No doubt the 4 billion wasted at Fiat would fund at least a few rebodies or even a couple all new car lines, but GM did walk out with something (diesel engine & european plant some capacity). It they simply paid more than twice as much, I believe, than what it was worth.

GM management also has squandered their bread & butter carlines by extending products beyond their usefulness, then paying people to buy them. The W cars should have seen a few redesigns over the past 10 years.

The only things I blame Rick Wagoner for is not moving quicker to streamline GM's product approval and relying too much on incentives. You can't make the case when cash is coming in, so no one can roast him on this. However, how he deals with the current problems at GM IS a test of his leadership. He seems to have stepped up to the plate, so I'm willing to give him a chance to see what happens. So have GM's board and GM's stockholders.



Regarding the plan so far, there isn't anything new. Shedding 25,000 jobs in 3 years seems harsh till you realize that GM is already triming at least 4,000 jobs per year. To put this into better perspective, GM has over 30,000 employees eligible for retirement Right Now. By 2008, GM will have a total of 56,000 people eligable for retirement. In short, it's relatively painless to both GM and the UAW.

As for combining Pontiac, Buick, & GMC, over a third of the dealers I see now that sell those brands are already combined. Lynn Myers already runs both Pontiac and GMC as General Manager. Also, from my personal view, there's no need for both Bonneville and LeSabre. Having the Buick LeCrosse lowers the need for a Grand Prix on the same chassis. Having Pontiac focus on actually providing excitement, Buick on great American road cars, and GMC handling SUVs, there's no down side since the dealers will have all bases covered.

GM has been putting more money into product for the past couple of years, so that's also nothing new. The only thing is that things seem to be accelerating.

Rick deserves a chance. I'm pretty certain this time next year, most all of you will agree.

 

It will definitely be interesting the next couple of years. Rick has turned an about face and is staring right into the eyes of it's problems. Hopefully, he succeeds. Alot of people are going to be watching GM: Loyalists, Employees, Competitors, even polititions.


Don't do that!