Carl-Peter Forster, president of General Motors Europe, is mad as Hell and he’s not going to take it (free market capitalism) any more. Yes, the European auto industry needs help “from political leaders to turn the situation around. At the EU level, and within the political leadership of individual countries, action must be taken to stimulate the economy, relieve the credit crunch and restore consumer confidence. Only then will consumers have the means – and the confidence – to invest in a new automobile.” While Forster waits for [yet more] government intervention in EU economies, the GM suit trotted-out a very GM-like list of reasons why his company’s sales are in the crapper: surging oil and commodity prices, the risk of recession due to the ongoing credit crunch, unfavourable currency rates, new CO2 regulatios and increasing fuel prices. So what about, you know, the desirability of GM’s products? Nein! “In Germany, 10 to 15% of the cars are more than eight years old. We know there is pent-up demand for our Opel products. And we have local initiatives in place to spur cash sales. But our efforts are being stifled by a serious cash shortage.” Whose?
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RF–
“unfavourable”
Nice touch!
–VK
Douche-baggery doesn’t recognize borders, but it does recognize the GM logo.
When you’re a transnational company, it can get very complicated figuring out which government owes you a living.
“In Germany, 10 to 15% of the cars are more than eight years old.”
That seems high…apparently those in the blue overalls at the TUV aren’t doing their jobs (you know, failing people so that they’ll go buy new cars from German automakers).
“10 to 15% of the cars are more than eight years old”
So? I thought German cars were well engineered and built. We have a sixteen year old Volvo 240 in the family fleet and I expect it to still be going strong for many more years.
I guess when “desperate of Detroit” is on the phone every day saying “send dollars, €uros, pounds or any dam currency, now” you’ve just got to try and find some wherever you can.
Clearly this is GMs new marketing strategy in Europe – go to the govts and get them to pass laws to force people to buy new cars – of course stating that they must buy Opel etc may be just a bit too much for even the EU lawmakers to agree to.
Yeah, my cars are 9, 11, 30 and 43 years old. What’s the problem?
Opel has nothing to worry about. Surely GM of NA will pass a few buck to GM of Europe.
Seriously – could they do that? Pretty sure they can.
Maybe the $40K per week crowd are starting to see that the $40K per year crowd are getting a little too squeezed. Maybe the $40K/wk crowd could share the riches that the $40K/yr crowd is making them.
In our family we have/had several OPEL cars, we were/are very happy with them. We have a Vectra C with 220k kms, and an astra G with 63k kms.
But every new model is bigger, heavier, not better mileage, more expensive.
We had a Vectra A from 1993 with the weight 1060kg, now the new Insignia with 1,6 115hp engine 1503kg/3300lbs. City 22mpg for 22000Euros = 30000$ This is the answer for “surging oil and commodity prices”?
I don’t think that these figures are acceptable.
New features in Europe: n+3 airbags, led lights, 6 stars crash test results (for +100..kgs),high tech complicated diesel engines for sky-high prices and expensive to fix them (turbo, intercooler, etc), runflat tires, power steering lights, panorama windows (+kgs too), hill-start assist, button start-stop, n+3 cupholders
and theese features are not the products of the carmakers, but the key OEM manufacturers Bosch, Hella, etc
So, why should i buy a new car in Europe? I think manufacturers must allocate their resources for better milage /less wight, less power, better powertrains, better cw, / not for design and cheap toys.
Models creep is normal so every new model of the same car is bigger etc.
The reason why cars are getting heavier are crash tests and the state that wants the cars to survive them.
Robert,
please refrain form violating a commandment. swear all you want, but remember…
Buickman
“our efforts are being stifled by a serious cash shortage”
Cash shortage? Good grief, Germany of all countries should know how to avoid cash shortages. The Weimar Republic figured out the secret back in the 20’s.
Ghosn concurs over at Automotive News (sub).
“I have no idea if Nissan will be able to benefit from it or by how much,” Ghosn said at the Paris auto show. “But when you take a look at the financial situation in the market today, it is a good idea.”
Ghosn said the European Union could “get inspiration” from the U.S. plan “if they want to get serious about helping the industry.”