GM in Crisis—5 Reasons Why America's Largest Car Company Teeters on the Edge

Popular Mechanics ^ | November 18, 2008 | Larry Webster

[etcb]

Thanks for your comments. It does seem that if the words “General Motors” are in an article title, there is an almost knee-jerk reaction “America bad - Japan good”. It makes one think of Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick's description of the “Blame America first crowd”.

[rdb3]

1. Unions

2. Unions

3. Unions

4. Unions

5. Piss Poor Cars

1. Yep

2. Yep

3. Yep

4. Yep

5. Yep, except for the Cadillac.

[truthguy]

5. Oh Yea, how about the Corvette?

[steve8714]

Unions haven’t gotten anything management didn’t give them since Truman. Truman pretty much promised the companies the union wouldn’t hurt them, and privately may have threatened them.

[steve8714]

You haven’t driven a Ford Fusion 4-banger.
GM and Ford based their small car model on the (hideous) V-6, with EFI to make repairs and maintenance expensive.
GM’s best quality cars are Cadillacs, and one Pontiac- the Vibe.
Oh wait, that’s a re-badged Toyota.
Even Toyota has ruined a nice little car, the Scion xB by putting the larger engine into it and making it more MOR.

[slowhandluke]

Unions haven’t gotten anything management didn’t give them since Truman. Truman pretty much promised the companies the union wouldn’t hurt them, and privately may have threatened them.

BS. Truman was a long time ago. None of the crap like the 'jobs bank' was a management idea. Management didn't give the unions their cushy contracts out of sheer good will, they were forced into it by strikes and threats of strikes.

They only reason management went along was that the contracts covered all US car makers, and so it didn't hurt them relative to their domestic competition. But the union rules stifled innovation on the production line, and raised the cost of a car. That left a lot of room for the overseas car makers to move in.

[ncfool]

I am against any bailout unless the UAW and its members take about a 40% haircut on Wages and fringes. The same applies to the AutoMakers.

Why should AMERICANS pay for the corrupt unions bailout if they won’t take a haircut too. Enough is enough.

[steve8714]

Overseas car makers have been here since the ‘50s. US car makers saw the fruits (rotten) of the 1940s starting in the 1970s. In addition, the National/local system is just nuts.

[steve8714]

Coin flip.

[steve8714]

Toyotas are fine, but rear drive Lincolns before 1998 are great also.
GM cars seem mostly fine until 100,000 miles, the they fall to pieces.

[expatpat]

I had a Pontiac Firebird, which was a pretty neat car, except for the fact that pieces used to keep falling off it. Mostly interior pieces, but one day while the car was still fairly new my alternator pulley went racing on ahead as I drove down the road.

[Jacquerie]

There is a reason the stock is next to worthless. The company is insolvent. If you have an itchy wallet, blow the money on lottery tickets. The odds are better.