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How GM Lost Its Sales Crown to Toyota

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RWT Jan 22, 2009 1:40 PM GMT Junky Ugly Unreliable cars are the basic problem. Let me tell you about my '83 Skylark or '88 Grand Am or my father's '06 Rendezvous that left us standing on the side of the road while the people in the Hondas and Toyotas zoomed by.
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Spyguy Jan 22, 2009 1:13 PM GMT GM is just a symptom of the real problem the US has. The US Stock market and tax system force all but the best management to focus on the short term, sacrificing the long term.If US tax law taxed short term capitol gains (held less than 24 months) at 100%, all the short term speculators would be driven out of the market and managers would be forced to think about making profit in two to five years. This would make people like Smith that basically gutted GM, look like the idiots they are. right now, every tax law and securities law is basically driving US companies to gut themselves for next quarter profit. This is why so much manufacturing has gone outside the US. Pretty soon, there will be no good jobs in the US and no people to buy anything that is sold here.As for labor costs, that is also a function of stupid US laws. If the US had universal health care and universal retirement like so many other countries have, the benefit costs to the companies woudl be dramatically lower and similar to the costs in other countries. Health care and retirement needs are NOT going away so we should finance them in the most fiscally conservative, manner, like most other countries do.
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Frank Thornton Jan 22, 2009 11:10 AM GMT I agree 100% with the comments not even Opel the GM German company are free from reliability problems the 7 seater MPV Zafira we bought new from Opel in Ireland needed the timing belt and water pump changed at 30k miles not the standard 60k the steering packed up around this time also the car key would not work the head of service in the garage tried to fix it in front of us with a piece of cardboard by jamming it into the key battery to hold it in place
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Hugo van Randwyck Jan 22, 2009 9:54 AM GMT The article heading is slightly misleading - it ought to be GM North America. GM in the rest of the world is producing cars people want and selling them profitably. It's GM North America management which is the issue, and the unions included. GM has the fuel efficient technology. We are where we are, so what could GM learn or do differently. Perhaps it could produce fuel efficient cars for the US market and also for export - so they learn new skills. If petrol was $10 a gallon as in Europe/Japan and people's tax rebates equivalent higher, then GM North America would have had the market signals to develop fuel efficient cars and management skills. Washington is fully able to implement better petrol pricing signals.
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Madhav Jan 22, 2009 9:06 AM GMT This is just a small sample of American companies -- going bust in next few years..all these Great names will slowly vanish.
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Good Bye GM Jan 22, 2009 8:58 AM GMT Ford and Chrysler make respectable cars. GM gives all US cars a very bad name. They seem to do everything they can to NOT sell cars. They make ugly jalopies. Even if they have a decent design, they stick 5 different badges on them, all in oversized red or gold. The Japanese are the ones making "American" cars. Besides that they're built in America, they are roomy, stylish, full of comfort and technology, family-friendly and affordable. All things that American cars used to be.
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PDavis Jan 22, 2009 7:05 AM GMT GM and many other US corporations made a simple decision back in the 60's, which went like this "If we advertise it heavily enough, the suckers will buy it". This works when you have easy credit and a growing market with limited choices and few competitors, all of whom are making similar decisions, and in the 60's the market for autos in the US was GM, Ford, Chrysler. Now they have competition, Kia, Toyota, Honda and so forth, and they are still running on that same philosophy, "The suckers will buy anything if you run enough ads". This is no longer a viable business philosophy, and it will bankrupt any company that runs with it. In a global economy you WILL NOT HAVE THE 60's type of monopoly that US businesses enjoyed 40 years ago. This is gone and they need to shake up the boardroom and force the ancient idiots in charge to grow up and realize the consumer has CHOICES now! With choice comes the ability to refuse to buy junk, and US carmakers have largely produced JUNK for many years now. I myself have had the joy of the melted through Chevy V6 plastic air intake, and the resulting piston cylinders full of water. Lovely way to build customer "loyalty".
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notabeancounter Jan 22, 2009 5:10 AM GMT If they would have nurtured creative engineers that would have designed cars that people all over the world wanted, as they used to, the story would be much different. They should stop playing catch up, they should become innovators and leaders in design instead of making cars by consensus. Finally they should stop blaming the Japanese and the Germans, they simply design and build cars people want.
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oldedriver Jan 22, 2009 4:24 AM GMT follow-on:as a ww2 vet i had a very hard time buying nazimobiles and japatraps but as reliability and "handling" of us cars declined relative to them furriners i have bot japanese. i quit buying mercedes in '73/74 with my last 450slc, what a P>O>S>. and mb reliability is even worse today. so far toyota/lexus and honda have not disappointed but i'm seeing some decline, for example low profile/aspect ratio tires, hard on car, short life but young "studs" aftermkt add so mfg wanted that profit. fancy chromed wheels,so asian mfgrs are "stylizing", and don't listen to customers, ah the echos of detroit. as to electric cars in china, approx 65/70 % of homes in china still did not have reliable electrical service on my last trip to asia.within major cities ok., "suburbs" no. so gas/diesel for 20 more yrs in most of china.
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stantz Jan 22, 2009 4:17 AM GMT You could do a trivial persuit question on the number of "new" models GM and Chevrolet have intrdoced over the last thirty years.From Chevettes to Cobalts. Each one an effort to replace a previously shoddy model.My "American" Impala was made "with pride in Oshua Ontario Canada".Problems starting at 30,ooo miles. Chevrolet Dealer Service Departments are surley and dirty.My wifes Honda was made in Ohio.They smile when you come in for Service.Maybe because everyone there is only in for oil changes.Could write volumes,but it don't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out.
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