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131 Comments
- inactive, on 12/02/2008, -6/+56Now all they need are some good cars...
- quadkid, on 12/03/2008, -11/+48maybe they shouldnt be paying the factory workers over $50k a year to put part A in part B, then give them ridiculous pensions for retirement. Thank you UAW.
- DarkStryke, on 12/03/2008, -4/+35Maybe they should never have agreed to the union demands and flown around in private jets making 25 million a year as a CEO, while the company has been horribly dying for the last 10 years.
Thank you GM management. - sinurgy, on 12/03/2008, -1/+20The Simpsons called this back in '94!
"You can't treat the working man this way. One day, we'll form a union and get the fair and equitable treatment we deserve! Then we'll go too far, and get corrupt and shiftless, and the Japanese will eat us alive!" - Ghostalker, on 12/03/2008, -3/+16I think GM is a good examples of what happens when unions get greedy. It's all fun and games for a while, until your job is teetering on the edge of being removed.
- jason4188, on 12/03/2008, -1/+13They will probably look like some sort of vehicle manufacture, but thats just a guess.
- sinurgy, on 12/03/2008, -1/+11The CEO's are retarded no doubt but I find it tough to feel much sympathy for anyone in the UAW. They've done every bit the harm to the big 3 as has the management. They are overpaid, bitchy, take no pride in their workmanship and a sense of misplaced entitlement that amazes me to this day. The American automobile used to be an icon and those ***** have turned it into a joke. So in short...go ***** yourselves UAW!
- Konrad9, on 12/03/2008, -1/+11They HAVE some good cars... it's just that only 1/3 of them are in the states, half aren't coming across the pond for a while, and the rest are still in pre-production.
- krekc, on 12/03/2008, -2/+10Yes because the automotive CEO's are the only ones to ever use private jets. None of the senators do or any other CEO from any other huge company, no no no.
I agree with the UAW and over paying of the workers needs to be fixed. - nardo510, on 12/03/2008, -1/+9I hope they survive for the sake of their workers. We are in tough times and I wish the best for their employees not soo much for the CEO's though. Hopefully they can come out with better fuel efficient cars and more hybrids.
- 0260, on 12/03/2008, -0/+7I am considering of buying an american car just because I am so against any bailout money. I just want to see them succeed on their own.
- Dauntless1, on 12/03/2008, -3/+9GM admitted to building cars intended to die sooner than normal, as did every other American car company except for Jeep. American built vehicles that last longer than 150k miles are not the norm, and haven't been for awhile. You getting lucky doesn't mean the entire industry is worth a damn.
- bushisadumbass, on 12/03/2008, -11/+17How about you start building cars that will not die after 100,000 miles?
This is why I'm a Honda owner and will buy nothing but Honda's. - SpeedSteamBoat, on 12/03/2008, -3/+8I've owned multiple GM products that have lived long passed 100,000 miles.
My current car is well past 200,000 and still running just fine.
This may be anecdotal, but you are greatly exaggerating the life span disparity. - jkendal4, on 12/03/2008, -4/+9if chevy dies, a part of me dies with it
- BelatedHero, on 12/03/2008, -1/+6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence
- bushisadumbass, on 12/03/2008, -1/+6Yeah....
That's why several of my friends have several chevy cars bought brand new in 2004 and one of them died after 80,000+ miles. No, I'm not joking.
Keep telling yourself that no modern car will die after only 100,000 miles. American cars will. Trust me. - SilentBobSC, on 12/03/2008, -0/+5That would hardly help them, they have seen this coming for quite some time. They've seen the market shift towards more fuel-efficient and hybrid offerings, yet they have plugged ahead with SUVs and Pickup trucks that could double as a small Semi (Chevy 3500 anyone?). The only difference now is that they saw the banks getting handouts and they figured the time was good to go asking for what amounts to a bridge loan for them, they would just fritter it away while making no real changes. Add to that, when asked by congress if one of the CEOs would work for $1, he simply replied "I think we're comfortable where we are". Well, hopefully somebody gets to run into that schmuck at the unemployment line and ask him how comfortable he is then... however with the type of money the CEOs make, I would doubt they ever would have to actually face something like that, they could probably retire and still have the same quality of life that an American worker making $45k a year experiences.
I feel for the workers, however the CEOs can GDIAF for all I care. Let them burn. - GorfTron, on 12/03/2008, -0/+4If Chewy dies, a part of Han dies with him.
- chesterjosiah, on 12/03/2008, -0/+4Planned obsolescence is well-worth a read if you don't know what it is. The fact is, there are several industries, not just the automotive industry, that benefit when their product or service isn't as awesome as the consumer would like it to be:
Google (any search engine): What if the user typed their keywords and the first result was perfect? Search traffic goes down, so does ad clicks, so does revenue.
