GM announces 286M 2nd quarter loss

The bad news just keeps rolling in. Link to story (http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0507/20/01-254109.htm)

Hell, that's almost break even compared to the $1.1B loss first quarter! I knew they'd lose money with the discounts they were giving, but to clear out old inventory and get more butts in the seats, it was probably worth it!

Well.. I was hoping maybe June would help pull them through the 2nd quarter a little better but oh well.

What Jason E said.

A loss does suck, but it is much better than the first quarter was.

Yeah, it could have been worse, like $287 million.

Its hard times in the GM camp when were content with "not so bad" of a loss.

True...

I imagine GM is spending more now then ever because of all the new vehicles coming on board. Hopefully this time next year when more of these vehicles are realized they will be on the other side of the coin.

Well if they keep selling cars at cost they wont be better off next year than where they are now.

I took accounting 3000 last semester, its the basic accounting class at my school. They taught us this novel idea that if your company makes widgets then the majority of the company's income should come from the operating income from selling those widgets. GM isnt making money selling cars, they are only making money on fianacing and service. Thats a bad sign, could the end be near?

Another negative stat I ran across recently was in business week. I dont remember if this covers the 2003 or 2004 year. But it basically said toyota spent 15.6 billion on R and D for its 26 models. GM spent 8 billion on its 80 models. I know GM quality is on the rise but what if the competition is rising faster than they are? Toyota spent twice as much money on 1/3 the models. I think this stat is reflected most in the minivan market. GM brings 4 minivans to market that are subpar and cannot touch a Toyota Sienna. GM needs to cut its model lineup and spend more on R and D so that they dont have to give there cars away. Get rid of incentives and use no haggle pricing. it works when you have a competitive product.

From what many industry analyists are saying, the 2nd half of this year will be worse than the 1st. If that's the case, we are in for a very interesting ride.

If I had more time, I'd set the CZ28.com Wayback Machine to, oh, late '03 or early '04 - around the time of "The Road To Redemption" campaign - and see how many people were convinced that the secret to GM's success was in its 2004 and 2005 product lineup. And what we're seeing now is the same meme repeated over and over again; salvation lies just around the bend (or just into the next model year, in this case).

The health - or lack thereof - of the US auto industry scares the crap out of me. Supposedly, the US is in the middle of a strong economic recovery (it must be nice to live where there's actually some evidence of that), we sold cars at a annualized rate of 20M/year last month, and yet there's still no significant money being made in Detroit.

If GM or FORD ever got in enough financial trouble Big Daddy would step in and help out. Either in ways of taxes on imports, or other Grants/Loans whatever. Believe me they will not let the US Auto Market get so bad that GM will dissapear.

Although, let's hope that they can get out of this on their own. It will be more of an accomplishment if they do!

If GM is forced into bankruptcy, I'd rather it be sooner rather than later. Rather than slowly eeking by on a bloated workforce and underultized factories, a bankruptcy would completely eleminate any fat on GM.


The only way I see GM going broke is if their new trucks are a complete flop. If they are a smash sucess and dominate the truck market for the next 5 years, then GM will undoublty pull through and hopefully gain market share.

From what many industry analyists are saying, the 2nd half of this year will be worse than the 1st. If that's the case, we are in for a very interesting ride.

If I had more time, I'd set the CZ28.com Wayback Machine to, oh, late '03 or early '04 - around the time of "The Road To Redemption" campaign - and see how many people were convinced that the secret to GM's success was in its 2004 and 2005 product lineup. And what we're seeing now is the same meme repeated over and over again; salvation lies just around the bend (or just into the next model year, in this case).


Yeah, I've been hearing that salvation is just around the corner for 15 years now. I'm such a sucker too.....I always believe them.

OTOH, no business loses over a billion dollars one quarter and shows profitability the very next quarter. At least the severity of the losses are going in the right direction....I guess.

From what many industry analyists are saying, the 2nd half of this year will be worse than the 1st. If that's the case, we are in for a very interesting ride.

If I had more time, I'd set the CZ28.com Wayback Machine to, oh, late '03 or early '04 - around the time of "The Road To Redemption" campaign - and see how many people were convinced that the secret to GM's success was in its 2004 and 2005 product lineup. And what we're seeing now is the same meme repeated over and over again; salvation lies just around the bend (or just into the next model year, in this case).

The health - or lack thereof - of the US auto industry scares the crap out of me. Supposedly, the US is in the middle of a strong economic recovery (it must be nice to live where there's actually some evidence of that), we sold cars at a annualized rate of 20M/year last month, and yet there's still no significant money being made in Detroit.

:bow:

I don't know you or where you live/work, but I can tell you are another working stiff with a spoonful of common sense between your ears... like me.

