GM must get real about its future

[Straz85]

What will happen to GM?

GM must get real about its future

An auto industry consultant known for his candor says the best hope for the ailing General is to get smaller -- and get smarter. Here's his take on how to fix GM.

Watching GM's stock plunge earlier this month to its largest single-day share loss since the stock market crash in 1987 sent chills through the Motor City, the industry and the financial community. The loss was triggered by GM's announcement that it expected a loss of almost $1 billion -- that's with a "b" -- over the last six months of the year, after suggesting less than three months earlier that things would be tough in 2005, but not in the dire category.

Well, folks, this is seriously dire, and Wall Street reacted accordingly, coming down hard on GM. Danny Hakim, reporting for The New York Times, said that "The losses reflected an increasingly harsh reality: that General Motors (GM, news, msgs), which three years ago was thought to be the healthiest of the Big Three automakers in Detroit, is now considered the weakest, primarily because it is not selling enough cars at home. The losses also raised questions about the strategy of the company's chairman and chief executive, Rick Wagoner." That's as dire of an assessment as you're likely to hear from anyone about the situation, and now GM heads to the New York Auto Show under the gun and under the microscope.Banks and insurers check your credit. So should you.

The fact that GM is in such dire straits right now is shocking to many, but it's not surprising to me. GM has been playing Russian roulette with its incentive-driven marketing strategy for almost 3 1/2 years now. What was a good and patriotic campaign in the beginning to "Keep America Rolling" after the horrific events of 9/11 turned into an obsessive-compulsive addiction that crippled GM's ability to think rationally about the North American market. GM mistook a short-term marketing boost/gambit for a long-term marketing strategy, and they talked themselves into believing that they could actually take away market share from their competitors with it.

[JFryauff]

Maybe one of the other "Big 3" will buy them out!?!?

[1point8T]

i'm not too crazy about gm anyways.

[TT225]

Well since GM is a client that I have been working on for the past year, i've learned that they have a lot of smaller entities... One of them that they spun off was Delphi into their own full company back in the early 2000's.
Now lets just look at the other brands that they have:
Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Oldsmobile, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall then in some counties, the GM Group distribution network also markets vehicles manufactured by GM Daewoo, Isuzu, Fuji (Subaru) and Suzuki. Then you can't forget GM Goodwrench, ACDelco and GM Powertrain.... They also have GMAC Financial Services, GM Onstar and GM Electro-Motive Division that manufactures Diesel-Electric locomotives and commercial diesel engines....

I think there comes to a point where a company just gets to large and has there hands in to many areas they they need to step back and start spinning off some of the brands or smaller companies into their own entities. A lot of the time some of these smaller parts start doing better once they are on their own and able to do what they want to do instead of Corp telling them what to do. I know GMs has been talking lately about possibly ending the Pontiac and Buick lines since they have not been performing well in years past.

I agree with 1point8t that i'm not to crazy about the cars they produce, the cars i can afford look and perform cheaply compared to the Import/Euro cars around the same price range and just the overall look of them are nasty IMHO.

Interesting to see what happens in the next few years with them

[gingerbreadman]

I'm a GM fan. I think they have some great vehicles including the H1 one of my favorites

[Handeye]

You know, last month GM agreed to pay Fiat 2 billion to back out of joint manufacturing agreements. I think it will get a little worse for GM before it gets better.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/business/4263125.stm

[Straz85]

Originally Posted by Handeye

You know, last month GM agreed to pay Fiat 2 billion to back out of joint manufacturing agreements. I think it will get a little worse for GM before it gets better.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/business/4263125.stm

It's a big enough company that they will get through it, it's just a matter of how and how long.

[VentoVr]

Im a fan of GM considering before my jetta i had a S-10 very relieable..Sometimes..but sooner in life you have to open your eyes and see the future with VW

[JFryauff]

Originally Posted by Straz85

What will happen to GM?

Oooh Oooh...I know...they will have other companies engineer there cars!

Toyota to engineer next-generation Corvette, to be
assembled by GM workers at NUMMI
The Nippon Daily Automotive
By Fuzaketa Yatsu
4/1/05

TOKYO - Word that the next generation Corvette will be
designed and engineered by Toyota has created quite a
buzz in America, the proud country of burgers and
pizza, unilateralist foreign policy and trailer parks.

