Back in ’05, the year that Bob Lutz turned 74 for the first time, GM’s Car Czar called Buick and Pontiac “damaged brands.” Even the Detroit-friendly media seized on Lutz’ remarks as a sign that someone in RenCen had woken-up to the fact that eight is more than enough. It’s too god damn many. But no. Bob was forced to backpedal. “Everyone always says that I was sort of implying we were going to cut Buick and Pontiac. I never said ‘irrevocably damaged’ or ‘irreparably damaged” or ‘terminally damaged.'” And now, Mr. “The threat of bankruptcy is absolutely out of the question” has been forced to backpedal on his backpedaling. Maximum Bob told Automotive News [AN, sub] that “It’s really much better to have fewer brands, do it well and then market the hell out of them.” [Note: you gotta love any article that begins “If General Motors survives its cash-flow crisis…”] Of course, the winner of TTAC’s Bob Lutz Award didn’t hit the heights without hints. To wit: “Lutz declined to indicate exactly what will happen to Saturn and Saab but said business as usual is not an option. ‘They’re under strategic review,’ he said. That’s the corporate code, Lutz said, for: ‘We realize they’re not working, and something needs to be done.'” HUMMER, Saturn and Saab are (nudge nudge) bye-bye but the original damaged brands (Buick and Pontiac) live on? Bob lives is a strange world. Let’s visit!
Posts By: Robert Farago
When I was growing up in Rhode Island, the state was run by the mafia. Politicians, police, priests, judges, juries, firemen, trash collectors, teachers, unions– anyone who had power owed that power to Raymond L.S. Patriarca. Period. In the last forty years, the mob’s stranglehold on the Ocean State has dissipated– even if the stench of corruption remains. But it’s too late. The mob-controlled unions and their corrupt enablers destroyed Little Rhody’s industrial base. The state will never be a locus of, well, anything. And yet people call talk radio and wax lyrical about “the good old days.” Justice was for sale. Racism endemic. Violence systemic. Priests buggered little boys with impunity. “But at least you could walk the streets without fear.” This, Detroit, is your future. And you can thank your godfather, GM.
An anonymous source sent us this heads-up. We’ll chase it up tomorrow (Monday). Meanwhile, back in October ’07, Newsweek pegged the number of GM retirees at 340k. So, if true, this works out to a $238m hit to GM’s bottom line. At least. UPDATE: GM spokesman Tony Sapienza tells us that GM paid up to $700 in “year-end inflation adjustments” to 284k hourly retirees on Monday. Some 73k surviving spouses received up to $455 each. The total cost to GM: $200m+.
Perception: All Detroit needs is deep restructuring and federal bailout money for long-term viability.
Reality: Wrong. Detroit needs what America sorely needs — a Congress with the leadership chutzpah to devise and implement industrial and energy policies that will help to keep native manufacturing industries alive. Detroit’s problem isn’t poor products or lack of products. It’s a national government still wedded to the debilitating siren song of cheap gasoline. It’s a nationally collapsed financial system. And it’s governmental hypocrisy — our willingness to pour tax dollars into foreign enterprises, most of them not unionized, while griping about doing the same for homegrown, unionized manufacturers largely responsible for building America’s middle class.
“Sweet Jesus! You guys and your talk of blasphemy and not getting it. I bet your grand fathers would turn over in their graves if they about half of what you did to your rides. What in the hell do you guys think hot-rodding is all about. Everyone has his or her own vision of what they expect as they try to make their wheels an expression of themselves. Looks to me like this guy put a lot of work into his ride and just because YOU don’t like it doesn’t mean the entire world should. Next time before you make a comment try and imagine how you would feel if people began putting your ride down and all this after they took the time to post it on CarDomain. To each his own and if there is something you don’t like move on to something that does but thee’s no need to put down someone’s ride. In the mean time just try to remember, we’re all car guys and gals and while we may not all be equal in what we like or can afford we still owe it to each other to have some respect for what it is we all have in common… our wheels.”
“Yes, a long time. I’ve seen GM do a lot of things. Water pumps – massive failure in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Broken motor mounts – when they failed the throttle would go wide open… a fun ride. Implementation of emission controls – the plugging of the vacuum lines to the EGR valves. IMHO this is where everything started going bad. GM cars began to have more driveability problems than ever before. Worse, problems became harder to diagnosis. We sold a lot of cars during the 70’s; some good, some not so good. The Chevy Vega was the worst. Then came the X cars and we lost all direction.
“The new BMW Z4 is larger than its predecessor measuring 148mm longer at 4,239mm and 9mm wider at 1,790mm, and this results in greater interior space and luggage capacity. With the roof up, headroom has been increased by 44mm while the greater car width and design enhancements have led to 20mm more shoulder room and 43mm more elbow room.”
The Detroit News (of course) reports that Chet Czaplicka (real name) is doing a Ressler (i.e. conflating purchasing a Chrysler, Ford and/or GM product with patriotism). “The chief executive of a Livonia blood-processing firm is trying to do his part to give the automakers a little bump in sales. His medical firm, Comprehensive Care Services, is offering workers $1,000 toward the purchase of any new truck or car made by Detroit’s auto companies — a small gesture that Czaplicka hopes will make a big statement about just how important the Big Three’s survival is to businesses in the region.” Other than the MSM, Czaplicka’s offer has fallen on fertile ground with his employees– ish. “The incentive already has caught the attention of one employee in Florida, Sean Murtha, who is looking to replace his wife’s Lexus with a more fuel-efficient vehicle. The offer of an extra $1,000 got him to consider buying American. He and his wife are eyeing a Ford Edge.” Well, he would say that wouldn’t he? And Murtha sounds like a tire kicker to this former salesman… And it might be churlish of me to point it out, but Detroit’s automakers have been offering a grand off their vehicles (at least) for a long, long time– without stimulating much action down at the dealership. Still, makes a good story.
