Quote:
Originally Posted by K-1
Perhaps the shareholders should be voting in a new board. Wagoner is far from the root of all GM's problems.
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True, but you have to admit the way that Rick Wagoner has seemed to dodge fire from all but a few vocal people like Buickman is a bit amazing, considering the fall in stock price over the last several years.
I do blame Rick and Bob for their idea that it would take $8 gasoline ("European Levels" to quote Bob) for people to start wanting small cars. They were wrong, and I fear they will be wrong again.
Even "Member1" has a point about the Tahoe Hybrid nobody wants, and a $40,000 Volt not being a panacea for GM's woes.
Look at HP's (and by extension pre-merger Compaq's) turnaround under Mark Hurd.
Does anyone think that Mark Hurd would still have a job with HP if HP was seeing the kind of loss in market share and plummeting stock prices that have gone on under Rick and Bob?
Rick seems like a really nice guy -- the kind of guy you don't want to criticize too harshly just because he seems like a kindly manager or neighbor. But the nice guy thing can only go so far in deflecting bullets for clear missteps and mistakes in strategy.
Bob on the other hand seems a bit arrogant. Which is OK when you're RIGHT.
I'll say it again -- leave Bob Lutz in charge of how vehicles LOOK ---- but get a young "Wired" engineer-geek type (some genius college hire) in at GM who obsesses over the latest technology and small cars. The last thing we need at the
technology top now with gas prices where they are is someone who grudgingly agrees to throw a few token small cars and alternative fuel vehicles our way when his real love is for high horsepower thrills, sleek euro roadsters, and jet fighters - or someone who reminisces fondly over the gasoline-sloshing drag-racing 1960's.
Let such a guy design only the look of the cars (as "product czar" I assume he has more power than just that), since he's clearly much better at that than he is in predicting what Americans will want at $4. Let the "Wired" kid be Bob's sidekick if that keeps his ego intact.
Have a Press Conference announcing said young Wired engineer-geek as Bob Lutz' "go to guy" or "consultant" for all future powertrain and technolgical options (interior gadgets) strategy. Make a bold public statement that GM is about changing the game completely, not simply a reluctant retreat from SUVs, a small car here and there, and an "eggs in one basket" pricey Volt. Try to make GM the trendy Apple company of Automakers. A company that feels young again.
We need someone who appreciates and wants GM to build a small go-cart like funmobile in the spirit of the best Japanese Kei cars and the MINI Coopers of the world. Someone who can make a GM car attractive to own even if gas is $10/gallon.
660cc's, turbocharged: