45% monthly sales slides will do that
I don’t think it will be a Merry X-mas in Michigan
No.
DrFill

Doubled? How the hell did they manage that.

I thought I covered that
Oh well
DrFill

With a doubling burn rate expect to see that rate becomes exponentially greater and out of control from here on out. Saving GM is literally getting harder by the minute.

It would help if they maybe produced one car without a complete hard plastic interior! this will be awful for the country if GM goes down.

Um, too many of those numbers make no sense. $1bn per month burn rate doubled to $6.9? If that should be $6.9bn, then it didn’t double, it went up 7-fold. If that is $6.90 per share, then what is the equivalent cost per share of $1bn? If it’s $6.9bn per quarter, then it didn’t double from $1bn per month since that would be $3bn per quarter, it more than doubled.

LLN, you seriously do some of the worst writing I’ve ever seen.

Our gov’t will bail them out just like they bailed everyone else out… Its a shame at that our economy is causing all these job losses within GM. I hope it turns around for them very soon

Oh boy……..
They lost $6.9B for the quarter
That’s $2.3B a month
You’re no Hemingway, pal
DrFill

Its sad that General Motors essentially shot themselves in the foot through the 1980’s and most of the 1990’s. What was once the great American car company is now one of America’s greatest disappointments. The government will bail them out and GM will go on.. I hope that they can pull themselves together following such and rebuild.

GM needs to declare bankruptcy already… boot the unions, and renegotiate work contracts at a rate more in line with international levels. That’s the only way they are going to be able to manufacture vehicles at a low enough cost to remain competitive.

So… To tackle the crises, they delay new modern cars and continue with the old crap that are the very reason for the declined sale. Great move. How much do they pay the morons at the board to think that up?

AnonymousCoward…. I do not believe any executive/decision maker at General Motors wants to delay cars that are a guaranteed success. I really believe it’s a matter of they simply do not have the cash (or credit) available to bring them to market properly.

DrFill, why are you taking personal offense at my post? Absurd. I’m pointing out continued poor writing in LLN articles, and this is one of them. I may be no Hemingway, but I’m also not parading as a journalist as LLN and its writers are.

Very simple stuff - label your numbers, write coherent sentences, and you will make sense.

Chris C.

A company exists by having an operation - not by sitting, still holding it’s breath, and doing nothing.

This CANT be happening!!!! OBAMA WON! Companies should be growing now and investing and creating 6-figure jobs for everyone! He said he gunna bring change!

Meh.

The Nissan/Renault/Chrysler Merger has officially begun….

It’s funny how all the hater’s are happy that a lot of people are most likely going to loss there jobs… I guess since it’s not there problem they just don’t care, You all must sleep good at night…..

JakeK66, You might just be onto something there. Cerberus is basically down to two options and since the other involves spending their own money we pretty much know where this is going.

Whoever driving GM’s cars should trade in ASAP for the others ASAP, before it’s too late.

From CNN.com
But the most shocking news came in its statements about its cash position. GM said it had burned through $6.9 billion during the quarter and warned that it “will approach the minimum amount necessary to operate its business” during the current quarter.

In addition, the company said that in the first half of next year its “estimated liquidity will fall significantly short” of what it needs to continue operating. It said the only thing that would save it would be a significant improvement in economic and automotive industry conditions, help from the federal government, better access to capital markets or some combination of those options.
DrFill

Yeah, winter is a great time to be praying for an economic turnaround. Half the country (or all of Canada) is just trying to heat their house- that is if they still have one.

” I don’t think it will be a Merry X-mas in Michigan” -Dr Fill

I know it won’t be a Merry Christmas in other states besides Michigan in the U.S., and globally. You do realize that GM is global, right?

6ix, name a Toyota that doesn’t have a plastic interior! If GM goes down there is a possible global depression.

toiletss had the best response, but I believe that GM will be turned around in 5 years for the better, because you have to look at the 90s, when Michigan had the best economy, and Lincoln was the #1 luxury brand in 1999 sales. There will be more green jobs popping up in the future, which means more green cars, less dependence on foreign oil, and more $$$ poured into the American economy. Green jobs in the U.S. can’t get shipped overseas!

