"It's Painful Enough for GM to Get Bumped From the Top Spot, and Worse Still for the Ordeal to Get Drawn Out Like the Forced March of an Exiled Dictator."
So GM bitches and moans about a "perception gap," then shamelessly manipulates its worldwide sales figures to cling to its title of "world's largest automaker," while telling the world that the competition doesn't mean en effing thing, really. What's worse (if that's possible) is that the automotive press A) accepted GM's proclamation without looking into the numbers and B) failed to set things straight when Automotive News [sub] revealed the ruse. You will, for example, note that Autoblog's home page still has a link under "Breaking News" that reads "UPDATE: GM sold more in 2007 than Toyota." For a breath of fresh air in this despicable spinmeistering we turn to Rick Newman at U.S. News & World Report . After recounting the debacle, Newman says "GM should simply hand over the crown and get this all over with. It should agree with the Automotive News calculations, or rebook some '07 sales in '08, or even give back some cars if that's what's necessary to become No. 2… With clever leadership, GM can even benefit from becoming the underdog. But first it needs to attain No. 2—and give the analysts something else to write about." Amen.
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" Who really cares who ships the most vehicles. The only measure that means anything is sustained and sustainable profit." GM lost that battle so long ago that they forgot it was the one which mattered and instead are fighting a war of attrition for the booby prize.
Doest it really matter that GM was able to hold on to the sales crown? They should focus on their latest hot products and build momentum (and sales) from that core group (CTS, Corvette, Acadia etc).
"They haven’t changed one bit, they aren’t interested in building trust just a quick profit regardless of who they lie to in the process." Unlike the angels at Toyota...who NEVER mislead the public. Can you say recalls? Sludge? 10,000 lb Tacoma towing capability? Bloated mpg claims?
If the Big 2.8 could build cars as good as they B.S and lie they would be in much better shape.I will not buy one more American car till the job banks are gone for good,I am sick of supporting some union worker that sits at home and gets a fat pay check at the cost of the car buyer.