Autosavant Editorial Asks: "Is Anyone Dumber Than a GM Executive?"

[kmacleod]

Originally Posted by Bokl

What is crazy is GM managers get payed for saying things like.
People do not want small cars.
People will buy small cars only if price of fuel is $8 per gallon
People do not want hybrids they think they are joke
People want big tahoe hybrid
Pontiac is BMW (that is a joke luzt)
Buick is lexux (that is another joke lutz)
Caddillac is mercedes ( and that is another joke lutz)
Saturn is opel (it is not. if it was we would have opel diesel engines and all of its models)
Get payed for loosing billions
Get payed for loosing over 10% of market share.
Get payed for ignoring small cars and only making suvs and trucks.
It must be nice to be gm manager you will make millions for running company out of business.

Decontenting and literally destroying the next AURA.

Not certifying all EURO 5 diesels for the 45 states that will allow them...

Not advertising the ASTRA and allowing NAV and other options that would truely sell the car.....

No Corsa or Beat because neither meet US Crash Standards

No wagons as GM thinks we need small Cute Utes..............


Sorry, I am a big GM fan and I am venting.

Things I would like to have choices for in the next year:

CORSA 5dr 1.3L TDI 6 sp manual

CRUZE 5 dr WAGON w/6speed manual

ASTRA WAGON same as above

AURA(INSIGNIA) CARAVAN 1.9L w/6 sp manual and AWD

Will it happen?

Ken

[69Firebird400]

Originally Posted by BigAls87Z28

Beat is 1/2 the size of the Yaris.
Just like the Smart car, its going to take a lot to get the Beat here. Gas is half as much as it is here in the US as it is in Europe.

The AVEO is the car we are talking about. The Aveo must compete head to head with Yaris, Fit, Versa, etc etc.

Dumb moves would be rebadging the G6, not making a flag ship for Caddy keeping them in the luxury segment, no moving foward with Zeta cars despite 1mpg drop, keep pushing trucks when people have no money to buy them, nor the cash to fill them, not rushing the Cruze to the US, not getting rid of Hummer at the first turn for the worst, or at least trying to reduce its gas guzzling image.
Things like that are much more important to the overall gain of GM then not having the Beat in the worlds fastest shrinking auto market, a country that abandoned GM long ago.

The Beat vs. Yaris issue isn't that they are direct competitors, but that Toyota was prepared to release the Yaris in the US when it saw demand for such cars, while GM - in spite of initial claims to the contrary - neither intended to nor had any plans to sell the Beat, Trax, or Groove in the US.

Funny you mention the Smart car - somehow even though it wasn't sold in the US for most of its existence, once the decision was made to do so, it didn't require waiting until the next generation in 2012 so that it would meet US crash standards.

[pwoods]

Originally Posted by Perian

<snip>An executive team that obviously sneers at small cars (and their smaller profit margins) while instead focusing its collective energy on large crossovers and trucks is not one that excels at contingency planning.
<snip>

Didn't you hear? GM management is hoping that by not offering the Beat here, that those customers will instead by Tahoes and Suburbans. I mean, there aren't any other car manufacturers out there that people might instead buy from, right? Unfortunately, I am no longer surprised by stuff like this.

[Buickman]

losing $60 Billion in 2.5 years, and destroying 90% of shareholder value since becoming CEO, Red Ink Rick still has the unanimous support of the Board of Bystanders. these are NOT stupid people. they quite obviously have a plan we are not privy to. GM would never get away with relocating offshore and cutting payrolls, benefits and dealers during prosperous or even decent times. with board members from the oil industry, banking, and big medicine, you can only surmize that this is a well coordinated plan to restructure for the long term while simultaneously enriching the firms with cross directorships.

there is no other reasonable explanation for the asset sales, increased borrowings, plant closures, employee buyouts, benefit reductions, and continued idiotic marketing which drives the downward spiral. look at market share loss. it's a descending flight of stairs. stupidity is not sequential, it's all over the place. Wagoner should be brought up on charges for the impact on America resulting from this secretive "plan". in essence, he has lied to investors. last I knew that was illegal in the USA.

[fp115]

Originally Posted by 69Firebird400

The Beat vs. Yaris issue isn't that they are direct competitors, but that Toyota was prepared to release the Yaris in the US when it saw demand for such cars, while GM - in spite of initial claims to the contrary - neither intended to nor had any plans to sell the Beat, Trax, or Groove in the US.

Funny you mention the Smart car - somehow even though it wasn't sold in the US for most of its existence, once the decision was made to do so, it didn't require waiting until the next generation in 2012 so that it would meet US crash standards.

The Smart car did not meet emission standards. Still don't in Canada. Smart won't be releasing any upgrade till the next gen (if they see the market wants it).

[fp115]

Originally Posted by natesriv

Oh, I'm aware #1 that most of the photos and press are from NON GM sources. I'm also aware of lead times. My point is (and this may be different with a WWW world we live in) but it wasn't so long ago that people were suprised by new models. I remember seeing the 95 Riviera in Car & Driver and having went "wow, when does that come out?" ..and it came out THAT YEAR

Side note: I drove the Astra and was unimpressed, too buzzy, not enought umph and a price about $3K higher than it should be.

Well sure it wasn't the greatest of ideas to show the concept so soon. But failure to even release anything would cause the car to go further under their own radar and potentially getting itself killed. If there weren't so many contracts behind this new Camaro would have had this years ago. This has nothing to do with being GM's fault. This is all a government of Quebec and Canada issue, as well as unions.

[Ambalanche]

Originally Posted by Ultra Magnus

I would love the opportunity to sit down with GMs executives just to ask why they continue to run GM into the ground. Is there a larger plan that we arent aware of or are they just completely inept at seeing and meeting the long term needs of the company?

