OK, so here’s the latest chapter in GM’s decades old inability to face reality. GM CEO Fritz Henderson told Automotive News [sub] that there’s nothing wrong with GM’s viability plan (or the company’s management leading up to its $22.8 illionb federal “loans”). GM simply failed to, uh, perform. “The viability plan, when you look at the finding, they basically said they appreciated what had been done—actually quite a bit of what had been done is correct. What they really said was they wanted things to go deeper and faster.” Uh, not as I recall it: “The plans submitted by GM and Chrysler on February 17, 2009, did not establish a credible path to viability,” pronounceth The Presidential Task Force on Automobiles (PTFOA). “In their current form, they are not sufficient to justify a substantial new investment of taxpayer resources.” Of course, the PTFOA gave GM $4.4 billion to tide them over to C11 anyway. And if you think I’m just milking this “deeper faster” thing for cheap laughs, well, here it is again . . . and again . . .
Most importantly, I think what we’ve made clear [to the United Auto Workers and GM’s bondholders] was that the criteria that were used before are not sufficient. We need to go deeper, we need to go faster to have a clean balance sheet.
And so, they clearly understand that to do this outside of a bankruptcy, we’re going to have to go deeper, we’re going to have to go faster. . .
The Treasury went through the report. They said they liked what the company is doing; they want to go deeper and they want to go faster.
So that’s what we’re willing to do. We’re going to take what we outlined and say, OK, we’re going to go deeper and faster; we’re going to re-look at all of our assumptions one more time. . .
We’re going to basically achieve these four criteria: having a structure, if you will, that will allow us to be more viable across the business cycle; cleaner balance sheet, deeper re-structuring, funding for advanced technology. . .
When we finish our business plan – the deeper, faster business plan – it will generate a projection of cash flows over a business cycle which will then say how much debt is sustainable in the balance sheet of this company. That’s an answer I will have in a couple of weeks or more.
As will we all.
This man is the best of the best?
Sheesh.
They cloned Wagoner.
Good grief. Will they just go away? Never has a company been apparently so unwilling to face reality as GM. They said that Saturn will go away by 2012 (!)–why not tomorrow? So Saturn sales went off a cliff. What a surprise. Why don’t they admit that Saturn, Pontiac, and Buick are history and capitalize on the fact. A Saturn ad: “Your last chance to buy German engineering at a discount!” Rename the G8 the Grand Prix, offer Pontiac loyalists a ‘last chance to buy a Grand Prix’ complete with special colors (or rather specially named colors–heartbreak red, farewell yellow, autumn gold, etc.)–and put a $2.00 engraved plaque on the dash indicating that this is number 23050 of the last 50000 GPs. They’d at least sell a bunch of cars. But instead they’ll just fritter away the opportunity like they did Oldsmobile, the last of which was an SUV! This company is hopeless–they need to die and soon.
This does not inspire confidence.
You didn’t think GM was going to die quietly. They are dying with a fight just like a large whale fighting off an attack from many sharks. It is ferocious and bloody battle, but the carcass will eventually be eaten away to the bone. Blood will pour into sea like GM’s red ink on its bottom line.
I think Fritz has got sex on the brain instead of GM’s recovery. He’s obviously wrong for GM but right for a racy romance novel.
Frisky Fritz.
I think I could go faster and deeper than Fritz.
That’s what she said.
Is it me, or does it look like Fritz just crapped in his pants? He seems to be happy about it.
This is the kind of man that drives chicks wild. Imagine the picture above with Fritz in tight swimming trunks covered with body oil. Now change the background to a pool at a summer resort. Watch out Gibson and Cruise Fritz is oiled up and ready for action.
Dr. No :
Frisky Fritz.
Okay now, that’s just creepy.
esg :
…Is it me, or does it look like Fritz just crapped in his pants? He seems to be happy about it.
I thought he was either doing the “Chicken Dance” or maybe the “Church Lady” dance. More evidence of creepy…
akear :
This is the kind of man that drives chicks wild. Imagine the picture above with Fritz in tight swimming trunks covered with body oil.
Aaaaaahhhh, I’m blind! I’m Blind!
Akears: Imagine the picture above with Fritz in tight swimming trunks covered with body oil. Now change the background to a pool at a summer resort. Watch out Gibson and Cruise Fritz is oiled up and ready for action.
Robert, here’s your best chance for a TTAC subscription model: Buy some photoshop time to paint Akears’ vision to generate heavy duty hits. Careers are made here (or not).
These negotiation can’t work because the UAW thinks they’ve got political cover. They won’t have take a haircut in Stimulus Nation.
Of course, that means the bondholders won’t move either. They’re better off in the courts if the UAW gets a sweetheart deal.
This looks like an epic train wreck from a business, news, and political perspective.
This is laughable. GM is like a little kid at this point.
Mom: “How’d you do on your test?”
GM: “Not too good, sorry Mom. I got a C-“.
Mom: “You need to study hard, and do better next time. Are you going to do that?”
GM: “Yes, I’m going to study hard and do better.” *runs off to play video games all night*
Mom: “So, how’d your latest test go?”
GM: “Not too good, sorry Mom. I got a D”.
Repeat ad infinitum.
Yo: Captain Kangaroo: how about going deeper and faster into the idea that you should be planning for 10% market share & 1 million units a year from now till 2025 ?
Dolt.
They cloned Wagoner.
Recall that Wagoner was once the CFO.
So does this brilliant management team go to the “good” GM or the “bad” GM when the company gets split up? I personally don’t they are competent to be cleaning toilets in Ren-Cen.
GM would be better off headless with all the management gone and no one to lead, at least there is a chance they might go in the right direction however small it is.
They should find some guy who has run a small garage for 30 plus years, and put him in charge. Any financial plans he doesn’t understand, he should veto. That would have to be better than anyone presently near the top of the org chart.