How can you say that about this car?
Posted on 10/16/2005 3:10:51 PM PDT by Vivaldi's Manifesto
Death Watch XXXV: Rick Wagoner, RIP
16 October 2005 By Robert Farago
God knows where Rabid Rick Wagoner got his reputation for being clever. Obviously, you don't get to be the CEO of the world's largest automaker by being stupid. The GM Empire is so vast that simply remembering who does what would vex Jeopardy maven Ken Jennings. But smart is not the same as clever; clever men make the right decisions at the right time. By that standard, Wagoner can't cut the mental mustard. He's consistently failed to grasp the proverbial nettle-- from slicing UAW benefits and pensions (come what may) to axing the forest of deadwood cluttering GM's product portfolio. He's long on assurances, short on results and devoid of courage. And as of Monday, he’s toast.
When GM's third quarter financial numbers are released, when stockholders learn that Wagoner and his team have failed to staunch the arterial spray of red ink draining The General’s lifeblood, that the Employee Discount For Everyone program was a textbook case of robbing Peter to pay Paul, that sales have declined near-as-dammit 50%, that Toyota is now the number one car brand in the United States, that there is [still] no deal with the UAW over health care costs or pensions; Wagoner will be the first to admit that times are tough. Aside from some mention of gas prices, this piercing glimpse into the obvious will not be accompanied by excuses. Instead, Rabid Rick will rely on his usual stock in trade: promises.
Rationalization has begun; we’re paring down our operations around the globe, which will save us $1b. The UAW will play ball; we’ve been engaged in talks, we’re making substantial progress, we have every confidence that the union's leadership understands… blah, blah, blah. Hybrids are coming! Crossovers are coming! You'll see.
Rabid Rick's "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow" speech wasn't true when he first took control of GM, and it's not true now. But it was effective. Rabid Rick clearly understood that GM’s stockholders perceived the automobile industry as show business. As the Chrysler 300C supposedly illustrates, a car company is never more than blockbuster away from salvation. Even as GM's health care costs zoom beyond $5.6b a year, you can still here the mantra coming from RenCen: product, product, product. Combine that with a five-minute attention span-- G6! Solstice! New Tahoe! Saab crossover!-- and you can just about understand how Rabid Rick's public pledges have allowed him to maintain power, despite his own monumental timidity against the enemies within.
Thanks to a combination of Delphi's collapse into bankruptcy, the UAW's [entirely predictable] foot dragging at GM's bargaining table and the cataclysmic loss of both sales and market share, Rabid Rick's promises will now, finally, ring false. Even the most dim-witted investor will understand what we've been saying all along: GM's business is deeply, fundamentally flawed. Union contracts and bureaucratic bungling render them incapable of building the vehicles that consumers want, in quantities that reflect demand, at a price that guarantees an adequate profit. Anything Rick says about rescuing GM that doesn't include unilateral cuts to the UAW's compensation and the immediate termination of lackluster brands will be [rightly] perceived as too little too late.
Of course, nothing Rabid Rick could say would soothe the savage beast known as Kirk Kerkorian; an investor who's as determined to reap profit from the break-up of GM as Rabid Rick is to maintain the automaker's integrity. There's no doubt whatsoever that Kirk and his Vegas pals analyze business using an ancient Italian principle: the fish stinks from the head down. It's an especially apt principle; assuming as it does that the fish is dead. We'll say it again: GM is a walking corpse. And just in case you think our reports of GM's demise have been greatly exaggerated, there is a growing school of thought which says that GM should declare bankruptcy NOW, before the UAW's inevitable strike sucks the remaining vigor from the corporate host.
Imagine if Rabid Rick Wagoner made THAT move on Monday. Not only would bankruptcy be a bold (not to say reckless) proactive strike against the UAW, but it would also allow GM to re-imagine itself. To create an entirely new and flexible business model of ad hoc suppliers, manufacturers, marketers, suppliers and repairers that can respond to market trends with confidence, clarity, flexibility and speed. That sort of company would be more like a series of interlocking partnerships than a vast fiefdom run a benevolent dictator. Which is, ultimately what GM CEO Rabid Rick Wagoner is fighting so hard, and vainly, to protect. When Rabid Rick's career finally goes down in flames, when he takes that final ride aboard the General’s Gulfstream jet, he’ll be remembered as the last of the old style GM execs. But not fondly.
