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Messages Page 2550 of 3201

#25482 of 32000 Re: It's time for another rescue loan for GM [tlong] by imidazol97

Aug 11, 2012 (4:27 pm)

Replying to: tlong (Aug 11, 2012 12:06 pm)
>And I agree
>I'll disagree
>I'll again agree
 
We agree on some important things here. That's good!

#25483 of 32000 Re: It's time for another rescue loan for GM [imidazol97] by tlong

Aug 11, 2012 (5:31 pm)

Replying to: imidazol97 (Aug 11, 2012 4:25 pm)
Whoops. Misinterpret. My point was the profitability. The high costs of the UAW is a major problem in costs compared to being able to have parttime workers or treat workers like chattel.
 
I thought with labor and benes the average $$/hr cost was pretty close between UAW and non-D3 labor in the US? The big difference is the swollen ranks of ex-workers promised beaucoup benefits far into retirement.

#25484 of 32000 Re: It's time for another rescue loan for GM [imidazol97] by tlong

Aug 11, 2012 (5:32 pm)

Replying to: imidazol97 (Aug 11, 2012 4:27 pm)
We agree on some important things here. That's good!
 
Seems like we don't agree on the best actions to take for GM, but we are aligned on the administration and the banks!

#25485 of 32000 Re: It's time for another rescue loan for GM [tlong] by circlew

Aug 12, 2012 (4:14 am)

Replying to: tlong (Aug 11, 2012 5:32 pm)
Seems like the management in GM is in disarray more than we think. Why throw more tax dollars into a burning structure?
 
Unsettled Management
 
Ewanick’s departure shows that GM is still far from settling its management ranks despite recruiting several outsiders for top jobs, said Maryann Keller, principal of Maryann Keller & Associates, a consulting firm in Stamford, Connecticut. By contrast, Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally brought in just one outsider, marketer Jim Farley, after taking over in 2006 and has kept a stable management team, Keller said.
 
“You have a company that still seems to have too much internal dysfunction,” Keller said of GM in a telephone interview. “Mulally really only brought in one high-profile outsider. He proved you can take an organization that was rife with politics and fix it.”
 
Ewanick arrived with task of improving the image of GM’s Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC brands. He introduced the “Chevy Runs Deep” campaign in 2010 during the broadcast of Major League Baseball’s World Series that was intended to emphasize the brand’s heritage and emotional connection. It’s a tagline that Ewanick said earlier this year was under review.
‘Shabby’ Marketing
 
“The marketing has been shabby, erratic and inconsistent so the move is most likely positive for GM if it can find someone who has any notion at all of what the individual divisions stand for,” Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing Research, said in an e-mail. “The ad agencies have been doing the best they can under Mr. Ewanick’s often helter-skelter approach.”
 
Facing greater competition from Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) after regaining production capability following last year’s Asian natural disasters, GM’s first-half U.S. market share fell to 18.1 percent from 19.9 percent a year earlier, according to researcher Autodata Corp.
 
Toyota’s worldwide sales surged 34 percent in 2012’s first half to 4.97 million, ahead of GM’s 4.67 million, putting the Toyota City, Japan-based company on pace to regain the top spot.
 
When will it be about the products?
 
Regards,
OW

#25486 of 32000 Go Impala! by circlew

Aug 12, 2012 (4:17 am)


 
GM to Recall 36,000 Police Vehicles to Replace Suspension
 
General Motors Co. (GM) is recalling about 36,000 Chevrolet Impala police cars to replace part of the suspension that may fracture and cause loss of control of the vehicle.
 
The manufacturer will fix free of charge both front control arms, which form part of the police sedan’s suspension, for the model years 2008-2012 starting Aug. 21, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on its website. Non- police Chevrolet Impala vehicles for those model years aren’t affected by the safety recall, the agency said.
 
