Full story: Yahoo News Perhaps years upon years of building fuel-guzzling, environmentally unfriendly, poorly made vehicles are finally going to spell the end for one of the "big" three... GM can probably still be saved, but they need to completely change their entire philosophy about the type of cars they make, and how they make them... Dave
lol Here, let me start it off: More PC defeatism :angry: Baaah Humbug !! GM makes the best products in the world. Baaaah GM is an ecological company. Baaaah Hummers Rool ! Prii Drool. Baaah Oh yeah .. think hydrogen !
Bankruptcy for GM is a perfect answer. They will be able to suspend payments and then shed or drastically reduce their pension obligations, close other plants without a lot of union hastle, and start off with a fresh slate chasing the likes of Toyota, Honda, Dalmier, etc. The best thing for GM and Ford is if their creditors force them into bankruptcy. They can take the easy way out and say. "Its not my fault!" or when asked how it happened, "Who knows?", or "It's an issue before the courts and we don't comment of anything that is before a court."
Yes, they are brainwashing us to believe that Japanese-made cars are the best ones available out there. They are going to take over the world without us knowing it. :blink:
It is GOOD that the stock price is losing about 1% weekly. It shows that GM has it's priorities straight :blink:
From a financial news item discussion unfunded pension obligations.... FACTBOX-Companies facing big retiree benefit costs Wed Feb 22, 2006 6:55 PM ET NEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The Financial Accounting Standards Board, or the FASB, plans to release a proposal next month, for a new rule that could put pension and post-retirement employee benefit costs on corporate balance sheets. But costs for other post-employment benefits, known as OPEB, are much greater than the pension liabilities, Credit Suisse accounting analyst David Zion said. The following is a list of the five companies with the largest OPEB obligations, based on plan obligations from 2004. Company OPEB OPEB Plan Amount .....Company........................Obligation....Assets......Underfunded General Motors Corp. (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research).....$77,474......$16,016......$(61,458) Ford Motor Co. (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research)......$39,115......$6,762......$(32,353) Source: Credit Suiss If GM can figure out how to get under protection of the bankruptcy courts then Ford will have to follow suit very quickly. A bad sign for the middle class American.
Of course that is how it will happen. Look at all the major airlines now flying under bankruptcy "protection."
Remember in 2005 when they kept saying that it was a perception problem. That consumers just perceived that the quality of GMs cars wasn't as good as the Japanese?
I'm still keeping GM in the back of my mind as stock I will buy someday. Seriously, GM is in many countries other than the U.S. Just because sales are dropping and the perception of quality is low in the U.S. doesn't mean that everyone around the world hates their vehicles. They've got to be selling somewhere. Sure, filing for a reorganization bankruptcy should free them from the Union obligations here in the U.S. and that would be a huge burden off their shoulders. They might feel a shudder in their global market, but I seriously doubt that GM will go belly up or be sold or whatever. No, I'm not under the spell of Malorn. I'm just trying to keep the global framework in mind. In a couple years when they are emerging from protection and coming back I hope to be riding that wave of ROI.
ME SO EVIL!!! better watch out at night maggie... you never know if one of your penguins... is REALLY a penguin! h34r:
But in the meantime, there are companies out there that can give you more "immediate" return on your money. Hope you are not holding onto any cash, waiting for THE sign. Or, if you have already purchased GM stock, that you can afford to have the investment money tied up until the price resurges and acheives your sell point.
if you are trying to say that malorn could be posing as one of my penguins then I will just say: "Domo arigatou gozaimusu, Toyota" or maybe just the magic word "TOYOTA", the evil word, should keep me save from him but if you are trying to say that it might be a Japanese person then I think I will still use the same line and we'll be pals forever
I hate to break it to you, but bancruptcy is not in the cards. This is the automobile business not the airline industry, and complete collapse would be chosen before bancruptcy. A vehicle is long-term purchase and if Ford or GM declare bk it would be the end anyway. It will not happen. Am I objective? Hell no, but I predict GM will be in much different circumstances mid-way through this calendar year. I honestly think Ford is about 11/2 years behind GM as far as a comeback for a number of reasons. Obviously time will tell. I think the first serious setback for Toyota is coming with the full-size truck market.
Big business is today more than ever a game of mojo. Does anyone even on PC chat believe that a Toyota is that much better than a Ford or GM vehicle? The full-size truck combined with a couple other items will spur the media to take a hard look at what has been going on the last 5-10 years. I don't have all the answers but who would have predicted the Harley-Davidson story in the early eighties?
Read this statement from Dave and then take a look at the Toyota and GM portfolios of products. check out JD power ratings, Gas mileage ratings and then honestly tell me to what degree are Toyota and GM that different? Toyota has seriously struggled putting out quality products in their American factories, and that is a fact tha is never reported outside of the wholesale automotive press.
