G. David Felt

:lol: Yup you are right, I just did not pick up on the title that was used. Thanks for the heads up. :P

GM slashes Jobs and closes plants by end of 2006

We'll I for one was calling for Wagoner to step down, This just might be what saves his ass! Unlike the multiple years, 21 plants closed and 74K layed off starting in 1991. This one year big change could really improve things fast for GM. Be interesting as to how they handle the UAW. The UAW plans to fight this it sounds like.

Sound off, do you think this is a good move or bad move for GM? Do you think they need to go deeper?

Sounds like the SSR will be dead with the closing of the Michigan Craft Center.

What are your thoughts? :CG_all:

What your co-worker is experiencing is disappointment through misleading advertising.  What Toyota and Honda are doing with their upper end hybrids is using the hybrid system in place of a supercharger. It's a way for them to get better 0-60 performance without any sacrifice in efficiency. Honda even admits to this when talking about the Accord. They are giving the customer what their cake and letting them eat it too.

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True, but at Least I have to give Honda the aknowledgement that they talk about the performance gain on the accord. Toyota, just outright lies about the Highlander Hybrid and say's all is good for everyone when that is not really the picture of what they have done.

Either way, truth seems harder to get across than lies. Sad the marketing state we are in. Even with the Toyota Prius getting nailed in CA for the actual fuel consumption of only low 40's MPG does not seem to make people or the press scream louder. <_<

dfelt,
There's no way they could use the property for anything else. Contamination would be way to much.

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As already stated, GM is building Luxury condo's on one site, I know they have a couple of mall's being built on two other sites. If you look at all the realstate that GM own's, they can do many things with the old closed down sites that can bring in cash flow.

Reality is everyone is in the business to make a buck, some are short time others thinking long term. Reality is GM board needs to make a change and Wagoner is the lamb to be sacrificed.

<_< Puleaseeeee Hybrid are a marketing Exercise in distractive lying. Look at all the toxic compounds it takes to build the battery packs, extra electric parts etc. The autos create just as much toxic waste if not more than is saved by the hybrid system. Let the uninformed waste their money. A coworker traded his Highlander SUV in for the HYBID version and spent the extra 12K the dealer demanded for it. Reality check, 2 months later he is madder than a hornet as he only got a lousy 2 mile per gallon more in driving it. yea the 0-60 times are 2+ seconds faster than the non hybrid version but the end result is it is a marketing tool. No real benefits! IMO <_<

:huh: Really, this whole HHR thing is surprising, I have seen 2 on the road here in Seattle Washington and 1 at our auto show a week ago. I have been by 3 chevy dealers and not a one had an HHR. They just do not seem to be any around here. The Cobalt on the other hand is HOT here. :P You find those babies every were and a ton of kids are trading in those junky Honda's for them also. :D My own son who liked the 240SX and the 300Z as his favorite cars has decided he likes the cobalt more and wants the SS after having sat in it at the AutoShow. He also loves the Saturn Ion. :P These cars will help out the General greatly. :D IMO

<_< I think most people here will realize that a change is in order, Wagoner had his chance and has pretty much wasted it. Unfortunate but true, the older people get, the more unwilling to change. In this regards it takes a person that is not affraid to force change. Kerkorian while not the most loved business man, has actually done allot for society. For the ultra liberals that feel he should be giving hand out to the poor, you will not find this from this man. What you will find is business that generate profits and create jobs. This grows the working class and stability of this country. If the people on the side of the road are too lazy to take a job at McDonalds or a job at one of Kerkorians companies then they get what they deserve. He is doing what really helps this country, Investing to grow business that create jobs. Yes Profit is a means that all investors and owners want, the reality is if it can be done with a long term view that benefits everyone and Kerkorian seems to be able to achieve this. IMO Kerkorian represented by York on the board will be a good thing for GM. Clean out those that are dragging their feet, close down the useless plants and streamline. Take a page from the little that GM has done and redesign the plants into other uses, mall's, apartments, etc. There are great ways for GM to still keep the land or turn it into some other profit means. Long Live the General! B)

