ellives

I loved this quote: 'Mr. Lutz took issue with a statement by President Bush earlier this year that G.M. "needs to develop a product that's relevant." Responded Mr. Lutz: "I'm a lifelong Republican, by the way. But next time around, Hillary, here I come. I'm a protest vote."' Translated: "Stick it up your ass GWB" This is a guy who's built nothing in his life telling GM how to do their thing. Did Karl Rove come up with that big word for you too?

I'd say this is fairly typical "me too" journalism we see today. A rehash of the same old garbage. These people just can't think for themselves. Opinion pieces like this are just that: opinions. Most of them are worth what you paid for them.

I'd say this is typical of "modern" companies. Walmart immediately comes to mind where their new suppliers are also shocked at what's required to do business with Walmart. GM will need to learn this and improve on it.

Again... you need to explain your basis for the statement "got very fat very fast." In today's business environment, "fast" would be considered a few years. I don't believe GM fits this profile. Even if we can all agree with your premise, (I don't) the issue with GM has not be managing growth but responding to a decline. They've had plenty of time and now they have to pay the piper.

Ignore him and he'll go away.

Despite the tit-for-tat, I enjoyed the post, particularly since I just watched the old movie "Ben Hur" yesterday.

This goes back to the old joke: "Q: How do you know when a salesman is lying?" "A: His lips are moving."

"Growing too quickly?" What the heck does THAT mean? GM hasn't been in "growth" mode for decades. Their problem has been simply not acknowledging the change in the competitive landscape and actually doing something effective about it. It has nothing to do with managing growth. If the UAW is to survive, they are going to have to radically rethink their relationship with their "hosts." The 2007 contract will have to be written in a way that establishes efficiency goals and rewards. Nobody knows where the inefficiencies are better than the people actually doing the work.

People still buy from them - thus the reason they exist unfortunately.

Interesting that Lexus numbers are down period-to-date and year-to-date over last year. Couple that info to the Cadillac numbers seems to indicate the lux market is down overall?

Ya know... just because you don't agree with him, PLEASE Mr. Flybrian, let's let the community manage the unruly. Closing a topic is unnecessary and rude. As soon as they user community gets a wiff of this, they'll be gone quicker than Ralph Nader on a bad suspension design.

Here's the Scotiabank article: http://www.canadanewswire.ca/en/releases/a...6/04/c2099.html Japanese automakers overtake General Motors in North America, says Scotiabank Economist TORONTO, April 4 /CNW/ - Faced with ongoing losses in market share, General Motors reduced its vehicle production in North America (Canada, the United States and Mexico) to 4.6 million vehicles in 2005. In contrast, Japanese automakers boosted NAFTA assemblies by 12% last year to 4.8 million cars & light trucks, overtaking General Motors for the first time on record, according to the latest Canadian Auto Report released today by Scotia Economics. The surpassing of General Motors by Japanese automakers is the culmination of developments underway for nearly two decades. In 1985, when Japanese manufacturers were just starting to produce vehicles in North America, General Motors assembled 7.4 million cars & trucks - 6.8 million more than offshore manufacturers with plants on this Continent. However, the gap has narrowed consistently since then, swinging in favour of offshore manufacturers for the first time in 2005. "In recent months, both General Motors and Ford have announced plans to close numerous facilities, eliminating roughly 2.4 million units of North American capacity through 2008. We estimate that once these restructuring initiatives are complete, North American capacity for the 'traditional' Big Three will likely drop below 10 million units, down from over 12.5 million in 2005," says Carlos Gomes, Scotiabank's auto industry specialist. In contrast, Japanese automakers (as well as other Asian manufacturers) continue to announce expansion plans in North America. Scotia Economics estimates that the assembly capacity of offshore manufacturers will climb by nearly 40% through 2008, lifting Asian and European assembly capacity to roughly 7.3 million units. "All three major Japanese automakers are expanding capability in North America. However, Toyota is the most aggressive. The company operated its existing facilities at 117% of 'design' capacity last year, and plans to boost its current 1.1 million capability to 1.81 million units by 2008," comments Gomes. "Toyota is building a new light truck plant in San Antonio, Texas and will add a new facility in Woodstock, Ontario. The new Canadian plant will ramp up production in 2008, and will have the capacity to produce 150,000 RAV4 crossover utility vehicles." According to the report, Korean automakers are following the Japanese to North America. Hyundai began production at its new facility in Montgomery, Alabama last year, and Kia Motors will follow in 2009. "Despite rising North American vehicle output by foreign automakers, the region is losing its global dominance in vehicle assemblies. We estimate that by late 2008 - once GM & Ford's restructurings are complete - North American assembly capacity will decline to 17 million units from the current 18 million," says Gomes. "At that point, North America will represent less than 20% of world capacity, down from 25% of output in 2005, and more than 30% as recently as the turn of the century. Asia - already the world's largest vehicle-producing region - will be the big winner. Its share of global capacity is expected to increase to 37% by the end of the decade, up from 34% in 2004." If domestic automakers follow through with current announcements, Canada's share of North American output will drop to 14.2% from the current 15.5%. However, in an attempt to win a new product mandate and keep GM's No. 2 Oshawa plant open beyond the scheduled 2008 closure, autoworkers have recently approved a cost-reduction deal that enables the facility to compete for the assembly of the all-new Camaro. The Oshawa No. 2 plant is the fourth most productive in North America. Turning to auto parts, Canadian suppliers remain almost exclusively focused on North America, and still rely on the NAFTA region for 98% of sales. However, the industry should recognize that while North America will remain a significant vehicle-producing region, restructuring initiatives are leading to lower capacity. Furthermore, a significant shift is underway globally, with an additional 20% expansion set to occur in Asia by decade end. China has emerged as the world's fastest-growing auto market, with Thailand, India and Malaysia also key destinations for auto industry investment. However, with a few notable exceptions, Canadian suppliers do not appear to be tapping into this overseas growth. For example, Canadian auto parts exports to Asia only totaled $271 million last year - 1% of Canadian shipments, down 6% from 1997. Looking at recent sales developments, purchases were mixed across North America in March. Volumes rebounded in Canada, but fell below a year ago in the United States - the first decline since December. U.S. passenger vehicle sales fell 3% year-over-year in March, reducing purchases to an annualized 16.6 million units, from an average of 17.1 million over the previous two months. Fleet volumes had buoyed U.S. sales in early 2006, but have now started to subside, and retail activity remains weak - especially for North American models. In Canada, new vehicle purchases strengthened to an annualized 1.65 million units in March, up from an average of 1.56 million in January and February. Last month's performance was the strongest since July, and reflects some improvement in consumer confidence, following last year's sharp plunge due to soaring energy prices in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Scotia Economics, part of the Scotiabank Group, provides clients with in-depth research into the factors shaping the outlook for Canada and the global economy, including macroeconomic developments, currency and capital market trends, commodity and industry performance, as well as monetary, fiscal and public policy issues. For further information: Carlos Gomes, Scotia Economics, (416) 866-4735; Stacy Morris, Scotiabank Public Affairs, (416) 866-6203

