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Automotive News & Views Do You Favor A Government Loan To The Detroit 3?
3958 messages, Last post on Oct 02, 2009 at 4:52 PM
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Auto Industry Impact on the U.S. Economy Nearly 4% of the U.S. GDP is auto-related One out of every 10 U.S. jobs is auto-related Accounts for $690 billion, or about 20% of all U.S. retail sales Generates more than $10 billion of annual tax revenue Largest purchaser of steel, aluminum, iron, copper, plastics, rubber and electronic chips Second only to the semiconductor industry in R&D spending GMs Contribution to the U.S. Economy Directly employs approximately 96,000 people Has 6,500 dealers across the country who employ another 340,000 people Provides pension benefits for nearly 475,000 retirees and spouses Extends health care benefits to about 1,000,000 people Purchased in 2007, $30 billion of goods and services from 2,000 suppliers in 46 states Sold 22 million vehicles in the last five years that have more domestic-parts content than Honda and Toyota Learn more at gmfactsandfiction.com View a video at youtube.com/watch?v=72cHfOKoA1c Changing for the Better GM negotiated a landmark labor agreement with the UAW in 2007 that will enable us to match labor costs with foreign automakers by 2010 and virtually erase the competitive gap 11 of GMs last 13 new vehicle launches have been cars and crossovers, and 60% of our capacity will be dedicated to these vehicles by the end of 2010 GM leads in manufacturing productivity in 11 out of the 20 North American segments in which it competes (2008 Harbour Report) and has 5 of the top 10 best rated engine plants in North America and the #1 transmission plant In the 2008 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study, GM had more segment leaders than Toyota or Honda GM have reduced warranty repairs by 40% over the last five years GM is targeting fuel economy leadership in every class of vehicle we introduce and GM has 20 models that get at least 30 MPG highway, based on 2009 EPA estimates thats twice the number of our nearest competitor GM is making a major commitment to hybrid cars and trucks and offers nine hybrids for 2009 GM is a world leader in biofuel vehicles with more than 3 million flex-fuel vehicles on the road in the U.S. and has committed to make flex-fuel vehicles 50% of annual volume by 2012 GM has established the worlds largest hydrogen fuel-cell test fleet here in the U.S. GM is working to bring the Chevy Volt extended range electric vehicle to market by November 2010. Volt is designed to move 75% of Americas daily commuters without using a single drop of gas!
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Replying to: andre1969 (Nov 25, 2008 7:34 am) The other thing not mentioned by the previous posters is that Chicago and Detroit are both in the Midwest, a market largely devoted to domestic cars. I remember visiting Chicago and seeing many cars I had never seen even once here at home, except in pictures. The bigger markets away from the Midwest are also much bigger markets for the imports, so it makes sense for them to concentrate show dollars there. At this rate (we are up to what, six automakers not attending the Detroit show, all foreign?) the domestics will have the Detroit show all to themselves. But will they be able to afford a large presence there? It looks like they are not spending much on making it to the California shows this month.
