GM's Rick Wagoner could step aside

"I'll always do what's right for the company"
"We have a good team at GM"

This guy is full of optimism. Practically nobody agrees with him.

Ford keeps moving forward with new products, but GM seems rather stagnant. They seem to be waiting on this bailout more than the others.

Rick is willing take his insane amount of money and go home. How honorable.

arumage, I don't get the GM is stagnant argument. GM is rolling out direct injection. GM is rolling out hybrids. GM is bringing vehicles from overseas. GM is matching or beating the competitions mpg in numerous categories. While doing that, GM has some leading luxury and performance vehicles. GM is doing everything that everyone said they should do. GM is anything but stagnant.

Ford is actually taking a more conservative slow-n-steady approach. I prefer Ford's approach, but appreciate what GM has already pulled off.

why would you fire Wagoner when he has been in charge while GM has improved quality, design and performance? Does anyone think anymore? IF Wagoner had caused the credit crisis I would say fire him ASAP.

GM's problem is the same as for Ford and Chrysler: Failure to confront the main problem which is labor costs. I agree that GM has done much on all other fronts. Unfortunately, their labor costs are a deal breaker. They can't survive without major labor concessions

why would you fire Wagoner when he has been in charge while GM has improved quality, design and performance? Does anyone think anymore? IF Wagoner had caused the credit crisis I would say fire him ASAP.

Well, perhaps he should be fired for being the guy who made the following statement.
"GM has not prepared a contingency plan for a bankruptcy filing if federal aid is not on the way to Detroit."
WHAT?!?! Are you kidding me?!?! THATS HORRIBLE!
Talk about lazy and pompous.

Thats one good reason.

GM is smoke and mirrors what they say they are pulling off is totally different that what they are actually pulling off in my opinion. On paper, their MPG numbers are great. In reality, no one is getting anywhere near those number, and direct injection did absolutely nothing for the Chevy Traverse. The Volt will do nothing for GM. The Cruze is delayed another year. Their hybrid program puts all their stock in large vehicles and then overprices them. The smaller hybrids aren't worth anything (I'm looking at you Aura Green Line). Honestly, how many vehicles can you rebadge (Acadia, Outlook, Enclave, Traverse)?

I just think that Ford has many more compelling products in the pipeline. I see improvement from GM in terms of materials and build quality, but I think there's a whole lot more fat to cut with them, like the entire GMC, Saturn, and Pontiac brands. They only have a few options that are unique in any way, although the same could be said for Mercury.

"Unfortunately, their labor costs are a deal breaker. They can't survive without major labor concessions"

already been done. catch up.

"WHAT?!?! Are you kidding me?!?! THATS HORRIBLE!
Talk about lazy and pompous. "

There is no good alternative. Chap 11 is a joke. I suspect they will try and get money from China if this doesnt work out. There are know legit contigency plans.

"Unfortunately, their labor costs are a deal breaker. They can't survive without major labor concessions"

already been done. catch up.

"WHAT?!?! Are you kidding me?!?! THATS HORRIBLE!
Talk about lazy and pompous. "

There is no good alternative. Chap 11 is a joke. I suspect they will try and get money from China if this doesnt work out. There are know legit contigency plans.

"Unfortunately, their labor costs are a deal breaker. They can't survive without major labor concessions"

already been done. catch up.

"WHAT?!?! Are you kidding me?!?! THATS HORRIBLE!
Talk about lazy and pompous. "

There is no good alternative. Chap 11 is a joke. I suspect they will try and get money from China if this doesnt work out. There are know legit contigency plans.

"Unfortunately, their labor costs are a deal breaker. They can't survive without major labor concessions"

already been done. catch up.

