Why would anyone want to move from head of Cadillac to being the guy in charge of the dead brand walking known as HUMMER? Answer: they wouldn’t. But there it is: Jim Taylor is now the GM of HUMMER. Meanwhile, back at Stately Wayne Manor, Automotive News [sub] reports that “Mark McNabb, 47, remains GM North America vice president in charge of Cadillac and GM’s premium sales channel. The three general manager positions reporting to him — for the Cadillac, Hummer and Saab brands — are being eliminated.” In other words, three for one and one for three! So what happened to HUMMER’s existing GM? “Martin Walsh, 56, general manager of Hummer, will work with Taylor guiding the Hummer transition, [GM spokesfolk Joanne] Krell said. She said GM plans to appoint Walsh to a new job.” Oh, and the Saab guy? “Steve Shannon, 50, Saab’s general manager, will become executive director of product and marketing for the premium channel, reporting to McNabb.” What are we to make of all this? “By creating a new and more comprehensive leadership position for HUMMER with Jim Taylor as the top executive, we are bolstering the strategic review process and the brand.” said Mark LaNeve, GMNA vice president of Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. “At the same time, we’re sharpening our focus on Cadillac as GM’s flagship brand in the global luxury marketplace under Mark McNabb’s leadership.” Me. I’m thinking deck chairs. Titanic. Feng-Shui.
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I can’t imagine that Hummer ever made GM a profit. IT was a stupid Marque to have. They were cool for about 5 seconds – but, I went to a Cadillac Hummer Dealer in Great Neck Long Island and tried to sit in one. Worst truck ever. All that size, horrificly small interior.
Nothing more than a show off truck.
The only way these made sense is if you have to traverse canyons to get to and from work.
I’m GLAD to see HUMMER die. I heard they were selling it to the Arabs because in the Middle East gas is plentiful so SUV’s do well there.
I think it would be prudent to examine Jim Taylor’s experience, areas of expertise, and connections to possible HUMMER suitors. This could simply be a move to grease the skids for the sale of HUMMER. Who better to purchase an automotive division from than a trusted friend?
“By creating a new and more comprehensive leadership position for HUMMER with Jim Taylor as the top executive, we are bolstering the strategic review process and the brand.” said Mark LaNeve, GMNA vice president of Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing.
LaNeve also explained that GM would be exploiting synergies and conceptualizing benchmarks to achieve maximum customer adherence utilizing a dynamic feature set of outside-the-box thinking and bleeding-edge functionalities on a six-sigma paradigm while leveraging cross-platform infrastructure.
Sounds like a sinecure position for a guy to mark time and draw a paycheck. It’s hard for Rick to fire his friends. The line workers, not so much.
“Me. I’m thinking deck chairs. Titanic. Feng-Shui.”
Perfect.
Kudos.
Cicero-that was also lovely.
Oops-we’re bashing”Britney” again.
I feel soooooooooooooo dirty.
Bunter
He must have really pissed somebody off.
Here’s my guess: Jim Taylor wanted to be CEO of GM. Especially with them shunting McNabb in, that’s clearly not happening.
So when they asked for a show of hands of who’d like to become CEO of a spun-off Hummer, his shot up.
He’s a very capable individual, and having him as Hummer CEO will enhance the sale price.
How long will he stay on at Hummer, and where might he go from there? This probably depends on what he’s able to do with Hummer.
When they start using the word “strategic”, it’s all over.