GM is working fervently on a “viability plan” which will be presented to Congress on December 2nd. If the plan is deemed capable of ensuring the company’s future viability then a portion of $25 billion in low interest bridge loans will be awarded.
GM is trying to keep their plan’s development under tight wraps. When unveiled it is expected a 10 to 12 page public version will be presented along with an 80 page private version for lawmakers’ eyes only.
Today reports citing anonymous sources have leaked out some aspects of the plan under consideration.
One component includes sacrifices from top executives who may even work for $1 per year. As well concessions from the autoworker union (UAW) including the elimination of a controversial “job bank” program under which laid-off workers continue to get paid.
Other possibilities include the elimination of brands. Beyond publicly admitting Hummer is for sale, GM has not openly confirmed it might consider ending brands. Sources say that in addition to Hummer, GM is also considering terminating Pontiac, Saab, and Saturn.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 26th, 2008 at 9:36 pm and is filed under Brand, Financial, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Nov 26th, 2008 (9:41 pm)The working for a $1.00 part sounds good.
First, yay!
Stew.
Nov 26th, 2008 (9:42 pm)As much as I’d hate to see some well-known brands go, if it keeps the volt comin, go for it!
Nov 26th, 2008 (9:50 pm)Because of the current economic situation, there may be perfectly good brands taken out and shot!
The leaner more aggressive GM will be at fighting weight to take on Toyota and Honda for the first time in a long time.
The Volt, I hope will be at the tip of the spear.
What’s with all the war analogies? Must be what’s going on in Mumbai.
Nov 26th, 2008 (9:51 pm)I like the sound of the execs working for $1 but disappointed a great name like Pontiac will go.
Nov 26th, 2008 (9:58 pm)Now,
About taking the detroit delegationt aking the train to Washington, I saw one in “Dr Zhivago” that would be ideal, you may all remember it…the one with the gun, not the cattle trucks…lol
OK, Im too old…
Nov 26th, 2008 (10:08 pm)bruce g Says:
If Pontiac is a great name, why is not selling well enough?
Pontiac just builds cars for old people. Must go.
Nov 26th, 2008 (10:08 pm)I love my ’96 Saab and have driven them close to 300,000 miles but if it ends up being Chevy, GMC, and Cadillac to get the Volt, so be it.
A relatively flat pay scale for all employees sounds good to me and is what my job has.
Nov 26th, 2008 (10:16 pm)If those headcounts are correct then a big three bankruptcy shouldn’t be that much worse than what we have already gone through.
Nov 26th, 2008 (10:17 pm)#6 Tim Tom,
Pontiac is for old people because GM decided it should be so.
I guess it is an anachronism dating back to the days of rock and roll and an affluent middle class.
All gone!
The boys that drive their 60′s Pontiacs in my little town look suspiciously like old men.
lol
Nov 26th, 2008 (10:18 pm)list of sacrifices by GM people to be submitted to the senate:
1. wagoner will be paid $1 a year …….for 2008.
2. bob lutz will fly his jet on mon.wed and fri only …..his wife will fly the other jet the rest of the week.
3. all GM vice presidents will surrender their blackberriys …… they will only use iPOD from hereon.
4. no more christmas party for GM salary employees ….. of arabic nationality
5. GM workers wil not be paid $ 70 per hour …..they will instead be paid the equivalent every 15th and 30th of the month.
BAILOUT approved !
Nov 26th, 2008 (10:24 pm)Now that their back is to the wall, GM is ready to go electric.
Why did they crush the EV1 in California????
Why is the car always “in the future”.
Let this dinosaur die but LONG LIVE THE ELECTRIC CAR !!!!
-former GM employee and electrician
Nov 26th, 2008 (10:46 pm)I applaud a plan without flying 20K a pop corporate jets.
The notion that the security of the CEO’s is the reason is a joke.
Who would want them anyway….I mean really…who would?
I would be surprised if Saturn goes away. It looks like a great line. I do remember reading Saturn was supposed to be an all new car getting 50MPG years ago….hmmmm
Perhaps bring in the Saturn Sky under a Chevy badge or any viable Saturn models under the Chevy umbrella.
Hummers are so awesome…just go Diesel-Hybrid when the cash is there to reinvest or bring the H3 under Chevy also.
Saab…I know of no one that drives one.
Pontiac has been lost for some time.
Trim the fat….work a solid plan. Model lines can always come back later…
I truly hope GM & Ford Survive….Wont loose any sleep over Chrysler…
Keep jobs here and no more investing in Non US soil please.
If Toyota and Honda can…whats up with that????
Invest our money Here. Close the off shore plants and revive the USA!
Nov 26th, 2008 (10:49 pm)Beside the Pontiac Sunbird.. Pontiac cars are junk.. seats fall apart, etc.
Pontiac and Hummer.. good to dump! Saturn’s are just ugly.. too bad.. the quality was good. I guess SAAB just too small.
J
Nov 26th, 2008 (10:50 pm)Lyle wrote: “GM is working fervently on a “viability plan”…”
Hmm, something they should have been working on a long time ago!!!
Saturn to be “elimination”… isn’t that ironic… isn’t it the Saturn dealership(s) that handled the leasing and servicing of the EV1?
In any case, I think the word “elimination” may be overkill… I have a hard time believing they will just kill the Saab brand, which is just as well respected as the Volvo brand (the Sweds sure know how to build cars, I love my 2000 S70 T5, quality built). My guess is more likely they will “shed” brands… meaning they could be sold.
Working for a $1 is taking their cue from AIG’s CEO. Instead what these CEO’s are likely to get are even more stock options than they already get…. which of course are only worth anything if the stock price goes up from the exercise price (in theory the market price the day the options are issued, but back dating of options is another issue). What you do have to watch out for is that while options provide the CEO and execs to get the stock price up, they don’t always do it the best way that is in the best long term interests of the share holders.
Nov 26th, 2008 (10:57 pm)Pontiac is kind of a joke at this point. I can’t name anyone I know who drives one.
At one time Pontiac was GMs excitement brand. The last time I saw anyone excited by a pontiac they were getting it for free from oprah. Don’t even get me started on the aztek…. So wrong, so ugly. If their profitability plan doesn’t yet include ax-ing Pontiac one would have to wonder if they’re serious at all
Nov 26th, 2008 (11:14 pm)keep the Astra and Vue and Sky/Solstice – move them to Chevy – I like the 9-3 from Saab ragtop – maybe a cadillac? or Vauxhall in Europe if they can’t sell Saab
Why are they keeping Buick?? Is Buick viable – are they selling enough? Or is the GMC/Buick franchise viable with enough product width?
If they end up with Chevrolet and Cadillac I’m good with it as Toyota only has Lexus and Toyota.
Nov 26th, 2008 (11:17 pm)It would be sad to see legendary brands like Pontiac and SAAB go… but if they are just going to continue to rot and not get any great products, then by all means. Don’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
Nov 26th, 2008 (11:28 pm)Don’t worry, those brands will return to US market shortly, as Chinese brands.
