News: General Motors Is Headed For Bankruptcy -- Again (Forbes)

rickhamilton620 said:
Ahh i misread...could have swore you typed Akerson. :p
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Akerson's worse, and no, he isn't listening. But those problems you'd posted aren't Ferguson's fault.

Akerson though... That said, we already knew about his screwups before the original "bankruptcy?" article was posted, so that wouldn't exactly be news at this point. I suspect the new Cadillac XTS will turn out to be one of the larger screwups - it's a FWD car replacing a RWD one in a traditionally RWD segment.
 
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I'm waiting for Lutz to write a tell all book in a decade or so.
 
Spectre said:
Akerson's worse, and no, he isn't listening. But those problems you'd posted aren't Ferguson's fault.

Akerson though... That said, we already knew about his screwups before the original "bankruptcy?" article was posted, so that wouldn't exactly be news at this point. I suspect the new Cadillac XTS will turn out to be one of the larger screwups - it's a FWD car replacing a RWD one in a traditionally RWD segment.
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Not really. It's replacing two cars at once, but is clearly aimed at the DTS, rather than the STS. Since the CTS was upsized in the last gen to be more STS-like in cabin space, the point is moot anyway; their main competitors are things like the 7 series, and most people who buy those could care less about which are the drive wheels- most opt for X-Drive anyway; and the XTS has available AWD. Sure it's not rear biased, but it will get the job done. These aren't enthusiast cars; they're all about luxury and style.
 
HatePersonified said:
Not really. It's replacing two cars at once, but is clearly aimed at the DTS, rather than the STS. Since the CTS was upsized in the last gen to be more STS-like in cabin space, the point is moot anyway; their main competitors are things like the 7 series, and most people who buy those could care less about which are the drive wheels- most opt for X-Drive anyway; and the XTS has available AWD. Sure it's not rear biased, but it will get the job done. These aren't enthusiast cars; they're all about luxury and style.
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There is a reason why luxury cars tend to be RWD, RWD cars are better balanced and tend to have a smoother ride and better driving feel than FWD. Audi is pretty much the only luxury brand that makes FWD cars and even then (at least in the US) their AWD options are much more popular (to the point where the car I had the B6 didn't have FWD option in the US at all AFAIK)
 
MWF said:
The same shit happened with many of the banks. They all made stupid mistakes and got bailed out by governments with our taxes and are now making it harder for all of us to borrow money and get the world economy moving again.
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You do know that the US government made money on some of the bank bailouts right? Not saying its right or wrong, but our bailout of AIG has netted the US government 15 billion dollars. This does not count the 8 billion dollars worth of outstanding shares the government still has in AIG stock.
http://dealbreaker.com/2012/09/how-much-did-the-government-make-lose-on-aig-anyway/
 
MWF said:
My problem with bland cars is that when bland manufacturers go under the beigists just move into something else. All the dithering twats who used to buy Rovers seem to have moved into Peugeots these days.

I won't shed a single tear if Vauxhalls stop clogging up UK roads but the dicks who drive them will find something else. More Peugeots, probably.
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Nope, Chevys. Well, the Korean ones, that used to be called "Daewoo" once.

Because they are already in the same showrooms here with Opel, further ruining Opel in the process.

And of course GM will go bankrupt again. Anybody here who doubts it? And when looking for a scapegoat, they'll probably blame the Chinese.
 
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MacGuffin said:
Nope, Chevys. Well, the Korean ones, that used to be called "Daewoo" once.

Because they are already in the same showrooms here with Opel, further ruining Opel in the process.

And of course GM will go bankrupt again. Anybody here who doubts it? And when looking for a scapegoat, they'll probably blame the Chinese.
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It's true all those Chinese cars clogging up American streets!
 
Dey terk ar jerbs.
 
MacGuffin said:
Nope, Chevys. Well, the Korean ones, that used to be called "Daewoo" once.

