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Henderson: GM ahead of performance targets

11/06/2009, 4:06 PM

By Drew Johnson

General Motors has only been clear of bankruptcy for a few short months, but the Detroit automaker says it is already outperforming previously set targets. General Motors emerged from bankruptcy on July 10th with the help of a $50 billion government loan.

Speaking with Automotive News, GM CEO Fritz Henderson revealed that GM is outperforming its previously set benchmarks. However, Henderson failed to elaborate on what areas the company is exceeding expectations.

“I’m not going to get into whether we’re generating cash or not generating cash, but I would certainly say the situation is more stable than what the outlook was even just two months ago,” Henderson said. More details are expected later this month when GM files its third-quarter earnings report.

Although it remains to be seen in GM is actually generating a positive cash flow, the early indications are positive. GM posted a 5 percent sales increase last month and is now generating 95 percent of all vehicle sales from its four core brands – Chevrolet, GMC, Buick and Cadillac. However, GM’s yearly sales are down 34 percent.

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11/06, 4:12 PM

posted by:

DB9

Go BoB Go!!! Give`m Hell LOL:-))

DB9;-)

PS. Bob = Car Gawd – yup;-))

11/06, 4:13 PM

posted by:

ktulu

Your Commentwho cares
I have an iPhone now & I van type me lln posting a/ it

11/06, 4:13 PM

posted by:

superman

“I’m not going to get into whether we’re generating cash or not generating cash, but I would certainly say the situation is more stable”

well that about sums up the value and vagueness of this article. GM: “we got loads of free money and our ship isn’t sinking anymore for a while”.

a 5% sales increase from a month ago while your sales are down 34% is ahead of performance targets? i guess when you set your target at $1, that’s pretty good performance. even homeless people generated more cashflow increase than last month, thanks to the uptake in economy. dumb henderson.

11/06, 4:14 PM

posted by:

RaineMan

It’s easy to exceed your “performance targets” when you aim so low.

11/06, 4:26 PM

posted by:

Payton Byrd

Are we forgetting just how BAD things were when the performance targets were set? Despite the high price tag, Cash for Clunkers put people back to work and that had a huge impact. C4C was a bargain compared to the bailouts.

11/06, 4:29 PM

posted by:

Borat

It is even easier if you set your targets after reporting period. You will be always ahead of the game, and clearly our dear friends Fritz and Putz are ahead of the game. While less then 90% of country’s employed population paying their lofty salaries, they are ahead of the game!

11/06, 4:29 PM

posted by:

0-60

I think we should wait for the real report to come out at the end of the month before anyone starts talking crap.

You could end up making yourself look like an ars.

11/06, 4:29 PM

posted by:

A4

Just goes to show that just because 95% of their sales are with the “core” brands doesn’t mean that their sales are any better because of it. Down 34% and I’m sure plenty of those people decided just not to buy a remaining GM Pontiac/Hummer/Saab and went to another automaker, not to another “core” GM brand.

11/06, 4:30 PM

posted by:

NO more oil for GM is retarded

All I can say is FAIL.
Long live Toyota

11/06, 4:43 PM

posted by:

carstuff

some actual data:

Prior to filing for U.S. bankruptcy protection in June, GM presented a viability plan to the government. The plan assumed GM would have a 19.5 percent share in 2009 with a 10 million sales year to break even, with that share stabilizing in the 18.4 to 18.9 percent range in subsequent years.

As of October GM had a 19.8% share for the year, above the 19.5% plan assumption.

If you look after Bankruptcy (July):
August…….19.5%
September.20.9%
October…..21%

And yes GM is down 34% over a year ago but the entire industry is down 28%. For a company that went out of business that is pretty darn good, if sales continue at 21% they are only down 1 point from 2008.

11/06, 5:14 PM

posted by:

psiclone

Good comment carstuff. And agreed.

