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Automotive News & Views GM News, New Models and Market Share
8271 messages, Last post on Nov 23, 2009 at 9:49 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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I have owned both Japanese (Honda, Toyota) and American (GM) cars. I recently bought a 2008 V6 Malibu and it was the best midsize car I drove in my opinion. It's built better and designed better and I just liked it better. GM DOES make cars people want, I am proof and their 25-30% market share proves it also! I think the big three still pay for the past but the union structure is really hurting them, it's something they were fixing slowly. That said, when you get a perfect storm of crazy gas spikes followed by a massive credit crunch, housing collapse and now a recession, people should not assume that the big 3 "make crap" or should be closed up. The storm was not their making and the consequences of their failure are massive and far beyond what most people realize. Anyway, I hate corporate welfare but this is THE crisis of our lifetime. These companies need a lifeline and I think they must get it. It's important for America to have it's own auto industry and Americans should support it in every way. Just my opinion, I am Canadian and so I am not being "patriotic", it's my outside view from north of the 49th.
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Replying to: vanman1 (Nov 09, 2008 7:56 pm) Nice opinion considering it is not your tax dollars that will bail them out. Yes, the malibu is a nice car but it's a little too late. This is the car that should have been built back in 1997. 25-30 market share? It used to be much higher. So declining sales is a symbol of strength in your mind? Gm was heading down this road before this so called "perfect storm". GM has have not reported a profit since 2004. Why do you think they squeezed the UAW so much on the last negotiations? Ask GM what happened to their electric car? GM made a gamble that Americans would buy more SUVs and pickups. They sent their better cars overseas to better penetrate those markets. We were stuck with the Grand AM, Grand Prix, L-Series, Ion, malibu Classic, Impala, Cavalier, G6, etc. And you have to ask why people think GM doesn't make car that people want? These cars are prime rental cars. I oppose the federal government bailing out the big 3. The main reason is they have made bad decisions over the years that have led them to this point. GM in particular has too many brands to support. Badge engineering has cost them Buick, Pontiac and Saturn. You can probably add Saab as well. Again, their better cars are over in Europe and not here in NA. Why? They knew they could count on enough Americans buying their products based on blind loyalty. If they made products like the current Malibu over the past decade, they would not be in this situation and the foreign carmakers would never have had a chance in this country.
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Replying to: dtownfb (Nov 09, 2008 8:33 pm)
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Replying to: steve_ (Nov 09, 2008 8:44 pm) |
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Replying to: circlew (Nov 08, 2008 8:15 am) |
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Replying to: 210delray (Nov 09, 2008 11:06 am) I intend to keep my 1989 Cadillac Brougham forever. My idea of the perfect car would be all of today's performance, reliability, quality, and technology in a car that looks like my '89 Brougham. |
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Replying to: vanman1 (Nov 09, 2008 7:56 pm)
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Replying to: lemko (Nov 10, 2008 5:54 am) The American consumer is to blame as much as the corporations. 50 years ago I got a portable radio for Christmas. It was made in Japan. It was smaller than anything made in the USA. This loss of market share did not happen over night. We have all watched it evolve and went along with it. The bottom line for the Big 3 is they have themselves so tied up with contracts that they cannot be competitive. The only chance I see for survival is bankruptcy. Reorganization from the top to the bottom. The Dealers and the UAW will not like it anymore than the dead weight at the top of the management ladder. GM does not have the money to throw at the dealers like they did with Oldsmobile. I don't want my tax dollars going to pay off some fat cat car dealership for loss of GMC or Buick or Pontiac. Did anyone really think that wages and benefits would just keep getting better for the UAW, while the competition was paying less? The competition is expanding in this country and taking the market share from the Big 3. One American's loss could be another one's gain. Take early retirement from GM and go build VWs in TN. Just don't mention you were a UAW member.
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Replying to: gagrice (Nov 10, 2008 6:29 am) Strongly agree. A few posts back someone mentioned asking Canada to chip in on any bailout/help. Add Mexico and any other country that builds American branded vehicles and ships to U.S. Obama/Pelosi could buy into that. Add to that any country that has substantial suppliers of car parts used in American branded vehicles sold in the U.S.
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Replying to: rockylee (Nov 09, 2008 6:32 pm) To what extent or percent do hourly and management GM personnel pay toward their health care? What about retirees - what percent do they pay? Probably hundreds or thousands of U.S. companies have been cutting back on their contribution to health care premiums for workers and retirees. Is GM still paying more percent of premium than most companies? Understand when active hourly have iron-clad contract on health care premiums, but what about retirees? Has GM been cutting back on percent they pay for retirees? Most other companies are doing this.
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