:P Too True Future of GM, so much self opinion that it can not be considered an evaluation of our educational system, but then if we just go on peoples writing and spelling, mine is bad I know it, then maybe we have left many behind. :lol:

<_< Biggest challenge will be to keep the CTS on the A&S theme and not get it watered down like a jeally bean. My wife still is complaining to me that while the New Escalade is nice, it has lost the in your face look that made it a hit. Cadillac wanted to attrack a younger crowd to grow their brand, Leave the DTS and STS to the older 50 to senior people. They rarely go for the SUV / Truck scene or the entry level scene of the CTS, but keep the aggressive look of the CTS otherwise Caddilac will have had their flash but lost the long term war. Next year will be a very telling year for GM as to weather or not Lutz is worth the money they pay him and his addiction to the Jelly Bean style of autos. <_< IMO, Lutz is past his prime and lost his edge. He does not have the right mind set for growing the general, keep him for input as a specialist, but take him out of the actual direction of the company designs, he is messing up the formula.

<_< Yea and when was the last time America allowed a foreign company to own a military supplier. Nope will never happen, probably we will see a bail out of GM just like Chrysler in the 80's.

Sad that a company thinks the population is that stupid and needs such a worthless anouncement about their advertising spending. :P

<_< And you thought they would not resort to what appeared to work last time? We are in the midst of the reuse everything that appeared to work last year to finish out the year strong. :lol: Originality seams to be lacking across the auto industry. <_< Now I was discussing this with my coworkers here and we all agreed that a 0% for 60 months financing along with a Xmas $500 in options free for customizing the auto would be sweet!!! :P Everyone gets a good deal and the dealership then get the customer to buy from them up to $500 in add on stuff like mud flaps, bug shield, upgrade shifter knob, etc. Great way to sell an auto plus get people to look at the accessories the dealer sell's. This would be better than the current ring and win. IMO :) Plus to all the C&G Folks who administer the site and make this such a great place for us Faithful GM people to bitch and love our favorite General, YOU GUYS ROCK!!! Have a Happy Holiday season! :CG_all: :cheers:

Those stupid doors are too many pieces, are too much of a potential rattle source, are unattractive to most buyers (the full liftgate with flip up glass is the best of both worlds, IMHO), etc., etc.  They were interesting on the Astro and Excursion, but only to a select few.

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<_< I totally Disagree, take a woman who is 5'8" and has to bend over a flip down tailgate to get things in or out of the back of a suburban. 91z4me is correct that the astro van had them before the Excursion and why GM did not see the benefit of putting them on a 4x4 like the suburban is beyond me. Probably did not do the market research or stayed only in Detroit and did not get out to the other markets, but my wife is not the only one that wished they had mini stage coach doors for ease of getting things into and out of the back of a suburban.

As far as the rattle noise issue, I again disagree as Ford has not had a noise problem with their design. All doors can be tight and quite with the right seals, locks, hings etc. Flip up glass is great for better visability yet with out the mini doors, I would not want a flip down tail gate. I will take the stage coach doors everytime over a flip down tail gate. IMO.

I think if they did this they would sell many of them. The large flip up door is not easy for woman or small men to open and close. For us 6'6" tall guys, we hit our head on it, again not a good form / function design.

GM would do well with the Flip up glass and mini stage coach doors being added to the Suburban. I think sales would be greater than most people realize as I have heard many a suburban owner here in Seattle wish they had that door setup on the back of Excursions. Could also explain why they sell so well here. Course both makers SUV's sell well here. ^_^

B) GM is a great company that has had bad management with far too many yes boys on top and a gready UAW.

To set the record straight, everyone must remember that the unions did great things during the industrial revolution and up to the 60's in helping build a quality of life, get kids out of the work force and benefits for the common man. I take nothing away from negotiating a fare contract.

