GM going broke

[turbomangt]

I heard that GM is losing BILLIONS. Now, I only run a small business so I might not know anything, but it seems to me that if GM is to come out of this they need to sell more cars, right? to sell more cars they need to make cars people want, right so far? well, they finally came up with a winner in the Pontiac Solstice with a base price of $19,995. So what do they do? They intentially don't produce enough. Demand far exceeds supply. You can't touch the car for less than 5 grand over sticker and people are getting pissed off. Maybe I'm in left field, but if you get a winner, doesn't it make sense to fill the orders? make people happy? maybe they should look for somone in 7th grade to run the company???? Gary

[MichaelDay]

It seems that dealers are frequently the auto manufacturers worst enemies. Every time a car comes out that the public wants badly and that the manufacture priced reasonably, the dealers add a premium of several thousand dollars so they will make the killing instead of it helping the manufacturer.

My mother is looking for a new car and we visited a Cadillac dealer a couple of days ago. They were adding trick wheels and tires (at a add on price of $4,995), special grills (at an add on price of $995) and other equally outrageously overpriced dealer installed options to boost their short term profits. If GM goes belly up, they go completely out of business, yet their desire to increase this quarter's profits overrides their concern about the long term viability of the manufacturer.

That is the kind of short term thinking that will eventually put most of the American companies out of business. Incidentally, I did finally see a Chrysler dealer that was at least more honest about their price gouging. They had an SRT-8 with an add on sticker that listed 'Market Price Adjustment - $4,995'

[quicksilverdon]

And, just like airlines that went belly up, workers will get screwed out of pensions they earned.
I heard GM's pension fund is something like $37 BILLION underfunded...
Used to be a company had to fund their pensions, then the law got changed and workers by the thousands get screwed. Congress needs to go and change it back. You can't count on your retirement any more...

[Hooligan]

The nice things about Congress is they increase thier pensions and don't have to worry about Social Secutity.

The other thing it is the BIG corporations are the ones lobbying for the laws to change so they do not have to pay off on their promised pensions.

Once again the middle class gets screwed, of course those are the people are the ones that buy cars.

[VellianPT]

the government wont let GM go out, would hurt the ecconomy to greatly. Theyve done it in the past chrysler comes to mind but there are others, GM just needs to purge its head people and right itself around.

[MichaelDay]

It would also help if more folks bought American cars instead of imports.

[bigdogdad]

So in other words we should sell the cruiser and buy American?

[VellianPT]

yeah alot of "american" cars are made in canada and mexico or other places, i saw a hyundai add saying they built a new manufacturing plant in the US. weird

[fritz_t_coyote]

Also:
GMs management has been making mostly brain dead decisions the last few decades:
They were the last of the 'big 3' to figure out that customers expect QUALITY.
They started up (Saturn) and bought up (SAAB, Subaru, Hummer) divisions, but without the product development muscle to keep them all supplied with fresh, competitive offerings, so they had to kill off Oldsmobile and are back-pedaling on the 'Saturn is different' focus.

Then they bet heavily on SUVs, with no serious effort to keep fresh products competing in the small car or minivan markets.



Now, with backs to the wall, they have some fresh MeToo in the market:

The G6: most famous for having to be given away by Oprah in order to get some attention.

The Solstice: Sweet car, but can it out-last GMs famous first-year quality woes, and stay profitable long enough? Will GM give it better support than the Fiero?

Hummer H3: um.... why not save the money and buy a real chevy suv that lurkes under its skin?
(Hummer is pretty much the Poser Brand. Nothing out-machos a modded-out Jeep CJ.)

Chevy Cobalt: Finally, Chevy roles out a competitor for the 1999 Neon,
and 1994 Honda.
HHR: and a competitor for the 2001 PT Cruiser.

As for the other divisions:

Subaru: Hard to believe that the General could screw this one up. Give them time.

SAAB: A travesty, a tragedy, and a crying shame. They used to make wierd but wonderful cars. Now they are doomed to boast of a long-separated aircraft past while selling rebadged chevys and subies.

GMC: 'chevy with lockwashers'... if only GMC Heavy trucks and Corvette could be spun-off, they might make a profitable company.

[Retro]

Hey, nobody wants to see the other side of the corporate debate, however- the role of the big unions in killing the geese that lay the golden eggs. Yes, it is sad to see people who count on their pensions get screwed. But it isn't just their company who is screwing them- it's their unions as well. They negotiate all these unrealistic deals for the workers and force the company to compete with cheaper foreign labor at a disadvantage, and the companies either lay off, go to a foreign country themselves for the cheap labor or go broke. Yes, the workers get screwed, but it isn't just the companies' fault. It's also OUR fault. Who among you wants to pay a premium for goods and services so the workers get to keep their cushy pension deals? Anyone, anyone? I didn't think so. Look in the mirror and see the other culprits in the equation. Us small businesspeople out on the edge know all about getting screwed from all directions. Nobody keeps us in business or worries about OUR pensions. or pays our healthcare, what their is of it. Right, Gary? And nobody cares what happens to us, either.