Fortune: Deepening gloom at GM

[Citation84]

Originally Posted by steve333

I would say Ford is in better shape than GM right now. It may be hard to see it but Mullaley is kicking tail. He is getting the Fiesta here quickly followed by the other Euro spec Fords-the Kuga, Focus, and who knows, maybe the Mondeo?
GM is a slug. Not to mention their cars are still using faulty parts, such as the steering issues that STILL have not been addressed even though GM knew about it for 4 years and up. Faulty steering columns and intermediate shafts. I'm shocked there hasnt been a class action lawsuit already.

You forgot to mention the junk ignition switches in the Cobalt/Canyon/Colorado/G5 and ION or the screwed up strut bar bushings in the ION [and possibly the Cobalt, I simply don't know].

All that complex forward looking tech means nothing if you can't start it or steer it.

[Hoosier Red]

Originally Posted by tgagneguam

This is fear mongering, and you know it. There are plenty of US industries the out-maneuver the competition, all without the help of the US government. As the way it should be. Today's events didn't occur in a vacuum; they resulted from Detroit's continued lack of execution of a clear business plan, plain and simple.

I don't know that it's fear mongering to be concerned about the decline of our manufacturing capacity. Yes, there are plenty of businesses that outcompete the world, but the world is going to remain a dangerous place as oil resources become more and more scarce. The solutions will be there, but we're talking about a transition that will take decades. In the meantime, we are going to have to be able to defend our interests in a dangerous world.

Some of you probably don't agree. That's fine. I just returned from two weeks of field training living in the dirt with Marines at Camp Pendleton. I was issued an M9 sidearm for the training. I inspected the magazine I was issued and what do you think was stamped on the side? "Made in Italy." If there is ever a WW III, where are we going to get our weapons? China?

[2002 Caddy]

Originally Posted by SlySy

I agree, both our 03 Envoy and our 07 Silverado had the problem with the intermittent steering shaft. There was no excuse for that. Although the 08 Malibu we traded the truck in on is great, no problems so far.

Its closer to 7 years... my 2002 caddy is on its third I-shaft. Look how long it took GM to "fix" Northstar Head bolts... TEN YEARS.

[GeryRx7]

To me it has nothing to do with perceived quality or actual quality between domestic and foreign vehicles. I have owned both over the past 5 years. I currently own an asian product and have had more issues in the first 15k miles than I did over 85k miles on my last domestic. This reason we purchased the foreign product came down to resale value. This weighs heavily on my purchasing decision. My 30k dollar domestic was worth more as scrap metal than they wanted to give me on trade-in. And it was in excellent condition. I could tow our current car in with a blown engine and four flat tires and still get 30 to 40% of my investment back. I would love to own a new Malibu or G8 but it doesn't make economic sense to "MY" finances to do this. Once the domestics including GM right this situation I believe that consumers will consider their products once again.

[TriShield]

Originally Posted by Lichtronamo

While Toyota, Honda and Nissan have flexible plants that can be switched over to products more in demand in response to gas prices

They also have something else GM does not, plenty of money in the piggy bank and excellent family and small cars with a reputation for them.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by Rocket 88

Per the article: Would GM really be borrowing money at 10%??? That seems pretty steep with the low rates currently available.

You must be kidding! I would NEVER lend my money to a company in such a bad shape at only 10% interest... If GM actually manages to borrow at 10%, good for them, but I personally think you would have to be a fool to lend at such a low rate at that risk level.

Yes, you can get low rates these days... if you can pledge rock solid assets that are, even by the most conservative measurement ever, worth more than what you borrow by a healthy margin. GM is at the other end of the spectrum.

[M_RABID]

Originally Posted by PAULSTS1

GM is reactive, not proactive, it's a company which will die suddenly!

Let's hope not! Can you imagine of GM were to go out of business? The United States would be plunged into a depression that would make the 20's look like a cake-walk. The death of GM would have an unimaginable impact on this nation. Casualties would include the cities which are home to GM manufacturing plants, thousands of suppliers and support companies, thousands of GM dealerships, thousands of lending institutions, and all of the millions of people involved.