Because they are already in the same showrooms here with Opel, further ruining Opel in the process.
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I hate to defend the General, but...the Sonic looks good and drives well, as I pointed out in Random here. It's not the old Kalos, and definitely not the mobile disaster known as the Aveo. With the Spark, the Matiz has evolved into something resembling a car (and with A123 going bankrupt, that leaves open the possibility that it won't be released with an EV option). The Cruze has had problems, but it's definitely an improvement on the Lacetti. Unfortunately, the long string of crap that these cars were has poisoned the well for them in Europe, and it is poisoning Opel as well. There's no doubting that Opel's upped their game with the latest-gen Astra and Insignia.

And of course GM will go bankrupt again. Anybody here who doubts it? And when looking for a scapegoat, they'll probably blame the Chinese.
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No doubt, of course. And it all depends who's doing the scapegoating. You know who US Republicans will blame.
 
Spectre said:
Here is an update that lends some credence to this article's position.

*snip*

Not a car guy. Not even an engineering guy. Not even (ugh) a beancounter.

A government lobbyist is now running Cadillac.

Is it part of GM corporate procedure to pull out a gun, aim at their feet, fire several times, then point at their ass and repeat the procedure?
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Thing that irks me is that WSJ seems to be suggesting that it's "car guys" that were somehow responsible for GM's three decade long descent into ultimate failure. Bob Lutz aside, who *was* a car guy in charge of GM during that time? And Lutz's job for GM was an impossible one: GM crapped all over customers for more than thirty years, Lutz could have brought out a 500 dollar, carbon fiber tubbed RWD LS powered sports car called "sexmobile" and it still wouldn't have reversed GM's fortunes at the time. I believe the phrase used in real estate terms is "catch a falling knife."
 
British/Columbian said:
Thing that irks me is that WSJ seems to be suggesting that it's "car guys" that were somehow responsible for GM's three decade long descent into ultimate failure. Bob Lutz aside, who *was* a car guy in charge of GM during that time? And Lutz's job for GM was an impossible one: GM crapped all over customers for more than thirty years, Lutz could have brought out a 500 dollar, carbon fiber tubbed RWD LS powered sports car called "sexmobile" and it still wouldn't have reversed GM's fortunes at the time. I believe the phrase used in real estate terms is "catch a falling knife."
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This. Plus he managed to insist upon stuff that made common sense: Really, seriously, digging deep into your competition's strengths (cutting open the Jetta's rear suspension bushings to figure out how they got a smooth ride comes to mind) and adding simple touches to designs like the brightwork along the outgoing Impala's beltline (originally they weren't going to bother...it would have made an anonymous car even more anonymous) just sounds like sensible decisions to make vehicles more attractive.

Did he make mistakes? Sure. Astra was a disaster of a launch...too expensive for recent Saturn buyers who came to expect a deal...earlier ones who actually bought loaded up S-Series defected to Honda and Toyota stores years before. Solstice and Sky were ergonomic nightmares and a bit heavy for the segment.

But overall the product seemed to be getting better under his watch, not worse.
 
rickhamilton620 said:
This. Plus he managed to insist upon stuff that made common sense: Really, seriously, digging deep into your competition's strengths (cutting open the Jetta's rear suspension bushings to figure out how they got a smooth ride comes to mind) and adding simple touches to designs like the brightwork along the outgoing Impala's beltline (originally they weren't going to bother...it would have made an anonymous car even more anonymous) just sounds like sensible decisions to make vehicles more attractive.
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You read his book too, didn't you? :cool:
 
British/Columbian said:
You read his book too, didn't you? :cool:
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Guilty as charged. :p I love reading about the inside story regarding products and services. Iacocca was another great book. Next up, Mary Walton's "Car" which detailed the development of the 96-00 Taurus. Apparently she was so in depth and wrote so many unvarnished or whitewashed facts about the good and bad that no one ever got her level of media access again at Ford.
 
MWF said:
My problem with bland cars is that when bland manufacturers go under the beigists just move into something else. All the dithering twats who used to buy Rovers seem to have moved into Peugeots these days.

I won't shed a single tear if Vauxhalls stop clogging up UK roads but the dicks who drive them will find something else. More Peugeots, probably.
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Oi - my 406 estate was a really sensible car for a family man. ? Great Diesel engine and seven seats, cruise at 70 all day on the motorway. ...
 
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