Topic: "Saving GM" CNBC tonight @ 10:00 p.m.

[toolatecrew]

Good luck saving GM by waiting for changes to Free trade.

[tpl]

I  watched the program.  Not very exciting I thought nor very informative. The Volt will save the planet and the American Way of Life.  Later I watched a program on car safety ( not sure how old it was) that pointed out that the US car industry had strongly resisted adding safety features to cars until it was forced to.   Nothing changes as undoubtedly if the Big 3 could find a way to reduce gasoline costs they would carry on producing the same old trucks... getting the US gov to ignore the green movement is FAR easier than forcing the world price of oil down.

I just love discussing free trade on a car forum myself but not in this thread.

[Wolfe]

I agree with you about that, they have to do something to bring the customers back, if all the same price with honda or toyota,  not many people want to buy that.
Japanese car and Korean car was cheap and bad quality decades ago, they are doing the right thing now, if gm can make the right car, they will be survived.

Repeat customers are all well and good so long as you can actually cover your costs. Giving 0% financing over six years in this "market environment" (love that term) is costing GM a lot.

I am not well versed enough in the history of the rise of Japan's or Korea's automakers to really comment intelligently on that second point, but I would imagine that GM has a lot more structural / legacy issues than Honda etc. had to deal with.

The last paragraph IS the main problem with the Big 3.  GM's pension (PENSION ONLY, not healthcare nor salary) cost is about 2000$/car.  Now, multiply 2000 with 8 millions (about the number of cars they will sell this year) and you get 16 billions $.  This is the Big 3's reality.. they have to sell high profit margin - high volume cars to actually make money.  Until now, those sales were the trucks.  Don't fool yourselves, GM loses money by selling you that Cobalt, but they would lose even more if you didn't buy them.  They keep the factories running because it would cost even more to close them, especially since those fixed costs (pension and retired costs) would be higher per car on the remaining sales.

Whine all you like about external factors such as free trade, currencies, and perception gaps, etc. but that doesn't change the fact that GM's business model and branding strategy are broken.

The even bigger problem is that senior management refuses to acknowledge (publicly at least) that the company needs to change dramatically to survive.

It's time the Canadian and American governement do something about it.

Until the Detroit 3 fix their businesses from the inside out any government intervention will be futile and a waste of money.

It's not the government's fault that GM cannot sell the Cobalt profitably.

[mmret]

It's time the Canadian and American governement do something about it.

You don't deserve to vote.

[carcrazy]

It's not the government's fault that GM cannot sell the Cobalt profitably.

I would say it's not the Government's fault that GM sells the Cobalt at all.

GM just doesn't have cars for today's market and due to whatever reasons (poor planning?!) will not have them for another 2-3 years. To me, GM is still reluctant to accept that the market requires more small, well built and engineered, fuel efficient and eventually good looking cars.

Instead, they sell plenty of 4000+ lbs., V6 CUVs, and more to come. This is not to say that the Lambdas aren't good, but apart from them and Malibu, what other good volume seller vehicles do they have?

The Government isn't in charge with GM's product planning so if there is someone to blame for GM's failure is their senior management

[tpl]

I thought so......    from Canadian Driver news today


August 11, 2008
Americans may lose interest in small cars

Santa Monica, California - A rise in fuel prices to US$4.00 per gallon in June and July caused a sudden shift in consumer interest towards smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, but this single-minded focus is subsiding as gasoline prices drop, according to U.S. online auto information site Edmunds.com.

“There’s been a rush to small cars, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the shift is permanent,” said Jeremy Anwyl, CEO of Edmunds.com. “Automakers made some big changes in their production plans based on what happened during the second quarter. Clearly gasoline prices will continue to climb in the long term, but our data calls into question whether consumers’ current preferences will continue in the long term.”
.....more on CD