Opel: Stracke Out, Girsky In, GM In Panic

by Bertel Schmitt

Published: July 12th, 2012

The Opel mess claims another victim. “Opel’s Karl-Friedrich Stracke stepped down from his position as chief executive of the embattled carmaker to take on “special assignments”, where he will report to the Chairman and CEO of parent General Motors,” Reuters says.

“GM Vice Chairman Steve Girsky, currently Chairman of the Opel Supervisory Board, will serve as acting head of GM’s European operations as the company searches for a replacement. The supervisory board of Adam Opel AG will be convened soon to appoint an interim chairman of the management board,” GM says in a statement.

That “special assignment” job usually means that the man keeps office, secretary, car and face. Engineer Stracke is a GM lifer. His assignment to rescue Opel was widely seen as a mission impossible.

Analysts interviewed by Reuters say that “GM appeared to be panicking as the change comes so soon after a turnaround plan for the struggling Opel was approved and a replacement was not named. ”

“The timing of today’s announcement bodes poorly for the condition of GM’s European business,” Jefferies analyst Peter Nesvold said in a research note.

#BertelSchmitt #GM #Opel #Stracke

Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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11 of 17 comments

"scarey" on Jul 12, 2012

Good luck, Mr. Girsky. ;-]

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- Asdf on Jul 12, 2012
  
  LOL
  
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Schmitt trigger on Jul 12, 2012

"Engineer Stracke is a GM lifer." Like, life without parole?

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- 28-Cars-Later on Jul 12, 2012
  
  Probably convicted for the Opel 54-Degree V6 engine fiasco, and rightly so. From Wikipedia: "In its 3.0 L form, this engine was notable for recalls of all units installed in Cadillac Cateras due to timing belt tensioner bearing failures, which could cause catastrophic damage to the engine because of its interference design."
  
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- Doctor olds on Jul 13, 2012
  
  @28-cars-later- You might add that GM conducted a Customer Satisfaction Recall to replace those bearings with an improved design, at no cost to customers, as well as extending warranty coverage for any failures to 100,000 miles. That engine was certainly not a bright spot in GM, but ALL european quality general lags far behind the US.
  
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- 28-Cars-Later on Jul 14, 2012
  
  @28-Cars-Later I wasn't aware there was a recall, props to RenCen I suppose but regardless the 3.0L from what I have read wasn't anything to write home about when it did work. Shame too because although I certainly wasn't in a position to purchase one when it came out (I was a hs sophomore) I really liked the lines of the Caddy that zigged. In hindsight it looked like another half baked idea and possible reuse Opel plant capacity production exercise.
  
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Ron on Jul 12, 2012

I've known Steve for decades -- he's just what GM Europe needs.

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- 28-Cars-Later on Jul 12, 2012
  
  +1 for the 'Homer' icon.
  
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- Ron on Jul 12, 2012
  
  @28-Cars-Later Thank you -- my previous icon was the Oscar Meyer weinermobile after it ploughed into a house.
  
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Jmatt on Jul 16, 2012

GM is an insolvent mess that owes the taxpayers out the wazoo. Why did it buy another insolvent mess in Europe?

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- Truckducken on Jul 16, 2012
  
  To be fair, I don't think GM owed the taxpayers quite so much when they acquired Opel back in '29.
  
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