GM to return two leased jets amid criticism

[motorman]

Wagoner and Ford CEO Alan Mulally are required by their companies to fly by private aircraft for security reasons, according to company documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
since the pres of the UAW flies commercial and he has more to do with whether GM survives or fails why does the head of GM need to be protected from the pubic.

[sooch]

Originally Posted by TimR

Here is a funny thought, last year Wagoner made what, 15.7 million??? Lets go 15 million even, that works out to 1712.30 every hour of every day. So if he spends 2 hours in line, an hour on the plane there, and hour back and another 2 hours messing around to get home that is 10, 200.00. Lets not forget all the people that tag along too...

So yeah agree it looks bad and could certainly be trimmed but the CEO's of large companies live in another universe from us, private jets can save money overall.

I think its worse that none of them have volunteered to cut their wages to help out. Just shows the arrogance...wtf does this guy do with all his money?? Most people think 100K a year is living pretty good, it would take you 147 YEARS at 100K to make what he makes in ONE year!!! You'd think he would be a little smarter with how he presents himself, the issues and the company, I mean really what is he being paid for??

CUT HIS PAY and then it would be cheaper for him to fly. Problem solved

[TimR]

Originally Posted by sooch

CUT HIS PAY and then it would be cheaper for him to fly. Problem solved

EXACTLY!!!!

[jameskz28]

Originally Posted by gardnet1

Quick! Let's ready a bailout plan for Gulfstream and the corporate jet industry! Just take a billion from the automakers loan program.

FYI: Gulfstream, among others, was purchased by General Dynamics, which is in no need of a bailout. Their list of aquisitions:

1899 - Electric Boat was established.
1946 - Canadair purchased from the Canadian government.
1952 - Electric Boat became General Dynamics.
1953 - Convair merged with General Dynamics.
1959 - Henry Crown acquires company and becomes majority shareholder.
1962-1963 - Convair-produced Mercury-Atlas rockets launches four manned Mercury missions into low Earth orbit, including John Glenn.
1971-1985 David S. Lewis, Jr., was chairman and chief executive officer. During his tenure, General Dynamics’ revenues and earnings quadrupled.
1982 - Formed General Dynamics Land Systems after the acquisition of Chrysler's combat systems.
1995 - Acquired Bath Iron Works from Prudential Insurance.
1996 - Acquired Teledyne Vehicle Systems.
1997 - Acquired Lockheed Martin Defense Systems and Lockheed Martin Armament Systems.
1997 - Acquired Advanced Technology Systems, formerly an operating unit of Lucent Technologies.
1997 - Acquired Computing Devices International, formerly a division of Ceridian Corporation.
1998 - Acquired National Steel and Shipbuilding Company.
1999 - Acquired Gulfstream Aerospace from Forstmann Little.
1999 - Acquired GTE Government Systems, Communication Systems, Electronic Systems and Worldwide Telecommunication Systems Divisions.
2001 - Acquired Galaxy Aerospace Company from Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI)
2001 - GD Decision Systems formed (and later merged with General Dynamics C4 Systems) after acquisition of Motorola's Integrated Information Systems Group.
2002 - Acquired Advanced Technical Products.
2003 - Acquired GM Defense from General Motors.
2003 - Acquired Steyr Daimler Puch Spezialfahrzeug (SSF) from an Austrian investor group, which bought the company in 1998 from the Steyr-Daimler-Puch-conglomerate. SSF is now part of "General Dynamics European Land Combat Systems" which includes also the Spanish Santa Bárbara Sistemas and the Swiss MOWAG, and has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
2003 - Acquired Veridian and Digital Systems Resources.
2003 - Acquired Datron's Intercontinental Manufacturing Company (IMCO) Unit.
2004 - Acquired Spectrum Astro.
2005 - Acquired MAYA Viz Ltd, the primary developer of the US Army's Command Post of the Future software into General Dynamics C4 Systems.
2005 - Acquired Tadpole Computer.
2005 - Acquired Itronix.
2006 - Acquired FC Business Systems.
2006 - Acquired Anteon International.
2007 - Acquired Mediaware International.[6]
2008 - Acquired ViPS, Inc.[7]
2008 - Acquired Jet Aviation.[8]

[lio45]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

He, however, said the company has not decided on what mode of transportation Wagoner would take if had to travel to Washington again.

Chevrolet Aveo.

[2002 Caddy]

Originally Posted by joemac

It's a joke that this is an issue at all.

It's a cost issue. At the rate of pay for a CEO, idle time costs money. You can either pay for more efficient time use (private jet). Or you can waste time, sitting at an airport, delays, etc.

At the per hour rate of most CEO's it's a better cost effective use of time to use the private jet.

We could say the same to ourselves. Why do we fly instead of drive? Time efficiency. Time is money. What's one's time worth. That's the key.

If I'm a business owner I want my people to be working with minimal idle time, best effective, efficient use of their time. The overhead getting on a plane today commercially is extreme often taking longer to get on the plane than the flight itself.

Another employee of GM Finance...