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Replying to: American_Eagle (Nov 25, 2008 8:56 am) Accounts for $690 billion, or about 20% of all U.S. retail sales GM only accounts for about $150 billion so the others can pick up their share. Those are all nice statistics about GM. You left out the most important one. GM lost $72 BILLION over the last 4 years. They have NO PLAN to pull out of that kind of loss. GM lost money the year Toyota had their most profit EVER. If GM could not make money in 2004-2006. How can they make money when the economy is in the toilet? Why prolong the agony and throw away your children's future? |
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Replying to: nippononly (Nov 25, 2008 9:14 am) |
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I like cold hard blue Capatalism, whatever that means. I don't find Capitalism to be cruel, only fair and just. I have written off my fair share of companies due to poor customer service or poor product buying experiences. Here are all of the companies I've written off for years now: 1) Chrysler (1995 Vehicle purchased in 1994.... probably wrote them off around 4 years later as I had tremendous warranty costs right after the 3 year 36K mile mark, and although I had a lot of warranty visits the first 3 years, I didn't write them off until the problems increased EXPONENTIALLY after warranty expiration; thanks Chrysler engineers; you got it JUST RIGHT with a perfect design to fail like clockwork AFTER the warranty expired. Good job, your design timing was better than Rolex! (Will go bankrupt in 2009 without 3rd bailout!) 2) Ford (guilty by association with Big 3) (Will go bankrupt in 2010 w/o bailout #2)? 3) GM (guilty by association with Big 3) Will go bankrupt by Xmas w/o bailout #2)? 4) AT&T (thriving despite being on the top 10 WORST lists of customer service) 5) Circuit City (Filed for Bankruptcy recently; good riddance! middle finger is appropriate to their workers!) 6) Best Buy (Thriving despite terrible Customer Service reviews; probably because Good Guys, Tweeter, and others have gone out of business first). 7) Insurance Agent: Eastwood Insurance (criminals) 8) Insurance Company: Bristol West (criminals) 9) Insurance Underwriter: Coast National Insurance (associated with above) Based on the list above, I think I have a good knack for hating/avoiding/writing-off companies that are doomed to fail. Inevitable failure; just a matter of time. Oh yeah, Bank of America almost made the list above, but they did finally settle after a few letters going up the chain. Companies that honored their product by honoring warranties, contracts, terms, and conditions, and even display exemplary service by extending warranties when needed; free of charge; demonstrated a willingness to care about retaining a customer: (I'd DEFINITELY BUY from these companies again). 1) Honda (thriving) 2) Sony (but they have 1 strike; still good). 3) Audi (best car to date in every way) 4) Kenwood (fixed my car stereo 6 months after warranty expired) 5) Mercury Insurance (pays out on claims; what a novelty for an insurance company). 6) Cox Cable (good phone and cable service, good customer service, but is getting pricey!) 7) Toyota (based on relatives and friends' insanely reliable experiences) 8) Crutchfield Electronics
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Replying to: nippononly (Nov 25, 2008 9:14 am) |
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Replying to: American_Eagle (Nov 25, 2008 8:56 am) Above are the reasons GM is broke. They don't have the market share nor the gross profit margins to support those numbers. The answer is easy, the formula to get there is not. I really don't care what percentage of GDP GM sales are or how many jobs will be lost if they close up. Like Gagrice said, GM has lost billions upon billions. They have to have a plan that allows GM to earn a profit when U.S. sales are going to stay in the 10-12 million range for the foreseeable future. |
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Replying to: lemko (Nov 25, 2008 6:08 am) Finally! Agreed! No money to the Big 3 then! It's FINAL! Regards, OW |
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Replying to: lemko (Nov 25, 2008 6:23 am)  Regards, OW |
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Replying to: andres3 (Nov 25, 2008 9:23 am) I despise: 1. Circuit city for what they did to their experienced employees a few years ago. Fired them, hired greenpeas, offered jobs to the older folks at reduced wages. Hmmpf! I have never bought anything there since that happened. I feel bad for the employees that were let go. This accounted for nothing more than age discrimination if you ask me. Looks like they are about to close a bunch of stores. Serves them right. 2 At$t horrible customer service. Charged me phone and internet service in a residence I no longer occupied even after I called to cancel service one month prior to moving. One year of money down the drain taken by those thieves. 3. GM, mom had a 67 Chevy Nova. Worst POS we've ever owned. Would die in the middle of traffic, smoked like a chimney, and was never fixed. She ended up trading it on a Ford Galaxie 500. The good: 1. Sony. Had one bad experience with a store but not Sony's fault. Sony stepped up to repair tv after I wrote to Sony USA president. Came home and picked up tv, fixed and been happy as a pig in slop after numerous Sony products. 2. Nissan, Honda, Toyota, not necessarily in that order. All three brands have given us excellent service. Most have over 150k miles and still going. 3. Directv, great service. It's a GM owned company but you wouldn't know. 4. Crutchfield, I'm with you on this one. I've been a loyal customer of them for over 20 years. Their products may be more expensive than the rest of the bunch but their service and tech support is second to none. No loan for them. |
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