Should GM Move It's Global Headquarters?

[Drew Dowdell]

Agreed 100%

Such a move would be tantamount to admitting not only is GM second class but that the US is as well. This isn't true and would piss me off beyond reason.

Well, at the moment the Dollar is second class. I'm keeping money in Euros just because it's safer.

Opec is getting ready to switch trading to Euros as well..... it isn't talked about in the news media, but this has the potential to completely cripple our economy.

[Drew Dowdell]

Frankfurt am Main?

Nein.

[Drew Dowdell]

I have been to 40 states and all I have to say is that each and every day that goes by the "other 49" become more and more like LA and California, not less. So there must be something wrong with the whole country.

I'd have to agree with that final assessment there.

[Drew Dowdell]

You've been sipping that SoCal kool aid for a bit too long, my friend. There is a proud heritage of hard working, family oriented and historically significant (on the manufacturing front)people/places in the midwest.

I hate to break balls, but this is exactly the attitude that CARBIZ was talking about. To me, it's a feeling of superiority (which walks a fine line of discrimination) based of geographic location.

If anything, I'd say that California is a cultural wasteland. With the constant negativity and greed of "pop culture" there combined with the gang mentality and drugs that are spreading from there to the middle of the country and the general anti-american sentiment, our culture rot seems to be starting on the coasts and moving inward.

Why?

The heartland has plenty of history and appeal. Sure, London or Paris might be a stretch, but the "heartland" isn't chopped liver.

Yet another "american" that seems more loyal to other countries than his own.

California is what has produced products <and they are shrink wrapped, packaged products> like Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, all of the vapid, brain melting sitcoms, a disdain for anything "last week" much less 60 years ago, a race to the bottom with tackiness, trashiness, greed, and conspicuous consumption. Of all the states in the union, California as a whole has the least "class" and self respect. It's willing to pimp itself out for 15 minutes on a TV show eating pig penis.

While I'm sure there are areas and people in California that do not fit the above description, the people that do fit that description vastly outnumber the former.

I've grown more and more embarrassed of this country partly because of the Hollywood "culture" and partly because of GWB.

[Drew Dowdell]

I really don't understand the appeal of being in the middle of a city.

I live in the middle of a city now and it stresses me out really bad. I need tons of personal space, I guess.

The city is gray, concrete and steel with poverty, trash and more people per foot than I care to count. What exactly is appealing about that?

I'd much rather be in a small town where I know my neighbors, can go outdoors and be left th hell alone or not be in the way of everyone and their brother.

(I'm being serious, not sarcastic. I would like to know why it appeals to some of you so much)

I suppose that depends on the city you're in. I can see both sides. I would like to live in a downtown location as long as I can get away to the country when I need to. That's one of the nice things about Pittsburgh, decent downtown, nice suburbs, and in 30 minutes you're in Amish country.

[Oracle of Delphi]

Can we get back on topic please! Thank you!

[Drew Dowdell]

Can we get back on topic please! Thank you!

fine

Show me the ROI.

[CARBIZ]

I read an interview with Leslie Gore the other day (It's My Party!). She lamented the music industry moving to California. She said it was livelier, more hip when it was centered on the east coast. She said that now when you go to a record company, they are surrounded by a iron gates and armed guards; whereas, in the Motown and New York days, you could just walk into the studio....Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Being gay, I don't have much of a choice but to live in the center of a large city. I did the small town thing for 11 years, and although it has its merits, the 2 hour drive to have a drink and relax (or get laid) was too much stress.

Personally, I think anyone living in California (or Florida, for that matter) is kinda nuts: you guys are living on borrowed time, and unfortunately, you are going to take the rest of us down with you when the Big One hits - like the clowns living in a swamp at the end of the Mississipi: HELLO! WAKE UP! The rest of us have to pay when people CHOOSE to live in an area that is clearly suicidal. Every couple of years a bunch of big waves come along and wipe out the homes along the Carolina shores and we see a bunch of hicks crying and boo-hooing about their lost homes - meanwhile, the rest of us pay through the nose because everyone's insurance goes up when the insurance companies have to fork out a couple billion to bail out those idiots. Newsflash: don't build your homes in Nature's way. The northeast may be cold for 3 months of the year, but for the most part Mother Nature takes pity on us. (This winter notwithstanding!)