Light bulbs: What if every light bulb cost $0.50 and lasted 100 years? You'd buy like 10 light bulbs in your entire life.
Medicine: What if pharmaceutical companies spent millions of dollars on research to find a pill that cured you of disease X Y or Z? You'd spend $10 on it, and the company wouldn't have enough incentive to cure you.
It's the same thing with cars. If cars lasted you your lifetime, you'd buy one and then be done.
Ideally, the auto industry needs to change their business model. IMO, they need to create strategic partnerships with companies like Google, Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo etc. Build in stuff into the dash or the back seat for the kids. Google Maps with coupons of nearby restaurants, games, etc. They need some kind of continual income *per car* as opposed to a once-and-done purchase.
These are the kinds of infrastructural changes that the auto industry needs to make. - falstaff, on 12/03/2008, -1/+5Ford's doing it right.....
...in Brazil: http://info.detnews.com/video/index.cfm?id=1189
The UAW would never put up with that kind of modernization that cuts labor demand. - SpeedSteamBoat, on 12/03/2008, -0/+4GM has more hybrids in production than any other car manufacturer, and more models getting greater than 30mpg than any other manufacturer as well. This is a fact. The problem, as you have illustrated, is largely an image related one. They can't seem to shake the gas guzzling, sub-par quality stigmas that hold over from the 70s and 80s. It's more matter of public misconception and marketing than it is needing to just "build more fuel efficient cars." They're already doing that.
- Dauntless1, on 12/03/2008, -0/+3@schroeder
That's exactly it. We seem to have a culture on our hands in America that thinks wastefulness is cool instead of what it has been and always will be: Incredibly stupid. And then seem to be under the impression that if they ignore reality they don't seem as retarded. Fail. - specialbuddy1, on 12/03/2008, -0/+3My old 95 Grand Am could get 31-34 mpg so that doesn't say much. My Vibe(Toyota) gets 31-34 too and it's all-wheel drive.
- FelixDrylock, on 12/03/2008, -0/+3SilentBobSC said: they could probably retire and still have the same quality of life that an American worker making $45k a year experiences.
hahahahahaha. You have no idea how filthy rich these CEOs really are, do you? A 45k/yr lifestyle is not even close, if these guys retired right now. - inactive, on 12/03/2008, -0/+3Sounds ***** good.
Maybe half the private jets and salary for upper management? - jbmcb, on 12/03/2008, -0/+3> Lincoln/Buick to Cadillac
Well, Lincoln is a Ford brand, so I don't see how GM could integrate it with Cadillac. And, Buick and Cadillac sell rather well under their own marques.
> Pontiac and Saturn are trying so hard but it just can't compete with European and Japanese
Saturn is doing OK, not so with Pontiac. Ironic, since the newer Saturns and Pontiacs are based on European and Australian models. - Dauntless1, on 12/03/2008, -1/+4How about half the upper management? Doesn't anybody wonder why upper management seems to include 500 guys who don't actually do anything for the company except draw a check? Why do they still have jobs?
- richbleak, on 12/03/2008, -0/+3Chester: You are right about the need for a new business model in the automotive industry. I think they should adopt the cell phone business model. You get a subsidized car in exchange for an agreement to purchase mileage on that car. The mileage you purchase includes the fuel/power required to drive the purchased "miles". Discounted mileage could be bought if charging is done at home. This brings a heavy incentive to increase efficiency and product lifespan. This would be ideally set up during the creation of an electric car infrastructure (battery replacement stations that have an inventory of charged batteries, charging stations).
- FelixDrylock, on 12/03/2008, -0/+3@ drifter
well see, the thing is...
forget it, it's just easier to call you an idiot. - MCA2142, on 12/03/2008, -0/+3I wonder what Roger thinks.
- SpeedSteamBoat, on 12/03/2008, -1/+4Go to a GM dealership right now and actually try driving what they are currently selling. Then please kindly stfu.
- SilentBobSC, on 12/03/2008, -0/+3Duh! Because they (think they) are too big to fail, just like the banks. Too bad GM going bust doesn't have the world-ripple effect that the AIG failure would have supposedly had.
- Klainmeister, on 12/03/2008, -0/+3Is it just me or does this article pose more questions than provide insight? The heading made me think that I was going to read what they were going to morph into, not make me wonder more.
- Konrad9, on 12/03/2008, -0/+3Evidence?