Mayer_ray_nagin, Obama won, but George W, Bush is still in office till, January 20, 2009.

elviososa, so people should trade there GM muscle cars that go for millions of $$$ at Barret-Jackson that are hand built, in for a Toyota Supra with a plastic interior that’s built by a robot? LOL!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, the future is going to be bright! ANYONE SEE THE CNN “HOLOGRAM” after Obama won the election?
Here is the CNN “HOLOGRAM” vid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thOxW19vsTg

Reminds me of Back 2 the Future, or Demolition Man.

-cheers-

The merger was about to turn one sinking ship into a fleet.

“Im being beamed to you like it was Star Wars and stuff” ROTFL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKjB1tDCNno

Unfortunately, GM will essentially end up government owned and the US taxpayers will have to pay for something that is not right. GM is not going to sell more vehicles as consumers have shown their vote of confidence elsewhere. What will happen is that GM’s top executives will continue to draw huge paychecks and perks while the US taxpayer keeps paying for a failed industry until they have had enough. Well, enough is now!

GM IS NOT GOING UNDER, SORRY TO BURST YOUR BOBBLE, THEY WILL JUST CUT BACK, NOT MUSH WILL HAPPEN IN D.C. UNTIL JANUARY 20th OF 2009, UNTIL THEN THEY WILL START BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL IN THE WHITE HOUSE, YOU KNOW, SHREDDING DOCUMENTS, SIGNING PARDONS, REWRITING THE BOOKS, AND FOR THE REST OF AMERICA, WE ARE ON OUR OWN…

AND WHAT DID YOU GET OUT OF IT??? YOUR HAPPY THAT AN AMERICAN COMPANY THAT HOLD’S JOBS IN AMERICA, HAS FALLING DOWN, AND YOU KICK DIRT IN IT’S FACE…
LIKE I SEAD, I HOPE ALL THE HATTERS CAN SLEEP GOOD AT NIGHT…

I know this family oriented web site, so I’ll try to keep this as PG as possible. Do you guys think that some of that burned cash was invested in the worlds oldest profession serving Detroit? Inquiring minds…

yarddog82abn,

GM just spend 300 million USDs to purchase factory in Russia. Do you feel good about paying tax dollar of US taxpayers to subsidize this deal? What about billions wasted on management pay? Do you know that Red Ink Rick payed himself over 100 million bucks since he is in leadership position? How many employees could be supported on that amount of compensation? This is national disease worse then AIDS and we should seek to it to being removed from the body of society.

@yarddog82abn, sorry, no hater here, just a realist. If a company makes wagon wheels and there is dwindling demand for their product then should the US taxpayer pay to keep subsiding a failed industry because it is American, or it saves jobs who’s skill-sets or products are no longer in demand? Throwing good money after bad just demonstrates to the rest of world how financially irresponsible we are, and they are already thinking that regarding the sub-prime mortgages that the US littered the world with concerning funny money. A perfect case of what this will do is how American jobs went away as US held on to artificially valued job pay when the rest of the world did it cheaper. This is the same case in point and will lead again to delayed results—the same results that we are at today. Fundamental changes need to occur, and they will not occur with a bailout or through being government owned. I am much happier with an American company that “gets it” than with one that doesn’t. Get off your American exceptionalism high horse as they horse died years ago. The government will most liking give money to GM, but it is money wasted, and a temporary fix; consumers purchasing vehicles have pretty much chosen what they are buying with their pocketbooks. Everyone keeps ignoring that war bills that has not been paid yet; it’s the elephant in the room who debt cannot be paid solely with oil revenues from Iraq.

Well, from maybe being one of few industry insiders here, I can tell you we at my company who buys GMs at mass quantity (in the tens of thousands) are still doing so and expect to still recieve all of the units that we place for next year. They have buyers for their vehicles in other areas than retail and we need these vehicles from GM and Ford for jobs across the country - No one else makes the Large Vans and Medium Duty Trucks for these businesses - no one here can argue that. So if they go under - things get bad for everone’s life.

LLLL3: I’ve never thought of it that way, but you made A LOT of sense! You really hit the nail on the head with that wagon wheel analogy!

