does gm's financial trouble scare you?
i am looking at diesel trucks and really like the gmc combinations

warranty issues if they go bankrupt and other things like parts availablity scare me off

how do you think this will all go down?

It doesn't worry me. I look at Dodge has gone bankrupt what 3 times?? They are fine. GM will pull out of this. It will maybe take them a few years to get ahead but they will pull out. Plus if the get into too bad of shape I bet the government will help them out.

I personally would not worry about it.

GM isn't going anywhere. They may have financial troubles, but they are a very large company and will figure a way out of the mess they are in now. This is just a transient issue.

i would assume if they did get bought out in bankruptcy by someone then the warranties would be honored just for pr purposes

all of the big three have had and will again have trouble ,just as every other vehicle mfg in the world at some time. no worries. GM is not going away. BTW my brother in law just bought a ford, thinking ford is in better financial shape):h yeah right!

I've read that the new line of full size SUV's (GMT900 platform) are quite a sales hit. Hey, every bit helps.

I don't believe the General is going down the tubes. They will pull through, I hope :o:

I'm not worried.. If they get in bad enough shape Toyota will buy them out but you won't see anything change....

Kinda like GM owns Slob, Ford owns Volvo... To the customer it all looks the same.

As a stock holder, watch out, as a bond holder youll be up some at night. I dont think the corporate shell is in trouble,(until they make it so) GM will slash and burn whatever they have to, to stay solvent. Flexability is the word these days and they have to break their old ways (they are) their going to be in some pain till the transition is done. But after that the future should be bright as long as they can attract talent, a serious problem right now. There are still going to be alot of pad PR explosions as the chop up the union, that will linger for a while and poison some sales, but, what can they do, legacey costs are killing them. ??

I've read that the new line of full size SUV's (GMT900 platform) are quite a sales hit. Hey, every bit helps.

Sales up 37%. Not posting gains yet, but showing signs of levelling off and wil start gaining altitude pretty soon.

Report I heard said sales for last year were the best in GM history and they still lost $8 billion. Something doesn't sound right.

does gm's financial trouble scare you?
i am looking at diesel trucks and really like the gmc combinations

warranty issues if they go bankrupt and other things like parts availablity scare me off

how do you think this will all go down?

They are doing what's necessary to shed excess overhead. Like
workers that assemble oil filters with total compensation of $75.00/hr !!

I bought some of there stock 3 wks ago and it has gone up. Just look
at what Ford's stock is trading at compared to GM. The downside to this
is Americans losing jobs and more manufacturing going overseas.

Report I heard said sales for last year were the best in GM history and they still lost $8 billion. Something doesn't sound right.Not True! - Full-size pickup sales were up a bit but Total Sales were DOWN.

Report I heard said sales for last year were the best in GM history and they still lost $8 billion. Something doesn't sound right.

Toyota and Honda are kicking butt...

Fact is if GM went bankrupt the company would be in better shape, it would be the share holders that would take it in the shorts. So as far as buying a truck, go for it, it won't affect your warranty work. jmo

gm can have all the record sales,etc they want. if they don't get their house in order- unions agreeing to wage concessions-(gm has more retirees they are paying-than hourly workers than have on the payroll now!) they will continue to lose money. toyota's new fj40 and new camry, along with the dodge caliber are going to pound into gm's market share- even more. with gas prices high- people are looking at cars more, not trucks. there is alot better looking cars to chose from than the bland chevy malibu ,caprice and the colbalt-which is basically a rebadged cavalier!

It doesn't worry me. I look at Dodge has gone bankrupt what 3 times?? They are fine. GM will pull out of this. It will maybe take them a few years to get ahead but they will pull out. Plus if the get into too bad of shape I bet the government will help them out.

I personally would not worry about it.

When did Dodge go bankrupt, am I missing something. Please site the years!!!

Actually, GM is sitting on a pretty nice pile of cash right now. Hopefully the new SUV's and trucks will keep them from burning through it. Gm's quality is fair and if they'd quite committeeing their designs to death they will survive this dry spell. Now is the time for GM to get serious about small fuel efficient cars THAT ARE FUN TO DRIVE! I have this funny feeling that the way freeways will look 5 years from now will be drastically different from the way they look now - very few trucks and suvs (unless they are very fuel efficient) and lots of small cars. I hope this is not the case, only time will tell. Personally, I think we, as a country, could ethanol / biofuel / whatever, our way out of this energy thing; the only thing that is keeping us from getting on with it is the same phenomeom that is plagueing GM right now is also plagueing our government: slow to react, lethargic, politically driven idiosy is in charge the steering wheel.

