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Automotive News & Views What if you were in charge of GM?
874 messages, Last post on Oct 28, 2009 at 10:20 AM
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I think and have for years that the auto industry is a different critter to run and manage. You can not take some CEO of some DOT.COM company and have them run a auto manufacture. The two just dont work the same ways. Our so called BIG 3 got to big for their own good. YES I think a company can be too big ! The best thing a BIG company can do is buy out smaller companies and shut them down ASAP, this forces buyers to go to the bigger companies. If you spend billions of dollars and have to deal with foreign governments and unions and tax laws etc then what you gain......some minor tech stuff on new engines.....is a loss and not a gain ! Another problem is that todays makers have made the same vehicles (SUVs) and wrongfully believed that they could sell millions more by adding 6 inches inside or leather seats and charging $10,000 more for a different named SUV ! We dont have small, medium and large SUVs....we have super small, almost small, small, a little bigger then small, super small medium, small medium, medium, extra medium, small large, medium large, large, super large and Barge Large SUV's ! Come on ! I say get a auto person to run a auto company, cut the models down to what the different models are, spend time to correct and update the models and make them something people would want and be proud of. There needs to be a difference between makes...we all know what a 59 Caddy is just by looking at the tail fins, we know what a 57 Chevy is by looking at the rear quarter panels and we know what a 57 T-bird is by looking at its top with port holes ! Thats what we need today, thats what will bring buyers back to the dealers, thats what will have ships taking American cars to foreign shores again ! IMHO...that is !
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Replying to: blckislandguy (Jun 27, 2009 10:03 am) That is a good point there. Change of a corporate culture must start from the top and find its way down to the shop floor.
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Replying to: TIMGT5 (Jun 27, 2009 1:45 pm)
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Replying to: TIMGT5 (Jun 26, 2009 2:15 pm) I've DRIVEN in Europe on those very roads, mainly Brussels and Amsterdam. Lots of cobblestone on vehicular roads in London as well. Agree that the autobahn is superior. IMHO the reason Euro suspensions are so taut and good at high speed is due to the autobahn. Caddy's (especially the old ones) would bounce and fly (or at least rattle themselves to death) at the speeds the autobahn enables. Not like my previous Audi or even a VW. |
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Replying to: mrsixpack (Jun 27, 2009 12:34 pm) Well we had Ford running Ford, and Wagoner running GM. Both leadership FAILURES, and both auto persons. At least Ford was smart enough to realize he was the wrong guy, unlike Wagoner. So now we have Mulally, a NON-AUTO guy, and he is doing the best. The other auto guy, Wagoner, is history and his company is a disaster. And he was in charge as head of NA operations, followed by CEO, for about fourteen years. So I have to disagree with your above statement. 
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I have always been a "Buy American" first kind of guy. Every time I shop, I try to find products with US labels on them before I buy something from a foreign maker. However, I've been accused of being a "pocketbook patriot" because although I give domestic manufacturers the first shot at my business, I'm only willing to spend a little bit more and sacrifice a little quality in order to buy American. By raising prices and moving manufacturing overseas, GM has made that nearly impossible. My latest "Buy American" effort was to find a domestic car for my daughter. I'm a GM fan, so I went to Chevy, Pontiac, and Saturn. At Chevy, I looked at the Aveo, Cobalt and Malibu. The Aveo is built in Korea, the Cobalt costs about $2k more than a Honda Civic and the Malibu would have cost me $2k more than a comparable Accord. No sale. I next went to the Pontiac dealer and found the G3, G5, and G6. The G3, like its twin Aveo, is made in Korea. Although the G5 and G6 were priced competitively with their foreign counterparts, they're both going away when Pontiac disappears next year. Huge incentives made them a definite maybe. Next stop, Saturn where we looked at the Astra and Aura. Same problem: Astra made in Belgium, Hungary and Japan while the Aura was too expensive relative to the competition. I next went off the reservation a little and visited a Ford dealership. The $19,800 MSRP on a Focus was all it took to send me packing. That same money buys me a base Accord or Camry, so why would I even look at a Focus? So what did I do? I went back to Saturn and bought the Astra so that I could at least get an American-branded car. I paid less than I would have for a Honda Civic, but only because