Nov 26th, 2008 (11:30 pm)This is all too sad. Did you know that Oldsmobile ruled the world back in the 1970′s? The Olds Cutlass was the top selling nameplate in the world for years, and do you know what GM did with the fortune they made on it? They (read Roger Smith of “Roger and Me” fame) started the Saturn Company. Yep, instead of putting that money back into Oldsmobile R&D, they wasted it. They already HAD a low priced entry level brand — CHEVROLET.
So what happened to Oldsmobile? The oldest car company (started in 1897) in America? GONE!
So my opinion in all this is that Saturn ought to die, if any of the brands have to go. Hummer should go too. And of course Saab, that odd little contraption for losers, should go back to Sweden where it belongs.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Saturn. In fact I helped my two oldest daughters buy Saturns. Great solid cars. I’m just venting here at the sense of loss I feel when they are talking about giving up another storied brand like Pontiac. What the hell is happening to my country?
I love GM. I drive a Cadillac deVille, and my wife drives a Chevrolet truck. These are the brands I know and trust. I want GM to succeed and beat the pants off the Japanese more than anything. I believe General Motors can rule the world again, and the way to do it is with the Chevy Volt.
Go GM! Go Volt!
Nov 26th, 2008 (11:31 pm)@ Dale
> Why are they keeping Buick??
GM sells tons of Buicks(Not Buick proper, but mostly rebadged Daewoos) in China. Buick is to China what Cadillac is like in the US.
Nov 26th, 2008 (11:35 pm)“top executives who may even work for $1 per year. As well concessions from the autoworker union (UAW) including the elimination of a controversial “job bank” program under which laid-off workers continue to get paid.”
So, how does the overall management pay compare to Honda and Toyota USA? If it is less, you know they are really trying.
And that is really big of the union to concede one issue of getting paid 80 to 95% of their salary AFTER BEING LAID OFF. What about all those other union rules that Honda and Toyota don’t have to put up with?
How about, lets really get competitive!
=D~~~~
Nov 26th, 2008 (11:39 pm)http://www.newsday.com/classified/automotive/ny-cars-minie1021,0,5060357.story
Mini Cooper Beats GM with a production electric car. Shown in LA Auto Show. Sheeeesh get off the Jet Ricky…it’s not making you any more effective is it buddy.
150 Mile Range… http://www.minispace.com/en_us/projects/electric-mini-e/
Nov 26th, 2008 (11:42 pm)Can’t we find a middle ground? It’s either $7 million, or $1 dollar?
CEOs and top execs should make between $250K and $900K in salary, and then a lot more in profit sharing (when the company makes a profit).
As for selling off brands, this probably makes sense. GM needs to downsize and become more efficient. Too much redundancy across brands. Why isn’t GMC on the ax list?
Nov 26th, 2008 (11:49 pm)1) The elimination of those brands will eat up the entire cost of the bailout package. Contracts exists and eliminating a brand is not like turning off a switch. Rick Wagoner has said this before. It’s true! If they want to do this, they will need much more help (cold hard cash) from the government. I’m not saying it’s not a good idea. I’m just saying that we need to face up to the reality. If we want to keep our automobile industry we have to be prepared to pay for it. I only want to pay for it if the industry is completely reorganized to compete in today’s global environment where petroleum supplies are not assured. Throwing good money after bad on an outdated business model makes me ill.
2) Great. How motivated are you to work for $1 a year? That’s what we need right now, a CEO that has no motivation to come into work. Yeah, things might turn around eventually and he will get rewarded. How about you folks? Would you work for a year at GM hoping that it will turn around so you can get your pay? No, I wouldn’t either. I would just go work somewhere else that has much more promise. If they do get the bailout money expect Rick Wagoner to resign and go work for a new and exciting company. Let’s compare: Go into work and get paid and have the chance to see a new form of transportation make it to market and not have to deal with unions… Or, go work for GM for $1, have to still deal with unions and spend the next year worried that the economy probably won’t get any better and you will have to jump back on a commercial flight to congress to beg for more money. Hummmm. Tough call. Hey Rick, let’s start a new company! I know you’re brilliant and hard working. So do executive headhunters. Chances Rick will bail after the bailout? 90%
3) If the union still has power over what kind of technology is used during manufacture or where the production occurs then GM will still fail eventually. Car 2.0 is being born. Even small companies like Tesla, Hyundai, Tata, etc. have a good chance at grabbing huge market share. Think for one second about Tesla with it’s very young and non-unionized workforce competing against GM when a brand new technology comes out (new battery, new electronics, new form of energy system, etc.). Both have to design from scratch. Without complete restructuring of GM and the Big 3 they will not be able to compete on producing car 2.0. If anyone has any clue how they can be profitable please let us know. I don’t see it, not in the home market. Only if they have a strong international reach do they stand a chance. That alone should put Chrysler on the block.
Thus, The Big 3 will need government help to restructure to the extent they need to. Just a song and dance to get the bailout money will not be enough. I do feel they will get the money and that will unfortunately delay the needed restructuring. Of course they will be back in less than a year and if the government learns its lesson will offer to work hand-in-hand during bankruptcy.
Now is the time for massive change. Obama’s plan can easily fit the Big 3 under its umbrella. The way we use energy for transportation needs to changed. This big plan must include our existing automobile industry. It could not be a better time for complete reorganization. I hope congress understands this when they hand out that $25 billion dollar delay. Yes, it’s a delay for real change when we don’t have unlimited time. Other enlightened companies from other countries are working hard this very moment. I’m guessing they are hoping for the bailout. It also gives them time.
Nov 26th, 2008 (11:54 pm)It makes absolutely NO sense to get rid of brands.
More brands equal more volume which equals more sales, in turn equaling more MONEY.
Saab, as recently stated by GM, is profitable. This is very important seeing as how GM’s goal is to become profitable in the future. GM also said that Saab sells pretty well in Europe. Another thing to consider is that Saab is GLOBAL. Saab is good. They need to stay with GM.
Saturn’s future is looking very good as well. They’ve just made the decision to make Saturn more like the ‘Opel’ of the USA which is, slowly but surely, working (Vue/Antara, Aura/Vectra, Astra, etc.) If they keep that up, Saturn can become a major player in GM’s stable, easily becoming a top seller as it is in Europe (as Opel). They need to stay.