No, I disagree. In TEXAS, there will always be more trucks than cars. We can import all the Kalifornians we can handle but the TEXANS will always keep their trucks.

However, GM does build some nasty little econoboxes though. Except the Solstice: too bad it's a Pontiac.

Now an automotive diesel (just steal the kraut's TDI) would be excellent! Anybody remember/worked on the diesel Chevette? What a machine. You could park that thing in East L.A. with a high-end stereo in it and NO ONE would touch it!!!

Anybody remember/worked on the diesel Chevette? What a machine. You could park that thing in East L.A. with a high-end stereo in it and NO ONE would touch it!!! I had one, it was a 1982 Chevette 4-door hatchback. Bought it new 'cause I was driving 135 miles round trip to work every day and my old 3/4 ton Suburban was killing my wallet at 7 mpg on premium fuel.

That car had a 58-hp 1.8 liter 4-cylinder Isuzu diesel engine with a manual 5-speed tranny and got 45-50 miles/gallon. That car only knew two throttle positions while I was driving, idle or WOT, 'cause at the time cops in Michigan used old (always-on) radar units that if you had a decent radar detector you could pick them up 5-miles away. So I always knew where they were and drove with my 85 MPH speedometer pegged most of the time.

That car handled quite well at high speed and was even good in deep snow. I had installed high-speed rated Michellin tires and drove it like I stole it. I never had any problem whatsoever with the car until after having owned it for 10 months, I got rearended by an old senile college professor on my way to work, while I was stopped at a stop light at 7 o'clock in the morning. that is what made me decide against driving such a small car again if I can ever help it.

The guy hit me at approx. 35 mph and my car was crunched so bad that the rear axle was pushed-in almost under the front seat. All I could think of was that my two small sons had been riding in the back seat the night before. They would have been killed for sure if they had been in the car that morning.

Gm's business model doesn't work and Wall street knows it, it hasn't for the last thirty years. The problem is, just when they start to really take things seriously, the economy picks up and they start cranking out money and all is forgotten until the next cycle. GM just like every other corp. is run quarter by quarter in this country. The stock market is a great thing, but doesn't let companys do the right thing for way down the road without making them pay for it. I think GM is like our government, they react to what's right in front of them really can't address what's coming down the road without politcal suicide.......remember Jimmy Carter.

you are right about Texans always driving trucks.. I live in Texas, have a W/T and Tahoe but I also have a fuel efficient BMW and a Mazda Miata that help us through the high gas times. If GM Ford Dodge or anybody else who makes these big PU's really want to get more fuel economy. the trucks would be the easiest. Just to start, all the body parts could be made from the same material as the Corvette - that'd shave pounds quick. Aluminum frames and gear boxes would help too. A fresh round to technology could increase driveline efficiency. These are the things I'm thinking of along with some trucks smaller for the Texans (and others) who simply must drive a truck just to get to work and back.

When did Dodge go bankrupt, am I missing something. Please site the years!!!

Chrysler, which was the parent corporation at the time went banktrupt un 1979 inder the leadership of Lee Iococa. The feds bailed them out, and in 1981 the minivan was born, as well as the first set of commercials with the CEO (Iococa) selling them. The sales of minivans was so hughe Chrysler paid the feds off in 5 years, and made a huge pr thing out of it by giving the pres a huge lefesized check in a press conference.



Bill

Well.... Unless GM gets their act together and starts producing Quality dependable vehicles it is only a Matter of Time before they go under... Seems if they finally do produce a good product they drop it in favor of something new and unpredictable.....

I'm sure replacing Injectors, (for something like 200,000 miles) Engines, Glow plugs, ECM's, (that make the engine go into a Smoking fit at random times). Doesn't do anything positive for the Bottom line or their reputation for prospective buyers.

Just think of the money wasted on the R&D and warranty claims on the 6.2 and 6.5.... This is money that is Gone... Takes a Long Time to recover from that...

Build a Quality product and People Will buy it.... And think of the savings on warranty claims alone....

I used to have GM vehicles... and liked them.... Those were the Good Old Days...