I read in another article regarding this interview that Henderson did say that the goals they set were low. Not artificially to exagerate their progress. That plan would never have been accepted. The goals might be considered low now because they were established during even more uncertain conditions in the industry. Besides, exceeding a set goal or standard is always a good thing because that means they were prepared for a worse situation than they are in. Their performance is remarkable considering all things, including the negative publicity of bankruptcy and the closing of several brands and dealerships. It really speaks volumes about their new products.

http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f70/fritz-we-outperforming-our-plan-bankruptcy-85867/

11/06, 5:18 PM

posted by:

Sector_15504

GM is better off then Chrysler right now, but they really can not afford any more mistakes. You need appealing and RELIABLE vehicles to sustain. Gone are the days when you get a new car every 5-6 years. More and more are keeping their cars to 200k+ miles. You make cars that last that long, they will be back. And now you have loyal consumers that will keep you going even when something stupid goes wrong (face it, its a GM).

11/06, 6:00 PM

posted by:

carstuff

If you recall Wagoner went to the government with a set of goals/assumptions. Obama fired him and told him to set the goals/targets lower and close plants and get rid of people.

11/06, 6:04 PM

posted by:

JakeK66

Long live Toyota – the company that cares about people, as long as they don’t use floormats.

11/06, 7:36 PM

posted by:

Need more oil for GM is an idiot

Gm is padding themselves on the back so much their arm is gonna break off.

11/07, 12:12 AM

posted by:

Yaroukh

Wow, the “going out of busines” sounds sooo tough and raw. Until you realize it does not mean going out of business in ANY WAY, but rather “receiving $50b while getting rid of your liabilities”.
So they could easily afford giving $4250 incentive per car in September.
They’re true heroes, haha.

11/07, 12:16 AM

posted by:

Yaroukh

err, actually it was in October

11/07, 12:32 AM

posted by:

Need more oil for GM

Thank you tax payers!!!!

GM. An American Embarrassment !!!!!

11/07, 12:53 AM

posted by:

leftwingagenda

nice post, carstuff…i like data…although a reference link would be a nice cherry on the sundae…

this is obviously very early in the reorg/recovery process, but it’s good news that everything hasn’t totally gone down the crapper…i’m buoyed by the strong showing of gm in china, since that’s the world’s largest market now…

and yes, we know taxpayers paid for the bailout, but unemployment just topped 10%…would it have been helpful to kill off several hundred thousand more jobs in the midst of this recession? it would be a lot worse right now if gm had liquidated…

11/07, 2:35 AM

posted by:

h82w8

Leftwing:

Your comment about all of those jobs disappearing is inaccurate.. the demand (??) for GM products would result in other products being purchased instead of GM products. That in turn would result in the need for additional shifts and hiring skilled labor such as the type GM has. Of course, much of the dead wood would be unemployed, as it should be.

Your argument works in a vacuum, but not in reality.

11/07, 6:53 AM

posted by:

carstuff

h82, there is now no way of really confirming which way the jobs would have gone if GM liquidated: massive unemployment or everything would be dandy because the other companies would have picked up the orders.

BUT if you can find one person that has some kind of automotive experience that actually believes what you do please let me know. I know we all hate the experts with actual knowledge and expertise of the automotive industry here but EVERY comment I have seen says the US suppliers would have gone south and we would be going thru a massive depression with huge unemployment if GM had liquidated.

My experts? From David Cole of the Center of automotive research to ALL the automotive marques (Toyota, Honda, Ford, etc) to financial experts. Please we can debate this but lets have some more input than just our opinion.

Perhaps this would be a good read:

http://www.cargroup.org/documents/FINALDetroitThreeContractionImpact_3__001.pdf

11/07, 2:25 PM

posted by:

nickkop

you better be improving GM….. we need some return on our investment bitches….
and how else are you guys going to dig out of the hole you dug yourselves into during the past twenty some odd years ???

i wonder who is buying their cars… probably NMOFGM and the rest of his carny friends and family….

seriously though, the new caddys are nice, and buick miight even have some decently attractive and attainable products on their sales floors in the near future…. did they already drop saab? I hope not… they need them… for at least their powertrain tech know-how, intellectual property, etc…

you need this… dont get ahead of yourselves or give yourselves too much credit just yet…

GO FORRD stock prices are climbing and climbing !!!