Engineered to deliver what most Americans crave - the
comfort and familiarity of the Chevrolet Corvette
badge, with the engineering and reliability of a
Toyota, the new Chevrolet Corvette is sure to hit on
all six cylinders and attract a wide base of customers
when it goes on sale at the end of this decade. GM is
reportedly discontinuing engineering on the venerable
Small Block engine design, and giving in to the
public's desire for anything Japanese with dual
overhead cams and a four letter acronym like VVT-i.

"New Corvette is a unique package that will provide
maximum sportiness of the Corvette name, with the warm
feelings of Toyota," said chief of engineering Hidoiyo
Konnahanashi.

For Ben Arnold, Corvette's marketing director, the
car's unique character begins with its melding of the
best of Asian and American traits, with an emphasis on
the Asian. "Riding in the test mules of this new
Corvette is unlike anything I've experienced before.
It's like eating sushi with steak sauce...or peanut
butter. If you can hold back the gag reflex, its
really quite satisfying when it settles in your
stomach."

"When we considered what car buyers might want in the
future, given our shrinking market share, it became
obvious to us that what they really wanted was a
Toyota," Ben said. "Virtually all car buyers would
like to own a Toyota, but most sports car enthusiasts
would rather have a Corvette badge on it. So, in
designing the new Corvette, we tried to go as Japanese
as we possibly could, while leaving some room on the
car for a Corvette emblem or two. The latest Viper's
sheet metal was designed by a Japanese man who used to
work for Toyota, and we've taken that one step
further."

"Of course, the Corvette will be a Chevy at heart -
and all new from the ground up. The Corvette will be
the first North American application of Toyota's next
generation Supra architecture, and will employ a
Toyota-engineered 2.9-liter twin turbocharged engine
with hybrid assist making 500 horsepower and 120
torque at 8900 RPM. It will also get 67 miles per
gallon, and is one of the first Big 3 vehicles to be
officially approved by Hollywood Environmentalists
like Leonardo DiCaprio. He pre-ordered 3 for himself
and for his immediate family once he heard Toyota was
involved."

Rick Wagoner expressed delight during a press
conference after watching the new Corvette perform at
the 12,000-acre proving grounds Toyota operates in
Arizona. "After the success of so equally splitting
engineering efforts on the Pontiac Vibe and Toyota
Matrix and Voltz, I knew that the Corvette and Supra
would be the perfect platform for our next project at
NUMMI. Toyota needs an outlet for their workaholic
engineers, and we had to outsource engineering talent
after our latest white-collar job cuts, so it only
made sense for both parties to do this."

The all-new 2010 Chevrolet Corvette will be
manufactured at GM's Fremont, California., assembly
plant. Start of production is targeted for the fourth
quarter of 2009.

[Jetta2.slow]

ahhahhahaah thats awsome the toyota corvette

[ARRRRRRRR32]

wow thats gonna piss off a lot of mullets...

[B5 TURBO]

Originally Posted by JFryauff

SELL-OUTS!!!!!

[LoganV2.0]

Originally Posted by VeDub96

Im a fan of GM considering before my jetta i had a S-10 very relieable..Sometimes..but sooner in life you have to open your eyes and see the future with VW

Actualy if you read last months issue of Automobile magazine the future of VW does not look much better. According to sources they are having a very tough time finding the right nitch in the US market and the 2005/2006 cars could very well end up being the make or break cars for VW. On the Mitsubishi side they are about one bad car loan away from bangin' up as they also have gone stale w/all the cookie cutter crap they have produced(aside from the Evo of course) for the last 5 - 6 years. Ford has nothing but recalls for every move they make and the 2005 Mustang really has not had the Impact they would have liked(at least in My eyes as the Dealers have Plenty of 2005 Stangs to go around). IMHO the Only 2 Compaines they may be left after the smoke clears is Honda and Toyota. Love'em or hate'em but they have this US market down pat and are not wasting time with nich products,they are just producing Fine Cars and in the case of Toyota, one hell of a Truck(Tacoma). I understand that there are many more companies to go around(Audi, Subby and such)but primarly the above mentioned compaines are the solid sellers for the US market and some of the others are more of an expensive automobile(Over $30,000.00) that do not attract everyone. This is just my opinon so take it as such!!

[gdogg16]

Originally Posted by VeDub96

Im a fan of GM considering before my jetta i had a S-10 very relieable..Sometimes..but sooner in life you have to open your eyes and see the future with VW

Right cause vw=reliable! RIGHT!!