ZL-1

I'm sure they are counting China, as they should. It's pretty obvious that Buick China and Buick US will exist in parallell (same lineup?) as their middle brand between Chevrolet and Cadillac. Chevy, Cadillac, Buick and GMC brands will be the core (i.e. surviving) brands. Pontiac will offer a couple of RWD models (Solstice + G8?) until those models are phased out and then.......... no replacements for those and........ voilá, shutdown complete! Saturn will be more expensive because of the stand alone stores, but it can be starved of product and shut down as well...

Just by looking at the Insignia, I say that GM will do just that, except Opel won't be appealing in the way a properly managed SAAB could be. I think SAAB will just fade into the History books. Cadillac is not taken seriously outside the US and it will take time and effort (i.e., a sh*tload of money) to properly establish it. That is a serious issue GM has to think about.

soup what better way to quickly heat a healthy soup?

It appears, according to that other GM enthusiast website, that SAAB is officially for sale. Just the brand and the Trollhättan factory, not the engineering functions, which is understandable as they are very closely integrated into GME and are regarded as one of the best in the GM world. If this is true, it appears I'll never buy a car built by GM unless I win the lottery: CTS was listed in Portugal from 60K Euro to 75K Euro - totally out of what I can afford... too bad... let's see where SAAB ends up and if an Astra-sized model makes it into production...

that's just so.............. wrong..............

I agree that the CEO that agreed to the jobs bank (IDK if it's true or not, but I read about people in the jobs bank being paid while spending the whole day playing checkers) should get an ass kicking, as it is a CEO's responsibility to defend the company against such things! Funny thing is I don't even put much blame on the UAW, except for displaying a complete lack of vision: the end result of their success in bargaining is everyone's job being on the line...

The issue of attempting to protect market share at all costs is exactly why GM and the other 2 are in trouble, and it goes back way further than 9/11. GM should have thought about cash flow generation and that is about not discounting products to the point where defending share strangles a company. It is about brand focus, about restructuring aggressively, and it is about investing serious money in product development instead of spending it on incentives...

Sell the brand with no assets attached, or maybe a plant attached? Many possibilities... Remember that when BMW bought Rover they bought a $h!load of British brands besides Rover and Mini. Most or all of those brands are in BMW's portfolio, but none has a production facility or actual vehicles. Like FOG wrote it is about selling the brand's potential to someone else. EDIT - potential doesn't mean RWD vehicles only. It could mean entry into a new market for some OEM, for example.

And there lies the issue.........

People became complacent because they were market leaders. Detroit executives (and even Union leadership and line workers) were raised to believe their companies were untouchable, that imports would never dominate the marketplace.

Of course not! But I'd almost be willing to bet that if there is an attempt against Obama's life it will be a Timothy McVeigh type, not a foreign terrorist.

surprise, surprise...

Greek no clue on how that name is spelled, but it is of Greek origin

It is just an iteration of the SportCombi, pretty much like the XC70 is just an iteration of the V70. According to SAAB's general manager, new stuff (the real new stuff) will appear during 2009 (NG 9-5, at last!) and 2010 (9-4X which has been delayed a few months). Of course, as with many GM brands it may be too little too late, but hey... it's good old GM...

The economy is more important than GM or any other company taken individually. The issue of bailout money has to do with GM's political weight as a large employer in the US.

metropolis

adult

Amazing movie! Reply to thread: up

Gogol Bordello

It is the answer to the XC70, and SAAB will have the 9-4X if it and GM live long enough. Of course, with the neglect this brand has enjoyed since GM bought it, these vehicles together with a modern 9-5 should have been here at least 5 years ago... oh, well...

x2

It is the collapse in credit, as credit fuels the economy. The only reason we're not in a 1930's type of Depression is because public authorities were much quicker to move with regard to liquidity and because real interest rates adjusted much more quickly than during the Great Depression. Until the real estate market balances itself and people with negative home equity get out of trouble it will be hard to see any major consumption-based economic expansion. Even in China there may be trouble: they were very aggresive in moving with a big fiscal package and interest rate cuts...

Porn Since I don't know who Cindy Williams is, 'porn' was the natural response to thread. When in doubt, always reply 'porn'!

time he still posts on occasion. he should get an award for starting this thread!

dusk