In MSN today GM is in a world of hurt.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10075026/

 

For a company that thinks these are good-looking trucks......I'm not really surprised.

 

The fact that they call a 4WD el camino a "truck" is another reason!

 

Why would you be happy about that. This is going to mean alot of layoffs to Americans. Pretty bad news to me. If GMC had a Cummins I would be driving it. Any time an American company is in trouble it is not good new for Americans.

 

Being a former GM guy I feel no sorrow for them. If they spent as much time and efforts on all their vehicles as they do on those Dang Corvettes they would not be in the situation they are in now. HHR = PT Cruiser, Cobalt = warmed over Caviler with a new name/Ford Focus. SSR = SPORT TRUCK, ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! Not to mention they are very proud of ALL their vehicles, so proud I could not afford to get into one!!!!!!! Almost 50k for a Duramax/Alli 2500HD with what I wanted on it. (equal to what I have in my Dodge) And the dealership did'nt seem to even care or feel the need to assist me in ordering the truck I wanted. They basically in so many words told me I should pick from what they had on the lot and that it was really hard to get a truck on order and have it to me within the 45 days of me needing it. Thanks to Dodge, I was able to get the truck I ordered ahead of schedule and exactly as I ordered. The problem with GM is they want you to buy these expensive option pkgs that add thousands of dollars to the price of a vehicle, many of those options are what I feel are unneeded and can't be deleted. Which in turn makes it very hard to pick and choose exactly the items you want. Dodge on the other hand allowed me to pick and choose and spec my truck as I felt to.

 

I don't like the news. But...GM has priced and "uglied" themselves out of the market.

 

While I can't stand to see any American worker lose his or her job it still comes down to one thing...


Survival of the Fittest!!! Only the strong will survive and GM just isn't strong. I've made the accquaintance of a few former and current GM employees who don't drive the vehicles they helped build. Why? Because of the reasons in the post above. They are not listening to the most important part of their organization... their customers!!! When they start doing things right they may have a chance, but until then it will be an uphill battle.

 

(Geico is putting on his asbestos underware before typing the following post.)

What we are seeing is the need to modify unions and their strangle hold on big companies in this country. GM, United Airlines, ect, simply cannot compete and pay the benifits they promissed the unions over the years, and the unions need to get real with their demands for benifits, pay, and retirement.

Let the flaming begin!

 

No flames here.....I agree. Lee Iacoca bucked the unions and won. I don't remember the exact numbers, but he said something like: "We don't have $28/hr jobs, but we have $18/hr jobs." I don't know how long his stand lasted, but at least at one time, he took a stand.

 

Yep, those magnanimous large corporations never had anything to do with those unions, aye? As far as I'm concerned, trade unions are as analagous as a runny nose is to a cold. In short, they are a symptom of a far greater problem -- large scale greed. If the supra-national corporations expect to make the kind of capital they demand, they should, by all means, pay their employees a great wage as well. I'm self-employed, but I'd never begrudge a working man the right to a good wage and benefits. Considering what GM did to the folks in Flynt, MI -- where GM started no less -- it couldn't have happened to a nicer corporation. They practically killed that city back in the 80s after they fled to Mexico. It's not my wish to pit working man against working man, so let's not argue among ourselves. I just want you to realize that we're not even close to the strata of the wealthy in this country. I've had an "R" on my voter's registration my whole life and, these days, I feel foolish. Why? Because the folks in the middle are carrying the entire load. Just take a look at the gas pump! Okay, now I feel better.

 

Yup, promise the workers certain wages and benefits to make them loyal to the company, then when dumb corporate decisions run the company into the ground, tell those same workers that they are overpaid, and their benefit packages are too generous.
Meanwhile, the CEO takes home several million dollars a year just in salary, not to mention the stock options and such, and walks away with a pension per year that would equal the annual Gross Domestic Product of some small countries.
While the "worker" tries to make ends meet on unemployment and social security.

Yeah.....that sounds fair to me.......

 

they will do the same thing that happened with the airlines.

File bankruptcy then "tell" the unions they cant pay them what they want. Either everyone loses there job or they figure out they need to take a smaller piece of the pie.

The airlines are bouncing back after cutting costs substantially.
It will probably be the same for the auto industry.

I bet ford goes bankrupt eventually or gets even closer to it!!!

They are down around 8.00 a share down from 13 or higher from last year. And to think I was going to buy some ford shares earlier in the year thinking it wouldnt drop anymore

 

Unfortunately,
GM put all its eggs in the (BIG) SUV market and the bottom is falling out of it now. And they dont have a rescue vehicle in sight. The bean counters at GM were seeing nothing but dollar signs with the SUV craze while it was good, now they have a major situation on hand because they failed to pay attention to the average every day person who can't afford 40+ thousand for a vehicle. (I see more GM SUV's on used lots than ever, many of which are a year or less old) GM for years has neglected and subjected its average customer with bland vehicles that lack character and appeal. I said this about 6mos ago, GM has a thing for doing concepts that look really good and if built would get the blood flowing again in the average americam buyer. Yet, they choose to hack up the concept to something of a edit child and wonder why it is not selling. Or stick "SS" on a vehicle banking on its "SS" monicker to make it a big seller. Sorry, but an AVEO SS is'nt going to get it. The last good SS vehicle GM made was the 94-96 Impalla. I'd even go as far as adding the Monte Carlo SS from back in the day. Or the Buick Regal Grand National or now defunct Regal. It upsets me that GM will build awsome cars for a select few; Bob Lutz, Tim Allen and Jay Lenno and then pat themselves on the back and say what a good job we did on building 3 cars.

 

Oh, and by the way...can anyone say "Corporate Bailout?" How many times have the same folks I wrote about -- the ones in the middle -- suffered with this scurge? Any type of union issues pale in comparison to this cancer.

 

So if the Aztec and Avalanche were built by non union or cheaper union labor, they would be a huge success? Hondas, Toyotas and Nissans are being built here with union labor. I kinda get the feeling it isn't union labor that's hurting GM. Compare a union worker's wages to the executive's wages, the ones who decided to mass produce the Aztec and Avalanche etc, and tell me who's being over paid. And three retirees for every working employee? That kinda happens when you suddenly start shipping jobs out of the country. Once again, poor company management yet blame the folks at the bottom. Union members only assemble the parts that are handed to them. They don't design it, engineer it or sell it. That comes from above. If union members are handed junk, the end result is junk all put together. Or a good product but so ugly nobody wants it. Cummins is a union company as is Harley Davidson. Quality sells. Once Harley's exec's bought the company back from the profit hounds AMF, they turned the company around and now build a popular quality motorcycle with union labor. Profits are high... Smart guys and they don't have to blame the workers for poor management.
Reminds me of the old poem I heard years ago about the conductor on a train. Something about I never get to blow the horn nor do I ring the bell but, let the sumbeach jump the tracks and guess who catches heck. I wish I could remember it...