Just as we will all be expected to pitch in when half of L.A. ends up in the Pacific, I would expect those living in more temperate climates to have more sympathy for the plight of the jobless in the mid-west and north central States. L.A. is fantastic, and it is a great place to visit, but it is seriously whacked for 12 million people to take up residence in a desert criss-crossed by a half dozen fault lines.

And anyone living in a city that requires video stores to hire armed guards (like when I was in Philedelphia a few years back) also needs to shake up their local government: that is no way to live!

[Oracle of Delphi]

fine

Show me the ROI.

It's not about ROI, it's about a culture change, a shakeup in the very soul of GM. To finally say, we are truly a Global company and our global headquarters reflects that change in mindset and location.

[z28luvr01]

GM can't say it's a global company if its headquarters is in America? They're already doing that through its product - withness the Australian designed, Canadian built Camaro with an American engine and transmission designed for export to countries on the other side of both the Atlantic and the Pacific. That's pretty global to me.

As others have said, I can consent to a move out of Detroit. But there are several cities right here in the US that can make the same statement. New York, Boston, Atlanta, Phoenix, Chicago, LA, Seattle, Portland, Charlotte, and one of either Houston, San Antonio, or Dallas. Moving GM's HQ outside the US represents a final FU to the country that embraced it as part of its culture, unlike any other country where it sells cars (except for Australia, perhaps)

[Drew Dowdell]

It's not about ROI, it's about a culture change, a shakeup in the very soul of GM. To finally say, we are truly a Global company and our global headquarters reflects that change in mindset and location.

Because UPS <based in Atlanta>, Walmart <based in Bentonville Arkansas>, Proctor and Gamble <based in Cincinnati>, General Electric <based in Fairfield Connecticut> aren't global companies?

Not everything needs to be based in Detroit. GM can have design centers around the globe. That's where you want the real talent.

[The O.C.]

California is what has produced products <and they are shrink wrapped, packaged products> like Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, all of the vapid, brain melting sitcoms, a disdain for anything "last week" much less 60 years ago, a race to the bottom with tackiness, trashiness, greed, and conspicuous consumption. Of all the states in the union, California as a whole has the least "class" and self respect. It's willing to pimp itself out for 15 minutes on a TV show eating pig penis.

While I'm sure there are areas and people in California that do not fit the above description, the people that do fit that description vastly outnumber the former.

I've grown more and more embarrassed of this country partly because of the Hollywood "culture" and partly because of GWB.

LOL....

Obviously this shows how clueless you are about a state in the union with 33MM people.....I really wonder how much time you've spent here.....obviously you've never lived here.

Anyone with a HINT of intelligence would know that comments such as yours, that are OVERWHELMINGLY generalized, are baked in ignorance. You really don't know what you're talking about.

BTW....I thought it was LOUISIANA that "produced" Britney Spears.....???????????

[Robert Hall]

LOL....

Obviously this shows how clueless you are about a state in the union with 33MM people.....I really wonder how much time you've spent here.....obviously you've never lived here.

Anyone with a HINT of intelligence would know that comments such as yours, that are OVERWHELMINGLY generalized, are baked in ignorance. You really don't know what you're talking about.

BTW....I thought it was LOUISIANA that "produced" Britney Spears.....???????????

One of the most important exports, IMHO, of the Golden State is the technology industry and it's products...the Silicon Valley is home to Apple, Google, BEA, Cisco, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Intel, Adobe, etc etc... all important companies to the US economy and global players...since I work in the biz, that's a very important aspect to me of the Golden State.

[The O.C.]

One of the most important exports, IMHO, of the Golden State is the technology industry and it's products...the Silicon Valley is home to Apple, Google, BEA, Cisco, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Intel, Adobe, etc etc... all important companies to the US economy and global players...since I work in the biz, that's a very important aspect to me of the Golden State.

Not to mention it's the largest manufacturing state in the union....and is the largest agricultural region in the country.

I'm not trying to turn this into a CA-vs-the-rest-of-the-USA thread, but it irritates me to no end to hear people spout off the exact same media kool-aid that they claim "we" are promoting....LOL....what's the logic in that?

You'd think more intelligent people would be smart enough to look past the Britney Spears and Paris Hilton's of the world and realize that there's MUCH MORE that meets the eye then just the sensationalism that the media portrays.....

[RJB]

They can't afford it with the present projects that they are doing. The consolidation of GM Powertrain in Michigan, and the expansion of their Powertrain HQ in Italy.