Pontiac I will admit seems the bleakest of GM’s brands. It’s the only brand that has no concrete direction. They claimed they were moving to be largely RWD. That didn’t happen. They claimed they were going for mostly ‘sport-inspired’ vehicles. That’s kind of arguable. They’re lost. However, this is not important. Pontiac is GM’s THIRD best-selling brand; more than Buick, Saab, Cadillac, Saturn, and Hummer. That’s volume that makes MONEY. Pontiac, for that reason alone, needs to stay. And find direction while they’re at it…
Perhaps the biggest annoyance is how GM is trying to sell the Hummer brand. HUMMER IS A CASH COW. Every Hummer sold makes GM money. Why cut that out??? Who cares if they’re not “green” vehicles; they can be. IMO it just shows how vast and versatile GM really is. You can buy anything from a Volt to a Hummer all from the same company. “A vehicle for every purse and purpose”. Another thing is, like Saab, Hummer is GLOBAL. It just doesn’t make sense to sell something so “great” (logically) just because it carries a largely negative image. If they sell Hummer, they’re putting emotion ahead of logic. And that’s dumb.
GM, keep every single one of your brands; all you have to do is WORK with them because they can all be successful.
Nov 26th, 2008 (11:59 pm)#10 Coach, Nice! I think you agree with me that this is just a PR circus.
Nov 27th, 2008 (12:04 am)# 23,
The reason why GMC isn’t on the list is because it too is VOLUME. GM manages to ‘squeeze’ more than 500,000 sales out of GMC (I think more than 600,000 last year…) all from just changing around some Chevy trucks and SUVs. That is genius. Why pay billions of dollars to shut down the whole brand, erase half a million sales, and be left with a hole? GM is getting better at re-engineering and re-branding different cars; there is money to be made like that.
Nov 27th, 2008 (12:08 am)Pontiac and Saturn? Both of those brands, if you look at the models and developments and progression of the last 5 years, it wouldn’t seem like those should be likely candidates for the ax. G6 sells millions, G8 is a frickin BMW 5 series for half the price, 2009 Vibe is actually attractive and refined. Saturn Aura won car of the year, Vue rivals the high quality of the ford escape/escape hybrid. ION is another mass-seller.
How bout Buick and GMC? Those are both yawners.
GM could get rid of Buick and still have it’s best luxury cars (CTS, STS) untouched. They’d also still have enough trucks and SUV’s without GMC.
Nov 27th, 2008 (12:10 am)The Pontiac G8 sounds like a great car. The G5 reviews well. The G6, a little less popular.
http://autos.yahoo.com/pontiac_g8-reviews_user/
http://autos.yahoo.com/pontiac_g6-reviews_user/
http://autos.yahoo.com/pontiac_g5-reviews_user/
Vibe, “Bit” Torrent, Solstice, and G3 – why make Pontiac versions of those when you can just as easily get identical versions badged as Saturn, GMC, or Chevrolet?
GM does have a lot of “product creep” or “overlap” or whatever the term is for it. Honda/Acura is very careful to not cannibalize each others’ market. If Chevy is ‘value’ and Pontiac is ‘sporty’ then what’s Saturn? And why does Chevy have sports cars and Pontiac have economy cars? (Tradition? That and $1.60 get you a small boutique coffee)
Nov 27th, 2008 (12:22 am)#26 Texas
But of course. If GM wants their place at the public trough, they need to show how truly penitent they are and how, despite their previous performance, this time they have truly turned over a new leaf. Reminds me of the brother-in-law who just needs another loan to get back on his feet; it wasn’t his fault after all.
Sadly, I think it’ll work. Congress wants to help them as a symbol of how they’re saving america’s backbone, and now that GM appears humble and contrite, I think it’ll happen.
Nov 27th, 2008 (12:45 am)Here’s all of General Motors divisions. If we’re gonna argue about the numbers of angels on heads of pins, may as well start out with all the names.
* Buick
* Cadillac
* Chevrolet
* Daewoo
* GMC
* Holden
* Hummer
* Opel
* Pontiac
* Saab
* Saturn
* Vauxhall
Nov 27th, 2008 (2:03 am)Does anyone know if the presentation to congress will be televised on Dec 2, and on which channel ?
Nov 27th, 2008 (3:39 am)If this crisis has taught GM anything, than surely they now understand that public perception has a heavy impact on their bottom line. That’s why hummer is for sale. Each one sold may well make money over it’s direct cost but the costs to GM as a whole are much greater. Lutz himself has pointed out that Toyota gets a halo effect from the Prius. The rest of their lineup is perceived as more fuel efficient and the company more responsible just because of that one car.
Separately, GM does have too many brands with overlapping priorities. They need to cut some brands whole and edit their development across the rest
Nov 27th, 2008 (3:48 am)1) CEO $1 ?? no need he can take 500k /annum for sure.
reason : $1 can be back to 220 m soon but 500 k will be max 600 k not back to 22million so fast and gives him a enough living standard.
If he thinks he earned enough money and can sustain for a year with $1 then its fine with me.
2) Look properly on your balance sheet and understand where business is going.I don’t think this crisis occurred in this recession, people buying habits were changing and GM never cared what people wanted. From now they have to care and look on balance sheets too.
3) Progressive improvements – small workable improvements as a part of process. This should be on quality , durability, designs etc. example was Pontiac aztec – i really loved the design except some aspects but when i herd about its quality i never went for it.
4) Branding and improving brand value : its not by sponsoring an event, should be by improvements on the design .Volt looks to me like and example where somebody designed it to look futuristic first but wind tunnel test gave a v2, once it on road , get people feedback and go for a v3 and improve that part of the mass production factory. Once you do it one by one you will have less factory expense because you maintain and improve good.spend some money regular on factory upgrades and technology upgrades.
5) Resale support : Make sure the cars are durable and have a certified resale program. Even have a recycling program.New sales methods also can be tried.
6) Educate customers for regualr maintance and make sure dealerships do it at normal cost compared to outside labour charges. Make sure parts wont torn fast and they are built with quality.
7) proactive Innovation – innovation doesn’t mean huge changes, even the Honda’s color change speedometer seems to be a great innovation because it helps the user t drive better. Yes GM demonstrated this in delayed lights etc. GM need to be make this as a part of process and have to give a path for existing people to upgrade to new innovations with optimal cost ( i still remember i lost my key less fab and GM dealer was asking $120 and ebay had same for $20 including free programming – yes i had a Pontiac grand am for last 2 yrs)
Process is the key and that made japanes here, if you compare 70′s cars the American ones were soo great compared to japanes but they kept working and Americans used the same plant and bulk sale with out improvements. Implement process properly.Not for over heads.
9) Learn from other industries : ex: mobile phones were already there but why people say iphone came with a revolution. find what they did , how they did and how you can have a similar success in your industry.
Above all ” giving ideas is cheap, Implementing is difficult” . There will be lot people saying a lot. listen , take only once which you think are implementable and go for the chosen ones ( never matter you fail r win – if you choose right ones you will win ), Think responsibly and work responsibly. I don’t say cut all dump middle management but reduce overheads.All people cant be smart and we need live and let others live ( take off commercials with “better than toyta kind of advertisement” remember you are giving free advertisement for Toyota . tell why our cars are good and say them to have compare against any competitor.
Always run research projects for future ahead of the world thinks about it. Even if you are the last to think of it , come with a difference which people never thought of (iphone example ). Think if EV was not shut and was running then GM may be in a commanding position ahead of others. Always plant trees when you are rich so that you can eat fruits at bad times.