You are not the only one seeing the world this way right now. :(


If GM and/or Ford files bankruptcy, we will have a recession in the US that will be unlike anything seen by people under 45 years of age. And I believe we will be brought down to economical levels similar to most of Europe for good. Get ready to go back to 1 car per family, an economy-class car at that, living in condos and apartments, and spending 2/3 of your monthly income on essentials.
YES - I think the auto industries have THAT much to do with our domestic economy.

Let's hope that GM and Ford keep the aggressive attitude and roll-out some dynamite cars in the next 2 years. They also need to be more aggressive in their advertisements promoting their quality rankings and value compared to imports. I think the recent Buick commercials are FANTASTIC.

I don't see things getting /that/ bad... Number 1 if One were allowed to file bankruptcy (again the govt would not allow this) IF IF IF, say Ford or GM filed, I firmly believe the other would pick up. So we would have a GM/Ford Merge. Although, again - the GOVERNMENT WILL NOT LET THIS HAPPEN.

The largest selling automobile company in the world would never just shut its doors. If they got into enough financial trouble, someone would buy them, or they would buy someone else (like Toyota).

I wish I had 286Mill to lose.:shame:

I wish I had 286Mill to lose.:shame:

If i had 1 million to lose i'd be pretty happy :lol:

Lots of vehicles coming downt he pipe still. I still think the next model year may hold some promise.

I wish I had 286Mill to lose.:shame:i wish i found it. :D

I don't see things getting /that/ bad... Number 1 if One were allowed to file bankruptcy (again the govt would not allow this) IF IF IF, say Ford or GM filed, I firmly believe the other would pick up. So we would have a GM/Ford Merge. Although, again - the GOVERNMENT WILL NOT LET THIS HAPPEN.

I would like to point out the the US currently has a sitting Republican President, with a -not insignificant, but also not decisive- republican majority in BOTH halves of congress... I have a very hard time imagining our government today bailing out one of the big 2 and a half. And I agree. It's not the government's job to bail out bad businesses.

I also seem to think that, while it wouldnt exactly be an economic cakewalk, the doom and gloom "Get ready to live like Europeans" situation is a little out there as well. The economy would certainly falter, but I dont see it tanking to anything even resembling the late 70s/early 80s.

1 out of every 7 jobs in the US, is directly, or indirectly influenced by the Big 2.5.

Think about that.

1 in 7

I don't think that even a Republican lead government can stand idly by and watch something like that happen to the economy.

If either Ford or GM, or both were to fail (mind you, I'm not talking BK, since that is not going under), there would be a worldwide depression the likes that we have never seen.

While some may think that my thoughts are doom and gloom................ well, those who think there would be little effect to the economy live in a land of flowers and butterflies. I especially love those who say "well then, everyone would just buy Toyotas and Hondas." Excuse me............ how would anyone be able to afford to buy anything. There would be no gap to fill............. there would just be a domestic catastrophy (as in, who gets to pay for the default on all of those pensions???? You got it, those 6 out of 7 who still have a job).

Anyway, I don't think it will ever get to that point. Well, at least I hope not. I really do want to be able to buy a new Adrenalin next year. :D

as far as GM goes they have too much cash in reserve to qualify for bankruptcy anytime soon.

:bow:

I don't know you or where you live/work, but I can tell you are another working stiff with a spoonful of common sense between your ears... like me.

You are not the only one seeing the world this way right now. :(


I live in Michigan, and am an engineer for a Tier 1 supplier. While we've got a healthy relationship with the transplants, much of our work is still with the Big 3. As you likely know, an automaker's health can be assessed by the performance of its suppliers. Collins & Aikman. Tower. Delphi. Visteon. Lear. Intermet. The list goes on.

I'm getting kinda sick of people pissing on my head and telling me that it's raining.

I would like to point out the the US currently has a sitting Republican President, with a -not insignificant, but also not decisive- republican majority in BOTH halves of congress... I have a very hard time imagining our government today bailing out one of the big 2 and a half. And I agree. It's not the government's job to bail out bad businesses.

Yeah but what will another ten years of bad business do, put them right back in the crapper.

If GM manages to pull through this one way or another they simply have to come out better for it. That may be in the very long term, but I don't think anyone can poo-poo rapid loosses like this.

Yeah but what will another ten years of bad business do, put them right back in the crapper.

If GM manages to pull through this one way or another they simply have to come out better for it. That may be in the very long term, but I don't think anyone can poo-poo rapid loosses like this.

Im not saying that this is anything but bad news for GM, and it's suppliers.

I agree though, that someone at GM needs to sit up, take stock, and start fixing things. Patching the holes in the boat isnt going to work when the boat is sitting on the reef at low tide, yanno?