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General Motors discussions
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So, who would you recommend that the GM board appoint to replace Wagoner as chairman of the company?
Chief operating officer Fritz Henderson would appear to be the most likely candidate in the early odds.
Kirk Kerkorian may be available. :P
Did you ask what rebates were on that car? Did you ask what their first offer might be for a selling price. That's the problem with comparing sticker prices. At the local Acura and MErcedes deal it would be how much extra they're going to add on after the price is settled.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
GM's Fritz Henderson: The New Man On The Hot Seat (AutoObserver)
"Indeed, in his first meeting with reporters after becoming GM's CEO, Henderson admitted Monday there's a greater risk that the company will have to reorganize through bankruptcy, because of greater demands from the Obama administration to get debt off its balance sheet. But he reiterated what GM executives have said for months -- restructuring outside of the court but with Washington's support is preferrable.
Second, of course, Henderson suffers immediately and irreversibly from his association with the Wagoner regime. That's why many observers give him no better than a 50-50 chance of hanging on to his new job for the long term.
It's very possible that the Obama administration simply had to have Wagoner's scalp immediately - because of GM's failure to come up with a viable survival plan by tomorrow's deadline - but that they can wait a while to take Henderson's. Perhaps they just want Henderson to plunge GM into bankruptcy court and preside over the triage then take his walking papers and catch up with Wagoner.
Still, if Obama actually gives GM the opportunity to pull itself up by its boostraps with government aid, many industry watchers believe that Henderson would be a good leader toward renaissance. "He's a GM lifer and incredibly capable," said Joseph Phillippi, president of AutoTrends Consulting, in Short Hills, N.J., said about Henderson a while ago."
Whom would you suggest?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Walking in as a cleanup CEO has been done in different companies. Carl Icahn comes to mind. I can't think of any others; it's too late for clear thinking.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
They should get somebody who's done a turnaround and cleanup. Like Mulalley. I had suggested months back that Steve Jobs would be great, but that was before his recent LOA at Apple. I doubt Steve would want that job even if he was healthy, but perhaps he'd welcome the challenge.
I just don't see this as a 'one man thing' . I think one lone stranger will get pecked to death in there.
I haven't gotten to try out any of the new Buicks largely because I'm not in the market now.
As to Acura and Mercedes, they are discounting their vehicles as well. I think I posted earlier that I paid more than $5K less for my MB C350 than a comparably equipped Cadillac CTS--that's not a good situation for GM. My 2005 Acura MDX cost me about $5K less than a comparable Tahoe and $7K less than a Cadi SRX. That's not good either. While these vehicles aren't directly comparable, people shopping in their respective classes might cross-shop these cars--I did.
Ummmm.......Didn't FDR replace Hoover?
Harding, Coolidge, Hoover
FDR was governor of NY when Hoover was President. He ran for VP with Cox against Harding and lost. Coolidge was the VP.
So really he ran against Harding and Coolidge and Hoover at one time or another.
We are now exactly where I feared we would be in 2006, which was the reason for this thread.
Anyone new ideas?
Lately, I've been thinking that the only value in Chrysler is in OEM parts, JEEP, and the names of the divisions and models. Time for some Korean or Chinese company to swoop in and buy it up.
GM plans to auction 100 specialty cars (LA Times)
"The vehicles will be sold in Palm Beach, Fla., starting Thursday. The listings include a 1920 Chevrolet Model T truck; a 1999 Camaro Z/28 used in the movie "Runaway Bride"; and a 1978 Corvette Indy 500 pace car, one of only four made -- and one of two that GM owns. (It's keeping the first one that rolled off the production line.)"
Here's the link to your first post:
riposte, "Breakup Value of GM and Ford" #1, 15 Feb 2006 10:27 am
It looks like trying to change directions was about impossible for the big three since you posted that just over 3 years ago. Ford seems to be veering off on a new course.
My brother had a 72 Vega he bought new. Was the only person I knew to take a Vega over 100K but his FIL was a service manager at a Chevy dealer so when head gaskets popped and such he got teh work done free.
Actually the Vega is a great example of how "goal setting" can be a dangerous practice, if the goal becomes more important than achieving something that actually makes sense.
Were I in charge of GM I'd be certain that no "goal" is so rigid that it can't be constantly re-examined. Just saying "I want a car that gets 40 mpg and seats 4 people and it must sell under $20,000" might be a bad idea. Maybe it's too slow or too small for market conditions at the time, or has to be built so cheaply to achieve that goal that it exudes cheapness.