Nov 27th, 2008 (3:53 am)No Pontiac???
Nov 27th, 2008 (4:34 am)Steve Jobs earns a whopping $1.00 per year, in salary, but perks and bonuses add up to a very comfortable life style.
Don’t for a second think that these auto execs are actually giving up much when they drop to one buck a year, they will still be making the big dough thanks to their perks and incentives.
Ter
Nov 27th, 2008 (4:44 am)I wouldn’t sell those brands if i were them.
Nov 27th, 2008 (6:20 am)Maybe they could ‘sell’ them to the government for 12 Billion?
Nov 27th, 2008 (7:10 am)It’s all about trimming the fat. I agree with tossing Saab, Pontiac, Hummer, but I am a little uncertain about Saturn. It’s time to go back to the basics and rebuild from there. I don’t personally have the money for a Volt, but lets do what it takes to get the technology out and start making it more affordable.
Nov 27th, 2008 (7:45 am)No one has ever accused me of being politically correct, so I will venture to say that GM will somewhere in the future see a rebound in sales of SUV’s and trucks.
Although small cars like the Cruze will have a market, when the economy turns around, I project the market will be for trucks and SUV’s (although probably mid-size ones like the Buick Enclave).
GM can’t tell the Barney Franks of the world that its real profit will be in these markets, and they just need the money to weather the storm. Instead, they need a plan that looks politically correct. So lowered salaries, concessions from the UAW, and a business plan to implement more fuel efficient cars (although this needs to include more fuel efficient trucks and SUV’s) will sell to Congress (do these guys ever fly on private jets)?
GM is getting awards for the Corvette, Cadillac CTS, Enclave, and the Malibu, to name a few. They already have plans for more gasoline direct injection, six speed auto transmissions, and hybrids. They are just late to the game.
However, if you think GM is the king of gas guzzlers, guess again. Check out this link:
http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/the-american-gas-guzzler-myth.htm
Sometimes GM has to fight perception more than reality.
Nov 27th, 2008 (7:47 am)#38 Brian…………….
—————————————————————————————————————————–
I agree it makes sense to sell Pontiac, Saab & Hummer, but I’ll be surprised if they ditch Saturn. Lutz has said (in different words) that Saturn has more promise than any other GM Division because of its “no-haggle” policy and friendly, modern showrooms/service areas. That’s why he revitalized the product line –Saturn now has a larger percentage of hybrids in its lineup than any other division, and is scheduled to be the first with a plug-in crossover, the plug-in Vue. That would give Saturn mild, 2-mode and plug-in hybrids to offer its customers, who are already among the most (if not the most) loyal of all GM buyers in terms of repeat sales. With a complete lineup of appealing new models it seems senseless to sell or shut down Saturn!
Nov 27th, 2008 (8:02 am)How sad GM is now working “feverishly” on a plan they should have developed 5 years ago, opting to retain the leadership that could not read the writing on the wall.
How about the legacy costs of the “generous” UAW contracts, unless they go, GM not have a sustainable business model.
I just read in Consumer Report about cars offering the most “owner satisfaction” and the least. The list of least satisfying vehicles had 20 of 23 big three products and only three imports. But the list of “most satisfying” vehicles had 24 of 27 imports.
If I had the choice and I do not, I would not give my hard earned tax dollars to the same folks who built a bridge to nowhere in 2005.
Nov 27th, 2008 (8:19 am)One tool that might be helpful to GM would be a peer review group that looks at GM from top and bottom and makes recommendations. Folks from the firms that build satisfying vehicles for a profit. Of course the results of the audit would need to go to an outside agency so the deniers within GM could not just pooh pooh the recommendations.
Nov 27th, 2008 (8:38 am)#23 Dave G says:
Can’t we find a middle ground? It’s either $7 million, or $1 dollar?
CEOs and top execs should make between $250K and $900K in salary, and then a lot more in profit sharing (when the company makes a profit).
======================================
Totally agree, but based on actual profit… not stock price.
Stock price based pay incentives is what has gotten all the major corporations (and fannie may and freddie mac) into trouble. The Exec’s would do destructive business to drive up their stock price and salaries, bail with cash in hand, and avoid the fallout a couple of years later.
Nov 27th, 2008 (8:43 am)Why do some criticizes Pontiac while others say “keep the Astra, Vue, Sky and Aura. Well that pretty sums up all of them. One of my car is a G6 and I find it just as good, if not better than my son-in-law Camry. It’s just to show there is so much bias. Some people open their mouth about something they know very little about.
Nov 27th, 2008 (8:51 am)I doubt they will just close SAAB…more like a sale like Hummer.
I suppose that Buick’s overseas sales are going to save their bacon, but I don’t see this justifying their domestic operation.
I’m surprised that GMC isn’t on the list, but I suppose since they are just rebadged Chevy’s and as far as I know they don’t have their own distribution channel (piggybacking on non-Chevy dealerships), they might be profitable.
Likewise I would doubt Saturn will disappear. Way too much invested, and if they keep doing the quick rebadge of Opel, then it doesn’t cost them much.
I wish there was some site that would tell you which BRANDS or MODELS make money for GM, not just the total corporate profit or loss statements.
Nov 27th, 2008 (9:12 am)Any plan that doesn’t require a 50% wage and benefits cut for UAW workers is useless. I’m tired of seeing one move after another simply reduce the size of the Big Three and accomplish nothing. Quit
this fraudulent crap and start calling a spade a spade. The UAW is a dinosaur that has raped the American consumer for over 60 years. As long as they and their Democrat puppet politiicans are calling the shots and trying to distract the public’s attention to meaningless issues like corporate jets, they are just going in circles.
This is a joke.
Nov 27th, 2008 (9:20 am)# 25 tbay
You nailed it. I couldn’t say it any better.
Nov 27th, 2008 (9:21 am)The big 3 need money to keep building those mediocre gas guzzling cars which are burning up our fuel and now food supply (corn based ethanol). What a joke!! 25 years and three oil wars later they now pledge to start making small cars to promote conservation (except for flying the gas guzzling jets to DC to beg for more money). They said they will not sell the jets, and I bet they all drive gas guzzling SUV. We all know in America you have to drive a gigantic SUV to show what a big shot you are.
This generation doesn’t want to make small cars, just say what congress wants to hear to get that sweet moolah for more years of making large cars, and paying themselves big bucks. My bailout proposal is:
-All exec compensation capped at $500,000 per year.
-All compensation capped at $45 per hour to meet Toyota and Honda’s rates.
-No grants to the big three, the taxpayers get voting common stock and 20% of the Board seats for all votes and meetings.
-Tariff on all imported cars of $1,900 to equalize health care costs.
-Tariff of $500 to equalize environmental costs and pension costs.
-All cars must get 30+ combined miles per gallon and 25% must be plug in hybrids.