[Drew Dowdell]

LOL....

Obviously this shows how clueless you are about a state in the union with 33MM people.....I really wonder how much time you've spent here.....obviously you've never lived here.

Anyone with a HINT of intelligence would know that comments such as yours, that are OVERWHELMINGLY generalized, are baked in ignorance. You really don't know what you're talking about.

BTW....I thought it was LOUISIANA that "produced" Britney Spears.....???????????

She may have been born and raised there, but the Britney we know today was manufactured by California.

And of course I know that my statements are grossly generalized....but these are the first things that come to mind when you mention California.

First things that come to mind when someone mentions Pittsburgh? Steelmills, pollution, Steelers. We no longer have Steelmills and the city is quite clean. It was recently voted Most Livable.

California does still have Hollywood and all the puss that comes with it. California is being hit hardest by the mortgage crises as so many are getting their 4,000 sq foot McMansion foreclosed on... because they just had to have that 4,000 sq feet at $350/sq.ft. for two people. The country's top plastic surgeons are in California. There is even a drama series centered around plastic surgery.

I don't see you complaining about the overgeneralized statements about the mid-west or north east.

[The O.C.]

She may have been born and raised there, but the Britney we know today was manufactured by California.

And of course I know that my statements are grossly generalized....but these are the first things that come to mind when you mention California.

First things that come to mind when someone mentions Pittsburgh? Steelmills, pollution, Steelers. We no longer have Steelmills and the city is quite clean. It was recently voted Most Livable.

California does still have Hollywood and all the puss that comes with it. California is being hit hardest by the mortgage crises as so many are getting their 4,000 sq foot McMansion foreclosed on... because they just had to have that 4,000 sq feet at $350/sq.ft. for two people. The country's top plastic surgeons are in California. There is even a drama series centered around plastic surgery.

I don't see you complaining about the overgeneralized statements about the mid-west or north east.

Show me a post where I have "over-generalized" about the midwest or northeast. Please. Try to find one. I've said it's "not for me" and I don't want to live there....but ranted on a diatribe about the midwest like you did above about CA...? Nope....you won't find that....

And...btw....do your mortgage industry homework. CA is hardly the worst for foreclosures......for one thing, check out Nevada.......or Michigan........

You may not like it here.....or you may be overly jealous 'cause you are stuck in PA when those of us out here are living in paradise.....whatever....only you know. (EDIT: Trying to inject some sarcasm into this post)......But I credit you with far more intelligence than to spout the kinds of media-kool-aid like you did above.

And for the matter...I know ALL ABOUT how PA rose from the sorrows of the steel industry. I was there to witness it in person in Bethlehem. In fact, Michigan could learn a HUGE lesson from PA on how to rebound from a struggling industry and how to differentiate your jobs and work force.

Edited March 10, 2008 by The O.C.

[Drew Dowdell]

Show me a post where I have "over-generalized" about the midwest or northeast. Please. Try to find one. I've said it's "not for me" and I don't want to live there....but ranted on a diatribe about the midwest like you did above about CA...? Nope....you won't find that....

And...btw....do your mortgage industry homework. CA is hardly the worst for foreclosures......for one thing, check out Nevada.......or Michigan........

You may not like it here.....or you may be overly jealous 'cause you are stuck in PA when those of us out here are living in paradise.....whatever....only you know. (EDIT: Trying to inject some sarcasm into this post)......But I credit you with far more intelligence than to spout the kinds of media-kool-aid like you did above.

And for the matter...I know ALL ABOUT how PA rose from the sorrows of the steel industry. I was there to witness it in person in Bethlehem. In fact, Michigan could learn a HUGE lesson from PA on how to rebound from a struggling industry and how to differentiate your jobs and work force.

I didn't say you had generalized about the mid-west. I said you didn't complain when it happened.

I like Pittsburgh. I'm moving to Germany simply for the experience of living in Europe. However, the climate difference between Pittsburgh and Köln is marginal at best. I'm a skier, so I don't mind cold or snow.

The Michigan foreclosures are not due to rampant speculation or "Jefferson's Syndrome". In Michigan the economy has caused the foreclosures. In California... and Nevada... it's the consumerist, gotta one up the Jones's with my new McMansion, but get a negative amortization, interest only loan to pay for it attitude that is causing the pain there. California is, by far, the hardest hit in sheer dollar volume of foreclosures.

