Save GM

[BRIAN]

GM has to save themselves with better quality plain and simple. Great mechanical but the designers are out to lunch. Love USA and try buying US stuff as much as possible but I am not going to buy junk to line someone elses pocket.

Wife wanted new SRX? SUV last year. Went to look at it and the paint was blotchy all down the side. Explained I wanted car that wasn't hit. They took me to the lot where there were about 5 more each with the same problem. The dealer told me it is just the way silver looks and we were crazy. A 5 year old could have picked it out. This isn't a $20k car. Same cheap plastic adds, cheasy knobs, and just a real $5 plastic look everywhere.

GM killed GM. The Vette is the only thing worth buying but even there they just can't keep the cheap mentality away. Ever compare the leather in Vette to a BMW or Porsche. Where does GM find cows that even have a cheap feel. Spend time in a German car and you will never go back.

Shame as the mechanicals have always been on top but as always wrapped in cheap nonsense. Side vents on a $60,000 Escalade look like they were just bought from Pep Boys on sale.

[rjsjea]

Hate to say it but the union's need to reside to the fact that health benefits for life, raises every contract etc.... Need to be adjusted. I am a union member (not in the auto industry) and we can't touch the benefit packages they get.

bought a new trailblazer ss and sold it, ive seen better fit and finish on kias.Bought a new escalade and it was marginally better . when i see my friends import suvs you can really tell who was worried about shipping all our jobs to mexico and who was concerned about their product.The only bad thing is this is a catch 22, i dont want to help the corporations at all because they literally do not give a damn about anyone of us.They never have, never will, we are just numbers to them. But if they fail it means their millionaire employees will remain rich and all the working class Gm employees will be out of jobs and SOL.

[drewmangoo]

I think GM could save it's self by bring some of the overseas models to the states. I'm over in the Middle East, for a couple of months and some of the Chevy's here would sell big time in the states. I love Chevy, but let's be honest their line-up is pretty borning if you can't afford a Vett or the new Camaro. Take a look at the Chevy's they sell in the United Arab Emirates. Sorry for the long post,just a long time bow-tie man giving his 2 cents.

[dj3]

Loyalty is a 2 way street and GM has proven in the past that they have no problem tugging on our patriotism to make a quick buck. When they recover the same CEO's and upper management will then sell the American worker out the first chance they have to make a few extra bucks. After all how many of your GM vehicles already have made in Mexico engines in them now.

[bigtyme1]

GM needs to sell off there Saab devision and consitrate on the americna market, Saab has done nothing but bring the market down.Saab has to be the worst investment GM ever purchased. there reputation for part and service is worse then the UGO. The Hummer marlet is killing them as well. Although I love the Hummer the gas problem is slowing sales down. Toyota is heading in the number one direction and if they get there, there's nothing going to stop them. If they got rid of the union and had health benifits and 401K like most of the corps out there they could save billions.

[XcYZ]

General Motors on Sunday released a YouTube video extolling the lesser evil of a government bailout for the Detroit Three automakers. The four-minute piece reiterates many of the arguments being made by proponents of a government loan package, namely the fact that the American auto industry is one of the largest economic multipliers of any sector of the U.S. economy. A key argument is a potential loss of tax revenue would dwarf the cost of a bailout, not to mention a massive drop in GDP.

The video indicates the industry is faced with an “imminent collapse” that could lead to the loss of 3 million jobs in 2009. The thinking is the failure of either GM, Ford, or Chrysler would would lead to the immediate collapse of the other two, due to the impact on the numerous shared suppliers and other related industries.

[rich-allen]

Look, it's ridiculous when GM employees purchase more than $17M in Viagra from the health benefit package ($17m was for 2007 only). The biggest purchaser of Viagra in the US !!