-10% of cars must have a plug and ride solar panel system to install at the end of your driveway to charge plug in hybrid batteries.
-all cars must get a gas equivalent of 50+ miles per gallon within 5 years (the Prius gets it right now).
If they don’t agree, let them go bankrupt, and let a trustee put Bill Gates and Steve Jobs as the CEOs of GM and Ford. Boone Pickens CEO of Chrysler.
My plan will never happen because the older generation still controls power in America, and they are failures.
Hopefully the younger generation can make this happen, and that is one of the reasons Obama won the election.
Nate
Wilmington Delaware
Nov 27th, 2008 (9:22 am)TTAC has highlighted a embedded video clip from the Detroit Free Press of Wagoner taking questions from the press last thrusday, just thought it might be of interest:
The links are the same, the first has the accompanying article from the Freep. The TTAC has highlighted Wagoner’s statement of “I Do Have a Son in College I have to Pay For” when asked about taking a $1 salary…which is amusing.
Original environment:
http://www.freep.com/article/20081120/BUSINESS01/311200024/0/BUSINESS01
TTAC:
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/i-do-have-a-son-in-college-i-have-to-pay-for/
(Sorry if this is a repost of something older…I have been busy with another house move and haven’t been around lately)
Nov 27th, 2008 (9:36 am)#27 tBay Says: “The reason why GMC isn’t on the list is because it too is VOLUME. GM manages to ’squeeze’ more than 500,000 sales out of GMC (I think more than 600,000 last year…) all from just changing around some Chevy trucks and SUVs. That is genius. Why pay billions of dollars to shut down the whole brand, erase half a million sales, and be left with a hole?”
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Your assumptions seems to be:
1) If GMC goes away, former GMC customers would buy Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, or other brand than GM.
2) The sales volumes of GMC is more than enough to offset the overhead of supporting another line.
I would challenge both of these assumptions.
As you say, GMC products are just Chevy trucks and SUVs that have been changed around. If GMC went away, I’d bet that 90% of former GMC customers would buy a GM truck over a Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, or something else.
Also, I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure another brand has significant overhead in terms of advertising, dealerships, etc.
So I doubt that the overhead of keeping GMC would be less than the sales lost by getting rid of GMC. As a comparison, Toyota worldwide sales are about the same as GM now and I believe they only have 3 brands worldwide (Toyota, Lexus, and Scion). 50 years ago when GM dominated the market, a lot of different brands made sense. Today, GM is no longer a dominant player.
Nov 27th, 2008 (9:39 am)#40 nasaman wrote….
“….but I’ll be surprised if they ditch Saturn.”
I too would be surprised if that happened. I’ve always thought of Saturn as GM’s “technology” brand with a different way of looking at design.
I’ve always sort of assumed that the production Volt might use the plastic panel technology that Saturn and the earlier Pontiac Fiero pioneered.
Nov 27th, 2008 (9:49 am)50 years ago when GM dominated the market, a lot of different brands made sense.
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That redundancy never made any sense. Why would you want to offer so many different styles of the same vehicle? All that extra overhead drains profit.
Of course, now things are different anyway. GM has the 30 MPG and less category well covered. Volt will fulfill high-end efficiency. But there will still be nothing in the middle. Consumers will buy 50 MPG vehicles from other automakers if GM doesn’t offer them… regardless of brand.
FCHV
Nov 27th, 2008 (9:55 am)What are people smoking when they say Pontiac is for old men? (unless there are teeny boppers here who consider 35-40 to be “old”). Please tell me what is uniquely “old” about the Vibe, the Solstice, the G6 hard top convertible, and the G8 rear wheel drive (lite) muscle car? In fact, Pontiac doesn’t make a SINGLE CAR that appeals to old people. The Bonneville is ancient history, folks. In fact, Chevy seems like a much older person brand than Pontiac to me.
I see a lot more geezers tooling around in Buick, Camrys, and Civics than I do Pontiacs.
Nov 27th, 2008 (10:56 am)_____________________________________________________
Lyle,
I wish you and your family a happy Thanksgiving!
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Nov 27th, 2008 (11:02 am)Maan … getting rid of BOTH Saturn and Pontiac? I don’t know about that. I think GM ought to first get rid of the individual car MODELS from Saturn and Pontiac that are not selling well, aren’t getting good ratings from the car mags, Consumer Reports, JD Power, etc.
It’s like GM is an overloaded, overweight cargo plane that needs to dump overboard different stuff so the plane can take off from the runway. GM needs to be very SMART about what they dump and what they keep. No need to get crazy about it. But if they gotta do it, they gotta do it.
GM just needs to do whatever they gotta do to match up well against the other car companies …. especially Toyota. Toyota is a BEAST that they can’t screw around with anymore!. I think GM ought to have specific car models that are designed from the ground up to be THE very best vehicle on the market in their segment … such as 4 door mid size sedans. GM ought to put a lot of resources into the Malibu for example. Make the Malibu just as good or better than the Camry and Accord in exterior/interior styling …. year in and year out. Keep on improving it a little more every year …. that Japanese “kaizen” principle of “constant, never ending improvement”.
GM needs “best sellers” and “award winners”. Cars that the JD Power and car magazine people are raving about. THAT is what will turn GM’s reputation around. That will help GM sell ALL their models more. The Volt ought to be a “halo car” that will make people say … “wow, GM has their stuff together these days … this new Volt is a technological super car”. People will then start thinking that LOTS of GM’s cars are “elite”, well designed cars … the kind of cars that the savvy customers that do their research would buy.
Once GM gets that “halo effect” back for their “core car models in each segment”, THEN they can think about new models for each segment that have different styling, etc. People still want to have somewhat unique cars you know. Car exteriors are a bit like clothes. People want to have clothes that are different from everyone’s elses. Some people want to have radically different looking clothes. Most people just want their clothes to look “somewhat unique” … a variation on a classic, popular style. GM definitely needs to get the best exterior designers they can get their hands on. Little thinks like the headlight style, the front end “look” and all that are probably a lot more important than people will admit.
They might not say so, but people buy their cars for how they make them feel first, and then justify the purchase with logical reasons such as good quality ratings from JD Power, Consumer Reports, car magazines, etc.
Nov 27th, 2008 (11:06 am)They urgently need cash therefore they are going to spin of some assets. Some cash sucking assets they would be not able to spin off. In that case they be forced to liquidate them. That is usual restructuring procedure.
Nov 27th, 2008 (11:16 am)#41 Van
I am also amazed that GM is just now working on putting together a viability plan…
What the heck have they been doing? How can you come, hat in hand, and ask for money to save your company, and not have a viability plan in place? This is OUTRAGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If I walked in to a meeting and said I needed a big lump of cash to save a failing product line, I would expect to be bombarded with financials, like:
- “what is the current profit/loss rate”
- “what is the expected profit/loss rate, if we give you $x?”
- “What is the estimated length of time before you get this turned around and start making cash?”