Regards,
OW

#25487 of 32000 Re: It's time for another rescue loan for GM [circlew] by bpizzuti

Aug 12, 2012 (5:32 am)

Replying to: circlew (Aug 12, 2012 4:14 am)
“The marketing has been shabby, erratic and inconsistent so the move is most likely positive for GM if it can find someone who has any notion at all of what the individual divisions stand for,”

 
That's probably more a problem as much with the divisions as with the marketing message for the divisions. Hard to develop what the brands stand for if the brand itself isn't sure. What's Buick about, for example? What differentiates it from Chevy? GMC is about trucks, but what differentiates its trucks from Chevy's trucks? The only one that does seem to have a clear identity is Cadillac, and for better or worse, that identity is "BMW Wannabe." Except that the Escalade models doesn't fit that identity at all.

#25488 of 32000 Re: It's time for another rescue loan for GM [circlew] by bpizzuti

Aug 12, 2012 (5:32 am)

Replying to: circlew (Aug 12, 2012 4:14 am)
“The marketing has been shabby, erratic and inconsistent so the move is most likely positive for GM if it can find someone who has any notion at all of what the individual divisions stand for,”

 
That's probably more a problem as much with the divisions as with the marketing message for the divisions. Hard to develop what the brands stand for if the brand itself isn't sure. What's Buick about, for example? What differentiates it from Chevy? GMC is about trucks, but what differentiates its trucks from Chevy's trucks? The only one that does seem to have a clear identity is Cadillac, and for better or worse, that identity is "BMW Wannabe." Except that the Escalade models doesn't fit that identity at all.

#25489 of 32000 Re: It's time for another rescue loan for GM [bpizzuti] by roho1

Aug 12, 2012 (6:05 am)

Replying to: bpizzuti (Aug 12, 2012 5:32 am)
GMC is about trucks, but what differentiates its trucks from Chevy's trucks?
 
Good question. I've never understood why GMC exists and why is there a Terrain and an Equinox? Dump GMC and bring back Pontiac.

#25490 of 32000 Re: It's time for another rescue loan for GM [roho1] by lemko

Aug 12, 2012 (6:50 am)

Replying to: roho1 (Aug 12, 2012 6:05 am)
GMC originally existed to give the other divisions a truck to sell in lieu of Chevrolet. You'd often see something like a Pontiac-GMC dealer. With the elimination of most of the other divisions, GMC does seem redundant.

#25491 of 32000 Re: It's time for another rescue loan for GM [roho1] by andre1969

Aug 12, 2012 (6:53 am)

Replying to: roho1 (Aug 12, 2012 6:05 am)
Good question. I've never understood why GMC exists and why is there a Terrain and an Equinox? Dump GMC and bring back Pontiac.
 
When I was a little kid, I remember asking my Granddad, who preferred GMC's, what exactly it was, and he described it as basically a Pontiac truck. And now that I think about it, his '76 GMC crew cab came from a Pontiac-GMC dealer. Once upon a time, GMCs used Pontiac V-8's instead of Chevy V-8's, and for a few years GMC also had its own unique V-6. But, by '76 they were just re-badged Chevies, and the main difference was probably the seat patterns...the little metal decorative buckles on the GMC would burn you in a different pattern than they would on the Chevy!
 
In the old days, trucks were viewed as more workhorse, blue-collar, and plebian. So, to market a truck as a Pontiac, Olds, Buick, or Cadillac would have diluted the brand.
 
However, over the years trucks became much more trendy and luxurious. And the brands ended up diluting themselves, anyway. So today, GMC probably doesn't make that much sense. It does still give Buick-Caddy dealers a pickup truck to sell, so maybe there's some value in that. But then you still have overlap with the Terrain/SRX, the Acadia/Enclave, and the Yukon/Escalade.
 
Personally, I think the SRX dilutes the Cadillac nameplate a bit, while the Enclave is a really, really nice Buick. Maybe they should give the SRX to Buick and the Enclave to Cadillac?

Messages Page 2550 of 3201

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