[Buickman]

Originally Posted by M_RABID

Let's hope not! Can you imagine of GM were to go out of business? The United States would be plunged into a depression that would make the 20's look like a cake-walk. The death of GM would have an unimaginable impact on this nation. Casualties would include the cities which are home to GM manufacturing plants, thousands of suppliers and support companies, thousands of GM dealerships, thousands of lending institutions, and all of the millions of people involved.

this is already happening. see Flint and soon Moraine, Janesville and others.

such is the legacy of Red Ink Rick

[PAULSTS1]

LIO45, is talking like an astute banker, GM is a corporation already in virtual bankruptcy. The time for repairs and corrections has past. The fiscal damages done to the sub-prime lending market has all monies, dried up. Obtaining billions for any amount of interest is as feasible as pulling a real trillion dollar bill out of a Cracker Jack Box; it ain't going to happen! At GM the red ink flowed too long, the company is critical condition and on it's last legs.

I want to be positive but I would be lying to offer hope, GM has been mismanaged for far too long. Current management has driven the Corporation into the ground. And it has happened at the worst possible time.

M. Rabid:

I know the country will suffer, and the pain is already being felt, here on GMI, and the thousands of Dealers, Delivery Companies, Unions, and Sub-manufacturers. They didn't realize that H. Ross Perot was right! When he predicted GM's fall into fiscal destitution in the late 90's. Then, they had the time and the money to really change, but they elected someone worse than Roger Smith, a neocon. After the GM Bankruptcy filings, better take your money out of the Banks, especially those that are owed billions by GM. That's the next wave before the MAJOR bloodletting begins....

[vcs2600]

Originally Posted by Buickman

the dividend is a means of cash flow to widows and such who rely on the income as others do a paycheck. when the water is shut off it will be a dark day for the once mighty and proud General.

I predict when June results are posted, Toyota will outsell ALL of GM in the USA. won't Red Ink Rick's fans be struttin' their stuff then?

Your hypothetical little old lady is already screwed if her life saving is in GM stock. Hopefully her banksters diversified her holdings long ago.

At this point "Red Ink Rick" probably has his job until they bring in a bankruptcy specialist...

[GM-10]

Originally Posted by Buickman

suggest you google Alex Tayor GM and do some research there bud.

Bud,
I did. See the article I mentioned.

[Lichtronamo]

Originally Posted by Buickman

this is already happening. see Flint and soon Moraine, Janesville and others.

such is the legacy of Red Ink Rick

I read somewhere that GM, Ford and Chrysler are responsible for 1/12 to 1/15 jobs in the US. Not as many as it used to be in the "good ol' days", but still a lot of people. The fall of GM, Chrysler and maybe Ford will be painful and sad.

[AMERICA 123]

Well, fine.

Then we just go back and do an 80's style Chrysler bail out for all three - with modifications.

This time we get totally real about why its needed - and 'correct' some of that as well.

[steve333]

Originally Posted by Citation84

You forgot to mention the junk ignition switches in the Cobalt/Canyon/Colorado/G5 and ION or the screwed up strut bar bushings in the ION [and possibly the Cobalt, I simply don't know].

All that complex forward looking tech means nothing if you can't start it or steer it.

I didnt know about the strut bar bushings. My front end has never felt right. What would be the symptoms of a bad strut bar bushing?

[Buickman]

what makes sense is getting rid of Wagoner, not further reducing the size or scope of the corporation. he has lost over $50 Billion in shareholder value. I truly can't understand why he is still there unless there is some form of master plan we are all ignorant of. the head of any other company would have been tossed long ago. where is the accountability? who is ever held responsible? GM cannot survive without there being some degree of holding people to blame and clearly outlining when someone is at fault.

the words of John D...

"There were and are men in positions of power at GM who do not know the business they are running."

"Our inability to compete with the foreign manufacturers is more due to management failure than anything else."

"After a short time, the isolated executives would find their markets taken away by competitors who were attuned to the wants and needs of the public and who were exercising their franchises to operate responsibly."

H Ross...

Gorilla dust is his expression for the perennially optimistic statements made by Smith and other company executives. Scooping up some imaginary dirt and tossing it in the air, Perot says, "When gorillas fight, they throw dust in the air to distract one another."

"Where I come from, when you see a snake, you kill it. At GM the first thing you do is form a committee on snakes, next you hire a consultant, then you talk about it for a year."

Jerry York...

"I have not found an environment in the board room that is very receptive to probing beyond the materials provided by management."

Elmer Johnson...

"I had concluded that GM's problems were not just the result of ten years of bad luck but of thirty years of bad corporate culture in which the middle and upper management had become so self assured, so complacent, so arrogant, that they thought they were beyond the reach of the competition and even the external environment."

let's put the blame where it belongs and together, as a group, make a call for the ouster of G Richard Wagoner. how about someone start a poll to see if he should go?