And I work in real estate and study the mortgage market...... so I kinda know what I'm talking about here.

I know that California is much much more than the stuff I spouted off earlier. This all started because I said I've been embarrassed by this country lately. Unfortunately, Hollywood is in California and that's where 50% of my embarrassment comes from. The rest comes from Crawford Texas... however that issue will be addressed shortly. :AH-HA_wink:

[Drew Dowdell]

All that said....

GM should locate a design studio in the heart of LA. Like it or not, LA is a major source of fashion trends and GM should be in the heart of it.

Headquarters? no.

[Robert Hall]

I didn't say you had generalized about the mid-west. I said you didn't complain when it happened.

I like Pittsburgh. I'm moving to Germany simply for the experience of living in Europe. However, the climate difference between Pittsburgh and Köln is marginal at best. I'm a skier, so I don't mind cold or snow.

I like Pittsburgh also...having lived in that area as a kid and followed it's ups and downs, it seems to be a much better place all around now than it was then..it's one of the places I've considered moving to if I ever moved back to that part of the country. Re-adjusting to the gray, snow, ice and humidity would be a shock, though. But for my immediate future, it's going to be in the Valley of the Sun (I'm in the process of moving from Denver to Phoenix over the next month or so).

[ltdaniels]

I really don't understand the appeal of being in the middle of a city.

I live in the middle of a city now and it stresses me out really bad. I need tons of personal space, I guess.

The city is gray, concrete and steel with poverty, trash and more people per foot than I care to count. What exactly is appealing about that?

I'd much rather be in a small town where I know my neighbors, can go outdoors and be left th hell alone or not be in the way of everyone and their brother.

(I'm being serious, not sarcastic. I would like to know why it appeals to some of you so much)

i like being somewhere where there's lots of stuff going on. there's a certain charm to have a million things to do and a million people to meet right outside your doorstep. in my case, i mean DC, but i'm sure the same goes for most major cities. i can see wanting both.. but i'm still young. the more going on, the better.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

LOL....

Obviously this shows how clueless you are about a state in the union with 33MM people.....I really wonder how much time you've spent here.....obviously you've never lived here.

Anyone with a HINT of intelligence would know that comments such as yours, that are OVERWHELMINGLY generalized, are baked in ignorance. You really don't know what you're talking about.

BTW....I thought it was LOUISIANA that "produced" Britney Spears.....???????????

Like it or not... This is the image that your state portrays to the rest of us. Is it right? Probably not. But it's there none the less.

BTW, I've thought of moving to Cali when I get my degree, probably somewhere close to your area. I'm not sure I could stand the people though. If I'm going to prison, it's going to have to be for a good reason

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

You'd think more intelligent people would be smart enough to look past the Britney Spears and Paris Hilton's of the world and realize that there's MUCH MORE that meets the eye then just the sensationalism that the media portrays.....

Well, it's not only pop culture.

It's politics as well.

[Croc]

California is what has produced products <and they are shrink wrapped, packaged products> like Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, all of the vapid, brain melting sitcoms, a disdain for anything "last week" much less 60 years ago, a race to the bottom with tackiness, trashiness, greed, and conspicuous consumption. Of all the states in the union, California as a whole has the least "class" and self respect. It's willing to pimp itself out for 15 minutes on a TV show eating pig penis.

While I'm sure there are areas and people in California that do not fit the above description, the people that do fit that description vastly outnumber the former.

I've grown more and more embarrassed of this country partly because of the Hollywood "culture" and partly because of GWB.

I'm sorry, but this is so hilariously uninformed. You complain about all the Hollywood coverage, but trust me no one in California gives a rat's ass. CNN is in Atlanta, and most of the major news programs are based in NYC. It really is a situation of the rest of the country being so envious/jealous of "the rich and famous" stars that the programming caters to that. People magazine, US Weekly, and In Touch sell quite a bit of mags each week...and that ain't all in California.

I'm also not sure where you get this ridiculous idea that California as a state has the least amount of class and self-respect as a whole. Tell me, where all have you been in California? You paint such a broad brush against the millions of people living in this state, and frankly you could do a much better job of it by having at least a smidgeon of accuracy. Oh, and there'd be no TV show about eating big penis if people like you didn't watch it (at least I assume you do since I've never heard of such a show).

[Oracle of Delphi]

They can't afford it with the present projects that they are doing. The consolidation of GM Powertrain in Michigan, and the expansion of their Powertrain HQ in Italy.

