The board of directors asked Fritz Henderson to step down as CEO after just 8 months, saying that GM wasn’t changing quickly enough. President Obama said that the Administration had nothing to do with it. But the Chairman of the Board (Ed Whiteacre) was picked by the Administration to run the board, and most, if not all, of the current members were picked by the government. Somehow I don’t buy the hands-off comment by the President. What do you think?
I’d say “what took them so long?” Should have been done 8 months ago. They have really continued to make bonehead decisions and position themselves for failure. The board is attempting to clean out the dead wood and it just isn’t going to happen with the current management. If the President said he didn’t request it or have anything to do with it, I don’t see the point in questioning that.
Now back to GM. I got notice that our local Pontiac, GMC, Chevrolet, Cadilac, Buick, etc. dealer was no longer going to be a Caddy dealer. There will be only 8 in the state of Minnesota. Plus they lose Pontiac which was about the only one with any fresh styling. I just think it makes little or no sense to dump Pontiac and reduce dealerships. It is simply an approach to reduce competition and insure higher prices.
I don’t buy the argument that the White House is not involved in this for one minute. They’ve shown from the start (by picking Whiteacre) they want the government to have the final say-so in the auto industry, not to mention a multitude of other areas they should not be involved in.
Take something from the Feds and there’s always strings attached.
Take something from anybody and there’s strings attached. Take money from me and there’s my hand attached. So that means nothing.
For years and years GM has made dumb moves, foolish decisions and non-competitive cars. I’d like to support American industry, but I refuse to buy inferior products. Look at the Consumer Reports charts of trouble areas. Isn’t that enough? They have to make better products, and that comes down to design, engineering and production technology. Toyota or Honda builds most of its products here in the USA with unionized workers, so it’s not the workers that make the difference. It’s the choices management makes.
So GM blows off Pontiac, but keeps Buick. Why? who knows. And they curtail dealerships. How the heck are they going to sell cars if there are no local dealers? Would your Uncle Lou buy a Buick if the dealer was 75 miles away? Of course not. These fools should all be fired.
I think it gives a whole new meaning to “What’s good for GM is good for America”…
…or not.
It really doesn’t matter who runs it if you can’t sell enough cars.
To change the subject only a little. Look what the career auto people at GM did to Saab. After buying Saab, they produced the same odd looking dorkmobiles that almost nobody wanted. I heard that they ran well… Now Chevy has forgotten what a Camaro looks like. I liked the CVT transmission in my Saturn but I don’t have to mention what happened to that.
There is plenty of blame to go around. Don’t let me stop anybody from buying a Silverado 4WD.
As but one example of how GM is still making bone-headed decisions, did you know that they are still mailing “Pontiac magazine” issues to Pontiac owners?
Perhaps a letter of condolence might be appropriate for owners of these cars, but who in his right mind would decide to continue to spend the big bucks necessary to write articles, take photos, edit, print, and mail glossy magazines glorifying a marque that has already been given a death sentence?
This gives new meaning to the old saying about “rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic as it is sinking”. I think that is a perfect example of why GM needs new thinking.
“As but one example of how GM is still making bone-headed decisions, did you know that they are still mailing “Pontiac magazine” issues to Pontiac owners?”
I’m not familiar with this magazine but I suspect GM has contracts with the marketing/publishing companies that put it out. Either that, or GM is trying to maintain loyalty of Pontiac drivers, so they’ll eventually replace their Pontiacs with other GM products.
“Toyota or Honda builds most of its products here in the USA with unionized workers, so it’s not the workers that make the difference.”
Toyota and Honda are non-union. IMHO, most of GM’s problems are the result of a short sighted focus on trucks/SUVs, general bad management, and legacy costs.
“So GM blows off Pontiac, but keeps Buick. Why?”
Buick is incredibly popular in China. I suspect that is the only reason it’s not being axed in the short term in North America. I’m not sure how much engineering is shared between Buick of NA and Buick of China but I suspect if it was dropped in NA, then a certain “prestige” factor in China would be lost.
I also have a feeling it’s being kept around for the same reason as the GMC line of trucks – The Pontiac/GMC/Buick dealers can’t be converted over to Chevy/Cadillac dealers due to the likelihood of violating franchise agreements.
I WAS NOT for the bailout of GM…I personally think that in a free market…companies should be allowed to fail. GM FAILED. We should NOT have bailed them out.
BUT…as long as the government did bail them out…then like any other major investor that investor (i.e. the US government) has every right and SHOULD have a great influence on how the company should be run. The company I work for…we just had new round of funding about 3 months ago. Within 3 weeks after the funding…CEO, CTO and 3-4 VP’s were let go. New CEO brought in by the investment company…along with a new CTO. Only one of the VP’s have been replaced (again by the investment company).
“I suspect GM has contracts with the marketing/publishing companies that put it out.”
GM may well have contracts with publishing companies, but doesn’t bankruptcy allow one to walk away from at least some contractual agreements? I thought that this was one of the reasons for bankruptcy reorganization.
“Either that, or GM is trying to maintain loyalty of Pontiac drivers, so they’ll eventually replace their Pontiacs with other GM products.”
In that case, wouldn’t it make more sense to begin sending “Buick magazine” or “Chevy magazine” to Pontiac owners?
Overseas, especially in Asia, the fastest growing market, GM is only known for Chevrolet and Buick, and now Caldillac. Buick sell more cars in China than in the US.
Daewoo cars are sold as Chevrolets. Opel was a separate brand until recently; it may be rolled into the Chevy/Buick/Cadillac family soon.
“Opel was a separate brand until recently…”
Speaking of Opel/Vauxhall, it was The Board that nixed the deal with Magna/Sberbank. Doesn’t the US Government want the Russians to own a car company in Western Europe? 
“In that case, wouldn’t it make more sense to begin sending “Buick magazine” or “Chevy magazine” to Pontiac owners?”
No, not Buick. Pontiac shares very little with Buick. Buick is aimed at the Lexus market and Pontiac is a bit more sporty. If Pontiac cars are moved to other divisions, I would expect most of them to be Chevrolets, and the G8 could be a Cadillac. I fully expect the Vibe to become a Chevy.
Well stated.
And for those that buy into the statements that the government is not involved in these decisions, all I can say is that I have a bridge to sell you. call me.
GM had a loss of 8 billion dollars last fiscal quarter and has had losses in all the previous fiscal quarters. You can’t keep a company afloat with those kind of losses. If the ship is sailing toward the shoals and the captain refuses to change course, it’s time to change the captain.
A company doesn’t go bankrupt from selling quality products that people want.
Tester
Yup…the government is very much involved…and like any other investor…they should be.
I’m not sure they still should be. We may be shoveling more hay into a clearly dying horse. Perhaps it’s time to fold the tent and part out what’s left…if we can find buyers.
I have a living will. Perhaps GM should.
I think we should get out too…But IF we’re going to be in it…then we SHOULD have a say on how it’s run. It’s far better then just handing over several billion dollars and walking away and HOPE the current executives do the right thing.
Yup.
It’s unfortunate that the commander-in-chief back on shore forced us unwillingly on board the ship from safe harbors. Now when the ship finally sinks we’ll ALL get wet. Many will drown. Many (dealerships by the thousands, even many that never missed a payment) have already been thrown overboard and left to drown in an effort to reduce the boat’s draft. But getting over the submerged rocks doesn’t change the ending when you’re headed straight for the visable rocks.