Murderedout, let me explain the hologram thing, as even though it looks like a real Star Wars hologram, it isn’t.

The set that CNN used is what is commonly referred to as a Virtual Set. The guy that is standing is actually on a giant green screen with a grid, not a real set. All of the items in the room are virtually made with a fast computer that can render lots of polygons and build a set. This computer also uses the positioning of the camera (usually a robotic camera), the grid that is on the walls, and the lens status that is recorded by the camera back to decide how to place that virtual set around the “subject”, or the guy that is standing. If the lens is zoomed in and the iris is wide open, for example, the computer will apply a blur to the background elements of the set in order to create a faux depth of field look. It’s kind of cool, and very complicated, but it allows the creation of new sets that can be switched out instantly without using real materials. This technology has been around for about 15 years. The first time I saw it was in 1996 at NAB.

Now for the hologram: To do the hologram, they have to shoot the lady on a similar green set, only they are doing a different operation with her. She may have been shot on the same set, but I believe this was live, so she was shot on another set. Now, since the cameras are robotic, they have been programmed to move a certain way. Both cameras in both studios can be synchronized to move exactly the same way at the same time, adjusting for latency if needed. The video of the hologram person is sent to the main studio where they remove the green from the background (known as chroma key), then they place the person as an object within the virtual background. They add the blueish outline and overtone, the transparency and the flickering with filters to give it the look of a Star Wars type hologram (because that’s what we would expect a hologram to look like). It looks real, but it is in fact a very fake trick. I don’t have robotic cameras, but I could probably pull this off with stationary cameras in about 30 minutes.

LLLL3 is right. If you subsidize incompetence, you’ll get more incompetence. 25 years ago, the U.S. bailed out Chrysler, and once again they’re on the verge of failure. The same will happen with GM. While initially painful, let GM collapse and from it’s ashes will arise smaller, more efficient companies. The global economy has changed, GM is unfortunately stuck in the 1950’s

Has anybody taken the time to sit back and think about all the history we are witnessing in our lifetime?First black president, a once in a lifetime deterioration of the economy of this magnitude that happens only every 70-100 yrs and the possible failure of all the Big 3 automakers. I never thought I would see any of this in my lifetime. Kind of blows me away.

@ murderedout

“Here is the CNN “HOLOGRAM” vid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thOxW19vsTg”

I saw that bit on The Daily Show. Oh! that was just lame. CNN is just becoming trivial. The sad part was that Fox News had the best coverage of all the national election races results of all the news station.
Go figure Fox News!

@Borat

“What about billions wasted on management pay? Do you know that Red Ink Rick payed himself over 100 million bucks since he is in leadership position? How many employees could be supported on that amount of compensation?”

Theses are my biggest problem with any bailout for GM, Ford or Chrysler. Just like the Banks these top paid Executives think the the American tax payer should pay for their mistakes and mis-management.

Looks like there will finally be an end to the cars the whole world laughs at. Not just GM, but Ford and Chrysler will be saying bye bye soon as well. The problem with Detriots big 3 is for the past 30 years they have not offered any technological innovation that has become the norm amongst all cars. Variable valve timing, ABS, traction and stability control, drive by wire, fuel injection, hybrid, all developed by European and Japanese automakers, then later found its way into US cars. US automakers are the most arrogant and ignorant of all automakers. They laughed at Toyota and Honda when they entered the US market in the 60’s. Who’s laughing now? I doubt any lesson will be learned here, and I predict an eventual merger of all 3 into 1 company with heavy government control in the company. The US auto industry is close to death. Buying an American car now is a big mistake, I’m sure worker morale is at an all time low. Wouldn’t want to trust a product built by people who no longer have any hope.

When GM goes Gov. own, your warranty claim need to fill a bunch of paper from the Gov. and wait a long period of time to get. If you don’t want to make your life difficult, cut lose your GM cars. I am not suggesting to buy Toyota because you can always choose FORD

Wow!
That’s like trading a hurricane for a tornado
Sage advice!
DrFill

So 30 years of poor quality cars finally kill GM.

Good-bye to a company that cared less about their customers.

Rot in Hell GM.