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What if you were in charge of GM?

874 messages,  Last post on Oct 28, 2009 at 10:20 AM

You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires

What is this discussion about? Automotive News, Classic Cars, Concept Cars, Future Vehicle


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#74 of 874
Re: GM: lost it's way [_jc_1] by Mr_Shiftright HOST
Nov 26, 2008 (9:27 am)
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Replying to: _jc_1 (Nov 25, 2008 10:08 pm)

great suggestions!
 
If I were running GM, I'd do the following (for starters)
 
1. Call in the engineering (not the styling) teams that did the Corvette C5/C6, the Cobalt SS and the Cadillac and tell them "you are now in charge of future model development".
 
2. Anyone who uses the word "retro" will be fired. "Retro" is another way of saying "I've run out of ideas".
 
3. I'd buy out all dealerships who cannot sell cars or who have plentiful complaints. If their locations are good, I'd open factory stores there instead.
 
4. I'd sell off Saab if anyone would buy it. If not, I'd raffle it off.
 
5. I'd retire 90% of the styling departments of all brands and hire Italians.
 
6. I'd back-burner the Volt for now. It can't save us anyway (niche markets? Not today!)
 
Visiting Host
#75 of 874
Re: GM: lost it's way [Mr_Shiftright] by kernick
Nov 26, 2008 (1:38 pm)
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Nov 26, 2008 9:27 am)

2. Anyone who uses the word "retro" will be fired. "Retro" is another way of saying "I've run out of ideas".
 
Although a Morgan is pretty attractive. But I think retro can be good, especially if it is retro like Ralph Lauren's Ferraris or Bugatti is.
 
5. I'd retire 90% of the styling departments of all brands and hire Italians.
 
Or at least use Italian leather! Buying a GM product typically has the panache of buying your shoes at Sears.
 
6. I'd back-burner the Volt for now. It can't save us anyway (niche markets? Not today!)
 
Right. When you're in a fight for survival in the next few months, everything may have to be halted except the essential. I'd stop all R&D, all model redesign, and all plant modernization until I knew I'd still be in business in a few months. Anything that lessens the chances of surviving the next few months should go. Analogy: If your house is on fire, anything you try and rescue and carry, lessens your chances of survival.
 
GM needs to break-even or make a small profit asap; to show the markets, government, and potential buyers that it is going to make it.
#76 of 874
Re: GM: lost it's way [kernick] by Mr_Shiftright HOST
Nov 26, 2008 (2:27 pm)
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Replying to: kernick (Nov 26, 2008 1:38 pm)

Well you could have a point. I mean, BMW did pretty well with "retro" in the MINI.
 
But I don't know...to me, "retro" is a winner's game--the spending of excess wealth. It's not something a loser does to stay in the game IMO.
 
As for Morgan, when you sell like 12 cars a year, sure, retro works.
#77 of 874
To Kick Things Off... by jchan2
Nov 26, 2008 (4:34 pm)
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Before I got into the real restructuring, I would do the following to survive right now (as CEO of GM)
 
1. ask the government to allow GM to close unprofitable franchises at little-no cost and relatively quickly. This will eliminate the "too many dealers" issue rather quickly.
 
2. Close Hummer. All Hummer dealers sell some other GM franchise anyways. And lets face it, nobody on Planet Earth is going to want to buy Hummer as a brand... Hummer must still cost GM some sort of cash every month to maintain.
 
3. Cut all senior level management salaries to $1/year, with bonuses exclusively in GM stock. Give them 0 severance if they choose to leave. This is more symbolic than anything else, but at least it'll serve as a nice wake-up call for upper management.
 
4. delay all product development for another 12 months, minimum, including the Volt program.
#78 of 874
Re: To Kick Things Off... [jchan2] by Mr_Shiftright HOST
Nov 26, 2008 (5:05 pm)
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Replying to: jchan2 (Nov 26, 2008 4:34 pm)

Fortunately, GM doesn't own Hummer, they just market it, so it's not their problem.
#79 of 874
Re: To Kick Things Off... [jchan2] by fezo
Nov 26, 2008 (5:41 pm)
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Replying to: jchan2 (Nov 26, 2008 4:34 pm)

I'm with you on the Volt which still sounds like they are counting on a miracle.
 
They do need to keep up on product development. They are only now catching up with the market.
#80 of 874
cross-posted brand cutting by steve_ HOST
Nov 26, 2008 (5:59 pm)
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GM Said to Study Shedding Saab, Saturn, Pontiac to Win U.S. Aid (Bloomberg)
 
Maybe they hope Congress will pass a law letting GM get rid of the Pontiac dealers without having to pay them off (a bankruptcy plan without having to file Ch. 11). Congress gave the Alaska Pipeline a pass from NEPA laws and rules, so I suppose it's possible.
#81 of 874
Re: cross-posted brand cutting [steve_] by fezo
Nov 26, 2008 (6:09 pm)
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Replying to: steve_ (Nov 26, 2008 5:59 pm)

Considering there are barely 100 Saab dealers and not that many Saturn and throw in that almost all the Pontiac dealers are also GMC and Buick dealers I don't see where this helps them that much in shedding dealerships.
 
I guess every bit helps.
#82 of 874
Re: cross-posted brand cutting [fezo] by cooterbfd
Nov 26, 2008 (6:17 pm)
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Replying to: fezo (Nov 26, 2008 6:09 pm)

Ironically, this is where a merger w/ Chrysler would help. Imagine all Saturn and Jeep dealers merging. Then, instead of 400 dealers, you would have over a thousand, and a more complete auto lineup.
#83 of 874
Re: cross-posted brand cutting [fezo] by gagrice
Nov 26, 2008 (8:59 pm)
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Replying to: fezo (Nov 26, 2008 6:09 pm)

I don't see where shedding dealers will save them anything. I do understand they have responsibilities to supply cars. The number of dealers should be a plus in getting their products to market. Another few months there won't be any GM dealers left in business anyway. They are dropping like flies.

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