GM Broke !
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Joined: May 2004
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From: CA
GM Broke !
I've been reading and hearing on the tube about GM's financial problems. It seems their bonds are rapidly approching junk status. Fridays paper had an article that said their sales were way off and that they were moving a new LARGER SUV line quickly to the market. What don't they understand about $3.00 a gallon gas coming soon to your local neighborhood. Now Sundays paper said that sales of The Caddy (Corvette clone) disappointing, duh ! For $70,00 you to can have a Corvette with a Caddy steering wheel emblem and an ugly body. Will there be a C7, or are we seeing the last of a good old American company dissapearing due to mismanagement, foreign competition, high employee benefits, retirement plans, health insurance, etc. The talk now is to discontinue the Buick line. 2002 saw the end of the very successful F body line. Who's running the store? What's your feeling about this ?
Racer
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 457
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From: Mechanicsburg Pa
Don't believe everything you read or hear.
This is just headline grabbing for ratings. GM is still the largest car company in the world. They just came off nearly 10 years of record profits (and the dummies tried to buy Fiat and then had to pay to get out). GM has billions in cash reserves (yes, billions). The company is just in a downturn right now. They are scrambling to keep the stock price high (or from falling).
Back in the early 1980's it was predicted that Ford was going to die, but they kept alive by income from their foreign sales.
This is just headline grabbing for ratings. GM is still the largest car company in the world. They just came off nearly 10 years of record profits (and the dummies tried to buy Fiat and then had to pay to get out). GM has billions in cash reserves (yes, billions). The company is just in a downturn right now. They are scrambling to keep the stock price high (or from falling).
Back in the early 1980's it was predicted that Ford was going to die, but they kept alive by income from their foreign sales.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 5,800
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From: Sunny South
Cruise-In VII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '06-'07-'08
Originally Posted by C5Jim
Don't believe everything you read or hear.
This is just headline grabbing for ratings. GM is still the largest car company in the world. They just came off nearly 10 years of record profits (and the dummies tried to buy Fiat and then had to pay to get out). GM has billions in cash reserves (yes, billions). The company is just in a downturn right now. They are scrambling to keep the stock price high (or from falling).
Back in the early 1980's it was predicted that Ford was going to die, but they kept alive by income from their foreign sales.
This is just headline grabbing for ratings. GM is still the largest car company in the world. They just came off nearly 10 years of record profits (and the dummies tried to buy Fiat and then had to pay to get out). GM has billions in cash reserves (yes, billions). The company is just in a downturn right now. They are scrambling to keep the stock price high (or from falling).
Back in the early 1980's it was predicted that Ford was going to die, but they kept alive by income from their foreign sales.
GM does have issues, health insurance for one, don't loose any sleep over these reports, just try to get a GM franchise.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 4,979
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From: San Diego, CA "leaf" "tee" "e"
A few of their lines could die. Olds died, and now maybe it's time for Buick too. I'd like to see them dump all their engineering resources into a handful of vehicles instead of having unique lines Saturn, Caddy and the GM conglomerate. At least there are a few shared vehicle platforms, but downsizing their manning and boosting training and wages would almost certainly help produce a better line of vehicles.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2004
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From: The second childhood is the best one of all.
Last year GM made 3.5 billion dollars profit. It was only 1.9% of sales. Two thirds of the profit came from GMAC. The auto manufacturing division is hemoraging. They have to give away huge rebates just to get people in the doors of their dealerships. Also, it's interesting to know the debt load from the pension programs are driving the rebates. There is several thousand dollars in the price of every car earmarked for the pension debt load. Without turning a certain number of cars there isn't money to pay the overhead. They have evolved into a finance company and health care/retirement provider who also happens to build cars. They have found themselves at a huge disadvantage in the world market. None of the foreign manufacturers have this kind of overhead. 
