General Motors Chief Rick Wagoner Said to Step Down

[Pilgrim]

Now that Obama is in charge of Government Motors, I'm betting there will be no bankruptcy and considering what he owes them, the unions will be entrenched as strong as ever. Just getting rid of Wagoner is only a human sacrifice to B. Hussein Obama to let everyone know who is really in charge now. There are probably hundreds of other ineffective managers at GM who should be canned as well, but not to be replaced by Govt. bureaucrats who know nothing about running a profitable business. This sets a really bad precedent - this radical liberal president is taking the country into European socialism faster than any of us could have imagined.

 

[flattop40]

March 30, 2009 the day capitalism was shot in the liver. From here on out it will be a slow death. First Governement Motors, next will be health care, then who knows probably somebody like Microsoft or Oracle to gain control of computers or internet. Once that happens we will have lost our freedom, whats left of it.

One positive we will be able to tell our grand children and great grand children what it was like to have choices and not have the governement dictate everything.

 

[Pilgrim]

What so many people (especially the liberals) don't realize is that now the precedent is set for the govt. to take over any business, decide who will run the company, how much the employees will be paid, what types of products will be produced, what their selling price will be, what the company's profit margin (if any) will be, etc, ad nauseum.
Obama said "I am absolutely committed to working with Congress and the auto companies to meet one goal: The United States of America will lead the world in building the next generation of clean cars,...”

This coming from a guy who has no experience whatsoever in business or management. Obviously, the new direction of Government Motors will be to build the "green" cars championed by Al Gore that no one but tree-huggers will buy. We've all seen how well the US Govt runs businesses. For those who are in doubt, check out the Postal Service or the Tennessee Valley Authority. Flattop is right - wait till they get control of health care, Microsoft, the utilities companies or better yet - FedEx and Panther.

 

[Turtle]

Apparently, when no one was looking Obama created a new Cabinet post called Automotive Industry Executive, and has filled the post simultaneously with as many or as few executives as he sees fit. He can hire and fire them at will. It's very kewl. It compliments quite nicely the Cabinet position of Secretary of Banking and Insurance Compensation.

 

[Yesteryear]

Ya know what is really sad? At one time the 'government' and 'we the people' were one and the same.

 

[Jack_Berry]

how long do you allow a guy to stay on top when the company is losing money? if the top guy cannot get his company to put a product on the market that is attractive to the consumers he has to go and hopefully not be recycled into another industry as is so popular in the old ceo club.

yeah greg you had a fuel cell car in the drive when america has no answer to the prius. when was the last time america led the technological wave of automobiles? where is the american answer to the honda civic? the focus was designed in europe.

you have to admit nafta did help the economy. manufacturers left mexico to find cheaper places still to produce parts and increase personal profits.

 

[flattop40]

how long do you allow a guy to stay on top when the company is losing money? if the top guy cannot get his company to put a product on the market that is attractive to the consumers he has to go and hopefully not be recycled into another industry as is so popular in the old ceo club.

yeah greg you had a fuel cell car in the drive when america has no answer to the prius. when was the last time america led the technological wave of automobiles? where is the american answer to the honda civic? the focus was designed in europe.

you have to admit nafta did help the economy. manufacturers left mexico to find cheaper places still to produce parts and increase personal profits.

So Jack you are saying you agree with the governement take over of a company that they no absolutly nothing about? I guess we will talk when they oust the boss of Bolt and then tell you that you are making too much and will lower your rates to $0.50/mile or even worse?

Your statement about the the Honda Civic and the Focus are correct HOWEVER we had the Geo Metro that go over 50mpg and was cancelled because of lack of sales and what was selling here in the good ol' US of A? It was the SUV's and pick ups not the little rice burners. Over seas Buick is equivilent to the Lexus here. Do you hear anything about that? As a company you build what the consumer wants. If you are a restaurant and you offer hambugers, hotdogs, and chicken sandwichs and your hamburgers out sell all the rest 4-1 don't you think you are going to put more emphisis on your hamburgers?

Its because of a manipulated oil futures market that drove up the price of gas that caused everyone to stop buying the SUV's then the banks clamped down on lending which was a double whammy for the auto makers. I have a friend whos father is a Ford sales manager at a dealership and he had a gentlman in wanting to buy a car and had a credit score of 693. Not great but good and couldn't get him financed. A year ago he would have been able to drive away with the car.

