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Who would you name as Automotive Person of the Year for 2011? - READ ONLY

30 messages,  Last post on Apr 05, 2012 at 7:21 AM

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#11 of 30 I'd have to go with Virg Bernero by rockylee

Feb 16, 2010 (10:11 am)

Virg Bernero the Mayor of Lansing, Michigan was the poster boy for the automotive bailouts and gained tons of media attention from Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, etc....He is my pic!!! Honorable Mentions would be Richard G. Wagoner former CEO of GM, for putting GM on the right path despite being fully blamed for GM's failure. I'd also put as a honorable mention Bob Lutz because of his consistent passion of putting out good products at GM, since he took over.
 
-Rocky

#12 of 30 Why not Akio Toyoda?? by deltheking

Feb 16, 2010 (5:31 pm)

Why not Akio Toyoda?? Toyota is is a mess now and if he gets to the US for the hearing and if he gets Toyota out of this mess!!

#13 of 30 del... by iluvmysephia1

Feb 17, 2010 (9:34 am)

but right now that's a lotta if's!

#14 of 30 Re: I'd have to go with Virg Bernero [rockylee] by tlong

Feb 17, 2010 (11:20 am)

Replying to: rockylee (Feb 16, 2010 10:11 am)
Rocky! -- Can't believe you are still defending Wagoner! GM is finally starting to move in the right direction now that management has changed. Wagoner drove them into the gutter! As a GM supporter I would have thought you would be happy to see him go....

#15 of 30 Re: I'd have to go with Virg Bernero [tlong] by rockylee

Feb 17, 2010 (12:04 pm)

Replying to: tlong (Feb 17, 2010 11:20 am)
Wagoner had approved the product launches well before he was canned and they were headed in the right direction before the economic crash hit!!! Wagoner is responsible for changing GM around and putting them on the right path not this recent crop of executives. However saying that this new CEO has my vote of confidence and will hold everyone in the company responsible which is a good thing.
 
-Rocky

#17 of 30 Re: From Timesonline [kdhspyder] by grbeck

Feb 17, 2010 (1:55 pm)

Replying to: kdhspyder (Jan 05, 2010 8:39 am)
kdhspyder: No one ever considered that two of the worst run and unhealthiest industrial icons of the last several generations could be resurrected from the dead in under 6 months.
 
"Resurrected" would imply that would imply that these companies are viable on their own, and nothing I've seen indicates that either GM or Chrysler is yet truly a viable firm.
 
GM, for example, still has too many divisions, and the new models it has introduced still range from very good (LaCrosse and CTS wagon) to mediocre (SRX and, based on European and Australian road tests, the upcoming Cruze.).
 
Sorry, but when a company is coming from behind, EVERY new vehicle had better be a hit right out of the park. Doubles and singles just aren't good enough.
 
As for Chrysler...enthusiasts may be waiting with baited breath for the return of Alfa and rebadged Lancias, along with the Fiat 500, but Mr. and Ms. Middle Income America are probably going to give those cars a wide berth.
 
To me, "impact" means bringing about long-term, beneficial change. Mulally is forcing Ford to change the way it does business. Ford is operating more efficiently and finally putting cars, not light trucks, first. If the Fiesta and Focus are as good as they look, for the first time since the original Focus debuted (and then crashed and burned), American-made small cars won't be also-rans in their respective classes.
 
Throwing money at a problem - in this case, two bankrupt companies and their union - is not going to bring about long-term change. GM has spent the last three decades throwing money at problems and getting very little in return. The only difference in the actions of Presidents Bush and Obama with regard to GM and Chrysler is that the money came from taxpayers instead of stockholders or company reserves. That's the type of "change" we can do without...

#18 of 30 Re: From Timesonline [grbeck] by tlong

Feb 17, 2010 (3:48 pm)

Replying to: grbeck (Feb 17, 2010 1:55 pm)
Sorry, but when a company is coming from behind, EVERY new vehicle had better be a hit right out of the park. Doubles and singles just aren't good enough.
 
Neither are bunts and pop flys.

#19 of 30 For 2011... by hpmctorque

Aug 25, 2011 (2:15 am)

...Alan Mulally, once more.
 
Sergio Marchionne has a shot at the title for 2012 and/or 2013, if Fiat and the new Fiat-based Dodges and Chryslers are successful in North America. Regardless, I think Marchionne should be applauded for his role in saving Chrysler, and for executing a long-shot business risk.
 
Others who may earn the automotive person of the title next year are Akio Toyoda, if the all-new 2012 Camry remains the best selling car in America, or Volkswagon CEO Martin Winterkorn, if the new made-for-America and made-in-Chattanooga Passat succeeds.

Messages Page 2 of 3

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