RE: [DMCForum] Re: Ford and GM

["timnagin" <timnagin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I agree with a lot of this.  I also think GM laying off those people and
closing those plants is a really bad idea.  

When Henry Ford wanted to grow his business he increased the salaries of his
employees so they could afford what they built.  GM is alienating 30,000
plus people and their families who will more than likely never buy another
car from them.

When I bought my new truck last year I tried really, really hard to buy
American but nothing I saw was exciting.  The only vehicle GM makes that
even gets my attention is the Corvette.  

What the hell were they thinking when they built the PT Cruiser clone?  Did
they borrow the stamping dies for that thing?  Either way, they won't go out
of business.  They will be bailed out if necessary.

AMC built the Neon?

Greg



-----Original Message-----
From: DMCForum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:DMCForum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of therealdmcvegas
Sent: Friday, November 25, 2005 4:26 PM
To: DMCForum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [DMCForum] Re: Ford and GM

--- In DMCForum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Jack Stiefel" <jackstiefel@xxxx> wrote:
>
> You are forgetting that just because one files for bankruptcy does
not mean
> they are gone, just a giant restructuring.  Many companied emerge from
> bankruptcy and do better than ever.  
> 
> If GM does it right they can come out of bankruptcy a better, well
oiled,
> streamlined machine.  Same goes with Ford.
<SNIP>

That's true, Jack. But there is an even more important detail here
that even you forgot about. And that is GM's management. There are
many companies out there who do file for bankruptcy, restructure
themselves, and do come out ahead. The idea here is that the company
hit hard times for one reason or another. AMC & Chrysler are great
examples. They, unlike Ford & GM couldn't get their economy cars out
there onto the market quick enough. Ford had the Escort/Topaz, and GM
had their J-Body line. Chrysler was rather late with the K-cars, and
AMC didn't debut their new Neon until they themselves were acquired by
Chrysler, and the car's moniker was changed over to it's new parent
company.

AMC & Chrysler were two companies that were on the verge of dying, and
then came back (until Renault's CEO was murdered, and the shareholders
agreed to turn over AMC to Chrysler for the Jeep line). Both company's
shed themselves of their previous, incompetent management, and
acquired new leadership. Even Ford has done the same thing. And while
Ford is laying off 3,000 employees, it's important to note that these
are mostly "white-collar" managers, and not assembly line workers. GM
on the other hand is shutting down a MASSIVE amount of actual
automobile plants with 30,000 workers being laid-off.

GM still retains it's same management, with the same people who are
complete idiots. Just like the book "On a Clear Day..." summarized,
these people are NOT going to fight the very system that empowers
them. After all, if the system dies, it could very well turn against
them, and they could lose their jobs.

In order for GM to survive, it needs to kill off it's entire upper
management. Not nessisarrily because these are untalented people, but
because they're mindset holds a certain type of work ethic that would
be incompatable with any new successful strategy that the company
would need to embrace, in order to survive.

There is hope for GM, but not where you might think... Kirk Kerkorian
has since purchased 9% of GM Common Stock, and has installed his own
right-hand man onto GM's board of directors. The same guy who nursed
Chrysler through their financial woes back in the 1980's. His only
problem is that because he's an outsider, and his corporate strategies
are so radically different, he's getting allot of push-back from GM's
current employees.

If Kerkorian can pull a "Roy Disney" and get the other stakeholders
riled up enough to cause a mutany against the current CEO and board
members, he could amputate them, and their influence from the company.
That would give GM a truely fresh start. Because their car products
right now are in the toilet. You've got retro muscle cars from Ford &
Chrysler, and GM isn't even entering into this foray. In about 6-8
years, baby boomers are gonna start dying off, and lots of this
spending on retro vehicles is gonna really slow down.

-Robert

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