Interesting article: http://money.cnn.com/2005/11/17/news/fortune500/gm_woes/index.htm?cnn=yes I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel... UAW looks like the problem here.
Actually i have met most of the top bannannas in the bunch (except Waggoner) and interviewed Cowger and Lutz many times as well as many other mid and upper level guys at GM. They have been turning a speeding supertanker through some pretty rocky water. one of the main problems they have had is that the place is SO big, most people don't realize how many people get a paycheque from the General and its subsidiaries. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Predictably, the NY times skewered the GM product. If it were that bad, why have all the other reviews been positive? Why do they have to increase production to meet demand? GM's coming out with some good products lately, their quality numbers are up, and they're starting to get some good reviews. We'll see if they can overcome their perception problem before it's too late.
To be fair, GM's management doesn't have many options to solve the problems we've been discussing here. Waggoner inherited this ridiculous compensation/benefits structure, and the UAW is going to hang on until it and GM drown in debt. I don't really know what he could do, given all the contracts and union arrangements. A Delphi strike would be as bad as a strike within GM. As a lifelong car enthusiast, I have a huge list of things GM is doing wrong and reasons why I think it is badly run. I don't hold out much chance that they can start producing BMW or Lexus-level cars, ever. Maybe bankruptcy would allow a new leader there to reinvent the company, from the car-design-by-committee team all the way down to the sleazy, depressing dealerships.
I drove my friend's. It is a nice attempt, but not quite BMW level. While the interior is teutonic and german-like, plastic mold lines were still visible on some pieces. The performance is nice, but it feels like a 3800lb car. It was a shocker, to say the least, that Cadillac lists the curb weight at 3500lbs. ///Michael.
Not really, just a plant closings. It still really is employing those workers...they are just sitting on their asses now. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10138507/ The United Auto Workers said workers will be protected by the union’s job security agreements, which ensure they get pay and benefits even while they’re laid off. The union also said GM’s actions will make contract negotiations in 2007 much more difficult More: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10141678/
GM will get it when the only vehicle they can sell is the Corvette. So I guess they'll get it next year. A co-workers brother works for GM and apparently they come up with some really innovative designs but the board that selects the designs (from what I've been told are really out of their element) shoots all of innovative designs down, and sticks with the bland crap that GM puts out now. Two co-workers bought 2002 Grand Prix two years ago. What a piece of shi t. On one the window came out of it's track, the transmission slips, and the door handle broke. The other, he blew a hole through the transmission attempting to pass someone, and then after he replaced the transmission, he through a rod.
Anyone playing the stock on this roller coaster ride? Bought some at $23.xx. Wanted to double down at $22.xx but was restricted. Grrrrr. With $19 bn in cash (and a whole host of other factors), I'm taking a contrarian view that stock is undervalued due to bankruptcy fears. Still think the cars they make are turd, but it's all about relative value here.