There are people wanting to buy but the banks aren't lending and the banks are in Obamas pocket and I think its a dirty little secret that Obama wants GM to fail and then the government will step and take them over at which time the banks will magicly start lending again IMO.

There are forces out there that are controling things that we don't see. The oil "crisis" was a manipulation of the oil futures to drive up the prices. "They" say that the prices dropped because of less consumption but we all know that we havn't cut back by 66% but that is what the price has done on oil. If you "create" a crisis the parties in charge are going to be ousted. That has been the case throughout this countries short life. So now they have the party in power that they wanted.

Whomever the puppet master is, wants us to be a socialist country and they figure they have 2 years to get as many "changes" in as possible.

 

[greg334]

Here is the thing - These are loans not bail out funds handed to them. The government really should not be involved. They will screw things up more.

GM was given 60 days to 'turn it around' which is near impossible without getting rid of the entire US production system. 60 days will not get the consumer to buy a product that they don't want. GM is trying hard to go down that green road but that is not a thing to do, they need a product that will produce revenue. They are going to drop Saturn, which is actually selling. They are going to drop Pontiac, which may make sense but they are going to offer more incentives and not make one simple change - lower the price of the car.

 

[Jack_Berry]

So Jack you are saying you agree with the governement take over of a company that they no absolutly nothing about? I guess we will talk when they oust the boss of Bolt and then tell you that you are making too much and will lower your rates to $0.50/mile or even worse?

if the top guy isn't getting the job done he has to go, period. the gm bod would never send him packing so they waited for the gov't to do the work.

well when i start working for 50 cents i will be saying hello to folks at wal mart.


Your statement about the the Honda Civic and the Focus are correct HOWEVER we had the Geo Metro that go over 50mpg and was cancelled because of lack of sales and what was selling here in the good ol' US of A?

three cyl engine and imported from korea just like the aveo. 95 % foreign content. not an american built alternative. fuel was also cheaper then and mileage was not as big concern. i know a couple folks who had metros. they were struggling single parent families. they made it. i wanted a metro convert but discovered i was too tall for the windshield.(see buick comments)

It was the SUV's and pick ups not the little rice burners. Over seas Buick is equivilent to the Lexus here. Do you hear anything about that?

yes i have, makes you wonder about those jd power surveys on initial quality. not many foreign cars offer 6 passenger seating. five maybe but not 6. that must be important overseas. lexus has smaller car platforms in the sport sedan/coupe range. buick is still the car for my 88 yo mother and her church friends. listenm i drive that car and i hit my head at the ear trying to get into it. seems it is designed for the 5'6" and under crowd.

As a company you build what the consumer wants. If you are a restaurant and you offer hambugers, hotdogs, and chicken sandwichs and your hamburgers out sell all the rest 4-1 don't you think you are going to put more emphisis on your hamburgers?

Its because of a manipulated oil futures market that drove up the price of gas that caused everyone to stop buying the SUV's then the banks clamped down on lending which was a double whammy for the auto makers.

just a good reason to have started the efficient mpg vehicles more than 20 years ago. brazil was outraed enough back in the 70's to get a gov't assisted alt fuel network going along with cars to use that alt fuel. we just blithly went along like n ostrich with our heads in the san(or a dark elsewhere) thinking we are entitled to 25 cent fuel.


I have a friend whos father is a Ford sales manager at a dealership and he had a gentlman in wanting to buy a car and had a credit score of 693. Not great but good and couldn't get him financed. A year ago he would have been able to drive away with the car.
i read the ford truck enthusiast forums. 53K for an f-150 dually 6.4 diesel? really? who really needs a truck like that? most of those trucks are not pulling flatbeds or house trailers. they are parked in the driveway and commute to work.

There are people wanting to buy but the banks aren't lending and the banks are in Obamas pocket and I think its a dirty little secret that Obama wants GM to fail and then the government will step and take them over at which time the banks will magicly start lending again IMO.

gracie and i wanted to do a refi while rates were low. know what we found? many places offering 6% money. hmmmmm. fed lending is what .5% interest? nice job. lenders who want to make up profits but not really offering the best rates possible are not helping the borrower. so how they gonna make profits when they don't lower rates?