Ahhh, now I could see GM's Global headquarters just outside Rome, the women, the art, the culture, the history, the cars, the food, the Colosseum! Roma, che bella! :AH-HA_wink:

[z28luvr01]

We should probably can the California vs. the rest of the USA argument since it's an unwanted tangent to the thread topic. It doesn't take a genius to take the hint that moving GM HQ is a topic of discussion among the suits at GM. Arguing about a tangential topic only weakens our position as a relevant sample of the population. For the record, I think somewhere in SoCal wouldn't be a bad place for GM HQ. Like SoCal culture or hate it, it obviously has a halo effect on the rest of the country, and if GM HQ inserted itself there and started benefitting the local economy while producing decent cars and trucks, GM could gain an in with that market which would probably take less than a year to spread across the rest of the country.

[ZL-1]

Ahhh, now I could see GM's Global headquarters just outside Rome, the women, the art, the culture, the history, the cars, the food, the Colosseum! Roma, che bella! :AH-HA_wink:

I vote for Alaska instead: the polar bears, the snow, the occasional earthquake. Wonderful!

Edited March 10, 2008 by ZL-1

[Oracle of Delphi]

I don't know if i like the term suit, it sounds so Sopranos!

Edited March 10, 2008 by Pontiac Custom-S

[Oracle of Delphi]

I vote for Alaska instead: the polar bears, the snow, the occasional earthquake. Wonderful!

Not with Global Warming, no polar bears, no snow and palm tress will start to grow there.

[Justin Bimmer]

We have history in California, didn't Disneyland just turn 50 years old?

[ZL-1]

Not with Global Warming, no polar bears, no snow and palm tress will start to grow there.

hmmm... forgot about that...

What about beautiful Lisboa?

[I hope GMRULES again]

I'm not a big fan of Hollywood and its culture but california is looking pretty good right now......

There's an old Cutlass in that garage that's dying to get out.

Edited March 11, 2008 by z28luvr01

[Intrepidation]

Absolutely not! This is true buffoonery at its worst! Why in the hell would GM go through such an unnecessary expenditure as that just to combat a *perceived* negative perception. GM: the negative perception is not country or origin, it is &#036;h&#33;ty product. Instead of wasting money relocating global HQs, spend it on the product.

[regfootball]

One of the most important exports, IMHO, of the Golden State is the technology industry and it's products...the Silicon Valley is home to Apple, Google, BEA, Cisco, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Intel, Adobe, etc etc... all important companies to the US economy and global players...since I work in the biz, that's a very important aspect to me of the Golden State.

i will be interested if the computer industry becomes interested in decentralzing and downsizing out of California and the US. Like other industries, you might see some outsourcing and moving operations to less costly places. some of those places may be in the US, some abroad.

gravy trains always have a way of ending. that is not to take away from the great talent base in CA for that industry. but look at nissan and volkswagen. even Lincoln said 'fu california'

from a car standpoint, i'm not sure it makes sense to have car companies based in a state where the economy is adjusted so differently that 3 series are daily drivers and mercedes and lexus are afterthoughts. its not reality. the rest of the country and world has a lower priced version of reality. but if your house is 750k, i suppose a 45k bmw does not seem out of whack. if you have a 250k house, then you will be driving a 16k fusion.

imagine a young hotshoe in LA who works for car company 'x', who drives an M3 because he can make the car payment (even though he probably rents a dive to afford his car). imagine that person trying to understand why the cobalt and uplander sell so well in canada. Or why trucks sell in texas.

even if CA has a lot of manufacturing, they hardly have any car plants. why? too expensive is my guess. If they can't afford plants there to make all the cars they sell there, to me it's a bad place to consider putting headquarters too.

Edited March 11, 2008 by regfootball

[Cremazie]

I'm not a big fan of Hollywood and its culture but california is looking pretty good right now......

There's an old Cutlass in that garage that's dying to get out.

I take it that you are in Ontario?

[Camino LS6]

I'll leave my objections to California out of this except to say that moving operations to an expensive state would be foolish. A major GM design center already exists in CA (as it should).

Moving GM HQ out of the US would only serve to stroke the egos of those within the company that have the hubris to congratulate themeselves.

Moving HQ would create huge expense for no gain and distract from the truly important work that needs to be done.

[The O.C.]