And perhaps because several million jobs would be lost? Not just GM itself, but all of the industries that supply them and rely on them, and the towns that rely on their plants and the suppliers plants and etc etc... it's a huge domino effect. - Dauntless1, on 12/03/2008, -0/+3Simple business model.
1. Make something WORTH buying.
2. Put an affordable, realistic price on it.
If their crap cars were worth a damn people would already be buying them, and this wouldn't be an issue. Instead, we have people screaming that they need a bailout for NOT doing their ***** jobs and continuing to produce vehicles not appropriate to the times and economy we live in. Guess what? Time to update your business model GM, and anyone who thinks the expense for doing what they already should have done should come out of the taxpayers pocket is an ignorant tool. It's not our fault they're aging failures, and we should not have to be punished for their stupidity. And every single bailout the government issues is just that, punishing the American people for the arrogance of businesses that refuse to change, and expect to be coddled for it. How lazy do you have to be to think this is ok? - Dauntless1, on 12/03/2008, -1/+4Yeah, now that the union has joined the CEO's in screwing the company into the ground, I wonder how they plan to tell these dumb greedy retards that they no longer have jobs.
- Dauntless1, on 12/03/2008, -0/+3Let's see. 2 Minutes of research turned up a fact that GM fanboys can suck on for awhile.
GM Hybrids suck ass. Period.
Let me give you an example
Chevrolet Malibu 24mpg in town and 33 on the highway.
Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid 26mpg in town and 34 on the highway.
Regular Malibu $21,900 on average.
Malibu Hybrid $29,866 on average.
And that seems to be typical of GM Hybrids. Almost 8 grand price increase to give you 1 extra mpg. Yet another item to illustrate why GM is a joke and should fail. - Konrad9, on 12/03/2008, -0/+3I like your ideas but uh... you should work on your brand recognition since they aren't all owned by the same people.
- drifter, on 12/03/2008, -0/+3Really we shouldn't? Says who? We created the freaking car and currently GM and Ford are on point with Toyota. So tell me again why we shouldnt be building cars?
Also toyota builds cars in America, so we are building cars! You guys are really mindless. - ryan83189, on 12/03/2008, -0/+2Why bother? It costs money to do that and it's not much of an upgrade. What do you get, the latest radio tech, 1 extra MPG, and another airbag? Some people just buy used cars for cash, I know if my 93 acura (150,000 miles and going strong) ever goes Im buying a 90's model honda or toyota for ~$4000, after a rigorous test drive that is.
- heresy_fnord, on 12/03/2008, -1/+3My Saturn Sky Redline is a great car, thanks.
- schroeder, on 12/03/2008, -0/+2There is no reason to buy a car after 100k if cars can run longer. Also 55k in 3 years is not a lot at all. I generally put 30k+ a year easy. And it's nice to own a car past the loan and know it's yours and you will have transportation at no extra cost for years to come. Do you really want to perpetually pay hundreds of dollars every month for no reason other than to have a new car? And do you like being ripped of by being sold an intentionally ***** product so a company can take more of your money as profit? You seem like a wasteful sort.
- Sudbuzz, on 12/03/2008, -0/+2Let em' sink. Thats what the auto industry needs. Thats the only way we can get them to start heading down the path that autos need to follow. Otherwise the are just going to keep on making the same old same old. Sorry to the people who get laid off, but thats small potatoes compared to the damage we are doing at the moment.
- twinklyJesus, on 12/03/2008, -2/+4They didn't call anything right. This has been a truism for over 40 years with Unions. They just made a joke from a common observation.
- heresy_fnord, on 12/03/2008, -0/+2Which is owned by GM. Just like Saturn. Thanks for playing.
- quadkid, on 12/03/2008, -1/+3no, im against people without an education making more than people teaching our kids or saving our houses, and all they did was sit around and watch their union destroy the companies who them. Give me a single reason why the uneducated people assembling the cars are making more than the intelligent people engineering the cars. And to those claiming Americans dont produce "good" cars, get out from under the rock and try one out. You might be surprised.
- specialbuddy1, on 12/03/2008, -0/+2If a CEO made 25 million a year for one year they could go 555.5555 years off of your 45k/yr lifestyle. That's hardly enough if we come out with a magic pill to make us live to be 1000 years old. These guys better get raises after the bailout to be safe.
- SpeedSteamBoat, on 12/03/2008, -1/+3Thanks for being so callus about a serious situation that will affect millions of people. I think it's really great. Do you have any other jokes concerning the threatened livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people?
I hope you at least realize what a condescending ***** you sound like. - Catchpen, on 12/03/2008, -0/+2That's hard to do when they've already cut back on R&D a few years ago.
Bad move #87. -
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