Gotta go easy on the 6.5's. Does this engine not power the Hummer's chasing bad-guys throughout the middle east? Yeah, the FSD's didn't work so well, but mine (almost) always took good care of me (2 fsd's in 140k miles, 1 vac pump, 2 batteries, and that was all).

The Duramax is the greatest leap forward in automotive V-8 diesels in history (in my opinion). Low compression, high HP without sacrificing torque, 32 valve trains, and the sexiest transmissions ever built are inside our beloved trucks.

I have two ambitions with my vehicles: 1. Pay off the truck 2. Buy a CHEVY CAMARO (again) when the new one comes out.

I choose to stand with Chevrolet. They will be there when the Camaro hits the market. Not a perfect company; but name one that is...

does gm's financial trouble scare you?
i am looking at diesel trucks and really like the gmc combinations

warranty issues if they go bankrupt and other things like parts availablity scare me off

how do you think this will all go down?

Look at GM stock today:ro)

IMO GM is tied to BIG OIL... weather we like it or Dino is only going to get more and more scarce and we cann't crank out enough BIO yet.. GM is already behind the Japanese company as far as alternative fuels. Didn't Delphi go bankrupt? and doesn't Delphi provide GM there electronics?

Can you blame the unions for GM's labor issues?
jason

Can you blame the unions for GM's labor issues?
jason

yes
and the slappy execs that bowed down to them

Like many big American corps. GM can't cope with making long term plans that involve some type of sacrifice while they have investors breathing down their backs.

Like many big American corps. GM can't cope with making long term plans that involve some type of sacrifice while they have investors breathing down their backs.

:exactly:

A. I used to have a 1983 chevette, no body would ever think about taking it ,
then an isuzu pup with little oil burner, talk about super economy :ro)

B. I forgot the rest:help2:

Report I heard said sales for last year were the best in GM history and they still lost $8 billion. Something doesn't sound right.

The "loss" was not due to sales, sales were up as were "profits", the loss was a result of huge one time charges for past things.

.

Can you blame the unions for GM's labor issues?
jason

Yes, Of course we can. And just as TOG said, we can blame the Execs for letting it get as far as it did.


I'm just curios...
With all of the people on here who sound like they think they know what they're talking about when it comes to GM's business...

How many of us Actually WORK for or Have worked for GM COROPORATE? Not a dealer but that actual corporation?

I'd just like to get an idea of how much of his chatter is opinion or "research" and how much of it has come from personal experience with GM.

Beefy.. you should create a poll
jason

Beefy.. you should create a poll
jason


Good idea!

But I'm not sure how...:(

The light truck part of GM is probably the most profitable part. If GM went into bankruptcy, they would welch on a lot of their labor agreements, shut down the most unprofitable lines of business, and otherwise try to ditch all their money losing operations.

However, even if they liquidated, which is very unlikely, the truck production is worth more alive than dead, and somebody else would take over.

[quote=Diesels_n_Poker;1084956]Gotta go easy on the 6.5's. Does this engine not power the Hummer's chasing bad-guys throughout the middle east? Yeah, the FSD's didn't work so well, but mine (almost) always took good care of me (2 fsd's in 140k miles, 1 vac pump, 2 batteries, and that was all).

The Duramax is the greatest leap forward in automotive V-8 diesels in history (in my opinion). Low compression, high HP without sacrificing torque, 32 valve trains, and the sexiest transmissions ever built are inside our beloved trucks.

I have two ambitions with my vehicles: 1. Pay off the truck 2. Buy a CHEVY CAMARO (again) when the new one comes out.

I choose to stand with Chevrolet. They will be there when the Camaro hits the market. Not a perfect company; but name one that is...[/quote I am in the same boat. I already have my truck paid for but once my wifes truck is paid for I will get her a new camaro and in 2012 I will get me a new duel turbo dmax.

I love how labor is blamed for every business that goes south. The reality is, management has the key to their success at their finger tips. Ask Jack Welch at G.E., it's the people at the top that are responsible for the success of the business in the end. If labor is the problem, deal with it. Toyota doesn't seem to be having problems in the states. My opinions are just that, but I think they reflect Wall street's take on it.