- “Is the project worth saving”
How can they not have a plan in place? It tells me the plan in place was “Get as much bailout $ as you can, as fast as you can”. How else would you explain this?
Happy Thanksgiving to those in the USA. (The rest of you should be working and making money, so have a happy work day
)
Nov 27th, 2008 (11:18 am)It’s dawned on me that since its inception in 1908 as the holding company for Buick, GM has been allowed by the US Government to evolve into the behemoth it is today. First it gobbled up Oldsmobile then Cadillac, Elmore, then Oakland, whose name changed to Pontiac. Of course one can argue that with so many foreign models offered in the US, GM is far from being considered a monopoly. But that’s what the US auto industry has been allowed to become, a monopoly of 3 giant auto manufactures. If Congress accepts GM’s shedding of brands it will make it easier to allow it to go Chapter 11 or 7 latter because it will lessen the blow to the economy. This is a great opportunity for a company like Tesla to snatch up a brand like Saturn or Pontiac and create a fourth US auto manufacturer. It’s what the country needs greater amounts of smaller businesses whose failure wont impact the national economy catastrophically. I blame the Government for allowing the merger mania to create such large corporations instead of fostering an environment where smaller companies can compete. Look at it this way, if the US auto industry was made up of ten different manufactures and one failed, it wouldn’t mean the end of the world for the other nine or the US economy.
NPNS!
Nov 27th, 2008 (11:22 am)Actually shutting down brands completely? I think that the news story is just rehash of old rumours on blogging web sites. I will believe it when I see it.
It’s a shame to see Pontiac’s cars go, sort of like Oldsmobiles… just as they were getting desirable, the brand being dropped? Rather than Pontiacs being a complete line of vehicles from the G3, G5, G6, G8, Solstice, Torrent, etc., it would be nice if it turned into somewhat limited edition “special treat” vehicles.
Leave only the G5 for the younger generation with smaller budgets(would evenrtally evolve into a souped up and heavily restyled Cruze, I guess), G8, and Solstice. Pontiac sales wouldn’t be able to support a dealership alone due to a changing sales environment (i.e. gas prices fluctuating), but they can be cars that occasionally come in small quantities at Chevrolet dealers to attract walk-in traffic.
Nov 27th, 2008 (11:37 am)49 Statik
I could not help but notice in the Wagoner interview that behind Rick, you see the pictures of their gas guzzling monsters that are one reasons they are in this mess.
Also his comment that they use the private jets so they can travel to multiple locations in the same day, and they have looked into reducing this is a bunch of bull. Did Rick plan on making 4 or 5 more stops after his grilling by Congress? I expect he either flew home or stayed in a local Ritz hotel for the night. So, would this not have been an occasion to NOT fly the corporate jet, if it did not meet his supposedly new criteria for flying corporate?
I do not disagree with use of a corporate jet if it makes good business sense, but in these times it makes no sense, and your sending out a very bad message.
I also, am not concerned about the executive salaries. They take as much as they can get, just like the rest of us. If I was given a raise at work, would I turn it down, because I thought it would make me an overpaid worker? The salaries should reflect the business and demand, trying to “limit” exec’s salaries would be futile.
Nov 27th, 2008 (11:58 am)CEOs always claim to “work for $1.00″. Their real interest is in stock options. Salary is taxed as personal income and at the 35% income tax rate, whereas income from capital gains on stock is 15%. Most of us here are in a higher tax bracket than the majority of CEOs in this country. Bill Gates “salary” is $40,000 per year. Does anyone believe that’s his real salary? Doubtful.
No CEO here deserves the income paid here – NOT ONE. I buy overseas stocks to help outsource these SOBs. When the CEO of Honda, a well run company, makes $1 million to our CEOs making $30 million for disasterous management, than it’s time to help those CEOs bring jobs here. Cheaper and actually more pro-American to those that matter – the working stiffs.
Nov 27th, 2008 (12:02 pm)JEC it isn’t futile to limit CEO pay. A new activist government, for the people, is necessary to quell flat out GREED. Happens all the time, throughout the world, even in communist countries. We’ve simply had government out of the picture for a long time. In American, where CEO pay is set by other CEOs, who then set their pay is ridiculous. Wouldn’t it be nice if you and I could get together and set one another’s wages. How much do you want JEC, and then I’ll slip a note to you on how much I would love to make. Nice setup – corrupt, but very nice.
Buy stock overseas, write to Congress, Outsource disgustingly overpaid CEOs, bring American jobs back home.
Nov 27th, 2008 (12:02 pm)Vincent.
The Mini won’t sell, it’s a 2 seat car (The back seat was sacrificed to make room for battery storage). Remember the last 2 seat electric car? Made a fortune for the company that built it….. NOT.
Back to this thread. If they keep either the Solstice or Sky and the Vibe and move them to Chevy dropping Pontiac and Saturn won’t be so bad. All other products are available somewhere else in the GM line. Grand Prix = Impala, Outlook= GMC Arcadia, Aura = Malibu, Vue = (Something from Chevrolet, cant remember the name). That leaves the Astra, not sure if it is selling, but its kinda ugly in a 4 door. I guess they could call it a Chevy if there was a hole in the line up.
They also need to keep the Vibe, its built by the joint venture plant and is mostly a Toyota Matrix, making it the most reliable car in the GM fleet. (Wife owns a Vibe, nice city car, for a short girl).
Nov 27th, 2008 (12:10 pm)The last EXXON CEO came aboard, hardly showed up for work, stayed one year, retired while collecting one billion dollars from company profits, as if somehow his unique exceptionalism was worth that much. That was the stock holders money that should’ve been paid in dividends.
Oh, by the way, his salary was a $1.00. He paid a lower tax rate than most of us blogging at this site.
Nov 27th, 2008 (12:13 pm)The US government isn’t the ONLY sovereign wealth in town. They could use Saab as leverage for $$ from the Swedes. Their automakers mean as much to them as the US automakers mean to the US.
Nov 27th, 2008 (12:14 pm)http://www.venturevehicles.com and Mercury is coming out with a new Milan hybrid raking in 40 MPG. Just in case the Volt doesn’t make it. Praying otherwise. No Arabian Peninsula oil someday is my real prayer.
Nov 27th, 2008 (12:18 pm)#53 Jim in PA: and the G8 rear wheel drive (lite) muscle car?
The G8 has a 3.6L, which is admittedly not that big; but the G8 GT has a 6.0L and the G8 GXP has a 6.2L V8, very close to the 6.4L (389 c.i.) engine of the classic 1964 Pontiac GTO muscle car.
I’ve driven that classic GTO (I grew up with it, learned to drive on it). I’m sorry to say I’d much rather have a modern car with that much acceleration and also has modern safety features, comfort and fuel efficiencies than that original classic. Not least, any new car would have the ability to STOP or TURN.
Nov 27th, 2008 (12:45 pm)62 JBFALASKA
“A new activist government, for the people, is necessary to quell flat out GREED. Happens all the time, throughout the world, even in communist countries.”
