Can GM Come Back?

[camaro_freak]

Originally Posted by Ambalanche

Camaro Freak, you left out the Camaro, that will surely be an awesome car and be very successful against it's competitors.

The Camaro is still MONTHS away from showroom floors so any talk-up is irrelevant at this point. Unlike GM, FORD had the balls to keep playing the game and continue to produce and improve the Mustang. GM let the F-Body bloat up and then wither on the vine until it died.

[ronald mcretard]

Originally Posted by TruckMan

Yeah! More fear-mongering on the front page. While we're at it, let's talk about how crappy the economy is and the possibility of going to war with Iran and how stupid GM is for not bring the Beat and Cruze here immediately.

Would you rather bury your head in the sand and pretend nothing is wrong?

[dindak]

I put my money where my mouth is, I bought 500 shares last week and another 500 this week. So far so good.

GM will make it.

[camaro_freak]

Originally Posted by eaton53

The Escape and Focus are old designs that has been refreshed about 4 times... they're not superior to the VUE and Cobalt. Both VUE and Cobalt have won recent comparos while the Fords aren't even included.Both the Malibu and Aura are better that the Fusion... especially the class-leading Malibu.That's about the extent of it.... it beats the Nox/Torrent easily.

yes the Escape is an old design but that proves they've been out longer with good product and a hybrid to boot just as long if not longer than GM.

The Focus, on the other hand, is selling strong due to content like the Sync and other features. Granted the Focus is old, but Ford went after the right market with the upgrades.

And the Cobalt needs updating just as badly as the Focus so don't even try to pull that stuff.

[mjd1001]

Originally Posted by TruckMan

Yeah! More fear-mongering on the front page. While we're at it, let's talk about how crappy the economy is and the possibility of going to war with Iran and how stupid GM is for not bring the Beat and Cruze here immediately.

First of all, when I read the article, it didn't come across as fear mongering at all to me.

Secondly, are we only allowed to discuss issues that border on cheerleading for GM, or else we'll call it fear mongering? The issues brought up are real issues, and they are paramount for GM to not ignore.

[ericmvest]

Originally Posted by tgagneguam

Of course, this is a relative comparison, ericmvest. Place GM's current management against, say, General Electric's, and it will provide some rather quick insight into how GM could be a much better run company.

General Electric bought RCA in the 1980's and combined it with its own consumer electronics business. General Electric had by far the largest market share in America, but they still decided to sell out to Thompson. General Electric recently announced its intention to sell Major Appliance.

General Electric seems more interested in selling core businesses that are under attact by foriegn competition rather than managing them to victory. If General Motors was owned by General Electric I am sure they would sell it rather than try to fix it.

[TruckMan]

I didn't read the article. I just assumed that it was another article blasting GM management and their decisions on cars. Seems to be about 3 of those a day recently.

[m4bama]

GM can ad will comeback transition is on the way.

The still have too many brands and product overlap.

SAAB needs to go for sure and Saturn most likely

[tgagneguam]

Originally Posted by ericmvest

General Electric bought RCA in the 1980's and combined it with its own consumer electronics business. General Electric had by far the largest market share in America, but they still decided to sell out to Thompson. General Electric recently announced its intention to sell Major Appliance.

General Electric seems more interested in selling core businesses that are under attact by foriegn competition rather than managing them to victory. If General Motors was owned by General Electric I am sure they would sell it rather than try to fix it.

I don't know how that suggests GE's management is lesser or equal to GM's. The proof is in the numbers: as a shareholder of GE, you have done much better for yourself than if you hold GM. And that reflects management with greater depth and greater skills.

[dav305z]

Originally Posted by tgagneguam

Funny, the list of competitive pressures that face GM face just about every other automaker operating in the US. Sounds like management's gonna run out of excuses.



Of course, it can! It has almost everything-short of talented leaders-it needs to make that happen.

I find it interesting that the author draws a similar conclusion as I do, given the grand media conspiracy working daily to bring about the destruction of The General Motors Corporation.

I also think GM is in a very decent position to come back. But I think a lot of this is because, not in spite of, its leadership.

Compared to its competitors, particularly its domestic competitors, GM is positioned quite well in terms of product. This is something GM has not been able to say for decades, and its because GM was much more proactive than Ford or Chrysler in getting its cars in order.

Today GM has two very competitive mid-size cars (Malibu, Aura), and a bunch of great crossovers. Even its supposed Achilles heel, small cars, is far stronger than it has been in the past. The Cobalt is not a class leader, but it is no doubt competitive - seriously. Astra is also a strong small car in need of an ad campaign.

No doubt GM management has issues. They're introducing on Monday a Camaro that should have been on the market five years ago. They also missed the boat on hybrids. I wonder if the issue is not so much at the top as it is in the middle. GM is infamous for having thousands of layers of management that muddy all decision making. And while I feel for the white collar workers who will lose their jobs in the restructuring, I hope we will be left with a leaner, more responsive company.

[windvale]

On Fox News just a few moments ago, an Oil market analyst was just saying:

1) The recent drop in a barrel of crude from $147 to $129 is enough in and of itself to drop gas at the pump by 50 cents in about 3 weeks.

2) He expects oil to go back to about $85 a barrel in the near future, and a gallon of gas to return to about $2.00 a gallon

If he's right, this can only help GM...

[tirediron]

Originally Posted by TruckMan

I didn't read the article. I just assumed that it was another article blasting GM management and their decisions on cars. Seems to be about 3 of those a day recently.

No Sh**! No doubt the media makes this 10 times worse, and also,
seriously, why is there so many GM GD f.ing haters and non-believers on this site! Can someone direct me to a site that isnt so negative?

[dindak]

Originally Posted by m4bama

GM can ad will comeback transition is on the way.

The still have too many brands and product overlap.

SAAB needs to go for sure and Saturn most likely

Said it before.. killing brands kills sales and market share not to mention it's expensive.

Not the answer. Smaller divisions (fewer models) and merging of brands at the dealership level, sure.

[ByTheLake]

There's so much uncertainty about demand trends and developing technology that even a player as currently challenged as General Motors could grab the brass ring if it makes the right decisions on what cars to produce and what technologies to back.

What technologies does GM have that its competitors lack? Toyota appears just as far along with its plug-in hybrid technology as GM. GM has some interesting fuel cell/hydrogen technology, but others, like Honda, appear to be a bit closer to production.

[TruckMan]

Originally Posted by tirediron

No Sh**! No doubt the media makes this 10 times worse, and also, seriously, why is there so many GM GD f.ing haters and non-believers on this site! Can someone direct me to a site that isnt so negative?

GM-Trucks.com is great for trucks/SUVs. If you find a good one for GM cars, let me know. This site is very negative, close-minded, anti-truck/SUV and self-centered.