"WHAT?!?! Are you kidding me?!?! THATS HORRIBLE!
Talk about lazy and pompous. "

There is no good alternative. Chap 11 is a joke. I suspect they will try and get money from China if this doesnt work out. There are know legit contigency plans.

hey 1487... you running a bit slow today?
i assume you are not intentionally multi-posting there brother

GM started to bleed billions more than two years ago, before any crisis started, while Wagoner was getting tens of millions in bonus. What for?
GM has far too few competitive vehicles in their line-up: Lambda brothers, Malibu, CTS, G8 and the trucks. Camaro and Corvette are niche vehicles (smart resource prioritization LOL)and the Volt will be just the same. One or two competitive vehicles cannot support a brand. Few other vehicles are in the pipeline, but they are too far away (2011!!!). Why didn't GM make Cruze a priority for the US market? The car is ready but just not for sale in the US. Why don’t they have any B-segment car in the pipeline?
Look at all new GM cars and you’ll see where GM’s priorities are: mid-size and large cars and CUVs. The truth is GM did not believe, and they still don't, in small, fuel efficient, good cars and they were wrong. If anyone thinks the Cobalt and Aveo are competitive with the Civic/Fit or Corolla/Yaris, you would have to compare them side by side and see how far off they are. Hell, they don’t even have a competitive (Vue is not quite) small CUV to fight with the CR-V and RAV.

"i assume you are not intentionally multi-posting there brother"

I'm not. Site issues.

Wagoner likely isn't going to say GM has prepared a contingency plan for a bankruptcy filing because that would wipe out what little value the stock has left.

"i assume you are not intentionally multi-posting there brother"

I'm not. Site issues.

"i assume you are not intentionally multi-posting there brother"

I'm not. Site issues.

Chapter 11 is a joke?!?!?

I believe some people need to expand their knowledge of what Chapter 11 bankruptcy is. Under Chapter 11, GM (and any other car company) could safely reorganize their management and structure to better fit the future automobile market. They would be protected by the judicial system from lawsuits from the unions, white collar management civil suits, dealer franchises, etc. The bank that would be in control of their business (for the duration of the bankruptcy) would stringently manage the company in order to get them on the right course. They could safely shed duplicate brands, not to mention the excess bureaucracy that they've managed to create over the last few decades.

And don't try using the old excuse "would you buy a car from a bankrupt company?" That is invalid. I can show you a list of various companies in various markets that have successfully come back from bankruptcy stronger than ever that were also never hurt for business during said bankruptcies.

Please. Do some research on Chapter 11.

flic,

Chap 11 is a joke. HAve you heard any bankruptcy lawyers claim that GM could effectively use Chap 11? Of course not. The head of Delta airlines JUST said that bankruptcy will not be an option for automakers. He said airlines couldnt do it today.

Stop trying to act like everything is simple. Chap 11 will involve lots of people being put out of work, the collapse of suppliers that GM's owes and the collapse of GM's car sales. Cars are not everyday goods. Do not compare GM to circuit city or even an airline. That is dumb. A survey taken earlier shows that 80% of respondents wouldnt buy a car from a BR company. Take your own advice and do some research. With the lack of credit on the market GM woudlnt be able to finance its own reorganization and would fail. Period.

"They could safely shed duplicate brands, not to mention the excess bureaucracy that they've managed to create over the last few decades."

They can shed bureaucracy anytime- management workers arent protected by the union. You dont need Chap 11 to fire white collar workers.

There is no doubt that Ch 11 is expensive, but when you compare the alternative of billions lost each quarter, the choice of obvious.

Jobs will be lost either way. The question is how many. If GM declares bankruptcy now, they'll be protected now. Of course any bankruptcy must liquidate assets, but GM has more factories than they know what to do with anyway. If they continue as they are, more money will be shed and there'll be less to work with when bankruptcy is finally declared.

It should be noted that GM would not be completely untouchable from lawsuits. Creditors and debtors have rights, even under bankruptcy. The UAW would certainly be considered a concerning party, which means they would have a say in any executory statements.

The real losers are the shareholders. Often (though not always) the public stock becomes worthless. So all those folks out there that think their getting a steal at $2/share today might actually be buying a stock worth $0.