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Not sure if your serious? Are we now going to have the govt’ set limits on executive pay? How about sports players and actors. Oh, and then we have those darned overpaid doctors….oh, and how about those lawyers…oh and then we have those overpaid managers..oh then those darn overpaid engineers…oh and then we have those overpaid Union workers…that janitor is really making to much, we need to limit them to….
So, when does the govt’ decide how much we all make? Maybe we just need pay limits based on what the good ole govt boys determine. Of course any govt person would be excluded from this limitation. Then we all work for the govt, what a GREAT idea! I think I am going to write my senator right now!
We live in a capitalistic America. For both good and bad, that’s just the way it is. We could change it, but be careful what you wish for.
Nov 27th, 2008 (12:46 pm)GM has to be competative, lean and mean, I would dump Hummer Sabb, Buick & Pontiac…There are just too many cars on the market to hold on to the past.
Nov 27th, 2008 (1:38 pm)Happy Thanksgiving to everyone here.
Even if you don’t celebrate, we should be thankful for what we do have.
Lyle, you’re the best. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
Nov 27th, 2008 (1:40 pm)As for this plan, I think I would only keep Chevrolet, Cadillac, and GMC.
The rest would go.
The $1 salary is interesting. I hope that means no bonus also.
Personally, I see the $1 salary being a scam somehow.
Nov 27th, 2008 (1:41 pm)Give up all the jets? Not so much…we’ll stop leasing those 2, but we’ll keep the other 7…and FAA, would you mind not tracking us and then telling the public about us flying around the country anymore? Thx.
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“GM Asks U.S. FAA to Bar Public Tracking of Leased Corporate Jet”
Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) — General Motors Corp., criticized by U.S. lawmakers for its use of corporate jets, asked aviation regulators to block the public’s ability to track a plane it uses.
“We availed ourselves of the option as others do to have the aircraft removed” from a Federal Aviation Administration tracking service, a GM spokesman, Greg Martin, said yesterday in an interview. He declined to discuss why GM made the request.
Flight data show that the leased Gulfstream Aerospace G-IV jet flew Nov. 18 from Detroit to Washington, where Chief Executive Officer Richard Wagoner Jr. spoke to a Senate committee that day and a House panel the next day on behalf of a $25 billion auto-industry rescue plan.
The Gulfstream jet was leased from GE Capital Solutions in Danbury, Connecticut, a unit of General Electric Co. After the plane’s latest flight to Washington on Nov. 25, and from there to Dallas, its movements could no longer be tracked.
GM also has seven planes in its own fleet. All were grounded yesterday, said a spokesman, Tom Wilkinson. Two are for sale and two are in the process of being listed for sale, while Detroit-based GM plans to keep three, he said.
The leased Gulfstream has made 10 trips to Washington this year, including three since October, according to data compiled by Houston-based flight-tracking service FlightAware.com.
GM said it often sub-leases the airplane to other users. GM officials said company employees weren’t aboard the jet on the final Nov. 25 flights before its movements ceased being tracked.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=afrKemH3i.2Y&refer=us
(also lifted from TTAC today, lol…props to them)
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/just one a**hat move after another…who is running the PR there anyway? Can’t you just feel GM’s new fiscal openness and transparency shining through? It is almost like they are trying their hardest to NOT get the money.
Nov 27th, 2008 (1:50 pm)#53 Jim in PA says
What are people smoking when they say Pontiac is for old men?
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Ya, I missed that point as well. I see Pontiac as more of a brand for younger people. I’m 44 and I would be more than happy to drive a Solstice.
Nov 27th, 2008 (1:53 pm)#71 Rashiid
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone here.
Even if you don’t celebrate, we should be thankful for what we do have.
Lyle, you’re the best. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
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Indeed, Happy Thanksgiving to all my US friends and to Lyle. Don’t eat too much or watch too much football. Ah hack, life is short…go crazy.
/have a good one
Nov 27th, 2008 (4:33 pm)The tax structure in the Eisenhower days took care of leveling the salery structure. Didn’t need the government to make any edicts on pay caps.
If you are going to put tarriffs on American cars to compensate for health care and pensions, why not allow Honda and Toyota to manufacture here without tarriffs if they provide health care and pensions? I am sure everyone in this country would like the companies they work for to provide health care and pensions, but I am afraid they couldn’t compete and would lose world market share. Companies providing health care and pensions are hold overs from the second world war when the saleries were capped and the bennifits were offered as incentives to attract people to work for your company. We are not living in that world anymore. We pay twice as much for health care as a country like France and they live longer and have fewer children die which are measures that say our health care system is not delivering the goods.
Happy Thanksgiving – don’t overindulge, I already have and am suffering.
Nov 27th, 2008 (6:36 pm)If I made $15 million last year I think I could work for $1 as well. Actually I could stop working for GM and live off that for the rest of my life.
I actually thought the job bank would have been gone in the last negotiations so it being gone is no suprise.
As far as killing brands go, Hummer is a no brainer. Saab, would they actually be doing away with it or just stop importing them? Pontiac and Saturn I do not understand. Pontiac attracts a lot of younger buyers that want sportier vehicles. Saturn has always been more of a economy and value based name. Buick would be the more logical choice to go. All the cars have a counterpart built on the same platform. Buick also seems to have more older buyers. They could be absorbed into Cadillac and they could make a more affordable Caddy on a FWD platform to attract the buick following.
I guess next week she should know the rest and really know what the plan is.
Nov 27th, 2008 (7:44 pm)I think C11 is the only answer, massive capacity reduction and guaranteed government loans.
GM needs to shed quite a bit of capacity, but they will spend a lot of money to shed that capacity with unions and supplier contracts. Many factories need to be closed.
UAW payments need to come down also, but that one is tough.. lots of the average $73 an hour is pension and healthcare expenses for retired people.. to be fair both management and UAW should take some sort of pay cut. The government could guarantee loans and perhaps offer enhanced medicare to the retired people.
Good luck with UAW pay cuts, the democrats will not stand for that.
So if $73 an hour is average.. are there UAW people making $100 an hour?
Nov 27th, 2008 (8:11 pm)#78 Herm
So if $73 an hour is average.. are there UAW people making $100 an hour?
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Nobody on the plant level, just the higher up union officials but they are paid by the union members with our dues, not by the car companies.
Also if the $73 an hour includes the retirees health care, that will be reduced in 2010 when the union takes over the retirees health care.
Nov 27th, 2008 (8:13 pm)I wouldn’t expect $1. But $35,000 which is what their average line worker makes before taxes.
One of GM’s failure points is they stuck to the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) to long. They didn’t realize that the product they decided to back with most fervor had a big flaw. It required large quantities of a single fuel sourced from countries that are becoming more and more unfriendly. Now that America has been stung by gas prices over $4 a gallon we realized that maybe that big fancy vehicle wasn’t such a good idea.