The rest comes from Crawford Texas... however that issue will be addressed shortly. :AH-HA_wink:

Bless you we agree on something........

Did you hear that there is a village in Texas that is missing it's idiot?

Well, Germany will be cool. I myself wouldn't mind spending some time overseas. It's just not in my cards right now.

One of my best friends is from England, and has been here for about 20 years. Now he's the biggest USA-lover.....but even his is totally disgusted with how this country is progressing.

I think if we don't get our hands around this PC crap, we'll be in real trouble. Everyone's afraid to do anything here. Our children are out of control. And heaven forbid you spank your unruly child in the grocery store. You do, and someone might try to get you arrested and your kids taken away from you.

(Not to change the thread.....)

[The O.C.]

All that said....

GM should locate a design studio in the heart of LA. Like it or not, LA is a major source of fashion trends and GM should be in the heart of it.

Headquarters? no.

LOL

There is one in North Hollywood.

You never hear much about it though.....do you.....?

[Drew Dowdell]

It's not about ROI, it's about a culture change, a shakeup in the very soul of GM. To finally say, we are truly a Global company and our global headquarters reflects that change in mindset and location.

You don't need to move the company to have a culture change. Fire all the accountants...... and Germans.

[The O.C.]

I like Pittsburgh also...having lived in that area as a kid and followed it's ups and downs, it seems to be a much better place all around now than it was then..it's one of the places I've considered moving to if I ever moved back to that part of the country. Re-adjusting to the gray, snow, ice and humidity would be a shock, though. But for my immediate future, it's going to be in the Valley of the Sun (I'm in the process of moving from Denver to Phoenix over the next month or so).

Cool....!!!

Over the years, I've really grown to like Phoenix alot more.

Over the last 10-20 years that I've been visiting PHX, it seems like the city has really "grown up." (Of course the population has exploded...it's like the 5th largest city in the U.S. now just behind Houston.)

PHX used to be just like a big retirement community in the desert. Now, it's a major metropolitan area with a growing wealth of culture and class. I especially like the Tempe, Scottsdale, and Paradise Valley areas.

Plus I LOVE the desert geography/terrain there. It's really a beautiful area......(if getting a bit congested, with worse smog than L.A.) I don't mind the heat in the summer their, either.....makes summer nights warm and sultry.

[The O.C.]

Like it or not... This is the image that your state portrays to the rest of us. Is it right? Probably not. But it's there none the less.

BTW, I've thought of moving to Cali when I get my degree, probably somewhere close to your area. I'm not sure I could stand the people though. If I'm going to prison, it's going to have to be for a good reason

Well, you should consider it.

All I can say about the people is.....don't pre-judge us. Ironically, since moving to SoCal, I've made more and better true friends than I've EVER had anywhere else in my life.

Once again....it's the media that shows you the "fringe".....like the Britney Spears and Paris Hiltons. Yeah, in many places here you can find tons of "plastic" people.....but you know....you will find those people ANYWHERE. In a funny way, it's one reason I love to go up to L.A. and hit the bars and clubs. It's like entertainment! LOL

(And plastic/snobby people aside.....there are alot of great places to go here to do things, eat, culture, plays, entertainment, etc., etc.)

BUT I thought you said you were a "small-town" guy?

[The O.C.]

We should probably can the California vs. the rest of the USA argument since it's an unwanted tangent to the thread topic. It doesn't take a genius to take the hint that moving GM HQ is a topic of discussion among the suits at GM. Arguing about a tangential topic only weakens our position as a relevant sample of the population. For the record, I think somewhere in SoCal wouldn't be a bad place for GM HQ. Like SoCal culture or hate it, it obviously has a halo effect on the rest of the country, and if GM HQ inserted itself there and started benefitting the local economy while producing decent cars and trucks, GM could gain an in with that market which would probably take less than a year to spread across the rest of the country.

To do it, though (and I'm not saying they would or should) they'd have to move ALL OF IT.

Remember Ford tried it with L/M and it was a dismal failure. Dearborn never properly supported the gestation of the Irvine group. Although the Irvine group did give us the Lincoln LS, most feedback from Irvine ultimately fell on deaf ears in Dearborn. (As a friend of mine that worked there/and still works for FoMoCo tells me first-hand.)