Why don't we all send her email and ask her? Her email address is: [email protected]

I try to help him out when I can. Of course, one must consider the old rule: "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach." Hopefully I live long enough to see the day when foreign educators decimate the US higher educational system. This is the system that has increased tuition at double digit rates for over 20 years. It's also the system that has the same, with tenure "cushy no-layoff policy" he claims GM has had. I only hope I get to see it. Go GM!

And somehow strangely Morici will still have his head up his ass when he's living off his tenure-based pension in retirement.

My response is directed to the author of the letter: Whah whah whah! If you don't like working at GM, find another job. The word "company" is GROUP of employees. When a company is successful or it fails, the blame is on all the employees. It's easy to be a Monday morning quarterback. If you don't like the decision management has made, make your own better decisions. Oh that's right, you're not a member of management. You complain about the job bank - and I agree it's a stupid idea - but I bet you'd sign yourself right up if your job was lost. THIS is the kind of attitude that is killing the US. Everybody looking to blame someone else and expects someone else to be responsible for their well-being. This and look at home few people actually vote and take an active part in government by staying in touch with their elected officials. In the end, GM has made its bed and will now have to sleep on it and there's no bigger fan of GM than I am but I'm tired of the "looking back." The future is ahead and the Company and all its employees need to realize this and stop this endless lamenting.

This is why you don't want to stumble if you're a public corporation. The vultures are always circling.

So again, we've now established WHAT Wang Dazong is. We just haven't determined the price.

Here's a working link: http://www.wfmj.com/ArticleView.asp?ID=10671

Of course this is the board that has perpetually allowed things to spiral to point where the company needs to sell it crown jewels. What do we really expect? I'd be curious to learn how much GM stock the board owns. One thing I *will* say about the Detroit News that makes them classier than most newspapers I see today, they actually identify the author and provide contact information for him/her at the end of the article. Contrast this with most who have not balls and identify the author as "Staff" or no identification at all. The Detroit News will get my vote everytime.

Spoken by someone who obviously has never actually used one.

Get the 7250 - the 7100 sucks

Personally I always hated the stacked headlight designs. Having said this, it *is* all about the designs. Cadillac is proof of this if there's doubt in anyone's minds. Go GM!

Look at it this way: It wasn't so long ago that people lamented that if your flagship product is crap, who's gonna want anything else you make? If Cadillac has a "sure-fire" hit, there is truly hope for future success in my book.

IS there an actual battle?