Bob Lutz better watch out; his boss is challenging him for the title of Most Delusional Person on Earth. After the Olympic Games' opening ceremonies, Rick Wagoner told Financial Times, "I would say, from an assembly perspective [the pain] is largely behind us." And even though GM has had to cut large chunks of their workforce, is losing market share on an almost daily basis and flushed $15.5b down the toilet last quarter, he feels they're in "a pretty good position." Since the interview was in China, the discussion turned to their Chinese operations. "This has been miracle story from our perspective. For me it's the replay of the US auto industry in the 50s, 60s, 70s, but the upside potential is dramatically greater." Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't those the decades when GM began, advanced and perfected the brand dilution and model overlap that brought them to the point they are today? And when someone pointed out that analysts expect sales growth in China to slow drastically this year, he didn't care. "That's not something we are losing sleep over." Of course, with the golden parachute he has strapped to his back, he probably doesn't loose any sleep over very much of anything. His private little world must truly be a wonderful place to live in.
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I want to live there, it looks like a happy place. Too bad the picture doesn’t show the island nearby where Rick and Bob and all the others enjoy their daily circle jerk sessions. I wonder if they use the Escalade Hybrid for a mental image.
It’s hard to comprehend how these old white guys can be so detached from reality. Probably the only way to get them to look at an “import” is to hog-tie them and throw them in the trunk.
Frank, I think the 60’s is where GM began brand dilution with baby olds, and buicks, however,the seventies and eighties they lost all compass headings and smashed the brands together into a mish mash they never recovered from. Now the fifties with over 50% of market and the finest oiled machine for upgrading people in cars including the annual model change were greatfor GM. Except for a downturn in 1958, That was economic. as GM had retooled the line for 58 pretty substantially from 57 (dual head lights and all) but in 1959 cam an even more stunning restyline that might have been the most radical one year change in history. Talk about spending for tooling 55-56,change, 57 change, 58 change, and 59 wow.
these were the years your neighbor knew exactly how old a car you were driving, and all of the five divisions had substantial sheet metal and mechanical differences. In addition the train going by probably had a GM locomotive, your wife washed clothes in Fridgidaire appliances, and you road the city bus to work a GMC of course. And if you passed a quarry those giant Euclids, GM of course. GM will never be there again.
That is the greatest picture ever!
Maybe GM needs to start making their interiors out of genuine unicorn! That would be difficult for even the haptic gurus at Audi to match.
GM needs a miracle at this point.
-ted
It was in the late 70s/early 80s, when the Roger Smith era began is when GM smashed all of their brands together. I mean, just crack open any early 1980s magazines you have and look at the GM ads. Cadillac built luxury cars. And so did Buick. And so did Pontiac. And so did Oldsmobile. And so did Chevrolet. Each of these ads talk about the car’s “Rich, velour trim” and the selection of “hand-buffed colors”. The only things seperating these “miniature Limousines” were the grille, tailights, and the logo on the obnoxiously fake wire wheel covers.
Of course, this came to a head with the Lincoln “What a Luxury Car Should Be” ad campaign, which caused Cadillac sales to tank as well as helping to wreck their reputation. (The Cimarron would do the rest) Of course, GM scrambled to again reseperate their brands with Chevrolet offering budget “Euro” models, Oldsmobile being the technology division, Pontiac being the “excitement” division, Buick being the Rental car “Quality” division, and Cadillac being the wannabe luxury division. But, these cars still looked similar and were offered in mostly the same price range, so nothing changed. And the rest is history, which brings GM to their branding debacle today.
Hope my brief history lesson helped clear things up.
So the president and CEO of huge multinational corporation chats it up with the Financial Times.
So this guy has the audacity to put a positive spin on things.So now we call him delusional?
So if I was to post something negative concerniing, say TTAC.Would the CEO at TTAC jump to TTACs defence?Yup,cause thats what the boss does.
Point is GM is getting beat up everyday,by everybody everywhere,and Rick W.golden parachute and all is just doing his job.
So sad to see Dementia in action. He’s clearly given up the domestic market, hasn’t noticed that Europe is just behind the US for recession, and banking everything on China …. how long does he think the Chinese will honour their contracts and IP rights?
I read from his comments that GM are getting ready to abandon the N American market – if they hive off the international ops into a seperate company, you can bet that Ch11 won’t be far behind.
Maybe they’re going to dump everything but China? After all, the other lame duck is making money in Europe (for the moment), how’s GM Europe doing these days?
Truely a sad time watching the last days of a true American icon – this should launch a massive boom in business history books analysing how they mighty gave up. (And TTAC is in prime position to issue a bestseller – I’d buy it).
My 5 year old daughter has a puzzle with that unicorn pic.
I think she has a firmer grasp on where money comes from too.
Chuckle.
Bunter
Frank’s point on Rick W not losing sleep is the TRUE reality…When you make the coin these guys do, your personal way of life is unaffected by ANYTHING that goes on in the automotive world…Their country club existence has no relationship to the guys on the line or in administration, engineering, etc…I don’t work in the automotive industry but US auto industry’s fiscal health effects us all…Unfortunately, the damage from the past decades is too deep to repair. Even now, at a time when GM is showing they can build world class vehicles (CTS, Acadia et al, Malibu, etc), the die has been cast…
Yes indeed bunter its amazing how sharp 5 year olds can be.My 5 year old grandsons teacher was showing her class her new KIA.My grandson told her that his granpa says, a KIA is a pile of junk.
