Comments on: GM’s Timeline: A History of Greed and Failure

By: james

james — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:41:11 +0000

Thanks for your comment Andrew, and thanks for sharing your story. You're exactly the kind of person that I feel GM's incompetence has probably had the worst effect on since you have worked your way up like that and appreciate what you have.

As for the 62-year gap, I actually thought to mention that but since the post was about the ultimate demise of GM I did skip over that (also thinking that it went without saying).

Your assessment of what GM needs to do to survive is probably accurate. At the end of the day I don't think that GM will go out of business, I think it's too large and too much of an American institution. But I do agree that sweeping changes need to be made not only on the executive level but to the product line.

I mean it was only a years ago that GM acquired the rights to the Hummer brand. That right there tells you that whoever is running things there has little to no foresight.

As far as my last line being dismal, please see this post. I don't think the people in charge deserve another chance. I believe that everyone else tied to GM including people like you and the UAW deserve a second chance. I also believe that said second chance should be on the stipulation that GM dismisses all of its lawsuits against the government to fight stricter emissions and fuel efficiency.

By: Duane Mattingly

Duane Mattingly — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 21:24:43 +0000

little to no foresight?! are you mad? a Hummer can ford 30 inches of water, climb a 22-inch step, have a stock ground clearance of 16 inches AND have high approach/departure angles of 72/37.5 degrees. i don’t care if it gets a quarter mile a gallon, i need these capabilities in a vehicle. James, some of us have incredibly small penises to make up for. thank you and excelsior, GM!

By: Andrew G. Budd

Andrew G. Budd — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 18:38:10 +0000

Interesting timeline – leaving out 62 years of phenomenal success. Other than that, it is a true picture of what happened INSIDE GM. It is unfortunate, that you finish up with such a negative line. I am a Chevrolet dealer. I worked my way up through the retail business starting as the shop clean up boy just out of high school. I never made it to college. I worked hard, studied the business, saved my money and eventually bought my dealership in 1998. I worked in 10 different dealerships over my 34 years in the business, GM, Ford, Honda, Toyota, AMC, Nissan, Mercedes are the major ones.

Your perception of GM, Ford is not reality Today. The quality improvement over the last ten years at GM and Ford are nothing short of remarkable. Warranty repairs are almost non-existent. Our trucks are THE BEST in the industry, and believe it or not, we have customers trading in Toyota Camry’s for the New Malibu. GM has turned the corner product wise – It’s troubles today are NOT product related – they are business management failures.

It is my sincere hope that there will be short term loans – tied to STRICT requirements for concessions from Stockholders, Employees (blue & white collar) and debt holders. I hate the term restructuring – as it applies to GM because that is not far reaching enough. GM needs to eliminate every single job, department, process, you name it, that does not DIRECTLY contribute to efficiently designing, building and marketing world class automobiles and selling them to dealers. When I served on the national Chevrolet dealer council I was stunned at the number of people and the volume of resources devoted to things that did not directly contribute to the above. Simplification – with strict adherence to sound, fundamental business practices will return GM’s US operations to profitability.

By: sherry

sherry — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 18:21:33 +0000

Not enough credit is being given to the high gas prices this past year and it’s serious damage it did to our economy and society. A record number of homes and jobs have been lost as a direct result.Most families broke the budget at the pump alone. The high cost of fuel affected production and shipping of every consumer product & was passed on to us at the checkout. Electric companies have huge rate hikes. And, while we are doing the happy dance around the lower prices at the pumps OPEC is announcing cuts to manipulate the prices upward again.We can’t take another year like this past. There is a wonderful new book out about the energy crisis and what it would take for America to become energy independent.This book is profoundly informative and our country needs to become more informed and move forward with becoming energy independent. Green technology would not only provide clean cheap energy it would create millions of badly needed new jobs. The Book is called The Manhattan Project of 2009 Energy Independence NOW by Jeff Wilson. I highly recommend this book if you are distressed about our economy, would like to see new jobs created and see our country become energy independent.

By: james

james — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 16:54:20 +0000

Thanks for your comment Andrew, and thanks for sharing your story. You’re exactly the kind of person that I feel GM’s incompetence has probably had the worst effect on since you have worked your way up like that and appreciate what you have.

As for the 62-year gap, I actually thought to mention that but since the post was about the ultimate demise of GM I did skip over that (also thinking that it went without saying).

Your assessment of what GM needs to do to survive is probably accurate. At the end of the day I don’t think that GM will go out of business, I think it’s too large and too much of an American institution. But I do agree that sweeping changes need to be made not only on the executive level but to the product line.

I mean it was only a years ago that GM acquired the rights to the Hummer brand. That right there tells you that whoever is running things there has little to no foresight.

As far as my last line being dismal, please see this post. I don’t think the people in charge deserve another chance. I believe that everyone else tied to GM including people like you and the UAW deserve a second chance. I also believe that said second chance should be on the stipulation that GM dismisses all of its lawsuits against the government to fight stricter emissions and fuel efficiency.