GM has shuttered several factories and cut out excess demand. The point of Chap 11 would be to dump union contracts and pensions and dealers. All of that would be messy and in the meantime GM wouldnt be selling any cars. Some are questioning if GM would even be able to dump UAW workers or void the contract as some "experts" promise. It may not work out that way.

I keep saying that there is no capital available to finance a reorganization. Even the airlines wouldnt be able to file Chap 11 and emerge in this climate. That idea is not being pushed by those who actually know about Chap. 11 in detail. Its being pushed by politicians and TV analysts who have an agenda.

GM has to hope that the economy improves and the fruits of their buyouts and layoffs start to pay off next year. They wont burn through nearly as much cash in future quarters because they have lowered their headcount and stopped production of unsellable SUVs. If the economy improves by mid 2009 they may be able to survive with one infusion of capital.

I meant to say "excess capacity" not demand.

as for dealers, that situation is being handled by the economy. By the end of this downturn hundreds of GMs weak dealers will be out of business.

GM has the best product in line. Ford has the most cash at hand. Yet, none of them will survive without the US government's help. If I am in-charge I will let the bank die and have all cars power by V8 in 2010.

Im very suprised to see how blind some people are as the market has been shifting for quite a while now (years), just few were paying attention or wanted to pay attention. Its not like the bottom just all of a sudden fell out of the economy as there have been signs and warnings for years. It purely boils down to greed and image.

Ive said it before and Ill say it again, dont look at just the surface... scratch the surface and look inside as the details are most important.

Wagoner's presided over 7 years of declining market share. How anyone could support this guy is baffling. You can't blame the credit problems of the past year on 7 years of declines.

If he'd shown any improvement in 2006 or 2007 we might have a good argument for GM under Wagoner. But that wasn't so. They lost money and share. They're down 73 billion since he took over... and some people want to hand this obvious failure another 10-15 billion? Wow, so he can run GM out of business in 6 months instead of 3?

It is going to take more than Rick stepping down. This company has had it's head in the sand way too long. "But that's the way we've always done it" is the motto that flies on a flag outside of the GM Bldg.

Rick, although in the lead, has made many improvements, however he has nothing but YES men working for him. People in this company are afraid to voice themselves for fear of reprisals. Rick actually listens, but down the line of mucky mucks are hard nosed arrogant execs that unless you are on the same level with them, just don't listen. Rick

If I have my druthers, I'd fire the people below Rick who keep sugar coating the state of the business. Lutz, Henderson, etc.. to name a few.

Secondly, the BOD needs a major overhaul. We need some industry leaders in the auto business. Some economists, auto analysts, etc. have you taken a look at who is on the board? What the heck do they know about cars?

Thirdly, you need to give people what they see at the shows, not a watered down version of what typically looks like every other car on the road. If ever your bubble is burst its when the final product is on the street.

Engineers/designers are not allow to breathe imagination...they are placed in a box and told where the 4 walls are (above that...barbed wire).

GM will survive, but it will take a bigger personnel overhaul than Rick.

The UAW ... that's another story altogether. While it serve its purpose upon formation, they have taken things totally out of scope. Their days are numbered and so will their membership. They never thought about the business that supports their contracts. To pay the janitor $25 and hour plus cost of living is NUTZ! To negotiate the returned of a fired employee for malfeasance is NUTZ. To sit with your feet up and get paid it NUTZ, To meet your quota in 3 hours and sit for 5 hours and wait for overtime to do the rest is NUTZ.

Don't blame this on Rick, blame it on the culture within the company. It's going to take much more than the latest BUZZ word/program in the company to change the mindset on how they operate. Too many are stuck in their ways..."But that's the way we've always done it" And God forbid you voice your opinion... you are the ODD MAN OUT!

A merger with Chrysler is not the answer...they can't afford more debt and legacy costs. Chapter 11 is the best answer in the long haul.

My two cents!