SimonDavid

We're GM enthusiasts so we think like that. But if you're going for BMW you're in import territory. People are buying image. BMW has euro-cred and an unblemished history of building quality sports sedans that hold their value. Pontiac has, well the Aztek, Sunfire, Knight Rider, plastic cladding, 50% of GP output bought by rental fleets. How many yuppie BMW buyers are going to buy into that or set foot in a PBG dealership? Sure with an unlimited budget and 20 years you could turn it around, but GM doesn't have that. In terms of GM brands that potentially appeal to premium import buyers they have Cadillac and Hummer, plus maybe SAAB if they polish it up. (Even then the CTS-V got panned in Europe - not on the same planet as an M5)

Difficult to work out what market they were going for with this one. Over 30 grand (for a car not truck) is premium territory, and Pontiac is not a premium brand. If it's a US muscle car with a touch of retro it should be 10 grand cheaper - the Camaro will be a big hit there. If it's a 3 series competitor it should be more sophisticated and Pontiac is probably not the badge for it - a 2 dr next gen Cadillac "CTC" is what they need. But still it was worth doing, they probably learnt alot about the right and wrong way of doing global products and the limts of the various brands.

The Astra is hot right now here in Europe - sportier than a Golf and better value Especially considering that there is really nothing new in it - it's an updated platform from the previous gen and as Griffon says doesn't have the new generation all alloy ecotec. Shows what GM can do when they execute a product well and price it right.

If you want to take the Boeing analogy further : The only way Boeing managed to launch the 787 is by getting foreign risk sharing partners. The Japanese are building AND DESIGNING about 40% of the value of the aircraft. Boeing has become a systems integrator - that's how they are staying in business. They've also made big cuts in jobs and retirement benefits, and GE, through its leasing operation, has a large sway over the business.

All other things being equal 2 big engines are always more fuel and cost efficient than 4 little ones. Half the number of parts. Sort of like the economy penalty of permanent 4wd, except that for airlines a 5 % effiency gain is a huge amount. Also the "4 engines over water" thing is a myth. The biggest risk is engine failure on takeoff - that's the only time full power is being used. So every 2 engined plane is designed and tested so that it is able to take off with only 1 engine.

I agree - if you want a real car magazine read Automotive Industries Otherwise the net is far better

I think this is a softening up excercise. Clear the decks before 07 and take away all the UAW's excuses.

Well he called for it all very publicly before hand, and it was announced the day after he was appointed to the board.

Yes the dividend's been cut, pay for the board has been halved, white collar health benefits slashed, senior management salaries slashed Useful first day on the job

Interesting month The Rendezvous is almost outselling the Uplander The HHR is 50% of Cobalt volume and H3 is getting close to the Colorado Tahoe is off to a good start It just shows that interesting cars sell - I hope it augers well for the Enclave But Cadillac's Sigmas are getting stale - they need new models, need to keep up the momentum Another question - how much money did GM make? Anyone can sell at a loss

does this mean the Saturn Vue will be built in Korea That ould make sense but wouldnt it mean Spring Hill will close? It's alreadylost the next Ion...

I thought te sky was designed by Simon Cox's European studio

they're posted over at the opposition and yeah they look stunning

I think Im in a minority of 1 but I like the older retro design better, it looks cleaner and less fussy IMHO through the wheels have clearly been chopped on...

On the SAAB issue : SAAB has certainly lost a fortune up to now, because GM was trying to run it as a stand alone company - thousands of employees in Sweden and the 9-3 could not be inter-built with other Epsilons. but that was old SAAB New SAAB is basically a brand owned by GM Europe. Engineering is integrated with the mainstream Epsilon 2 work and the cars are going to be built in Opel factories - therefore adding good incremental premium volume. I think this "new SAAB" model is going to be very profitable, in fact they have already broken even. Also remember that in Europe the premium segment is the strongest growth part of the market, and the Opel badge has never cut it against Audis and BMWs - it's too mainstream. So GM needs a premium badge in Europe. SAAB is it. Cadillac could never be it - they dont even have a diesel and most of their cars are too big. So in Europe they now have a nice progression : Chevy / Opel (Vauxhall in UK) / SAAB + a few Cadillacs

I read the GM/FIAT Master agreement - it's on the web somewhere. That answers all the questions. Basically GM signed the worst deal in history. FIAT had the right to force GM to buy FIAT auto, and here's the killer, for 5 years after GM had bought it FIAT would still have a veto over GM's choice of FIAT CEO, GM would not be able to close any plants and FIAT would have to be consulted on any major changes to suppliers or attempted changes to labor contracts. (Remember FIAT would still be a major supplier through magnetti marelli, comau etc). GM would not even own the FIAT name - it would have to license it from FIAT Group. This is all in a contract that GM signed. Hence FIAT was able to walk off with 4 billion. Any decent board would not just sack the guy who signed this but put him on trial.

I agree with Sigma The idea that GM's management is deliberately trying to bankrupt it is laughable. They're doing that just fine by accident - they don't need anyone's help!!! But I think there are some scattered grains of truth in there - people getting their parachutes ready, Wagoner bankruptcy proofing his pension, refusing to give specific dates. The CEO should stand up and say "We will have positive cashflow by the end of the year or else I will quit. Everyone will have to make sacrifices, including the UAW, and including me"

I agree with Rkmdogs I think this one needs serious tidying up. The side profile is fussy with too many swage lines. The beltline that dips down after the A-pillar and then kinks back up looks plain old fashioned. The front looks too menacing, with headlamps recessed too far (many Mustangs are bought by females and I can't see this appealing to them) And the rear needs some nice clean round tail lights I think the overall stance and proportions are great though, just strip away some of the unecessary ornamentation

this is stunning

How many engineers do GM have on contract anyway, and why? A dumb question : If GMDAT is driving small cars, Opel is driving midsize including Epsilon 2 and the Ion replacement, Australia is centre of RWD, GMT900 is launched, Lambda is soon to be launched, GMT360 replacement is delayed, then what is GMNA working on?

A question for the insiders.... The Lambda crossovers (not the minivan replacements, but the Enclave and equivalents) would you class them alongside R-class, ie like a station wagon? or more like a SUV that just happens to not be BOF? or somewhere in the middle like and RX330? please give us a hint

Personally I'm glad the Ion is being consolidated onto the Astra's platform - the Astra is a big hit here in Europe. Hopefully this means GM is going to be truly global in future. I mean really GMNA should be concentrating on Sigmas, Lambdas, BOF and Corvettes, leave everything else to Opel and Daewoo

I think the Daewoo stake was 49.5% a year ago now it's 50.5% so now they can consolidate Maybe the structure was like that because GM didn't want to consolidate Daewoo's financial results when it was still losing money - now it's turned the corner they can afford to.

I had a crazy idea : Many college age Americans backpack/do student exchanges around Europe. Why doesn't GM market to them a good car rental deal? Throw in a few gimmicks as well maybe a helpline "youre never far from home", make it like a club. Then they spend their summer driving around Europe in a shiny new Opel, come back to the US impressed, and bang GM has a ready made Saturn customer when they graduate. Probably a very non-GM demographic as well.

I tnink it would have happened a while back except GM bought an extra 1% of Daewoo, moving to 51% therefore can consolidate GMDAT's production figures. So that's a million units right there.