Actually, they are on Toyota's payroll!

[PhishPhood]

Testing of the Chevy Beat is officially underway. . . The Beat will make its production debut sometime in 2010 and will go on sale in Europe in early 2011. As previously reported, the Beat won't be making the trek to the U.S. until it meets the fed's crash-test standards, so we won't get a shot at the Beat until the next generation arrives – whenever that is.

This reasoning on the part of GM is a crock of **** BTW. Why?

Well it makes it sound as if our NHTSA standards are SO high that the vehicle has to be redesigned to meet standards that are SO much more difficult than the rest of the world.

The truth of the matter is that the NHTSA standards are the LEAST stringent of all western countries. They are so much of a joke that the NHTSA itself is in the process of redesigning the tests and Pass/Fail criteria. They are at least 30 years out of date. There was a long discussion and request for comments on the www.safercar.gov website last year and recently the NHTSA announced how it's going to bring its standards up to the level of the rest of the world.

This IMO is a smoke screen for GM management saying 'We're still not sure that the NA buyer is going to be willing to pay $22000 to $25000 for a compact car. We know that our European customers will pay that price but we just don't know if Mr/Mrs Middle America will pay it.'

This is not just a problem for GM, it's the same for every vehicle maker..Ford, VW, Toyota, Honda. All their Euro vehicles are much nicer than what we get here. The Euro-versions though sell for $22000 - $30000. We drool then we look in the mirror and say "$25000 for an econobox??? What am I nuts???"

That being said there is a revolution coming and it's beginning now.
The new Corolla is decontented from it's Euro-sibling but it does begin to offer Navi and leather and BT and SKS as options..Net Price $26000!!
I'm going to guess that the Fords being brought over will be similarly upscale...at an upscale price as well.
The Jetta and Golf are $20000-$25000 vehicles now.
So to the GM faithful.....look in the mirror and ask..."$25000 for a nice Cruze?" Are you willing to pay GM this price without massive rebates and giveaways?

[A Bum In A Bus]

Too many Roger Smith clones at the top.

[Chaz_23]

But you guys are assuming that Rick wants GM to succeed, increase in market share, increase in profits?
What if that weren't the goal at all? What if the aim is to do away with the auto manufacturing sector in the US. Isn't that the dream of many- that the fly-over states turn into desert or forrests? That the middle class dissapears? That all that's left is the ultra rich and those who shine their shoes, cook their food, cut their lawns.

[dav305z]

I've been an apologist for the current leadership for a while now, but it's time for them to go.

At the very least, the company needs new outside blood to shock the sickly culture of morass that's killing the company. Even if Wagoner has the right vision (and I'm not sure he does at this point), I have little faith in his ability to accomplish it.

Another person who has apparently doing a less than stellar job is Mark LaNeve. Granted, GM's marketing budget is probably insufficient at this point, but they have been doing amazingly little to push their new products.

[tollytime]

GM has made some amazing vehicles and have shown they can build a great product when they want to dedicate their resources. Unfortunatly, they have resorted to shortcuts when it came to filling gaps in market segments they deemed unimportant. Cars like the Catera, GTO, and Aveo, are good examples of cars made on the cheap. They were basically unwanted cars from different parts of the globe brought to America with new names. These cars didn't sell well and needed heavy incentives to get them off the lot. The Aveo has only become popular due to high gas prices in recent months, although the Cobalt proves a much higher value on the showroom floor.
GM also spent money on vehicles that made no sense at all, like the SSR. It was a perfect example of making chicken soup from chicken sh-t. Left over parts from GM's failing Trailblazer/Envoy line were incorporated to produce a hot rod nobody asked for.
GM spent way too much time focusing on high profit vehicles like the Escalade and the Hummer H2. These vehicles were all based on Chevy pickup trucks and rewarded them with high profits. They continued to recycle old platforms for their midsize segments and allow the product cycle to grow over 5 years. The public lost interest in the GM car line completley. GM had even less interest in producing small economy cars. The Cobalt is a competent economy car, but still lacks the refinement of it's rivals.
The GM management obviously underestimated the fickleness of the American car buyer. Management mistakes of this nature are usually interpreted by consumers as arrogant and ignorant. These perceived traits that are highly despised in American culture.
CEO's like Lee Iacocca realized this corporate fopah and went to the puplic as a layman asking for a repreave. It's time for Rick Wagoner to come out of the ivory tower and make a similar commitment to the consumer. The executive culture at GM needs a realignment. Right now!!

[Ming]

Well, they were well-received, partially because of a contest sponsored by GM for the public to vote for their favorite of the three, but it was later revealed that GM had no intent of ever selling them in the US - at least in their first generation.

And the cynical way that Bob Lutz tried to stamp out enthusiasm for these cars was equally disappointing, and I remember it well. It was a dark month for GM in my eyes.

[44magg]

I have been saying this for years. Why do you think GM is where they are today?

[Kheiron]

Originally Posted by BigAls87Z28

Beat is 1/2 the size of the Yaris.
Just like the Smart car, its going to take a lot to get the Beat here. Gas is half as much as it is here in the US as it is in Europe.

The AVEO is the car we are talking about. The Aveo must compete head to head with Yaris, Fit, Versa, etc etc.

Dumb moves would be rebadging the G6, not making a flag ship for Caddy keeping them in the luxury segment, no moving foward with Zeta cars despite 1mpg drop, keep pushing trucks when people have no money to buy them, nor the cash to fill them, not rushing the Cruze to the US, not getting rid of Hummer at the first turn for the worst, or at least trying to reduce its gas guzzling image.
Things like that are much more important to the overall gain of GM then not having the Beat in the worlds fastest shrinking auto market, a country that abandoned GM long ago.

Very.

Very. VERY....True.

All 'excellent' points, I would have worded it that exact way.