GM and Ford truck sales are off big time in March. More red ink.

Bought Chevy to help the “home team.” Stupid me. First GMC vehicle ever purchased. Never again. Sure, dealer is a separate entity but the GMC entity IS a package… and, hearing the SAME reply from several dealers, I can’t help but wonder how disparate dealers behave and respond so similarly. Corporate edict at work?

Whatever. I made a terrible mistake and will not do so again.

GMC is crossed off my list of possible purchases permanently. And, I will warn all I can of sub-par warranty coverage.

Toyota and others look better all the time.

Bye bye, GMC. I hope I can contribute to your fall. You proverbially slapped me in the face over and over. I will share my horrid experiences with all I can.

-you end up with a very compromised 4 cyl. You get a lot of mechanical/electrical complexity, the fuel economy of an 8, and the smoothness of a poorly designed 4.
Chrysler and Honda each have an engine on the market doing the same thing. Honda with their V6 went to the greatest engineering lengths to control noise, vibration, harshness. I still won’t buy it.

I have owned the old Silverado, no I have not driven a new one. Now I have a Tacoma. But if I wanted a large 4 cylinder engine it would be inline with dual balance shafts. What you get with GM is either a straight 4 or a V4, depending on which cylinders you are shutting down. Not good for vibration. Now to get any mpg improvement, which based on 1 mpg highway is questionable whether you get any improvement, the valves on the unused cylinders must be shut down. This takes a lot of complexity, just waiting to fail.

“A decline in consumer demand for our higher margin vehicles could result in diminished profitability.”

“Shortages and increases in the price of fuel can result in diminished profitability due to shifts in consumer vehicle demand.”

“The financial distress, bankruptcy, or insolvency of a major competitor could have significant adverse consequences for us.”

“GM’s significant investment in new technology may not result in successful vehicle applications.”

“Further reduction of our credit ratings, or failure to restore our credit ratings to higher levels, could have a material adverse effect on our business.”

“The federal government is currently investigating certain of our accounting practices. The final outcome of these investigations could require us to restate prior financial results.”

“The federal government is currently investigating certain of our accounting practices. The final outcome of these investigations could require us to restate prior financial results.”

“We are subject to significant risks of litigation.”

“Continued failure to achieve profitability may cause some or all of our deferred tax assets to expire.” ”

Is this the first 10K you’ve ever read? It would appear so. Boilerplate like this is in every companies SEC filings to mitigate their exposure to shareholder lawsuits. It’s frightening when auto enthusiasts try to read financial statements.

The funny thing is this: GM’s history is riddled with squashing the competitor. Sincerely, that’s the truth.

And as far as choices go…don’t you worry my friend…there are about 80 (if not more!) Chinese automotive companies itching to satisfy the consumer’s desires.

Don’t you worry about the pipes not being full.

You are right that 30 years ago there were no choices, you could only buy GM, Ford, Chrystler, AMC, etc. Now there are a lot of choices.

Does GM have a myopic market view? Absolutely. Should they drive their competitor’s cars. Yep. But I don’t understand your logic that because 30 years ago GM didn’t allow choices, that therefore now they should no longer exist, and along with it tens of thousands of jobs?

Can toyota and honda step in and provide better cars, probably, but then it will just be toyota and honda in the same position as GM and ford were 30 years ago being the big boys on the block. Then we’ll be complaining about the crappy cars that they are putting out. Lack of competition tends to do that.

Having fewer brands in the market doesn’t help any consumer. What’s the incentive to produce better cars when there is no competition?

I really felt as if I needed to reply to your posting.

Why? Because one must have been living in a cave for the past 30 years to realize companies such as Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and yes…even Hyundai…

…THESE companies were the companies who gave the American public a *CHOICE*

And now you are saying we need GM and Ford…because they provide us a choice, when for the longest time no other choice existed?

Why, Todd, do you realize the very LACK of choice (lack of competition) is what started this entire mess …some 30 years ago?

Your reasoning is ludicrous.

Have a nice evening!!! (choice…give me a BREAK!! haha, I have to laugh :)

I’d like to see Ford die and I’d like to see GM die is a lot of what I read. Is GM mismanaged? Absolutely. Do they need to trim the fat even more? Yep. But I certainly hope that neither Ford nor GM goes into bankruptcy.

Do I have a GM product, yep, a Saab. Is it as good as a BMW? Not even close. I bought it because it had decent performance for the money, and it wasn’t another “me too” 3-series BMW that every 25 year old renting his first apartment has in the San Francisco Bay area and can barely afford to make the lease payments has. There is something to be said for choices. With GM and Ford out of the picture there will be fewer and fewer choices.

>GM sold 9.1 million vehicles worldwide in 2006.
>For the second consecutive year, unit sales
>outside of the U.S. surpassed domestic sales with
> almost 5 million units, or 55 percent of global
>volume. GM Europe (GME), GM Asia Pacific (GMAP),
>and GM Latin America, Africa and the Middle East
>(GM LAAM) all set regional sales records, with
>GME exceeding 2 million units, GMAP topping 1.25
>million units, and LAAM surpassing 1 million
>units for the first time.

>GMAP earnings of $441 million
>in 2006 (reported net income of $1.2 billion),
>compared with $557 million in 2005
>Record 2006 sales of GM Daewoo products
>contributed to GM’s continued strong performance
>in the region, headlined by sales gains of 32
>percent in China and 19 percent in Korea.

>GM’s LAAM region delivered its best financial
>performance in 10 years with adjusted earnings of
> $533 million in 2006 (reported net income of
>$490 million), an improvement of $381 million
>over 2005.These improvements were driven by
>record revenue and volume for the region, and
>significant gains at GM do Brasil.