I kind of felt guilty using the Aztek as the example - kind of like shooting fish in a barrel but you can't ignore the darn thing. It's definitely something taht passed all the little tests for what they wanted in a vehicle and somehow nobody stepped back and "Dang, that thing is ugly!"
Like all Pontiacs of that time frame once you removed all the cladding and toned it down it was at least down to nearly acceptable.
Here's where we need Andre - I think they sold a fair number more of those than Ford did Edsels. Maybe you could put that in the collection anyway. Just make sure it's out of public view. You could get one of those tickets for uglyfying the neighborhood.
Let's look at the last two attempts by Camry with the pig nose and the jukebox rear ends on both cars. Now there's a car that fails in art class.
Or look at the bathtub Accords in 03.
The Aztek was designed to be different and works. Some of the color combinations and cladding may it look like a FJ by toyota.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Actually, if I put sunglasses on and squint, I could live with an Aztek for its practical utility, but when it's all used up, the recycler is the most merciful act for the car and for humanity at large IMO.
One Pacer and one Edsel would have been plenty for the historical record.
Hyundai's recent turnaround efforts have been much more impressive than GM's. Hyundai is a good example for GM to follow. Problem is that GM always follows. When they lead they get things like the Aztek and the Volt!
I don't think anyone gave Honda a pass on the Element. In fact I wouldn't want to use "pass" and Element" in the same sentence. Kind of reminds me that I have to stay behind one because then I only see one side where if I pass it eventually I have to see three.
I feel they do. After all, ... pause..., it's a ... Honda (inhale sound).
If the Element were to have been from Buick, or Chevy, it would have been panned. Dumb. Only a 4-cylinder. Based on a little Civic. Oh, my. (Gasp)
Only a five-speed transmission; must have 6 to be up-to-date. Dark ages.
End comments if it were a GM product.
The reality is that this kind of double standard has continued for whatever reason. People excused it based on their having had a 1989 Suburban that had a water pump go out--and worse. So the cars now must be JANG. That's what GM has to take on right away.
They have to point out the double standard despite the product's having improved. They have to point out the problematic other vehicles, including Honda with their continuing transmission failure saga and now VCA. Then say that we made mistakes to keep our higher costs down and we've turned a severe corner with the new GM. Our vehicles form 200x to 2009 were much better built. Even consumer reports admits that through the years the difference between their blessed circle ratings have shrunk because the cars that were troublesome have improved, and in some cases the cars with great reputations have deteriorated some.
They are going to have to use the media. Putting ads on Edmunds and Car & Driver ain't gonna work. And when a bad report comes out they have to address it head on to negate it just like Toyota has done with their sludge (of course toyo delayed a while). That's the change GM has to make to counteract the fun of people putting down every GM product as junk because they had a 1991 Vega that did something or they just thing it's fun to do so because they like their Accord and have never compared with a similar car in its class because they just go back to the dealer and buy a new one every couple years--or insert your favorite example there.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Once again, the GM inferiority complex kicks in. "The world thinks it's ugly just because it's a GM!" The world thinks it's ugly because....wait for it....IT'S UGLY!! :shades:
We disagree.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Competitive in two, leading in MAYBE one (Traverse is that good, when you get down to it), and back of the pack in the rest. Not a recipe for success, especially for a company that needs huge amounts of sales just to keep up with their costs.
This thin HURTS!! :lemon:
Regards,
OW
GM to unveil smaller, more efficient GMC Terrain
Robert Snell / The Detroit News
General Motors Corp. will unveil the 2010 GMC Terrain crossover, a smaller and more fuel-efficient model, at the 2009 New York International Auto Show on Wednesday along with the Yukon Denali hybrid.
The new crossover is being introduced amid a slump in truck and crossover sales for GM, which is subsisting on $13.4 billion in federal aid and has asked for up to $16.6 billion more. The automaker's truck sales, which includes crossovers, were down 47 percent last month compared to a year earlier, worse than the 36.7 percent industry decline in SUV/crossover sales, according to Autodata Corp.
The five-passenger, four-cylinder Terrain, which hits showrooms in late summer, will get a segment-leading 30 mpg on the highway and also be available with a 3.0-liter direct injection six-cylinder engine.
The Terrain replaces the Pontiac Torrent and shares the Theta chassis with Chevrolet Equinox. Production is scheduled to start in the third or fourth quarter of 2009 at the Ingersoll, Ontario, plant.
This will prove another nail in the coffin. Another Equinox...perfect.
Regards,
OW
I never quite understood why the Rendezvous got a pass - maybe it was the cladding on the first ones that did it?