11/07, 2:40 PM

posted by:

johnnycanuck

The only difference between GM and Chrysler right now is that even though GM undoubtedly knew they were headed for the abyss long before it finally happened they continued to spend like drunken sailors regardless of the fact. On the other side of the coin and thanks to their anal bean counting masters Cerberus, Chrysler didn’t have that luxury. All Cerberus did was keep the corpse on life support so that they could eventually harvest the organs… with Jeep being the heart… to the highest bidder. So now GM looks like somewhat of a hero because they have all this new product that give or take a few months was going to come out about this time anyway.

I wouldn’t be gloating too much if I were GM right now. It only took 50 billion to have the cork removed so that this little ray of sunshine could come out their ass.

11/07, 3:34 PM

posted by:

elmdodge

as a taxpayer can i sell my shares in these 2 big losers? give me a credit against taxes , anything ?

11/08, 2:37 PM

posted by:

militarydave

Need More Oil For GM: this goes out to you buddy: what kind of idiot are you? I mean i’m glad you’re a GM Fan, ever since you were a kid and your dad wore a “heartbeat of America” wife beater (while he was doing just that – beating his ****) and you had some rusted old chevy trucks outside of your trailer-home but dude GM totally blows. I sadly own one (not for long though) and i’ll probably sell it in mexico (where it came from probably).

An AMerican revolution? well… why dont you try and build your cars in AMERICA, not in Canada, Mexico and use Japanese parts?

maybe you need to get away from all the oil fumes that are getting to you head!

oh yeah… and the HUMMER(S)…. not even for military vehicles do they last. MY 1996 Crown Victoria has taken better beatings than POS hummers

DEXCOOL? I might as well piss in the radiator and get better results that the garbage GM poops out of Detriot.

Tell your new Owner Obama to get your some more laxatives and lubricants so your hole doesnt hurt!

11/09, 8:54 AM

posted by:

carstuff

“October quick facts:
Total GM sales increased 4 percent compared with October, 2008; retail sales were up 15 percent for the same period

Year-over-year total sales increase is the first since January, 2008

GM gains market share for the third straight month – estimated at 21 percent of the total light vehicle market

Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac retail sales represented 95 percent of October retail sales vs. 85 percent in October, 2008

Combined Buick / GMC retail sales were up 33 percent compared with last year, driving Buick-Pontiac-GMC retail sales up 12 percent ”

On the above, the real clincher is that while total sales were up 4%, RETAIL were up 15%.

Including Pontiac, BPG sales were up 12% but Buick/GMC were up 33% . Kinda shows that while a loss of Pontiac will drop total sales it looks like Buick/GMC will be making up for it.

11/09, 11:44 AM

posted by:

Need more oil for GM

We are wearing our “30″ buttons with pride here in the plant. By the looks of things, we should be breaking out “40″ buttons in the next few months.

GM does not need to repay the loans given to them. Anybody who demands this is an unAmerican jackasss that needs to be taught a lesson in patriotism and protectionism. It is our duty to protect the very thing that keeps America great. Losing General motors will put this Country into third world status.

Be American. Buy American. buy GM. An American Revolution

11/09, 11:29 PM

posted by:

NO more oil for GM is retarded

Don’t buy GM. POS cars that fall apart around you. I can’t wait to see another GM recall-piece of crap cars.
Send your pos crap gm cars and trucks back to detroit where they belong in a big heap of rusty beer can built cars.
Buy imports and save your money.

11/10, 2:26 AM

posted by:

psiclone

militarydave, how ironic you making fun of NMOFGM. Your 1996 Crown Vic has taken better beatings than Hummers? So are you the new Ford version of NMOFGM? How about NMOFF? Does that work for you? Please, sell your Chevy truck. You’re probably making it look bad.

 
 
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