Posted on 07/14/2008 2:56:02 PM PDT by Westlander
It's amazing how common that thinking is in business today. That's exactly what keeps them investing in better equipment that will pay off in the future. Short-sightedness is an epidemic.
Sleep well tonite Detroit.
Where will they move? Birmingham? Nashville? Charlotte?
But all foreign manufacturers here are non-union and they are doing fine. The US manufacturers are infested with unions and they are sucking wind and are not doing fine.
Seems to me to be related.
Federal Express got crucified on doing this same thing last December. They better do it smart if they try it.
That’s correct. White-collar positions are going away.
The invention of the lease and the SUV kept Detroit afloat longer than would have otherwise been usual.
Both are dead now...leases can’t deliver low payments any longer due to low residual values on the cars/SUVs, and the SUVs are slow sellers when gasoline goes up in price.
One has to wonder if GM is going to announce their sale or bankruptcy tomorrow morning...what else can end their legacy healthcare/pension overhead?
But the real question is: will Kwame lead the riot?!
Could quality possibly be a factor?
Unions have gotten away with all kinds of malfeasance, but to only cut out half of a cancer doesn’t make a LOT OF SENSE.
Oh well. Not surprised (for some reason) though.
Investing in better equipment that maximizes profit is ALWAYS a smart move.
Increasing next quarters profit at the expense of quality, and losing market share is not.
Not beat. Not pass. Not lead. But meet. Follow.
They only sold half. They still own 49% of GMAC, and it is killing them right now.
I could make GM profitable tomorrow — stop all sales to North America. Pull completely out of the US car market. I’m serious. They are making money worldwide and see strong growth with Buick in China. It is their losses on US sales that are killing them.
Of course, part of my claim assumes that they would have to lay off their entire North American work force. No more unions or union rules. I’m not talking politics here, I am saying that the US is where GM is taking big losses. Around the world, from China to the Middle East, they are making good money.
If GM completely closed up shop in the USA, they would become profitable again, strongly profitable.
Chevrolet and Cadillac are the only 2 brands that are selling well.
For my money, Cadillac is STILL the car to have when you are a success.
I’m old too. I just bought my last car a little over a year ago. It’s a Cadillac.
If I were going to buy another car, I’d buy a 2008 CTS to replace my 2006 so I hope they don’t go bankrupt.
Last year Ford bought out 35,000 employees. So did GM. For Ford, that was half their workforce.
Who is left who knows how to build a car? And how does a company need 70,000 workers one day to build cars, and 35,000 the next?
And quality is Job 1. I don’t think so.
Tomorrow the music stops for GM and anybody left will be scrambling to get a chair.
Chevy Malibu Quality Report:
In the recently released J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Initial Quality Study in the automotive industry, the award-winning Chevrolet Malibu was ranked highest in the Midsize Car Segment and was the highest-ranked domestic vehicle, placing fourth overall and outpaced its main competitors, the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord by a wide margin.
With 80 problems per hundred vehicles (PPH), the Malibu trailed only luxury models from Porsche, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz in the industry rankings.
https://mygmgw.gm.com/http://communicator.gm.com/comm/na/malibu_nation/en/index.html
Thought I’d bump this for some last minute speculation on what GM is going to do. In this area, I am concerned about the Truck & Bus Plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Although, it is a relatively new facility and I wouldn’t expect anything too drastic to happen there.
About six years ago a friend of mine bought a GM vehicle and when he took a door panel off to put in an after market speaker he found a moldy sandwich!
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