is this really necesarry? Something tells me this is just a PR move.

This is such a TOTAL sham…all window dressing. So Obama (and his “team”) really know more about the auto industry than Wagoner? I think plenty would argue that some of GM’s best products in decades have been and are being delivered under his tenure.

I’m not saying that there’s not someone better than Wagoner. I’m saying that the White House wouldn’t have the first clue as to who that is…this is to placate the masses, just like the knee-jerk (and illegal) move by congress to single out individuals for excessive tax (i.e. the AIG bonuses).

I agree, GM was turning a profit in early ‘08 with Wagoner behind the wheel and the future was looking bright for GM just before the economic collapse…now all of a sudden he’s been turned into a pinata and a fall guy at the same time just to please a bunch of idiots who are still hung up about the EV1.

Its about fkn time. And what do you suppose Wagoneer knows?…Other than to run a company into the ground. He reminds me of George Bush…a bumbling clueless moron who’s removal was long overdue.

This isn’t change …. It’s Cuba. Or Venezuela.

Obama is a big government fascist bastard. I’m not defending Wagoner, but Obama has no clue about business and thus has no business dictating who runs them. Once you get politicians dictating the management and operations of business, you have de facto nationalization, and that itself is an economic crime that we associate with the likes of Hugo Chavez or Fidel Castro. I don’t recall either of those two idiots on the ballot, but the deluded change-monkeys in the American electorate voted this POS into office. Obama is doing his damnedest to make that idiot Bush look good asap. Obama should himself take the advice he forced upon Wagoner and resign asap.

Mayer, if you want Uncle Sam off your back you must keep your hands out of his pockets! It’s perfectly appropriate for any large investor to say “not a dime with that idiot in charge”.

Ding dong the witch is dead…

I agree no one predicted the sudden economic downturn started in early 07′ I dont think the White House shouldn’t single out any one person because this hugh financial colapse wasnt created by just one person I think Wagoner done the best he could in the little time he had to attempt and try to turn GM around in such short time In 1 year he is responsible for about 10 new GM models, a few of those cars won Auto awards , In the mean time what has Chrysler done WHite House?? This Is one of the first mistakes the Obama Administration has made and Im a strong Obama supporter, but this man shouldnt be held responsible for GM running into the ground, and how can you beat 30 years of auto experience, I say keep him and work with him this guy probably has the key to GMs survival, what good is a 20ft python without its head?? maybe this is stimming from his comment of increased gas taxes a few weekss ago I think people want to buy cars again but cant because of economy.

You look at the state of GM circa 2000, when Rick got the job, and the state of the company today, from every rational angle — market share, profitability — and it ain’t pretty. A more on-the-ball GM board of directors would have done this a long time ago.

mayer_ray_nagin: you can’t argue that the government should stay out of your affairs when you are already a ward of the state, dependent on government handouts for survival. GM is British Leyland circa 1975. They knew they’d be taking orders from Washington when they tied their survival to taxpayer dollars. Ford, on the other hand, can still tell Uncle Sam to get lost.

Tom, Ford is not telling anyone to get lost. They survive on government line of credit and I fail to see the great difference.

Best statement I have read yet: “GM and Chrysler are already dead. The public is simply witnessing corporate postmortem spasms before rigor mortis sets in.”

see you later sucker!! feels like christmas all over again!!!

In fairness… GM is bleeding more cash than the other 2. Sure they’re a bigger company, but most of that bleeding isn’t solely because of the UAW. It’s because the company is too monolithic and unable to shore up spending fast enough to stay buoyant, they’re like the U.S.S. Titanic trying to avoid hitting an iceberg while the other 2 companies have shrunken down to manageable levels they can better dodge the same iceberg like a speedboat. That isn’t to say they still might not hit and sink… as none of the 3 are exactly healthy, but the other 2 seemingly have better opportunity than GM.

To Wagoner’s credit… he’s done better than his predescessors… but to be completely fair, Mullally and Nardelli have shored up the internal bleeding far more than Wagoner has and both believe that with minimal funding they might be able to turn the tide assuming the economy comes back online *soon*. Ford and Chrysler both needed less money than GM from a bailout perspective, and admittedly they may not be exempt from seeing Mullally and Nardelli sent packing although I highly doubt it as I don’t think you’ll find any better heads than them 2 this side of Carlos Ghosn. With the dire straits Chrysler was placed in by Daimler, Nardelli and Press have been nothing short of genius in that short of a period of time.