My wife has a friend that got laid off from GM two years ago. Because of an agreement with the UAW and GM, she gets 95% of her salary until she is able to find a job that pays as much as she made with GM.
The kicker; to qualify for the 95% salary supplement she gets from GM, all she has to do is show up at GM plant each day and sit with 300 - 400 other employees for 8 hours a day. Please explain how that makes sense?

The room they sit in has 5, 52" large screen plasma TV's, free coffee, donuts, restrooms and parking. Some of the people bring cots to sleep while others even bring the kids during the summer months.

This is happening across the country, GM has thousands of laid off employees getting this package.
The union has got GM by the nuts and unless they are allowed to fail the union has the upper hand.

It makes me sick to see those auto workers riding little robotic equipment while installing parts of the cars... Anyone else ever see that ****? The workers don't have to bust a grape. Try to find a picture of a GM worker with sweat on his or her brow.... It's stupifying.


GM can put out all the propaganda they want but I feel that without getting a handle on the mandatory benefits, medical packages and pension payments the unions have contracted them for, they won't ever survive.
Bail out or not.





I'm not a union hater, in fact I'm a union member. Like most of you, I pay more than my fair share of taxes.



Rich

[fesler]

Originally Posted by rich-allen

Look, it's ridiculous when GM employees purchase more than $17M in Viagra from the health benefit package ($17m was for 2007 only). The biggest purchaser of Viagra in the US !!

My wife has a friend that got laid off from GM two years ago. Because of an agreement with the UAW and GM, she gets 95% of her salary until she is able to find a job that pays as much as she made with GM.
The kicker; to qualify for the 95% salary supplement she gets from GM, all she has to do is show up at GM plant each day and sit with 300 - 400 other employees for 8 hours a day. Please explain how that makes sense?

The room they sit in has 5, 52" large screen plasma TV's, free coffee, donuts, restrooms and parking. Some of the people bring cots to sleep while others even bring the kids during the summer months.

This is happening across the country, GM has thousands of laid off employees getting this package.
The union has got GM by the nuts and unless they are allowed to fail the union has the upper hand.

It makes me sick to see those auto workers riding little robotic equipment while installing parts of the cars... Anyone else ever see that ****? The workers don't have to bust a grape. Try to find a picture of a GM worker with sweat on his or her brow.... It's stupifying.


GM can put out all the propaganda they want but I feel that without getting a handle on the mandatory benefits, medical packages and pension payments the unions have contracted them for, they won't ever survive.
Bail out or not.





I'm not a union hater, in fact I'm a union member. Like most of you, I pay more than my fair share of taxes.



Rich

Like it or not it is just going to get worse unless we the people change the way we think and work. We want want want but no one wants to work for it. When you work 6 days a week at over 10-12 hours a day to keep things going and the government just wants to take more and more how long can you hold out for. FIX THE GOVERNMENT and you fix the problems.

GM has the most retirements so they have huge payouts everymonth. Toyota has not been around long enough to feel it but they will over time. Unless they dont care about their workers at least GM stands behind them for the most part. Not saying they are perfect but I know alot of guys that have retired from GM and they are very well taken care of and I think that is the largest problem they have.

[Vegas69]

The real problem is some think it's always a supposed to be a gravy train. I was at a friends house last week and a lady there was saying how bad things are. I had to ask what is so damn bad? I don't know of any generation that hasn't had their own obstacles. Most much worse.
I am sure GM will get bailed out so it's about a worthless discussion. How about not making so many cars. It's a pretty simple business practice called supply and demand. You have 100 trucks on the lot it's going to be a buyers market. Toyota only sends enough trucks to create a market to where they can get a reasonable amount. Not have to give the farm away on every truck or car. How about trying to get after Americas youth. Eventually the tried and true mid western americans aren't going to be around to buy American anymore. No one around here buys domestic cars. For a successful professional like myself...I feel like Caddilac is my only choice from GM and domestic auto makers. Still has the old man stigma in my mind. Things have to change if they aren't going to need bailed out again in 2 years. The same old strategies that have failed, will fail next time. This roller coaster ride is far from over.