:
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Drifting
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 1,593
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From: oviedo florida
Originally Posted by Mike McCoy
I've been reading and hearing on the tube about GM's financial problems. It seems their bonds are rapidly approching junk status. Fridays paper had an article that said their sales were way off and that they were moving a new LARGER SUV line quickly to the market. What don't they understand about $3.00 a gallon gas coming soon to your local neighborhood. Now Sundays paper said that sales of The Caddy (Corvette clone) disappointing, duh ! For $70,00 you to can have a Corvette with a Caddy steering wheel emblem and an ugly body. Will there be a C7, or are we seeing the last of a good old American company dissapearing due to mismanagement, foreign competition, high employee benefits, retirement plans, health insurance, etc. The talk now is to discontinue the Buick line. 2002 saw the end of the very successful F body line. Who's running the store? What's your feeling about this ?
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2004
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From: The second childhood is the best one of all.
Originally Posted by leaftye
Chevy and GMC sell the same exact vehicles? Why keep both??
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From: CA
My main concern is those pension plans. If they go the way United Airlines is going, with employees taking pay cuts, having their plans capped, and having had to face the real possibilty of the retirement package taken over by the government.
It's sad to think of all of the older people whose jobs have been sent offshore, or down sized in the last few years.
GM is a victim, as are a lot of companies, of outsourcing, and I don't see any change in this policy. They may have a large cash reserve, but just keep an eye on their bonds. Nuf said.
It's sad to think of all of the older people whose jobs have been sent offshore, or down sized in the last few years.
GM is a victim, as are a lot of companies, of outsourcing, and I don't see any change in this policy. They may have a large cash reserve, but just keep an eye on their bonds. Nuf said.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,050
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From: North Cape May NJ
A couple of years ago Ford stock was borderline junk , GM needs to start to lead with other companies other than Caddy . Jumping on the "retro" bandwagon after it's already past Isn't a cure . They (GM) need to do something original again , and it wouldn't hurt if the media and press cut American car makers a little slack . Buy American 
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 971
Likes: 0
From: Houston, Tx
Originally Posted by Mike McCoy
My main concern is those pension plans. If they go the way United Airlines is going, with employees taking pay cuts, having their plans capped, and having had to face the real possibilty of the retirement package taken over by the government.
It's sad to think of all of the older people whose jobs have been sent offshore, or down sized in the last few years.
GM is a victim, as are a lot of companies, of outsourcing, and I don't see any change in this policy. They may have a large cash reserve, but just keep an eye on their bonds. Nuf said.
It's sad to think of all of the older people whose jobs have been sent offshore, or down sized in the last few years.
GM is a victim, as are a lot of companies, of outsourcing, and I don't see any change in this policy. They may have a large cash reserve, but just keep an eye on their bonds. Nuf said.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 4,979
Likes: 5
From: San Diego, CA "leaf" "tee" "e"
Originally Posted by I brake for nothing
because they make $$$$ , you need to keep trucks GMC and cars = chevrolet !! 
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 1999
Posts: 22,025
Likes: 192
From: At the beach in little Rhody
Wait until the Chinese cars start arriving in a year or two. They will undercut even the Korean cars, not sure how that will go but if sales are good, then some other company will obviously lose sales and we "could" see the end of one of our big 3.
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,114
Likes: 3
From: The Hood
Buick is dead because the older people now do not buy their product like Olds.......
The SSR is a POS.
Keep Chev, Pontiac, Caddy, Saturn, Hummer.
No need to have all that engineering for GMC trucks.....let them all sell Chevy.
If GM were ran like a business it would be fine.
The SSR is a POS.
Keep Chev, Pontiac, Caddy, Saturn, Hummer.
No need to have all that engineering for GMC trucks.....let them all sell Chevy.
If GM were ran like a business it would be fine.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 3,049
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From: The second childhood is the best one of all.
Originally Posted by DeeGee
They bought out Daewoo in Europe and are rebadging all their old line as Chevrolet 
Racer
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 457
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From: Mechanicsburg Pa
Originally Posted by vettenuts
Wait until the Chinese cars start arriving in a year or two. They will undercut even the Korean cars, not sure how that will go but if sales are good, then some other company will obviously lose sales and we "could" see the end of one of our big 3.
The 6 cylinder engine in the Chevy Equinox is made in China.
Read it in the Car & Driver review.