PS: Granpa got into a little trouble for that one
I guess these guys do have to be positive, even perhaps when they know the truth is rather different. However, he should know enough not to mention the 70s. I mean, my God, Detroit in the 70s made one comical turd after another.
Crap unicorn and rainbows, I get enough of those at home. He lives in the same fantasy world as my 7 y/o daughter, except she is smart enough to know GM is toast.
mikey everytime she sees a GM commercial she says, “GM makes worthless junk”. I never would have considered a Korean car until after I had some American fodder.
What was GM’s market share loss from the mid 60’s to 1980? Maybe Rick sees a similar decline in China.
And he is wrong the Chinese auto industry is directly similar to ours from 1900-1929, maybe he should brush up on what happened shortly after that to all the great car companies in the USA. It shouldn’t be had to find info on it GM had a hand in stomping some of them out of business or bought them up giving us the retarded portfolio they have today.
I believe the term for a 7 year old that GM is toast and saying “GM makes worthless junk” every time she watches a GM commercial is brainwashing.
True enough those ‘old delusional white guys’ who have riddled GM with absolute incompetence are but a small picture of America. When we stop and look at the judges run amok, laws that aren’t applied,the insanity of a guy like Obama even considered as a candidate for US presidency, the insanity of the Nation of Islam and Farakan, Reverend?????Rick Warren groveling to the Mohammedans and liberals,the rapid take over of the US by the terrorist ideology of Mohammedanism and on and on and on…When we look at the components of the big picture-GM is right on target with the rest of this once grand republic. GM doesn’t surprise me, she is a part of the culture that is now America. No surprise there, when God is kicked to the curb, Satan strolls in and begins His Thing. No sir no surprise.
Redbarchetta: GM’s market share in the late 70s was still pretty strong — I think in 1980 it was 46%. They took some hits from the oil crisis, but they had mostly recovered. And they were very excited about the launch of the Cars That Would Send the Imports Packing, Mk. 3: the X-body.
I see that picture, and all I can think of is this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MKYmCOl-DM
[probably not safe for work]
It was in the late 70s/early 80s, when the Roger Smith era began is when GM smashed all of their brands together.
I would say 10 years earlier….was there really a need for a Caprice? Buick GNX? Olds Regency 98?
Four versions of the Chevy Monza and Nova?
Captain Tungsten It’s not brain washing when she has had first hand experience being stranded with mommy in the Pontiac several times. Asked “whats wrong with the car” when parts fall off in her hands. And she was quiet aware what was going on when the Cadillac stranded them 350 miles from home while on the way to meet me in Kentucky. And she can clearly tell the quality difference between our Subaru work horse that she loves and the Caddy that just sits there unusable. Kids are a lot smarter than people give them credit for.
argentla I know GM still had a substantial market share I was asking what the percentage drop was during that period. I know they lost something, maybe not as much as under Rick leadership but it was stilla decline. Not something I would mention in a positive manner during an interview.
Redbarchetta,
Exactly. Our children know what we drive and why and it has nothing to do with bashing Detroit. They know the difference between leaving home in the family Detroiter and coming home in a rental and all the round trips made in the Toyota. Ditto my brother and several of my in-laws.
You strand a kid in TN on the way to Disney World and he’s going to remember that forever. And his friends will likely hear about it, too.
Kiss those kids good-bye, Rick.
I believe that GM brand dilution began in the early 70’s when it was decreed that division managers would drive or be driven in a car from the division that they managed. Before this they all simply picked a Cadillac. This is how the Chevy Caprice, Pontiac Grandville and Olds Dynamic 98 came to be. Later, when the gas crunch came, small cars were spread across the board. Like the Cadillac Cimmaron.
Gotta love that GM brand Kool Aid-look how refined it is after aging for 30+ years.
Not that I’m advocating the idea, but just imagine if we went back to the same model of leader successes western civilization used to use 2000 years ago: succeed and you are rewarded; fail and you are executed.
Just imagine how much more responsibility Wagoner would actually take if he had a clause in his contract that if he failed miserably he would be shot in the head (of course if he did well, he could keep his golden parachute).
Red/Kix:
Sure, kids remember traumatic experiences for a long time, i certainly understand that.
I also understand that they don’t figure out who or what to blame on their own. They have to be told that. Parts falling off the car? To a 7 year old, that could easily be a fun new game to play with the car.
Captain Tungsten,
Right. I getcha. The burden is on me to make Rick Wagoner’s numbers.
Memo to self,
In order to protect Detroit’s market share and ensure my kids buy Detroiters, avoid discussing vehicle repair history at the dinner table, even after the Visa bill comes in. Never tell them why we can’t afford something. Also, remember to avoid reminiscing about certain trips involving unexpected overnights in out-of-the-way places we hadn’t intended to visit. Absolutely do not discuss why these overnights occurred.
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OK… Captain Tungsten, here’s my real response to your 12:22, without the sarcasm… Get a clue. I don’t know how bright your kids are but mine are bright enough to figure out which cars are giving us trouble and which are not without my help. Detroit has raised a generation of Toyota loyalists in my house.
“Fun new game to play with the car…” Are you trying to provoke those you think have a bias against Detroit into remarks that will get them banned?
In ’03, Lutz proclaimed that GM was just as good as anybody, quality-wise. I’ve reviewed CR… Lutz was wrong. In the interim, they’ve spent quite a lot of money on things that are stupid. They could have just built a better car or been better prepared for inevitable higher gas prices (did they think the cars they were building in China would never get driven?) or an economic downturn or other “headwinds.” Wagoner and Lutz should go.