General Motors Co. has started the wind-down of its Indianapolis stamping plant after UAW-represented workers yesterday overwhelmingly rejected a proposed 50 percent pay cut that was sought by a potential new owner of the plant, Automotive News reported.

GM spokeswoman Kim Carpenter said GM has ended its search for a potential buyer.

“We are disappointed that UAW Local 23 was not able to ratify the proposed labor agreement,” Carpenter said in an e-mail.

“As previously announced, we will continue steps to wind down the facility, which will cease production in mid-2011 and close by December 2011.”

Gregory Clark, UAW Local 23 shop chairman, said last week that the cuts were too deep and the plant’s 650 workers would take their chances transferring to another GM plant should jobs open. He said about one-third of the hourly work force is eligible to retire.

Clark was critical of the intervention by the UAW International into the issue. In May, the workers overwhelmingly said they did not want to initiate concession talks with the potential new owner, stamper J.D. Norman Industries.

Despite that, the UAW International picked up negotiations and tried to sell the workers on the merits of the new contract. The vote yesterday was 457 no to 96 voting in favor.

The contract proposed to cut production wages from $28 an hour to $14 an hour. A 14-an-hour wage equates to straight-time annual compensation of less than $30,000.

The proposed contract also contained a “buydown” provision that would have paid workers a total of $25,000 over two years to compensate them partially for the wage and benefit cuts.

Clark said the massive plant makes large stampings, such as hoods, doors and fenders, for several GM cars.

Ford Motor Co. has agreed to waive $160 million in claims against former parts unit Visteon Corp., and committed to contracts worth $600 million with the supplier just days before Visteon exits bankruptcy, reported Automotive News.

In court documents filed over the weekend in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, Visteon said Ford agreed to waive $160 million in claims against the supplier, including Visteon’s obligations to pay certain pension and retiree benefits costs.

Reuters said the settlement would end Visteon’s obligations to reimburse Ford for some $105 million in pension and retiree benefit costs.

Ford in turn will pay Visteon $29 million for restructuring costs and committed to spend $600 million on new parts from Visteon through 2013.

“The global settlement represents the final piece of the puzzle in Visteon’s Chapter 11 reorganization and the restructuring of its commercial relationship with Ford,” the company said in court documents.

The court is scheduled to review and approve the proposed settlement with Ford at a hearing Thursday.

Visteon was spun off from Ford in 2000 and struggled through most of the decade, before filing for bankruptcy protection in May 2009.

The company owed lenders $1.6 billion and bondholders another $870 million during bankruptcy. It used bankruptcy to shed approximately $2 billion in debt, including deep cuts to retirees.

The cuts were a major source of contention throughout Visteon’s bankruptcy case until it agreed to pay $12 million to more than 6,000 retired workers in return for insurance and benefits reductions.

The court approved Visteon’s reorganization plan in August and the company plans to emerge from bankruptcy on Oct. 1.

LONDON – Ford Motor Co. may reduce its product lineup to as few as 20 nameplates, CEO Alan Mulally said today as reported by Bloomberg.

“There will be less than 30, on our way to 20 to 25,” Mulally said in response to questions on the future lineup of nameplates after addressing the Confederation of British Industry in London. “Fewer brands means you can put more focus into improving the quality of engineering.”

Ford offered 97 nameplates when Mulally became CEO of the company in 2006. The lineup has since been reduced by terminating some products and selling luxury brands Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin.

“It was absolutely clear that we had to simplify Ford dramatically,” said the CEO, who is in Europe prior to visiting the Paris auto show later this week.

Ford also has simplified component specifications for each product, so that the Fiesta model, which has about 10 variants worldwide, now has about 65 percent of its parts as standard.

“It helps all of our distribution, Ford store owners, suppliers, employees and consumers to know exactly what they’re getting,” Mulally said.

As part of his push to cut the number of brands and nameplates, Mulally has dismantled the luxury Premier Automotive Group formed by CEO Jacques Nasser in 1999 and embraced by Bill Ford after he took over the top post.

Mulally, who joined Ford from planemaker Boeing Co., completed the sale of Sweden’s Volvo Cars to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. of China for $1.3 billion last month, having sold the Jaguar Land Rover unit to Mumbai-based Tata Motors Ltd. in 2008 and disposed of Aston Martin a year earlier.

Ford is also discontinuing the mid-level Mercury line in North America and intends to put more resources into its upscale Lincoln brand.

