http://www.usnews.com/blogs/fl...eady-to-rebound.html

GM, Poised to Rebound?

quote:

GM already has appealing cars. Its overall lineup is still spotty, but popular vehicles like the Chevrolet Malibu, GMC Acadia, Cadillac CTS and new Chevy Camaro represent plenty of good product that's available today. Sales of such vehicles could take off if GM can exploit its quick exit from bankruptcy to convince buyers the company is back on its feet, and will be around for the long haul. Chrysler, by contrast, still has huge holes in its product lineup, and they might not be filled for two or three years.

Wow...
If this is what the company thinks will pull them out of the humdrums...
The Cadillac and the Camaro.

What are they thinking...

Both sweet cars. Not particularly environmentally friendly, not particularly cheap, and not particularly "family cars".

It kind of reminds me of the idea of building 1960's Muscle Cars... in an era where classic Muscle Cars just won't cut it anymore.

quote:

The new GM is built for speed. CEO Fritz Henderson has described how GM is stripping out several "strategy boards" and other layers of management that have been in place for decades, and cutting 450 managers from its white-collar work force. If done right, that could allow GM to bring cars to market faster and respond more effectively to shifting consumer tastes.

Ok,
If they've been designing the "NEW" Chevy Volt since about 1989...
That has only been about 20 years, and the car isn't quite on the market yet.

So... in the future it may only take them a decade rather than two to go from concept to production?

GM & Chrysler are still trying to con people with marketing hype. Ford seems to be taking a more sensible approach with bringing their proven economical European models to N.America.

quote:

Originally posted by john galt:
GM & Chrysler are still trying to con people with marketing hype. Ford seems to be taking a more sensible approach with bringing their proven economical European models to N.America.

Yeah...
GM is still trying to rid themselves of their European Partners, Saab and Opel. Kind of short-sighted, I would think.

Chrysler just separated from one European partner (Mercedes), and exchanged them for another European Partner (FIAT). That is, of course, after dropping another European Partner (Renault) several years ago.

Since my "other car" is a FIAT, I have high hopes for Chrysler's new FIAT partnership.

I still think that VW needs to bring over the Polo Blue Motion with 60-70 MPG... and start pushing heavily on the fuel efficiency without all the Hybrid Gizmos.

Perhaps the new FIAT/Chrysler partnership will do that with the New Fiat 500, or the new Fiat/Yugo (Zastava) Topolino. And, of course, the Panda that has been a pretty steady CHEAP cornerstone car from the company for years. All of which have options in Europe for Diesel Engines.

I want to see Ford succeed despite the unfair advantage given to GM & Chrysler with the bailouts.
All three should have been given equal government subsidies.

Small and mid-sized banks refused TARP money they were offered, because of the control that the lenders wanted to exert over the borrowers. These banks didn't want to become debt slaves.

I don't know what went on behind closed doors at the top of the Ford building, but I do know that they did discuss what terms would be put on a federal loan before they decided not to apply for one.

Truth is, they were barely "subsidies".

They were loans with interest... or, now, I believe stocks and partial ownership in the company.

And, I believe, the Government stepped in front of all other lenders/bond holders/share holders. So, the government is first in line for repayment, thus significantly devaluing the stakes of all other interest holders.

The big difference is that GM and Chrysler went through bankruptcy and forced the bond holders and shareholders to accept repayment terms for pennies on the dollar for the money that was originally borrowed.

Ford did the same thing outside of bankruptcy court, but perhaps not as favorable of repayment terms as the other two.

I must be doing something wrong if I pay back 100% of my loans + interest.

True,
Ford is the only company that has announced that it is retooling otherwise shuttered plants to make "European Style" smaller, more fuel efficient cars. They also have had a moderately successful Ford Escape Hybrid. And, I don't believe they crushed any of their Ford Ranger Electric Vehicles (Chrysler also had the GEM Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEV) that has continued to percolate in the background).

Ford is also the only company that isn't trying to force a large portion of their own dealership network out of business. I can barely fathom the thinking that GM and Chrysler have with trying to make their cars more difficult to purchase. I suppose GM is still waiting in the background to see the repercussions of Chrysler trying to close many dealerships.

I stopped by the local Fiat/Renault/AMC/Jeep/Eagle/Volkswagen/Volvo Dealership the other day. Ok, so over the years, they've changed a few brands names. But, they were still very much alive and kicking... just not selling any new American Branded cars.

Also interesting to note that GM is a publicly traded company. You can buy stock in GM.

Chrysler is privately owned. There is no Chrysler stock. Their principle investor, Cerberus, owns among other things a paper mill in Kimberly WI which they shut down and refuse to sell. Cerberus is also the multi-headed dog that guards the gates of hell. If that isn't a clue...

quote:

Originally posted by clean and green:
Also interesting to note that GM is a publicly traded company. You can buy stock in GM.

You can't really buy GM stock.
There is GMGMQ.PK, which nobody quite has a handle on what it means, but apparently is no longer the "Main Corporation".
They've borrowed and have liabilities for more than the value of the company.

NO real GM stocks at this time.

quote:

Originally posted by clean and green:
Chrysler is privately owned. There is no Chrysler stock. Their principle investor, Cerberus, owns among other things a paper mill in Kimberly WI which they shut down and refuse to sell. Cerberus is also the multi-headed dog that guards the gates of hell. If that isn't a clue...

Not quite completely true either.
Now owned or mostly owned by Fabbrica Italiana di Automobile a Torino (Italy) (FIAT) which IS a publicly traded company.

I believe they are also the #1 auto maker in Europe, owning almost every Italian auto manufacturer, and having their tentacles in many other companies:
They also Own:

FIAT
Alfa Romeo
Ferrari
Maserati
Zastava (Yugo)

And, they probably have a number of other plants/subsidiary companies. Their cars have been "licensed" for manufacture by NSU, Siata, Abarth, Ghia, Simca, Yugo, and have been built around the world.