC News)Monday 30 March 2009• General Motors' chief executive Rick Wagoner has been ordered to resign by US president Barack Obama with immediate effect. It's part of Obama's administration's critique of GM and Chrysler's turnaround plans – he's understood to be unhappy with the plans submitted (BBC News)• New GM non-executive chairman Kent Kresa has admitted that at the company's next general meeting it will have 'a majority of new directors' (General Motors)• Chrysler will receive US government aid for the next 30 days, but the Obama administration has said that if the company cannot secure a tie-up with the Fiat Group within that time period it will not receive any more money from the taxpayers and could go into liquidation.

Ford, Lawrence Tech offer design scholarships

The next Camilo Pardo might hail from Lawrence Technological University. In the Designing for the Future contest, Ford Motor Co. and Michigan's Lawrence Tech are challenging high school seniors to compete for more than $75,000 in scholarships to the school's transportation and industrial-design programs.

LA Motor Show: Maserati begins new era

MASERATI has kicked off a new era of brand activity with the arrival of its Ghibli compact luxury saloon. The company’s stand at the Los Angeles Auto Show launched a new slogan and philosophy, called ‘the absolute opposite of ordinary’, to journalists ahead of the show’s public opening. The Ghibli will spearhead the new initiative, which sets out the company’s stall for the foreseeable future as it tries to carve a bolder new path to create bigger waves in the luxury car world.