This is not about goofy business cases... You can hack together a business case to justify ANYTHING... This is about DOING THE RIGHT THING... GM sucks at "Doing the right thing"... The Business case for Hybrids never made sense either... And yet the company that lead the way with them is still profitable today... And the company that said they are stupid is now in DC begging for cash...

Hmmm...

Rick, put the calculator down... you suck at using it any way... and start using your brain... that is if you actually have one... I'm beginning to think your head is full of only ego... no smarts up there.

[steined]

Can't Lutz fly him in one of his personal jets? Assanine point anyhow. CEO time is money and private jets are the quickest way to point A and B. Sitting 5 hours in an airport hardly seems like a valuable use of time. It is no big deal for a Congressman or Senator because their time is actually worth MORE occupied than in session. They waste/spend less of my money the longer they are in an airport.

[Dr. Show-Me]

Find whoever is the best spokesman for GM and have him do the talking. Have Bob Lutz drive there in the Camaro, Ed Wilburn in the new LaCrosse, Rick Wagoner in the Volt. Make it a 2-day drive, with publicity along the way. And apologize for not being more sensitive to peoples' perceptions. A little humility goes a long way.

[1487]

Originally Posted by johnny smallblock

I disagree. In fact that is exactly what Wagoner should have done. He and several other GM execs should have driven up in a Volt, Malibu Hybrid, Vue Hybrid, Cobalt XFE and Aveo. Maybe even a Tahoe Hybrid. Anything to make the point that they are starting to make more efficient cars.

Any of the 3 execs who didn't realize that the perception of Detroit is as a maker a oversized inefficient trucks should be out of work yesterday.

That would not have worked. When are people going to wake up? the media and congress are against the Big 3, period. If they drove hybrids the news stations would have highlighted how normally they travel in private jets and then noted that Toyota crushed GM and Ford in hybrid sales annually and the top sellers for both companies are gas guzzling pickups that they are forcing on consumers. There was NOT going to be any balanced coverage of this affair. 99% of the media is rooting for a Big 3 collapse. CBS news did a fluff piece on Japanese automakers in the US and noted how they are doing OK in the economic slump and how Toyota workers get full pay to plant trees while plants are idled. I thought that was called a jobs bank? Oh, only when GM does it.

[1487]

Originally Posted by 2002 Caddy

Another employee of GM Finance...

This is not about goofy business cases... You can hack together a business case to justify ANYTHING... This is about DOING THE RIGHT THING... GM sucks at "Doing the right thing"... The Business case for Hybrids never made sense either... And yet the company that lead the way with them is still profitable today... And the company that said they are stupid is now in DC begging for cash...

Hmmm...

Rick, put the calculator down... you suck at using it any way... and start using your brain... that is if you actually have one... I'm beginning to think your head is full of only ego... no smarts up there.

There are 10 major automakers in the world and two of them put money into hybrids. Out of those two, one made a real commitment to hybrids and rolled out multiple models. A few years ago Carlos Ghosn said hybrids were a fad and werent going to take off. Now he is promising electric cars in 2010. A lot of folks (including European automakers) were skeptical about hybrids. Also, if you think Toyotas profits are from hybrids you are delusional. Their profits are from SUVs, pickups and luxury cars.

[slowinthefastlane]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

[b][size="4"]
Wagoner and Ford CEO Alan Mulally are required by their companies to fly by private aircraft for security reasons, according to company documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

No doubt that this was enacted because of the 1975 kidnapping of General Motors executive William Schulenberg and his family. GM paid $54,000 in ransom that time and the kidnappers released them. It could have been much worse, though.

Since then, GM executives and board members get round-the-clock security. When Roger Smith was alive, he had a house right along the golf course of Bloomfield Hills country club. Members and caddies were instructed NOT to retrieve golf balls that were hit into his yard as they were likely to be tackled by security.

[tamatt27]

Wagoner should arrive in a Volt.

[texassierradude]

Originally Posted by 1487

There are 10 major automakers in the world and two of them put money into hybrids. Out of those two, one made a real commitment to hybrids and rolled out multiple models. A few years ago Carlos Ghosn said hybrids were a fad and werent going to take off. Now he is promising electric cars in 2010. A lot of folks (including European automakers) were skeptical about hybrids. Also, if you think Toyotas profits are from hybrids you are delusional. Their profits are from SUVs, pickups and luxury cars.

So true. The Prius is a loss leader, a PR opportunity. The profits come from the Lexus Division, Sequoia, Tundra, Land Crusier, et al

[gmishistory]

i know how to make money for the big 3... lets pimp them out on the street corner. Hey buddy what da think of these spark plugs?

Bush can then sign into law the Pimp Stimulus Package for the big three...




Gm needs to build a car like this


and not to build cars like this

[triadecho]

[quote=slowinthefastlane;1571505]No doubt that this was enacted because of the 1975 kidnapping of General Motors executive William Schulenberg and his family. GM paid $54,000 in ransom that time and the kidnappers released them. It could have been much worse, though.QUOTE]


In the case of Exxon executive Sydney Reso, the results of his kidnapping were much worse. ExxonMobil and many other companies require key executives to use company or private planes and often extend this privilege into retirement.

CEO's, entertainment figures, admirals, high level politicians and alike are not ordinary people and need protection from the roi polloi.