Cheers and Jeers for 2009

[bobo]

It was a tumultuous year all around. The year started with the inauguration of a new President who represented hope and change, though not much has been delivered yet. The Great Recession took hold of the country in the aftermath of the financial meltdown of the previous year. Unemployment remains high and afflicts several members of C&G.

During the year, the self-proclaimed King of Pop, Michael Jackson, died. Also lost were Walter Cronkite, screechy pitchman Billy Mays, Farrah Fawcett, Patrick Swayze, and Ted Kennedy. Jon and Kate were overexposed. From South Carolina came a new meaning for “hiking the Appalachian Trail” thanks to its governor and a new political low with the “You lie” shout-out by Congressman Joe Wilson during an Obama speech to a joint session of Congress. David Letterman had extortion and intern issues, and Tiger Woods had infidelity issues. Captain Sully landed an Airbus A320 on the Hudson. Sarah Palin quit the Alaska governorship to cash in, while her grandchild’s father posed for Playgirl.

Within the automotive industry, the bottom fell out, and the largest and smallest of the Big Three filed for Chapter 11. Cash for Clunkers cleared the roads of a lot of beaters, as well as a few pristine, would-be classics, from the 80s and 90s. Chrysler eventually was taken under the wing of Fiat. GM shed much of its legacy liabilities, but the people left holding the shares of GM stock were left with nothing.

GM continues to try to retire or sell half its brands. Pontiac was retired because it would cost too much to fix. Saturn as the American Opel was a failed experiment due to a limited dealership network and prices higher than the brand could support. Saturn was put on the block, but the only serious suitor, Roger Penske, walked after not being able to line up automakers to supply vehicles. Hummer is still in the process of being sold to—horrors!—a Chinese company. Saab continues to be in limbo. NUMMI, the joint venture in California between GM and Toyota, will finally be shut down. GM wanted to sell Opel but changed its mind, and then Carl-Peter Forster quit GM.

And now, time for the Eighth Annual Cheers and Jeers:

Cheers to GM for the Excellent Executive Selection in the promotion of Mark Reuss to President of GM North America. It’s heartening that a car guy, a smart engineer who had a stint at Holden, is running the North American operations.

Cheers to GM for delivering Standout Product, from the Buick Lacrosse to the Chevrolet Camaro to the Chevrolet Equinox/GMC Terrain/Cadillac SRX to the new iterations of the Cadillac CTS. All the new vehicles have been well received and bodes well for the future of the company. Plans to produce the Caprice PPV with a possible follow-up civilian "SS" indicate that GM is too smart to let a good platform like Zeta go to waste or to abandon enthusiasts.

Jeers to GM for Lackluster PR and Marketing. From the embarrassing “Take a Look at Me Now” campaign for the launch of the Buick Lacrosse to promoting the Volt’s supposed 230 mpg, it’s been one bad move after another. GM seems to have awakened a bit lately with the help of Bob Lutz, and the upside of the purging of brands is that more support can be given the remaining brands.

Jeers to the right-wing “Government Motors” Ranters, who wanted to see GM buried, along with thousands of jobs and a good portion of the U.S. economy with it.

Cheers to Ford for being a Survivor without the taint of bankruptcy and for having made smart product decisions, whether it’s the pending roll-out of the Fiesta, the EcoBoost engines, upgraded Mustang, or Transit Connect. They had to do a lot of borrowing, but they have a plan to thrive in the face of fierce competition.

Jeers to Toyota for its Clusterfail, from having the largest number of recalled vehicles, the sinking Scion sub-brand, distrust in their response to the unintended acceleration/floormat issue, and loss of Consumer Reports recommendations.

Jeers to Daimler for Adding Insult to Injury by not supplying parts to Chrysler for several models in violation of a contractual agreement. First they practically destroy the company themselves by half-heartedly running it, then they try to finish the job after unloading it.

