Not content with one cheerleading article telling the world that GM has what it takes to turn around the sinking ship, today’s Detroit Freep Press has another piece asserting that The General will Survive ‘n Thrive™. Mark Phelan’s handed his pom-poms to biz scribe Katie Merx, who pens a paean to the GM Lifer and CEO who’s wiped tens of billions off the automaker’s balance sheet, steered it straight into a sea of debt and presided over the corporate colossus as it’s shed more than ten points of U.S. market share. “He is a finance guy, but he knows he won’t get a healthy balance sheet without beautiful sheet metal.” Gag! “Wagoner is able to focus on select, long-range issues, said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research, largely because he has put together a stable and strong senior management team — and trusted them to do their jobs.” Gack! “‘One of the things I’ve learned from Rick and Fritz is you’ve got to deal with reality,’ Chief Financial Officer Ray Young said referring to Wagoner and GM President Fritz Henderson.” Barf. But I’ll let Wagoner have the last word, as the punchline is clear enough. “Our burning desire is to keep going forward fast.”
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“Our burning desire is to keep going forward fast.”
Towards chapter 11 or chapter 7?
In Detroit, the incestuous orgy continues.
The hometown press is almost always terrible at covering its business leadership. Even in Seattle you don’t see the competing dailies going after mighty Microsoft.
With peoples love of sheet metal I’m surprised we do not have more car (dealers?) museums/art galleries.
TTACs spin on the story is clever, I like it, but I do reserve a right to come to my own conclusion. GM does look very loss though. WOW. I never really got to thinking about how Billions have been loss and market share gone while Ricky was at the helm. Its um…unsettling. I’m not a Business major, but I’d consider putting someone else in charge. Its none of my business though. What ever, the taxes I pay are not enough to give much to GM. I like to see America wise up some. Thank you TTAC you are helping I think.
“He is a finance guy, but he knows he won’t get a healthy balance sheet without beautiful sheet metal.”
When did he figure that out? He’s been in upper-management at GM for, what, twenty-five years? And officially in-charge for eight to ten?
God, what a piece of journalistic mutual masturbation.
Has someone been watching `Wayne`s World` tooo much or what?
but he knows he won’t get a healthy balance sheet without beautiful sheet metal.
*crickets chirping*
That desire only burns one thing: CASH
Wagoner has been CEO for eight years and has done NOTHING. If not for the profits they lucked into with the SUV boom, they would have been on the ropes long before this. Management is the problem, and the Board of Bystanders is to blame. Somebody should go to the shareholders meeting and beat them to death with Deming’s book.
“He is a finance guy, but he knows he won’t get a healthy balance sheet without beautiful sheet metal.”
WTF?!?!?!? He is saying this now? Where was he 10-15 years ago?
Debacles
– Lumina
– Monte Carlo
– Cavalier
– Aztek
I could go on.
I need to go punch a hole in the wall.
You guys need to quit being so negative about GM and the Big 3. If it wasn’t for them places like Autozone, Advance Auto Parts, Pep Boys, and Napa wouldn’t be around. Not to mention all the mechanics and serice department people working at their dealerships.
You guys need to quit being so negative about GM and the Big 3. If it wasn’t for them places like Autozone, Advance Auto Parts, Pep Boys, and Napa wouldn’t be around. Not to mention all the mechanics and serice department people working at their dealerships.
How are they being negative about GM? Rick Wagoner is the one everyone can’t stand. The irritation at Rick comes because he may very well cost the United States the very jobs you just mentioned via his managerial incompetence and inability to prove, like his predecessors, that GM can compete with the Japanese on quality and price.
GM’s got the workers, it’s got the good engineers, it’s got the dealers, sales staff and service departments. These guys just follow orders. Which means that when the company fails, there’s only one place to point the finger.
Usta Bee:
Heh heh… ;-)
I just threw up a little bit in my mouth……
Rick must have dyslexia he jumbled this statement up, “Our burning desire is to keep going forward fast.”
I think he was really trying to say, “Our desire is the keep going forward, FAST, burning money, soon to be your money.”
If he was really able to focus on long range issues he wouldn’t be saying they could never see the price of gas going up like it has. Just about everyone not living in Detroit has seen that one coming.
How could Rick know gas prices might go up? It wasn’t like this had ever happened before.