Situation
GM stock price up 43% this year, Ford off 8% as both companies struggle to survive
Wall Street sees GM momentum as buyout offers accepted, shares hit 6-month high
Ford outlook cloudy, slumping demand for large SUVs, pickups lower market sharehttp://www.automotivedigest.com/gif/GM_Ford_Logos_NCDs.gifSignificant Points
Both Ford, GM face same issues, news of Ford progress, if there, not being published
Ford turnaround team under Mark Fields less specific about strategy, say analysts
GM sale of GMAC stake gives GM cash boost, raises optimism on Wall StreetAutomotive Digest - June 1, 2006

I do believe that the labor prices should take a fair amount of the blame for the situation that GM finds itself in now. Did you know that $1500 of every vehicle GM sells goes towards paying Labor health costs? Having said this, I believe that the corporate negotiators who have bowed under to the union negotiators are as much, if not more to blame then the Unions themselves. I just do not understand how they let the contracts become as bad as they are, I understand that the unions have a lot of power, but at some point GM corporate has to jump in and say "We can give you this contract, but we will not be around in five years if we do." How difficult is it to understand that if some concessions are not made, and fast, that everyone involved looses their job. Just look at the concessions that the Delta pilots agreed to today. They obviously see the writing on the wall......

Personally, I have had to deal with unions on labor issues and they are a pain. I had an employee show up to work drunk. We tested him, he was twice the legal limit to drive a car and he had weed in his system.. Not that is matters but he was a 50 year old man... Anyway, we could not fire him, only give him counseling....

If Chrysler could be turned around so can GM. I've had Chrysler product in the past and every one was a trouble prone S.O.B. How they survived is remarkable. How they are surviving is also remarkable. The new designs are attractive at first and then quickly become boring. Yesterday a dark colored Dodge Magnum crossed the road in front of us. My wife commented that it sort of resembled some animal trying to take a $**t but couldn't get it out. GM still has the design edge and that's what sells. Believe we'll see some nice designs in the comming years and some creative engineering. GM is going to stick around.

If Chrysler could be turned around so can GM. I've had Chrysler product in the past and every one was a trouble prone S.O.B. How they survived is remarkable. How they are surviving is also remarkable. The new designs are attractive at first and then quickly become boring. Yesterday a dark colored Dodge Magnum crossed the road in front of us. My wife commented that it sort of resembled some animal trying to take a $**t but couldn't get it out. GM still has the design edge and that's what sells. Believe we'll see some nice designs in the comming years and some creative engineering. GM is going to stick around.

:exactly: & :exactly:

Jamaro,

Sounds like you're tougher on your employees than you would be with the subhuman terrorists at Gitmo. :confused:

P.S. I agree with you on the Unions. Anyone who shows up for work tanked should get more than counseling.:grd:

Jamaro,

Sounds like you're tougher on your employees than you would be with the subhuman terrorists at Gitmo. :confused:

P.S. I agree with you on the Unions. Anyone who shows up for work tanked should get more than counseling.:grd:


:exactly::ro)

Yep and if that drunk jackass hurt himself he'd be the first one to blame the company for his bad behavior. GM hasn't had the sack to deal with these issues including their over compensated leaders.

GM has been lagging behind the market in several areas, notably hybrid powered vehicles, for some time. Most the lag in that particular area was caused by GM's initial focus on hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles. Good technology, no distribution infrastructure.

I like what they are doing with the E85 dual fuel vehicle line. While E85 is a good plan, with a buy-in by the fuel companies and an emerging distribution system, GM still has some catch up to do. Their loss of market share over the past 10 years really hurt their bottom line (revenue) and profit, which slowed product development. A real Catch-22 for them. They then decided to pull out of the full size B-Body sedan market (Caprice, Fleetwood, Roadmaster and Impala SS), surrendering fleet sales to FERD for the taxi's, police and other private fleet operations.

Lastly, they took a considerable hit when they decided to stop producing the F-Body (Camaro & Firebird) because they had made a significant commitment to the Canadian government to continue to operate the St. Therese, Quebec plant and had to make good on that commitment despite not producing cars there.

Does GM's financial woes worry me? Yes, they do. But they don't worry me as much as the worry experienced by the stockholders, employees, creditor and banks. I wonder if GW (the Prez) or his staff is worried? If they are, and the worry level is high, will we see a repeat of the Chrysler bailout?

Stay tuned...this could get interesting!

ps: I'd rather drive a GM than almost anything out there despite the troubles.

:D