Cheers to oldsmoboi, the new owner of C&G, for the Significant Board Upgrades, including finally having the site on a stable server. The media credential and recent interactive reviews have increased the site's credibility and standing. Cheers also to NINETY EIGHT REGENCY for his return to the site and his contributions as resident newsman.

Cheers to PCS, aka Oracle of Delphi, for being the Best Industry Poster with his insider view of what’s going on in GM. AH-HA, evok, and thegriffon are missed, but PCS gives enough hints or cryptic messages for us to ponder. He had his own adventurous year, with leaving GM for BMW, then returning to GM in a couple of different capacities.

Cheers to Dodgefan for the Best Concept in a new full-size Cadillac that is edgy and elegant:

http://www.cheersandgears.com/index.php?showtopic=45794&pid=548915&st=0entry548915

Honorable mention to Burns for his luxury rear-wheel-drive Buick coupe:

http://www.cheersandgears.com/index.php?showtopic=27820&st=0entry464138

Cheers to !!!Ted!!! for Best Non-Insider Scoop in spotting the Orlando in a corporate GM video:

http://www.cheersandgears.com/index.php?showtopic=39444&st=0entry529048

Jeers to the Worst Poster/Troll of the Year. It’s the same winner (loser?) as last year and shall remain nameless again. It’s like the same post over and over.

Cheers to whiteknight for the Best Retrospective Thread, on Oldsmobile design concepts from the 1980s.

http://www.cheersandgears.com/index.php?showtopic=39677&st=0entry529839

Cheers to wildmanjoe for Best Post, the recently posted “A C&G Christmas,” which captures the essence of the most illustrious characters of C&G.

http://www.cheersandgears.com/topic/50017-a-cg-christmas/page__pid__565373__st__0entry565373

And finally, Cheers to the C&G Community, both staff and members, for making it the site of choice to talk cars and share our highs and lows in life, including new car and clunker purchases, the "C&G Curse" striking again, and other life's events. Honorable mentions to dwightloo and 66stang for their standout contributions to the board.

Hope everybody has a safe, prosperous, and Happy New Year!

[Intrepidation]

Great writeup as always bobo. Here's to an eve better 2010!

[ocnblu]

Always good to read some bobo on January 1st. Thanks for another year, sir!

[Delta Force79]

My streak of not having been mentioned on any Cheers and Jeers in these last 8 years continues... Happy New Year everyone.

[trinacriabob]

Great read. Thanks for the timely delivery! Now, I'm off to have coffee. Happy New Year!

[CSpec]

Always a treat, bobo.

[Camino LS6]

Another fine list defining an awful year - well done!

Happy New Year to all!

[A Horse With No Name]

Happy new year everyone!

Chris

And woo-hooo this makes 7000 posts for me here!

[ocnblu]

Admins, may we please pin this as in years past?

[Intrepidation]

Done.

[NINETY EIGHT REGENCY]

I was wondering if you all still did this. It was great to see and read too. Well stated.

What got me this year was that one thread I started about something GM did in 2009 and it kept generating posts.

It has been nice to be back.

Edited January 2, 2010 by NINETY EIGHT REGENCY

[!!!TED!!!]

Lol, the Orlando thing!

GM actually removed that video, edited out the footage, and re-uploaded it!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!

[K.C.]

There is an omission in the Cheers section of this post Bobo. You forgot to Cheers yourself for your annual post of Cheers & Jeers. Never be afraid to pat yourself on the back when you deserve it.

[knightfan26917]

*grins*

Sweet ... I was hoping this would be here! Thanks, bobo ... another awesome recap!

Cort | 36swm.IL | "Mr Monte Carlo"."Mr Road Trip" | pig valve.pacemaker

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"I missed a million miles of fun" ... Len ... 'Steal My Sunshine'

[Blake Noble]

I made the list this year. Sweet.

Here's to what this year will hold here at C&G.

[RjION]

Jeers to GM for bringing the Astra to North America in 2008 then back to Canada in 2009.