Inking the Fiat arrangement, if allowed to go through (and I will lay blame at the U.S. government if they do intervene because it’s ludicrous), will help the company continue to cut costs and have platforms and power trains that are world class and capable of being leveraged with minimal R&D. Chrysler, at this stage, is all about securing future product. When I saw the first hearing by the 3 company heads, I was astonished feeling that Chrysler was dead, GM was perhaps 2nd worst, and Ford was 3rd because Mulally had already been working to streamline and provide efficiencies as well as a roadmap to save Ford and Lincoln (Mercury to me, much like Pontiac, needs to go). As it turns out… GM was and is in the worst state of the 3, which is astonishing to say the least.

Ford is continuing to spend to produce models… GM, in contrast, is cutting projects (i.e. Saturn altogether seemingly, which is a huge mistake), have let Pontiac languish to the point they might as well kill it off and move what’s left to Chevrolet and Saturn, and is pushing projects like the U.S. Orlando and other models back indefinitely (Camaro has been pushed back, even rumors circulate now that the Volt might not come ’til 2011 vs. 2010), if not terminating future U.S. product altogether. You don’t pull yourself out of a recession strictly by cutting product. The product sells, it’s what is going to entice people to enter showrooms, and GM has a long way to fill in the necessary gaps to entice people with the product it has now (the Cruze will help, but Saturn deserves the next Astra as U.S. built to stand a shot, as do they deserve the Insignia). Wagoner should’ve been looking at slashing the work force and working on a leaner staff. The problem is… GM doesn’t know how to function at that lean of a level. That’s not a short-term problem either, GM was having problems with their monolithic size and hip-jointed firms like Delphi lonnnnnnnnnnng before this catastrophe came to total fruition because of the economy.

This is a classic implementation of the Golden Rule:
The man with the Gold makes the Rules.
Capitalism is dead, and the Republicans killed it. The government had the balls to do what GM’s shareholders should have done a long time ago. GM should be happy that taxpayers will give them a last chance rather than let them die the death they deserve.

Where is Need More Bailout Money For GM.. oh wait, now it’s Need New Leadership For GM.

You can make pro-Wagoner arguments (Better Products, Quality)
You can make anti-Wagoner arguments (Fiscal irresponsibilty, management)

If you look at GM, only Cadillac and Chevy are really close to successful divisions

I can’t say this move helps, or hurts

But they need to consolidate into 3 divisions, at the most, and rebuild from there

Given the size of GM, I’m sure there is someone in their thousands of managers who can take over and take them forward.

It all won’t matter if the UAW won’t make a working partnership, at a much lower costs
If not, this company is dead, any way you slice it
DrFill

global_lightening:

Newsflash! Capitalism isn’t dead, and the Republicans didn’t kill it. You seriously think the financial problems are the result of politicians? It’s the result of greed you moron, and there’s plenty of blame to go around.

And what death does GM deserve? If this were a normal economic climate, and they were collapsing, then let ‘em fail…that’s called capitalism. But this is a scenario that they did not create…it’s a strategic industry vital to the competitiveness of the U.S. economic might. Need I remind you that EVERY automaker is seeking aid from their own governments? Do they ALL deserve to collapse?

Borat:

Read the news. Ford decided against asking for a credit line…

BuyUSA, you actually belive the crap you wrote????…..delusional…….really……and america claims to be the leader of the free world??? well, at least you believe that.

This is like firing the Captain of the Titanic after it hit the iceberg.

Wagoner being told to “step down” is just wrong. GM is building the best quality cars they ever had and Wagoner is a big part of that. You can’t blame him for the economic meltdown of the auto industry because everyone is feeling it.
How may CEO’s did our President ask to step down on Wall Street? And their getting 100’s of billions of dollars more than GM and Chrysler.
It just isn’t right!

I don’t like him….but I dislike more for what Obama wanted him to do. This is horrible!!!