Yet today, being the last 30-40 years, the unions have gotten corrupt, political hungry and over all forgotten to see the bigger picture for basic manual labor. Does a assembly line worker deserve to out earn the college educated? No offense, but last time I looked those that use their brains usually earned more than manual labor. At the same time taking nothing away from high school educated only line workers, they need a fare wage and benefits, but not the current socialist system the UAW has set up.

Unions were good up to a point and now they are worthless, truly not helping the class of workers they were supposed to represent. IMO

Bankrupcy for GM = GOOD, Keep in mind the asian auto companies get ton's of special help from the governments, so why not allow our companies to shed their debt / Legacy obligations and be on an equal fighting stance.

GM gains by shedding the UAW, Legacy obligations, finally close down under performaning divisions, Buick, Pontiac and maybe GMC. Stream line a clean product line of entry level = Chevy, Middle Level = Saturn and Luxury = Caddy.

Bad news for tax payers who get stuck with the debt loss, Legacy pension as the government takes over and a loss in customer support. Yet keep in mind, Chrysler had junk on the roads and turned around based on marketing, GM can do the same thing.

All in All, this really can be a positive thing, no matter how you look at it.

FOR THE STOCK BUYERS: Unless you can afford to loose all the money you invest in a stock that might or might not go bankrupt, stay away!

Leave playing daily changes in the stock price to those that desire to take the risk and can loose the money. Many a middle income person lost their life savings trying to buy bankrupt companies or those close to it.

I admit I have played and for the most part done well with KMART, WorldCom, Eron, etc. There is money to be made if you time it right and buy low, sell high and keep changing hands daily, but then like another member has stated, if a company comes out of the Chapter 11 when you are still holding, you loose big time.

I say goodluck to GM, they need a major change from executive on down and a change of their divisions.

B) Good chance it could be since they have hinted at the diesel in it. This will truly give the Expedition XL a run for it's money. I truly believe Chevy and GMC will keep their title for the best selling SUV on the road and reliability. Nice job Scharmer05, that is a sweet amount of miles on your suburban. I have a 1994 that hit 350,000 this summer and just could not pull like it used to so I just got it back with a custom 406 in the bay and boy does my baby pull. Course I have been wanting diesel all along but did not like the noise or poor milage of the Excursion. I will say, I wish GM would copy FORD in this regards, mini stage coach doors and a tip up glass door. I like that over the large all in one door that goes up. Otherwise, my Suburban like all totally rocks! B)

<_< Still not a big fan of this new baby, but instide is nice. Keep in mind, Mercedes has a column manumatic shifter. Not all get floor shifters and that huge center floor stack eats up very nice leg room. I for one do not like the floor shifter and the room it takes away from leg comfort. I will take a column shifter any day. :)

<_< Keep in mind the Chrub has put enormus DEBT on all our shoulders, the growth in economy is coming NOT from his policies, but from the fact that multiple Storms have destroyed so much that things have to be rebuilt and that is a big jump in the orders for durable goods and consumables. People have their insurance money and are spending it.

If you take out the billions from the storms, you will find an economy that is pretty much not to much higher than it was in 2002-2003.

Yes there has been some growth but nothing like it could have been. The US has always had bigger growth when we had more peace around the world than when the US was meddling in affairs outside our country.

I come from a 4 generation military family, all marines and I support our troops and the men and woman who defend our freedom, yet if you can not challange and question the administration due to fear then we truly have given up our freedom here at home already and that is sad.

In regards to the UAW: Very sad that so many can still not see how hurtfull their socialist ways have caused a great deal of this. Reality check but out side the main unions, most people pay a part of their own insurance.