Saturn's uncertain future resulted in BIG incentives. I hope the quality and resale value hold up. Two of our four cars are American branded: Pontiac G6 and Saturn Astra. My Mercedes C350 cost me at least $5k less than a comparable Cadillac CTS when I bought it. My Honda Odyssey originally cost about $5k less than the Chrylser T&C and is still worth more today. The last US car that I didn't have to make major concessions on value and quality was an 05 Corvette Convertible. I looked into buying a C6 coupe last month and found that the MSRP had risen by $5k since 2008 with no significant improvements. Why? While I was at the Pontiac-GMC-Buick-Cadillac dealer, I couldn't help but look at the CTS because I love the styling. I almost fainted! $50,000+ for a CTS? Are they nuts? On the same lot where they were selling the 09 CTS for $50K, they were offering loaded 08 models for $28K and had 5 loaded STS in stock for $31K. Don't they see this as a problem? I looked at the Enclave, Acadia, and Yukon as possible replacements for our Odyssey. I was incredulous to see that all three had risen in price significantly and incentives were down. I couldn't find a well-equipped Acadia/Enclave for less than $45K. There wasn't a single leather-seated Yukon for less than $48. Although far from directly comparable, the C/SUVs do essentially the same job as the Odyssey. Why do they cost from $10-20k more than a loaded Odyssey? (I won't even mention significantly lower resale values). A more direct comparison to the Honda Pilot and Mazda CX-9 still yields at least a $5k difference. Does patriotism demand that we pay more for less? There are many Americans out there trying to do the right thing by supporting American companies. Unfortunately, we're finding that GM seeminlgy has no interest in recovering. Why do I say that? Because the last thing a company should do when it is on the brink of extinction is to jack up prices. I'm not sure that GM qualifies as a domestic manufacturer anyway. I mean, who's more American? GM (who builds half its cars in Mexico and Canada) or Toyota (who builds most of its US cars in places like Kentucky and Tennessee). Heck, even Mercedes builds most of its trucks in the US. If GM wants to survive, it must offer good products at reasonable prices. It will probably also have to rely on the American desire to support our fellow citizens. I don't care if factories in Mexico close. I do care when factories in Lousiana and Michigan cease operations. Build me an American-made CUV at a reasonable price and I will buy it NOW. Build me an American-made sports sedan at a reasonable price and I will buy it NOW. Build me an American-made sports car at a reasonable price and I'll be out of money from buying the first two, but I'll buy it soon...
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Replying to: vinnyny (Jun 28, 2009 6:18 am) Did you actually talk to the salesman and ask about pricing? $1500 on Cobalt with a $1000 loyalty on top of that for your GM car ownership. At Honda you'll be looking at lots of addon prices on top of MSRP and an attitude from the salesman that if you don't want to pay it the next person in the will. The Cobalt does lack some things from Hondas. There's almost no road noise, even compared to our two leSabre Limiteds, and the wind noise is nonexistent and the ride doesn't hurt your kidneys but is well-controlled and suitable for a drive to Nashville from Dayton, e.g. I just bought one yesterday after I test drove and was surprised at the ride compared to other cars of the size group. I realize that others want a car that may turn corners faster or do mountain driving like Highway 28 in W. North Carolina and I respect that. I had a Mustang once with heavy duty suspension and wide tires. >almost fainted! $50,000+ for a CTS? Are they nuts? On the same lot where they were selling the 09 CTS for $50K, they were offering loaded 08 models for $28K and had 5 loaded STS in stock for $31K. Don't they see this as a problem? Did you actually talk price with a salesman? $1500 + $1000 loyalty. You'd probably find them much more anxious to move a car by negotiating than you local Lexus dealer or BMW.
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Replying to: vinnyny (Jun 28, 2009 6:18 am) Unfortunately, it's built in Mexico, but at least that's North America. 
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Replying to: imidazol97 (Jun 28, 2009 6:52 am) Did you actually talk price with a salesman? Why is it that they can't put the actual price out there? Oh, that's right, to make people feel like they're getting a good deal: "See? It normally sells for this, but you get it for this!" Except that so does the rest of the country. Oh, and it's also an accounting trick to move some of the cost of the vehicle from the manufacturing budget to the marketing budget. Problem with that strategy is that consumers have wised up. They compare apples to apples: MSRP to MSRP. And GM's MSRP, as noted, is way high compared to other manufacturers, particularly for what you get.
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