Comments on: GM to further streamline corporate operations

By: The Stig

The Stig — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:29:26 +0000

GM says let’s fire some underperforming execs (read: useless) and redirect the money saved into advertising to sell off excess inventory.

By: NoNameDenton1

NoNameDenton1 — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 05:22:05 +0000

And yu Jordan are a rude troll, so stop it.

By: Jordan

Jordan — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 02:38:02 +0000

sarcasm, denton. SARCASM.

and this is condescension.

By: NoNameDenton1

NoNameDenton1 — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:28:06 +0000

I worked in a dealership nickkop and I saw American cars being traded in with over 100,000 miles and in good shape and imports with less miles and falling apart.

By: nickkop

nickkop — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:21:23 +0000

I don’t see a GM product ever being appealing, with the Solstice GXP, Z06 and CTS-V possibly being exceptions. My opinion is that Ford has the best capability to produce an appealing car, if you consider their European offerings, and don’t consider any of the cars they currently offer in the U.S. Although, I don’t lust after ANY american car currently offered. I worked in a dealership and saw many american cars being traded in that were falling apart with less than 75,000 miles in them, while you would see Honda’s and Toyota’s with almost 300,000 miles in slightly better condition.

By: NoNameDenton1

NoNameDenton1 — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:04:13 +0000

inline6, most automotive press have said the Cobalt is better then the Cavalier, not to mention it got an SS version.

By: xyunya

xyunya — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 19:23:41 +0000

Inline, don’t put words in my mouth: I never said that he is big.

Jokes aside, I don’t believe Lutz has anything to do with awards for quality or reliability or innovation. The guy does NOT have engineering background. He is not involved in technical design (first step to quality), development, production (quality improvement). He supposedly product management expert (marketing). As such he is involved in product selection for production and visual expression. All successful cars GM sells today (Malibu, G8, Aura, Astra) are conceived OUTSIDE of US, where he does not get involved in product definition.

As far as marketing, since 2002 GM build plethora of small fuel efficient cars in anticipation of rise of gasoline.

By: inline6

inline6 — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:49:13 +0000

Right, GM’s vehicles have gotten worse and less reliable since Lutz took over. He’s just a big, old idiot that’s driving the company into the ground.

The Cobalt is worse than the Cavalier. The ’08 Malibu is worse than the ’01 model. The GM trucks used to be great and now they’re at the back of the pack. The GM Lambdas are a pathetic joke that are poorly built and not competitive.

Never mind all of the awards for quality, reliability, design, efficiency, and engineering GM has received since 2002, when Lutz came on. Never mind the fact that more GM vehicles are on CR’s recommended list than ever. Never mind the fact that retail sales are up, while fleet sales are way down. Never mind the fact that GM recalls and warranty claims are lower than they’ve been in decades.

All that doesn’t matter. GM will always suck because they once did, and because you say so.

By: xyunya

xyunya — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:45:49 +0000

have you seen Lutz there? Here you go, GM beats them all!

By: johnnycanuck

johnnycanuck — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:43:16 +0000

I’ve seen better shuffling in a retirement home.

By: brassmonkey

brassmonkey — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:33:06 +0000

Maybe they should fire Bob Lutz and the bean counters. Then not only would we get the cars sooner, they would be better screwed together. I would actually buy another American car if they were built with any reliability. I have owned only 3 American cars ever (1970 Pontiac Bonneville, 1965 Chevrolet Malibu, 1993 Ford Explorer), and have owned multiple German and Jap cars. I just can’t buy American cars because for the most part, they suck.

By: xyunya

xyunya — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:30:19 +0000

Where are good news? They moved 4 out of 5 regional manager to Detroit headquarters and created new management position for 4 sales channels. Where are management savings? Total net addition of 3 FTE’s. If that is the new definition of “streamline” watch out Toyota and Honda: new even more “leaner” then ever GM is coming after you.

By: NoNameDenton1

NoNameDenton1 — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:04:02 +0000

Wait, if they are trying to sell Hummer (or even kill it) why combine it with Saab (another grabage brand) and Caddy (a brand that is trying to compete with BMW and Mercedes Benz).

By: SickofGarbageMotors

SickofGarbageMotors — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:47:02 +0000

Should be Chevy, Cadillac, Buick/Pontiac/GMC and the rest fo the dead weight either killed or sold off to the highest bidder (each is worth squat anyways but at least development dollars can go to the core brands rather than piddly shit/failures)

But a good move none the less.