I would like to remind everybody that at any time OPEC or even just one of its member countries could at ANY TIME decide “We’re not going to sell the US any more oil”. Then where will we be? Gas at $15 a gallon! 100 million cars sitting on the side of the road! If $4 a gallon caused the current economic crisis, (only 6 months apart) then what would $10 or $15 a gallon do?
The Volt is only a partial solution. At least it can go a fair distance on something that is not oil. GM can do better. Lets face it in 1999 GM made a car that could go 140 miles and not use any fuel doing it. Why can’t they do it again?
Nov 27th, 2008 (9:33 pm)When I was at the LA Auto Show yesterday I picked up an interesting tidbit. Here is an excerpt from my posting in the Engineering Forum:
The Volt on display in LA is one of the two fully functional roadworthy show cars. Samantha the “Volt girl” said that it will be headed to Washington DC on Thanksgiving day and will be replaced for the duration of the LA show by one of the two less functional show cars. Since the Washington Auto Show is not until February that makes it seem likely that the reason the car is headed to DC now is to be used in support of the December 2 pitch to Congress. She didn’t say why it is going to DC. That’s just my best guess.
Rick
Nov 27th, 2008 (10:08 pm)Interesting tidbit Rick,
I agree with your assessment. Maybe they want to fly Lyle down to make the case? hehe
Nov 27th, 2008 (10:22 pm)I do not agree with Saturn being considered for elimination. I would have though Buick would be more of a target since Pontiac was mentioned. Maybe this tells us one or two things. First, Saturn sells fewer vehicles than Buick. Or, secondly, there is more profit in the Buick division. If GM does this, it would be nice if Saturn could be spun off as a separate company or sold outright.
Nov 28th, 2008 (8:54 am)There have to be Chinese or other foreign automakers who would happily pick up Saturn, Saab and Hummer. Pontiac is merely a reskinned Chevy, so it can be killed off.
I want to know what dealerships will give up, as they have the automakers by the cajones. I hope they have some of their preferential arrangements eliminated as well.
Nov 28th, 2008 (11:43 am)I don,t see the Govt officials who through deregulation allowed to finacial system to break down working for $1 Salary. Bush,Pelosi and Reid should try working for $1 until they fix the mess they made then we would have something
Nov 28th, 2008 (1:34 pm)Hey Bruce,
You said “Pontiac just builds cars for old people.”
I don’t suppose you have been in the 250hp Pontiac Solstice GXP lately. My red convertible GXP regularly blows the doors off of Porsches and turns heads whenever I drive through the nearby college town…
Nov 28th, 2008 (2:14 pm)I consider it funny that Nancy Pelosi and crew are criticising the auto CEOs for flying 8 place Gulfstreams. Nancy Demanded and Received a 300 passenger Boeing 747 for her weekly commute back and forth to San Francisco. “If the President has one, I want one…” Only our environmental conscious, super-concerned politicians never get criticised for extravagant expenditures.
How much did the government pay to the auto makers to develop the improvements in safety and emsissions that they required the auto makers to build into their cars? Not a dime…
Nov 28th, 2008 (7:28 pm)#84 Jason M. Hendler
There have to be Chinese or other foreign automakers who would happily pick up Saturn, Saab and Hummer. Pontiac is merely a reskinned Chevy, so it can be killed off.
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Saab could be bought by a European company easily as that is their market. Hummer could be sold to anyone that will take it off their hands. Pontiac would make more sense to keep. A redesigned Chevy is cheaper than a totally different platform Buick. Other than the Enclave, Buick is a dead horse. The Enclave could be taken into the Caddy lineup. Then there would be no need for the SRX and they could build more of the CTS coupe and wagon. Saturn is now sharing platforms with other cars and the others are redesigned Opels so it is along the lines of Pontiac where it would be more affordable to produce compared to others.
Nov 28th, 2008 (9:09 pm)Here is a concept…Eliminate ALL BRANDS… Pick the best models and sell them as GM cars and trucks.
If you feel you must have a luxury brand then get a computer program to design you a new name like Lexus.
Nov 29th, 2008 (10:20 am)jscott1000
Here is a concept…Eliminate ALL BRANDS… Pick the best models and sell them as GM cars and trucks.
Now here is someone on the right track. If GM is serious about selling cars then its time they start selling under the GM name. Those stupid brands mean nothing to anyone. They remind people of the last 4 terrible cars they owned.
I’ll compromise and let them keep Chevrolet, Saturn and Cadillac.
Buick was dead 10 years ago, it’s a grandpa brand, there is nothing luxury about it.
the only thing Pontiac builds is contempt(ment). I’m not even going to comment on Hummer and Saab for fear of punching my flatscreen monitor.
Nov 29th, 2008 (2:23 pm)GMC and Chevy Trucks should be combined to form “GM Trucks”
It would eleiminate a LOT of unnecessary infrastructure
Dec 1st, 2008 (1:12 am)45. Joe
I agree 100 percent Joe
Dec 1st, 2008 (9:23 am)Here is my thoughts…
> Saab, sell it…it’s not GM.
> Pontiac, keep the name, make it an option package. The sporty option. Basically, you buy a Chevy Cruze “Pontiac” styling (more power, sporty features, etc).
> Saturn, it had a good start but seems to be struggling these days. I am of the opinion that names are valuable. Keep them, but drop different product lines. In other words, GM may need to drop the Saturn line but in return it should brand a vehicle the “Saturn”. Preferbly their lower-end college/newlywed vehicle line.
> Hummer, I am one who still thinks Hummer has viability, but not as a mass production vehicle. Drop the H2/H3. Keep the H1, and market it as heavy utility vehicle. Than produce the HX we saw (you know, the one that is modelled after Halo’s “Warthog”). GM really doesn’t have a JEEP competitor. Of course I think it’d be fun to see a Hummer-Mini (think Mini-cooper with off-road flare).
Dec 1st, 2008 (10:27 am)The reason GM won’t get rid of Buick is because it is one of the divisions that actually makes money. Buick is very successful in China. The Chinese view the Buick as the finest automobile available.
Dec 1st, 2008 (1:42 pm)I would be glad to see Saab go. While Pontiac and Saturn are good names, I don’t think many people care about Saab.
Dec 1st, 2008 (11:19 pm)I still have my 87 Olds Cutlass. Too bad GM had to kill Olds – 1st car company in the US. What a history – over 100 years! GM messed up the Olds brand and then blammed it on bad sales. Who wants to buy it if they mess it up? Now they are messing up Pontiac and want to kill that too. More importantly, don’t forget the people who get put out of jobs because of this recklessness. Saab’s a great car. My friend has one. Too bad it’s not American. The folks have two Pontiacs – 98 and 04 Grand Prix GTP’s. Both excellent and fun cars – and fast as hell too. Want examples of how to ruin great companies – look no further than GM. Hopefully they’ve learned their lesson this time and won’t run the Chevy Volt into the ground in a few years when they think they got it made.