Jonny Lieberman just belled me from Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch outside of Sin City. JL’s flogging the new 370Z on Nissan’s nickel, putting the transplant’s smaller, faster coupe through the corners on our behalf (quel sacrifice!). The TTAC scribe will be scribing his review soon, but initial impressions are… good. “It’s a good car,” Jonny told me with uncharacteristic reserve. “Neutral. Nice.” Tell me more, tell me more, did the synchro revs match? “Around town, it’s fine. But let’s say you’re charging down a straight in third gear, at about 7000 rpm. Red line’s at 7500 rpm, right?” “Right!” So you’re braking hard and you want a lower gear. As it shifts, the tranny blips the throttle. That sucks.” “Yeah I hate it when that happens.” Anyway, even though JL believes Nissan’s assertion that their updated roadster is as fast around a track as Porsche’s hardtop two-seater, a Cayman killer the new Z ain’t. “It’s probably more aimed at the Mustang GT. Against that it’s a Hell of a lot more neutral in the corners.” Safe! Not that Mr. L has that at the top of his priority list. What does linger there will soon be revealed….
Nissan is wasting no time wasting the Quest minivan, and platform sibs Armada and QX56. All three vehicles are a drug in the marketplace– and it ain’t cocaine. Motor Trend almost connects the dots, “Nissan has partnered with Chrysler to shift the full-size Nissan Titan truck to the Dodge Ram platform, and it appears now that more changes are underway for Nissan’s large vehicles.” Hmmm. Do you think that any new SUV for the U.S. market might be based on that platform, rather than what they done built down in Canton, Mississippi? You know, kinda like the Sequioa sits on the new Tundra? Could be. But I reckon MT’s right on the money (or lack thereof) when they suggest that the Quest and QX are being KOed completely. And here’s why… “Nissan and Infiniti sold a combined 72,450 of all those three models in 2007. The Armada posted a whopping 70.5% drop in November and is down 49.1% so far this year. QX56 sales fared slightly better, dropping only 53.3% in November and 33.6% this year. The Quest was by far the worse off of the three with sales dropping a catastrophic 81.3% in November and 33.3% this year.” Sayonara. Over and out.
Important Message Update: White House Statement
Mark LaNeve, Vice President, GM North America
12/12/2008
Dear U.S. Dealers:
Last night the United States Congress failed to reach agreement on a $14 billion emergency bridge loan in support of the domestic auto industry. Obviously, we’re very disappointed in this development. As critical a situation as this is, GM’s leadership continues to look at options to restructure and stabilize the business in this exceptionally difficult economic period.
I can’t possibly express my appreciation and pride for your participation in this effort. General Motors dealers could not have done more to show support for the loan legislation. You and your teams made thousands upon thousands of contacts with our congressional leaders. Many of you traveled to Washington to meet with your representatives personally, while others organized funds to place ads in local media. I truly believe that your voice was heard and that your efforts will impact the future outcome…
Although I am a long-time critic of long-term tests of hideously over-equipped press cars, raising as they do the questions about Motor Trend’s objectivity, I can see the value of knowing how well a vehicle performs over the long-haul. So, as TTAC’s refocusing its efforts on those four-wheeled thingamabobs known as “cars,” I thought I’d weigh-in with a little encapsulated commentary on the family Honda Odyssey. Before I do so, I want to take this opportunity to tell the world that I have hatred in my heart for Honda’s Majesterial Rhode Island dealer. Suffice it to say, I have sworn off the entire brand because of the treatment received. Ahem. Michelin PAX tires. They blow.
The Washington Post reports that President Bush has signalled (from Air Force One no less) that he will “consider using funds from other sources to provide emergency aid to the nation’s Big Three car companies following the Senate’s rejection Thursday night of a Congressional bailout plan.” This is a reversal of Bush’s previous insistence that the money for Motown’s Troubled Twosome (Ford’s maintaining its low profile) must come from the Department of Energy’s $25b “retooling” loan program, and follows Congress’ abortive efforts to scarf the funds. “Under normal economic conditions we would prefer that markets determine the ultimate fate of private firms,” the White House statement said. “However, given the current weakened state of the U.S. economy, we will consider other options if necessary — including use of the TARP program — to prevent a collapse of troubled automakers.”
And there you have it: Senate republicans have scuppered the Detroit bailout. Automotive News [AN, sub] reports that democratic Senator Harry Reid has thrown in the towel at the the eleventh hour (literally). “”We have not been able to get this over the finish line,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said after 10 p.m., following daylong negotiations to broker a deal among lawmakers, automakers, auto workers and other interest groups.” AN clearly identifies the United Auto Workers as the gordian knot that could not be unpicked. “But few could have predicted the final stumbling block: A dispute over when UAW workers would consent to have their wages reduced to match those paid to nonunion workers in U.S. import-brand factories. ‘We are three words away’ from an agreement, said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. He said workers wouldn’t accept a 2009 deadline for the parity demand.” And why would they? They’ll get less of a “haircut,” and more power, in bankruptcy court. Meanwhile, GM released a statement on the bill’s failure…
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