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

I'm sorry, but this is so hilariously uninformed. You complain about all the Hollywood coverage, but trust me no one in California gives a rat's ass. CNN is in Atlanta, and most of the major news programs are based in NYC. It really is a situation of the rest of the country being so envious/jealous of "the rich and famous" stars that the programming caters to that. People magazine, US Weekly, and In Touch sell quite a bit of mags each week...and that ain't all in California.

Well, the problem from a sociological standpoint is that the coasts now control the culture of the entire country. READ: I agree that the east coast is just as responsible for producing pop culture "&#036;h&#33;" as the west coast.

[The O.C.]

Well, the problem from a sociological standpoint is that the coasts now control the culture of the entire country. READ: I agree that the east coast is just as responsible for producing pop culture "&#036;h&#33;" as the west coast.

You know it does bring up a good point......

What's worse? The Pop Culture being developed by the coasts? Or all the people here and in between that buy into it.....?

I don't think "Pop Culture" in and of itself is bad. I am old enough to remember a time when there were no Reality Shows....no Britney Spears....no Paris Hilton....and no <gasp> internet (which only tends to exasperate it.)

When I was growing up in the 70's-80's.....we had Pop Culture, but it was way more wholesome (re...."Brady Bunch for one example.....LOL)

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

BUT I thought you said you were a "small-town" guy?

Well, I am but the idea is to try and find somewhere small out that way. When the GF becomes an architect she insists that Cali has the type of stuff she wants to concentrate on and I wouldn't mind getting a job in the hot rod industry out there. I bet the car culture is insane!

As for GM moving... I hope GM isn't seriously considering this. Wagoner and Lutz must be completely de-balled now if the noobs from GME have that much influence.

It's safe to say that I would not buy GM if they moved out of the country AT THIS POINT. Then again, I'm becoming more of a BMW man everyday, since GM can't man up and give use any AFFORDABLE desireable cars for a prolonged period of time.

Edited March 11, 2008 by FUTURE_OF_GM

[The O.C.]

Well, I am but the idea is to try and find somewhere small out that way. When the GF becomes an architect she insists that Cali has the type of stuff she wants to concentrate on and I wouldn't mind getting a job in the hot rod industry out there. I bet the car culture is insane!

As for GM moving... I hope GM isn't seriously considering this. Wagoner and Lutz must be completely de-balled now if the noobs from GME have that much influence.

It's safe to say that I would not buy GM if they moved out of the country AT THIS POINT. Then again, I'm becoming more of a BMW man everyday, since GM can't man up and give use any AFFORDABLE desireable cars for a prolonged period of time.

I wouldn't have thought of YOU as a "BMW man!"

[ltdaniels]

You know it does bring up a good point......

What's worse? The Pop Culture being developed by the coasts? Or all the people here and in between that buy into it.....?

I don't think "Pop Culture" in and of itself is bad. I am old enough to remember a time when there were no Reality Shows....no Britney Spears....no Paris Hilton....and no <gasp> internet (which only tends to exasperate it.)

When I was growing up in the 70's-80's.....we had Pop Culture, but it was way more wholesome (re...."Brady Bunch for one example.....LOL)

can't imagine what pop culture from the midwest or the south would be like.. i don't think i'd be into it. only thing i wish i could wipe from the slate is reality television..

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

I wouldn't have thought of YOU as a "BMW man!"

I've always been an in the closet BMW man. And their hydrogen ICE program is going a long way toward healing any hatred I might've had for them.

I'll do you one better: I absolutely LOVE the new EVO, but don't tell anyone! I have this image as an 'anti-import - GM only redneck' to keep

Edited March 11, 2008 by FUTURE_OF_GM

[Drew Dowdell]

Bless you we agree on something........

Did you hear that there is a village in Texas that is missing it's idiot?

They'll have it back soon.

[zhawk]

You don't need to move the company to have a culture change. Fire all the accountants...... and Germans.

Don't have to fire the accountants, just make them go back to the accounting department and keep their hands off decisions about making cars and trucks.

They have their place in GM, but they shouldn't be trying to run things.

As for GM moving, whoever thought of this lamebrain idea should be smacked in the back of the head.

[sarcasm]Yeah, this is a great idea, while we are trying to recover and start turning out vehicles that people will love let's just spend all of our money moving our headquarters. That will make people love our product. Right!!! [/sarcasm]

This is one of those rearrange the chairs on the titanic ideas. And these usually come from people who are trying to get control of something that they have no business being involved in or are trying to make their mark. I see it all of the time when the active duty sends in a new Lt.