There are forces out there that are controling things that we don't see. The oil "crisis" was a manipulation of the oil futures to drive up the prices. "They" say that the prices dropped because of less consumption but we all know that we havn't cut back by 66% but that is what the price has done on oil. If you "create" a crisis the parties in charge are going to be ousted. That has been the case throughout this countries short life. So now they have the party in power that they wanted.

no, they have not cut back on useage. china has a 2nd refinery up and running from which we get 50% of our fuel stocks. danged shame we cannot build refineries and process fuel for our country at a price the american consumer is willing to pay. pump the oil from underground alaska, send it down a pipe to a port, send it to china, off load it, refine it, reload it and carry it back and then pipeline it all over the usa to be sold at 2 bucks whatever a gallon.

seems a shame again that flying j is closing down its bakersfield facility to help itself get solvent.

Whomever the puppet master is, wants us to be a socialist country and they figure they have 2 years to get as many "changes" in as possible.

right on. (seems a two word reply after the quotes is too short. ignore this)

 

[Jack_Berry]

Honda FCX Clarity - Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle - Official Web Site


japan eats our lunch again. last year i read in fortune, that gm stated it was 3-4 years before they could get a car like this on the road because the tank technolgy held them back.

good bye rick. happy retirement.

no not the tank technology i think.

 

[greg334]

Jack,
The problem is not Waganer, it is the entire management system that they have.

I talked to a lot of GM people who want to see a serious reorganization. They feel that a bankruptcy would shed the problem with the Sloan style of management.

 

[Jack_Berry]

well then everyone needs to fear for their job. should have been plainly obvious when camry overtook america to be the best selling car. it sure was to me.

 

[greg334]

True, everyone there needs to fear but this problem has been known for years, since Rodge Smith took over and they haven't changed a thing. We studied Sloan in school a lot, it was sort of a joke on how not to run a modren business.

The government is forcing them into the corner, not because they took the loans but because they are insisting on the "green" revolution to take place on Obama's watch. From the Volt to the other R&D money being dumped into the company, there is a clear picture emerging; GM will become Green Motors or die trying.

They are talking about dropping saturn, which is a big mistake because it has a very loyal following. They may push back the volt to 2012 unless they get some progress made in other areas to bring down the cost, the Volt may be a Chinese built product if they can't build it here.

 

[Pilgrim]

Here's our "Chinese Volkswagen" - I'll bet it won't be long before we start seeing these on Main Street, USA. Sticker price - $9,620. Goodbye, General Motors - Hello Geely Motors.

Geely Panda​

For more info: Geely, Yulon to jointly sell Panda car in Taiwan - China automotive news​

 

[layoutshooter]

You guys just don't get it. This was that plan of the "left" from day one. Destroy the U.S. manufacturing base, wipe out the "industrial" side of the "Military Industrial Complex" and the U. S. is no longer a military or the only remaining Super Power, the only Super Power that stood for right since 1948.

Layoutshooter

 

[Dog_House2691]

The U.A.W. Members should be Ashamed of themselves...Obama will go after the Oil Companys next and then Coal !

 

[greg334]

Welcome to France, the only super power - we stand for nothing.

 

[Pilgrim]

The U.A.W. Members should be Ashamed of themselves...Obama will go after the Oil Companys next and then Coal !

He's already going after both. I assume you've seen his Cap and Trade proposal? He promised in his campaign to bankrupt the coal companies.

Obama plan jeopardizes thousands of coal jobs (OneNewsNow.com)

The scary thing about this guy is that he fully intends to keep his most liberal campaign promises: eviscerate the military; bankrupt the coal companies; get rid of all our nuclear weapons; nationalize our health care, banks, auto industry, and any other that he thinks needs reform. Reminds me of a warmup excercise we did in high school typing class: "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country"...before it's too late.

 

[greg334]

Our great leader of the state of Michigan has already come out against any new coal plants. We could actually used the work here, not the false stimulas money that will never go to people who actually live here to do the work (you do know that there is a lot of money being spent on federal projects here in the state that has nothing to do with job creation, like fixing roofs and A/C units).

DTE seems to refuse to actually get their PAC going on the coal plant issue and from what I heard from my brother and sister-in-law (they work for DTE), they voted for her and Obama. It seems that the their DTE coworkers also voted the same way, so the next time I hear them cry about them losing money in their 401k or not making enough to pay the bills I have to tell them welcome to the real world and I hope they find out what suffering is really about.