Welcome to the real world. In 2007, I believe the General will be able to get more concessions from the UAW, those in it for a long time will realize they have to give to survive and keep their jobs. Those new to the UAW and plants as line workers will have to accept that a non college educated job only pays so much. You want better, go to school and get a diploma in a field with growth. :)

I said it before and I will say it again, I know there are fans of certain models, but GM really needs to do a clean house. Entry level - Chevy / GMC Merged in. Mid Level - Buick/Pontiac/saturn merged in. High end - Cadillac. GM does not need 6 brands. They can turn high profits by closing down names and cleaning up the house to where 3 divisions get the proper resources to have updates and change every 3-5 years and keep things fresh and poppin so that buyers keep coming in. I love the General and all my Vehicles, 1 - 94 suburban, 1- 98 S-10, 1-99 cavalier and 1 2005 CTS for the wife. My two kids and wife love their cars, but really the market is not what it used to be and what GM really needs is a focused approach in the market. Yes this means some dealers will have to change or go out of business but that is the reality of the price game. If a dealer only stays with one brand today, they will not grow. I for one vote with my money on the General surviving, but still holding and buying more stock as it really is a value right now. Yet the hard decisions have to be made and not everyone can be happy or will like it but plants need to close, people need to be laid off and divisions closed. The global economy is here to stay and you have to change with it or be left in the dust. End Game! <_<

<_< Who Cares, Honda Sucks. Their new civic is the ugliest thing I have ever seen next to thw aztec. Which is truly the ugliest! :P :lol:

:( FIRE LUTZ & WAGONER!!! :angry: This is all Wrong, so many of you say good enough, really nice, etc. Any person who looks at the 3 with any intelligence will see that the value will be in the GMC, Cadillac has ruined the Escalade! The A&S that set it apart and got so many of my sister and brother inlaws to buy a CTS and Escalade are not happy. A Rebadged Yukon., Interior I am sure is nice, better smoother flowing lines, yet again, they follow everyone else with a stupid center floor console that eats up leg room. Commen sense will tell you that the large football players, large anyone over 6' will have a hard time sitting long term in this thing. You can see just how much right side leg room they ate up with that stupid center stack. You can clearly see more room in the Chevy and Yukon over this one. Maybe all you guys want to pinch you penise and have your leg rubbed while on a long drive, but this just tell's me I will be holding onto my suburban a while longer. :( They must have had some girly guy in charge of doing this interior. :( Here I was excited to get a new ride to drive that would be bold, in your face Lead the world in distinct Style, Quality and Status and they water it down. DAMN LUTZ, Retire and go away, you are destroying all that has brought Cadillac back.!!! :angry: No matter what anyone else says, I agree the quality will be there, but this one they screwed up big time!

:P Can not wait till it is 1 minute after midnight tonight. This will be awesome. Course for me it is PST so if they do it based on EST, then it will be 1 minute past 9pm on the west coast. :D Go Baby Go :P

<_< It's a Euro Market thing and a Diesel. Interesting but only that, just Interesting, If they brought it to the US, then it would be COOL! :P

B) M'mmmmmmmm POWER POWER POWER B) Feel the POWER!!!!! :booyah:

B) Here is the Official Blurb off GM's web site: FOR RELEASE: 2005-11-04 NEWS ADVISORY - Cadillac Unveils Highly Anticipated 2007 Escalade at the South Florida International Auto Show Completely Redesigned Truck Makes Its World Auto Show Premiere What: The Cadillac renaissance continues as the iconic Escalade SUV receives a complete makeover for the 2007 model year. On Friday, November 11, the utility will make its world auto show premiere at the South Florida International Auto Show inside the Cadillac stand. With its current bold, edgy design, the Escalade has captured the imagination of influential luxury buyers and in 2004 held 36 percent of the large luxury SUV segment. Escalade fans include some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment, and they have embraced it as the "gotta have" ride and the "King of Bling." Cadillac General Manager, Jim Taylor, will introduce the new Escalade at noon. He along with Gary White, the vehicle line executive, will be available following the conference for interviews. When: Friday, November 11, 2005 12:00 PM Where: Miami Beach Convention Center, Cadillac stand 1901 Convention Drive Miami Beach, FL Credentials: Call or email Nekeidra Shegog to obtain media credentials into the show. [email protected], 678.634.7364 cell YEA, This coming Friday!!! :P

<_< I thought the pictures of the new Escalade came out today? <_< I have been looking and looking and still no pictures found! :( I want my escalade pictures please!!! :P