Bailout Part Two - Is Leadership Driving General Motors To Bankruptcy AGAIN?

Sad, their newest design got beat by a 5 year old design that is about to be replaced? Their mild hybrid powertrain couldn't get better fuel economy than a bigger 5 cylinder engine? Hate to see how it compares to the TDI in terms of fuel economy. Don't worry GM, there will be plenty of foolish, patriotic and/or uninformed naive Americans that will fall for your advertisement and actually think they are getting the best car in the segment. Its what has got them by thus far.

— 85bmw745i (View Profile)

Posted on 8/17/2012 12:47:31 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Better call those rental car companies and re-negotiate those contracts lol

— 85bmw745i (View Profile)

Posted on 8/17/2012 12:54:03 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

"Car Guys vs. Bean Counters: The Battle for the Soul of American Business"

GM needs Bob Lutz back.

— vdiv (View Profile)

Posted on 8/17/2012 3:15:35 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

..Yeah anything that has Obama leadership strings attached to it will slide down the tubes repeatedly. Oh boy, here comes msnbc, cnn, abc, nbc, cbs and Foxnews enforcers.

— lexworld (View Profile)

Posted on 8/17/2012 5:20:19 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Just going off the title: YES, DEFINITELY.

— TehShibbs (View Profile)

Posted on 8/17/2012 5:55:18 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

In private enterprises, everybody and their uncle is begging their boss for more budget. Their boss tells them, "don't work harder...work SMARTER! Get creative and figure out how to solve the problem with the money I've already given you." The proof of this success is all the profitable enterprises out there. The ones that can't make a profit, always through poor management, end up closing their doors ("poor management" also includes not keeping up with evolving market desires, letting the competition pass you, resting on your laurels (hey RIM!), etc.) As they say, the fish always starts rotting at the head.

Companies that can't make a profit close their doors and go away. That's the natural order of things. Go find a decent buggy-whip craftsman, or a proper wheel-wright. Where are they? They went the way of the dinosaurs when internal combustion engines replaced horse-drawn carriages over a span of more than a decade.

Companies that can't make a profit close their doors and go away. Except when the government is involved. The government works differently than private enterprise. If they don't have enough money, they just raise taxes or go deeper in debt. They believe that you can rescue a company by throwing money at it. They claim this saves jobs and makes things better. It only appears that way. In reality, it relieves poorly run enterprises from their colossal losses and debts, and hands them over to tax payers in the way of an increased debt load.

We did that with Chrysler in Bailout 1.0. We did it again with GM and Chrysler in Bailout 2.0. We didn't learn our lesson the first time. Once you train the pig to feed at the government trough, it will return to feed. Bailout 3.0 awaits us, and you, Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer, will be left holding the bag while top executives get huge bonuses (remember that at the last round of Bailouts?) They'll get rewarded by the government for driving an enterprise into the ground and bankrupting it.

It's shit like this that makes me believe that less government may be a good idea.

— Steve (View Profile)

Posted on 8/17/2012 5:59:12 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

....Oh no doubt about it, if America dont turn around from that 08 disaster (then came Obama, or God help McCain) we will be screwed for all time! Now that the real Barrack is standing...God help us all! Wake up America out of your slumber!!!!

— lexworld (View Profile)

Posted on 8/17/2012 6:21:24 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

This B.S. how much more money do they want? And we tax payer end up with a big a$$ bills. Sometime I wish I was a big shot CEO where I make million of dollar a years, plus million more of dollars in bonus and benefit. And even if I did a shitty job I still get to keep my millions.

And worse come to shove I will be ask to resign from my post and still get to keep my millions of dollar what a life, life is so freaking Good....! (Sarcastic intended.)

— Lexus (View Profile)

Posted on 8/18/2012 1:29:16 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

GM should fire their board and give a guy like Marchione the reins. He would streamline GM like you would not believe.There are just too many people in the pot.

— mini22 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/20/2012 8:27:11 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Obama talks about the auto bailout frequently, because it’s one of the few things in his record that the public mistakenly believes was a success so it gets positive poll results. But Obama is wise to avoid probing questions or discussing it, since the GM bailout is not at all the success he claims and is costing Americans dearly.

GM has been selling cars in the U.S. at deep discount, and while it’s making money in China — and is outsourcing operations there and elsewhere — it’s bleeding losses in Europe. GM has been selling cars in the U.S. at deep discount, and while it’s making money in China — and is outsourcing operations there and elsewhere — it’s bleeding losses in Europe. It’s spending billions to ditch its Opel brand there in favor of Chevrolet.
“GM is going from bad to worse,” reads the headline on the analysis of Automotive News’s editor in chief, Keith Crain. That’s certainly true of its stock price.
It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that GM is bleeding money because of decisions made by a management eager to please its naive political masters — and by the terms of the bankruptcy arranged by Glorious leader Obama, car czars Ron Bloom and Steven Rattner.
The UAW got their political payoff. And GM, according to Forbes writer Louis Woodhill, is headed to bankruptcy again.

Is this really what Obama wants to do for all manufacturing across America? Let’s hope not.

— skytop (View Profile)

Posted on 8/23/2012 9:43:52 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1