Well, One down and how many to go? GM is just one of many; too bad as they were just starting… oh well;-) All Corporations are a microcosm of the society that created them. What does this say about contemporary…? Shareholder wealth was destroyed long ago. GM was warned about its cost structure for more than twenty years… If Chrysler doesn’t merge it’s dead… GM? I and others have been saying a structured Bk with escrow for how long? If they survive 10-15% market share. How does the market come back when the consumer is tapped-out? Anymore rope/credit and there are going to be a lot of pendulums…;-) 12 million units:-))) Free Cars for everyone… might as well… one more binge before the…

Now what about the rest of the domestic ICONS, e.g., GE , DELL, BAC, JPM, BA, etc.? If you’re a professional bubble popper your batting damn close to 1000. Hint they might try and rally into the G20 summit then create a bunch of bag holders going into the summer – sell in May and go away takes on a whole new meaning this year;-))

DB9;-)

PS. Hey Bob, buy Rickster a round on me;-) You can’t be the personification of the Southern Gentlemen wearing milk-bone underwear in a dawg eat dawg world – Nope;-)

PS. To the PS. My two cents;-))

why doesn’t GM just file for bankruptcy and get it over with. Take a look at there sales and you can see that nobody wants to buy a GM product even with 0% financing + rebates. Just a matter of days. They won’t make it into 2010.

Considering that Wagoner was a GM CFO for many years, he needs to have a much better handle on costs, and he can certainly take responsibility for poor money management.

GM was not well managed before this downturn, unless we’ve all forgotten.

GM is in this situation because they took 25 years off from caring about the cars they built, or listening to the market, and trying to be a better company

They have shown that they CAN BE the best car company for the last 5 years.

If you work for 5 years out of 30, you won’t look too good either
DrFill

DB9, love your posts but whatever I assume you’re always trying to do with smiley face thingys it ain’t working and I don’t recall when it ever has. I’m guessing you got a faulty Klingon board and the Federation interface isn’t working.

johnnycanuck wrote:
…..“This is like firing the Captain of the Titanic after it hit the iceberg.”

It’s worse, Johnny. It’s like the Captain of the Exxon Valdez firing the Captain of the Titanic for hitting an iceberg.

lol Thank you JC. Your posts have also been appreciated. Now, as for the smiley’s, faulty SUN unix keyboard… long story:-)) Init 5… never mind. Anyway, it`s an Inside joke;-) Most that come here don`t post but read…

DB9

mayer_ray, I got 13 out of 65. Ironically enough I’m sure long time GM shareholders would be thrilled if that were actually the case.

Bet this winds up just like British Leland. This is likely the end of GM products in my driveway. Out with GM and Chrysler in with Tesla and Fisker. If you’re going to buy from a Government subsidized company, at least buy from one with brains.

…oh Rickyboy, the pipes, the pipes, are calling….

@DrFill well said, perfectly stated.

♂

Rick Wagner has faced criticism about the way the company has been run, but this may be a non-optimal time to change CEOs unless they plan to file bankruptcy and just wipe the slate clean with new management.

Great, Now Obama can fire global industry leaders. Wonderful!!! I can’t wait for Obama to come in and fire my bosses.

In all honesy, I think they suggested Wagoner leave and he did so on his own free will, because while not everyone will agree with this – Rick understands the company is bigger than hemself, and to help save the company, he had to be the sacrificial goat.

I thinbk Wagoner was a good CEO and above that – a good person. He’s a car guy who really loved the industry he was a part of. Everyone should understand this – most industry leaders throughout Europe and Asia are not good people. They are crooks, womanizers, and outright bad people. We should feel lucky to live in a country that has the business leaders we do, because the rest of the world isn’t so lucky.

What’s the diff. you idiots?

If another company bought GM, they’d oust the CEO and upper mgt.

THE US TAXPAYERS IS THAT COMPANY!

The guy in charge who drove the co. in the ground, who made poor decisions for the 1st 7 of his 8 years there NEEDS TO GO!

Did they really need to create the HUMMER brand? Did they really need to make Saturn such a POS company?

They have maybe 3 good vehicles…Malibu, Cadillac CTS, and…and…that’s about it. Oh, the Camaro.

Sorry Wagoneer, you had your chance and you screwed up.

Borat, Ford asked for a reserve line of credit from the government. They haven’t tapped it yet and last I heard they didn’t think they would need to. Ford is making it through the bust on its own. GM would be cold and dead by now without your tax dollars and mine to suck on. So, yeah, Ford can still tell the government to get lost, but GM has to make the government’s lunch and ask the government’s permission to go the bathroom. GM is the government’s b***h and put itself squarely in that position.

Hey Teahead -

Hummer made GM outrageous amounts of money for 3 or four years and also, if you look at the numbers, they are still in positive since Hummer’s creation.