Mulally said Ford’s sales prospects depend largely on economic recovery following the termination of government cash-for-clunkers programs that spurred demand last year.

“The key thing now is to keep the economy going,” said Mulally, who turned 65 last month. “All the fundamentals say that we are moving in the right direction.”

Prospects for expansion are bolstered by the Asian market, which is “just a phenomenal growth engine right now,” he said.

WASHINGTON – President Obama has signed legislation that will raise limits to $5 million on federally guaranteed loans available to thousands of small auto dealers as the administration attempts to loosen credit in a sputtering economy, reported Automotive News.

The previous floorplan financing limit in the U.S. Small Business Administration pilot program was $2 million.

The 17-month-old program hasn’t gotten off the ground because banks, credit unions and other lenders have been reluctant to participate.

The Obama-backed bill, which contained provisions aimed at creating jobs as well as easing credit, passed the House and Senate over almost completely unified Republican opposition as the Nov. 2 congressional elections approach.

“We still need banks to lend,” said Bailey Wood, spokesman for the National Automobile Dealers Association. “The fact is, many credit worthy dealers are still having a tough time getting the credit they need to purchase vehicle inventory.”

The floorplan financing provision is part of a section that will raise loan limits for all qualified small businesses.

“It’s a great victory for America’s entrepreneurs,” the president said.

Under the new law, the portion of each loan that is backed by the federal government will remain 75 percent.

The law waives lender fees to the government of as much as $54,000 on a $2 million loan, SBA spokesman Michael Stamler said. These fees can be passed on to dealers.

More than half the 18,000 dealerships in the United States will qualify as small businesses for the floorplan financing assistance, Wood said.

To qualify, dealerships must have average net income of less than $3 million after taxes and tangible net worth of $8.5 million or less, he said. Only 61 SBA-backed floorplan loans totaling $61 million have been approved for dealerships, Stamler said.

Lenders have cited government red tape and fees, their own staffing constraints and lack of familiarity with floorplan financing.

The SBA program, which began in May 2009, will expire in September 2013 under the new law.

BMW of North America said it will raise prices on most U.S. models an average of 1 percent effective Oct. 1.

The move increases 1-series prices by $300, 3 series by $500 — except for the 335td, which goes up by $200 — and most 7-series sedan, X5 crossover and Z4 models by $500.

Prices will stay the same for the redesigned 5 series, introduced earlier this year; the ActiveHybrid X6 and 6 series; the ActiveHybrid 7 and the 5-series Gran Turismo.

Pricing won’t be released for the redesigned X3 crossover until next month. The vehicle goes on sale in late December.

DETROIT – General Motors Co.’s new U.S. advertising chief has again tapped another winning automaker to strengthen Chevrolet’s marketing bench, Automotive News reported.

Kevin Mayer has been named director of Chevrolet advertising and sales promotion, the automaker said Thursday. He joins GM from Subaru of America Inc., where he had been director of marketing communications.

In recent months, GM has also lured marketing executives from Hyundai — one of three brands to post a U.S. sales increase last year. Subaru and Kia were the other two, and Subaru was the only marque to advance in 2008.

“Kevin has consistently demonstrated a unique ability to engage the customer and build a relationship with the brand — and ultimately the products — through bold strategies,” Joel Ewanick, GM’s vice president for U.S. marketing, said in a statement.

Ewanick joined GM in May after leaving Hyundai earlier this year for Nissan, where he worked six weeks.

He said in a statement that Mayer will be an “asset” as GM prepares to launch two key products, the Chevrolet Cruze small car and the Volt plug-in hybrid.

In August, Hyundai’s chief U.S. marketing officer, Chris Perry, was lured away to head marketing at Chevrolet. GM’s biggest division lost sales and share in 2008 and 2009 as the automaker slid into bankruptcy and battled the weakest U.S. market in nearly three decades. This year’s Chevy sales have risen 19 percent through August, more than twice the industry’s advance.

Mayer, 41, will report to Liz Boone, GM’s new director for U.S. advertising strategy. Boone was recently hired from Innocean Worldwide Americas — where she led Hyundai’s passenger car account. She reports to Ewanick.

Mayer joined Subaru in 2007. Before that, he served as senior vice president and account director at Colby and Partners, where he led the American Suzuki Motor Co. account.

In a related matter, Subaru said Alan Bethke will replace Mayer as director of marketing communications.

Bethke, 38, was previously marketing planning and operations manager for Subaru. He joined Subaru in 2003 from Suzuki.