>GME posted its first full year of profitability
>since 1999 with adjusted earnings of $227 million
>for 2006 (reported net loss of $225 million)

So – bold and crazy thought. How about they just shut down their cancerous and massively loss-making North American region where their brand is in freefall, and pull their design and engineering guys to a nice office somewhere else in a profitable operation.

Vauxhall and (recently) Chevrolet UK are in Luton (gag), but engineering is at Millbrook which is quite pretty. Or Rüsselsheim in Germany at Opel.

Best not to take much GM NA management across, GME, GM LAAM and GM AP’s management has proven vastly more competent and less addicted to hubris, so leave them running the show.

Then when things are a bit more settled, reopen GM NA with a clean slate and no labour baggage. Hey presto, America’s car giant becomes global car giant.

OK, so it’ll never happen… but an interesting thought.

All the Marijuana smoke from GM parking lots during breaks can’t be helping the environment! So if the fit and finish on your Cobalt and/or G5 is bad…I wonder why???
http://www.vindy.com/content/local_regional/318666735477827.php

If you take the trouble to do as I suggested in my post and watch that documentory, you will have all the names and their credentials you want plus very good and plausable reasons why climate change is happening anyway whether we are dumping CO2 into the atmosphere or not. One of the things that is also pointed out is the fact that people who do not worship at the alter of “we are the reason why climate change is happening” are looked upon as heretics. if one does not tow the line on the politically correct views on this subject, you are derided and belittled. Some among the dissenting scientists have even received death threats.

In microcosm, your post dramatically illustrates this problem.

I am not the one who needs a class in critical thinking. If you pass even a cursory glance at the developing world you will find that many countries are being presurised to not go down the path the West has traveled. Having spent some time in several African Nations (Nigeria & Zambia) I have seen this first hand myself. To the “sky is falling” crowd, a world where every 3rd world farmer and urban dweller has a fridge. a car and a personal computer is looked upon with fear.

Have a fantastic weekend.

The latest Camry iteration is an ugly plasticky bland mobile—-about as fun to drive as a 1999 Buick Century. The Aura, Accord, Fusion, Mazda 6 and the 2008 NAIAS Malibu concept blow the Camry away in just about every aspect.

Toyota was David—-they are now Goliath—-it won’t be long before the press will get bored with reporting the GM / Ford ills. They will latch on to Toyota and start reporting the “real” news. 1) 2006—more recalled vehicles than sold 2) 3.5 million sludged engines 3) Disgraced US CEO sent home to Japan after years of sexual harassment.

And now we will know the rest of the story………….

So, there’s an all-new Accord for 2008. I think there’s no chance in hell Honda hasn’t upped the ante yet again. GM is still playing catch up with the current Accord and Camry. Too late.

I am not a climatologist but I don’t believe this greenhouse gas BS

I’m not a doctor, but I believe you have lung cancer.
I’m not an appliance repairman, I’m here to fix your dishwasher.

is any more than a money maker for vested political interests and a means to restrict the progress of the developing world.

Right, somehow the hippie tree-huggers pushing the ‘global warming BS’ are also colluding to shaft the malnourished children in third-world countries? You need a class in critical thinking, my friend.

Many leading scientists all over the world say that there is no conclusive proof that increased CO2 = increased global temperature = Climate change.

Name one (cite his credentials and instutional affiliation, and make sure that he still feels this way now, in 2007 — scientists do change their minds based on new evidence). If you can, chances are quite good he’s on Exxon’s payroll.

I am not GM’s biggest fan but I would hate to see it legislated out of existance because of carbon taxes!

There won’t be any ‘carbon taxes’ without some major unforeseen catalyst. It would be political suicide for any politician, from any party. If you want something to blame GM’s problems on, try GM.

You’re not kidding!!!!

As far as the obesity comment, you can thank the food companies. They figured they can save a buck and generate more profits by using the addictive high fructose corn syrup as a sweetener in place of sugar.

So the Big 2.5 aren’t the only corporations that tries to take a short-cut to profitability…

European countries have more generous health care systems than ours, but much lower rates of obesity, diabetes, etc. And the highest rates of obesity in the US are among lower-income groups, which have the least health care coverage.

The whole developed world is gaining weight on average, but the US is fatter, and getting fatter, than any other major country. You need to look more at cultural and lifestyle factors.

You bet it is and the worst of it is – it’s a scam! I am not a climatologist but I don’t believe this greenhouse gas BS is any more than a money maker for vested political interests and a means to restrict the progress of the developing world. Many leading scientists all over the world say that there is no conclusive proof that increased CO2 = increased global temperature = Climate change. It is more likely that the CO2 increase is caused by global warming rather than the other way around. I don’t know how to post a live link but do a search on YouTube using “The great global warming swindle” and check it out. I am all for cleaner emissions for the sake of better air quality but to hamstring the industry on the basis of bogus science is immoral IMHO. I am not GM’s biggest fan but I would hate to see it legislated out of existance because of carbon taxes!

It’s payback time.

**********************************************************

Now here is a thought: If America was not such an obese society, where most people exercised and avoided eating crap, and if obesity related illnesses where not as prevalent, then what would these health legacy costs be like for the 2.5? How much less would it cost these UAW employers?

Just say’n.

It seems to me that as long as you have a very generous health care system (be it medicaid or UAW) then the capitalistic system will seize the opportunity and provide us with the rope (junk food) to hang ourselves and provide a steady income stream for the phamaceuticals, doctors, diagnostics, etc…