Saturn has by far the best product lineup since it’s creation. Not only that, every new product from GM in the past couple years has been either competitive or a class leader and incoming product all looks to be on the right page.

Wagoner was in charge of the push to get GM out of much of the fleet business for a long term push to keep resale costs up for the retail market – and trust me, that was hard to do.

While not at all perfect, he did not fore see some of what would happen to the market, but that was hardly his fault alone. Toyota made much of the same mistakes.

Alot of founded criticism here, mixt with even more unfounded hate towards GM.. nevertheless, no mater how inlove with GM or hatefull towards it you are, GM cannot continue like this, it’s bad for everyone.. and dragging this kinda’ weight with you for years to come is masochistic, especialy in this day and age..

Some GM components should be alowed to continue in one form or another, infact those responsible for wreaking GM, should make a gesture of honour out of it, out of securing a future for Caddy and Corvette.. and also Saab after they gangbanged it for so many years..

Caddy is rather unique, sexy in a very vulgar way but still desirable.. it’s allmost sinfull in a way to own a Caddy in comparison to its German counterparts.. and that’s very sexy.

Corvette nameplate should be bought by someone with a big pocket and a passion for cars.. and turn it in to a standalone niche brand, the way Porche used to be before the Boxter, Chayenne and Gayman..

Anyway, passions aside.. GM needs to shed it’s current hideous form.. and if that means Chapter 11, so be it.. the soner the beter.

There is a lot of non-optimal cars in GM’s portfolio, but the Corvette, the large crossovers and the large pickups are not unattractive to many..
The Saturn Ion, midsize pickups, midsize SUVs, Chevy Impala and some other vehicles are sometimes found lacking in various positive attributes that would make them more competitive in today’s market.

its about time. pity is, it wont save GM anymore…. 60 days, and theyre gone.
but dont worry too much about ole ricky-boy… he got his coffers filled and shipped to a warm place, thats for sure… (what else would he do with all the perks and bonuses he got for nothing?)

The 2012 Pelosi GTxi SS/RT Sport Edition (hilarious)

……… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAqPMJFaEdY&feature=channel_page

To all those saying GM took some loans therefore Oblabla runs the company now, please note that Obabla is not ordering the banks that have taken about 50 times more money what to do, and also that Obabla is now trying to get authority to cap pay packages at companies that did not take gov cash, and as well his most moronic appointment Geithner is trying to get the authority to effectively nationalize companies at his whim (because he says they are critical and the free market can’t be trusted).

Guys, that’s the type of crpa that goes on in a 3rd world dictatorship. WhoTF wants that? Obamatards – that’s who.

simonc and fan well said…
Mayer ray, how are you so sure that Obama took the decision? I think Wa-goner wanted it out. He seems to me like a captain abandonding the ship, and everyone in it, just before it sinks… Wealthy enough to retire.

BUH BYE! An American Revolution…for sure!

All I can say is it’s about time. Management stepping down should have been the first condition of any company receiving “bailout” funds. If you want radical change and a reshaping of how a company does business… cut the head off and see where things go from there. Wagoner has shown how big of an idiot he really is by allowing GM to make some really stupid decisions within the past few months… the delaying of fresh new models is probably #1 on the list. GM can’t possibly hope to compete against the twin giants of Honda and Toyota going forward with models that have been out since 2005.

…a bumbling clueless moron who’s removal is long overdue.

That’s about Obama, right?

mayer_ray_nagin,
oh really? what would you do then?

About time !!! It shows his arrogance when it takes the President of the United States to get him to finally step aside. For all you people who for some reason actually like the crap his company has put out for the past 30 years…..i feel for you. As for me im looking forward, and to perhaps one day actually like an AMERICAN car enough to buy one.

“- most industry leaders throughout Europe and Asia are not good people.” lol

It may be a ruse. It may be a stunt. But hey! I got what I wanted. Rick Wagoner is out!

Every time the man speaks up for GM it feels like he is trying to sell me something. The CEO is supposed to get stuff done NOT sell stuff. Stop selling the sale and start making the cars that will sell! Let the specific people in corporate and the Dealers worry about selling the cars. Just make cars that will sell with as little input as possible.

I was never sure he was the right guy for the job. Now maybe we will see some real movement.

he’s sacked!

Michal savage on Obama:

“by Any standard, he’s a radical social ….. er ….

list

An American Failure.