I am confused dead pool time?
How can you say that about this car?
"All of the above plus the fact that G.M. sells junk."
Jeez.
GM's quality ratings are above Mercedees and BMW. Then again, Kia is now kicking butt, but at the very least the word "junk" shouldn't apply here.
If you're gonna make GM commentary at least know what they're building. There are so many valid criticisms that the bogus ones certainly aren't welcome.
Yes, I live in GM territory... and have for my entire life.
"How can you say that about this car?"
Those Vegas rocked once you pulled the Vega motor! A SBC (Small Block Chevy for you rice boys) would fit in there soooo nicely....
"Does this mean GM will no longer make station wagoners?"
They are now called "crossover" vehicles. DCX (Chrysler for you rice boys) says that the Pacifica is a "crossover" and not a station wagon.
Tim
Just based on my own experience. A new 1997 Z-28, nothing but problems. New 02 Buick, new engine after 75,000 miles. My wife bought a new 05 Trail Blazer that developed severe wind noise. Service department pretends it doesn't exist. Another service department told her to turn the volumn up on her radio.
So, lets not say that I don't know what I am talking about.
Screw G.M and G.M. products
How far from a hostile takeover? Perhaps one of the Chinese mega-corps would make the move. Is corporate ownership/control of other corporations constitutional in China like it is here?
"GM's quality ratings are above Mercedees and BMW"
Link please. I think you are talking about the specious "initial quality" rating.
Mercedes has had problems with dashboard electronics integration. I don't own one, but I see it as much less of a problem over the longrun than, say, a poorly engineered transmission.
How does GM stack up against BMW and Mercedes on, say, safety recalls?
How does GM stack up on resale value versus BMW/Mercedes?
Which one would you rather own after 3 years?
Any reasonable person would conclude that GM isn't higher quality than Mercedes or BMW. We won't even bother to bring the Japanese brands into the mix.
The companies debt, stock, and products are all junk - they are not investment grade, nor can you expect to extract any value above and beyond their cost.
That car certainly still LOOKS good.
"A SBC (Small Block Chevy for you rice boys)"
That engine was designed in 1954, when General Motors was still a great company.
"If you're gonna make GM commentary at least know what they're building. "
I know what theyr'e building: Cars that most people don't want to buy unless they're sold near cost.
The term dead man walking mean anything to y'all? When G.M. went to a primary vendor programm this was the beginning.
When management starts telling grown men that this is the way it will be done and the only way, an intelligent person would ask why? What happened to the best quality product at the best possible price and service to back it up in less than a 24 hour turn around? Good bye G.M.; you did it to yourself. I laugh everytime I drive by the plant.You really are inept and your management team shows it.Toyota will continue to frustrate GM's small minds, because they cannot figure it out. Cowgirlcutie's husband.
if those corporate owners are owned by the chinese army probably
Exactly. The main thing that has done in GM is building cars with lousy durability and quality. A Toyota or Honda can be driven for 150,000 miles plus with very little going wrong with it. GM cars do not age well. It is interesting that GM has hired a retired Toyota executive to give them tips on how to build cars that can go 120K miles with nothing going wrong.
I bought an 05 Toyota back in April and asked about how much an extended warranty would cost. The salesman had to look it up because he said they hardly ever sold one.
I didn't buy one either. Toyota has a reputation that G.M. can only dream of.
"Yes, I live in GM territory... and have for my entire life."
I have never seen so many people get so giddy about something that will so negatively impact them, and their neighbors. People here hate the unions so much, that they nearly wet themselves with glee thinking of union workers being unemployed. Even though those union workers are Americans, and pay taxes.
The thought that the GM and Delphi pensioners will end up being paid by the pension guarantee corp, (you, me and them), doesn't seem to bother them.
The underlying sentiment seems to be screw Americans, get those jobs to China ASAP.
When the infrastructure of the US takes a hit because tax revenues are down, I wonder if the same people will come here and howl about that?
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