CNN/Money Story

I still would not put it beyond GM to have commericials claiming "they put hair on your chest" or have Smiling Bob as the spokesman.

 

You know the stages....

1) Surprise
2) Ridicule
3) Denial
4) Painful acceptance.

I say, they are at stage 3 1/2.

 

wow, seems like such a turn around from the "best fuel economy of any suv in it's class" comments. I think they're doomed either way, may as well fill out the paper work for chapter 11 now while they can afford to pay someone to do it. I think they doomed themselves by offering "employee pricing" to begin with. Because if "we" as society are smart, we'll never pay their "sticker" price again. And those that do should be shipped off to another island because they are bringing down the national IQ levels. For those of you that caught what the employee prices were, would you actually pay sticker...or so called invoice again? And they still turned a profit. Honda and Toyota were smart for not jumping on that bandwagon. They basically pulled their pants down for the world to see.

 

I don't think they've hurt themselves. Their cars were overpriced, so they shaved off some $ during the summer and had record sales. The U.S. & Canadian markets are well-lubricated efficient supply&demand machines.

GM probably pushed themselves to where the supply and demand curves intersect. They'll probably either slowly reduce rebates and prices, leaving the net cost of their vehicles the same.

 

There is that nagging detail that the auto division of GM has been losing money for years; only the financing arm kept the boat afloat.

As Martin has mentioned, production cars are the culmination of years of work. GM's up and coming stable of 2006 vehicles are SUV gas guzzlers, representing company decisions in 2002/3. Realistically, since they are nowhere today, even a complete about face would only bear fruit in 2010; and in the interim, they have to keep pushing gas guzzlers to stay afloat. And all this presumes that GM has the wherewithal to produce hybrids as a money making venture; which, if you believe lutz, they do not.

Sucks to be GM

 

They had huge inventory problems. Employee pricing was a desperation measure to move that inventory off the dealers' lots in order to make room for the '06 models. Since Toyota & Honda make cars that people actually like, they just had plain-vanilla end-of-year sales campaigns.

Kinda like how Army recruiters have to offer ever-increasing bonuses and other enticements (not to mention deceit, phony records, intimidation, etc.) to get new enlistees, while the other services don't.