GM headed by Keebler elf & a soft drink peddler?

[MeanBuicks]

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Not that this necessarily spells doom but what do you think about GM's future with folks like this at the helm?

 

[TRiv]

Hopefully they are car enthusiasts for a hobby, otherwise hard to see what they would be able to offer IMO. Looking at GMs or any other car manufacturers history, car guys (or gals) in upper positions make it all happen because of their passion for what they do, "CARS", whether engineering, marketing, etc., they started young, worked thier way up to the top, and understand the business in their field of expertise. Those old timers passion for automobiles in what ever way, made GM what it is, or was, Cole, Dontov, DeLorean, Earls, Knudsen, Wangers, etc. etc., same goes for any other company, Ford,Chrysler, and foriegn.

Lutz is to new at GM to give any opinion here, or where he'll place with the GM greats, hope the best, but giving top positions to anyone without well rounded experience (brought up through the ranks), or passion with the auto industry, it can not possibly be a good thing, hope it does'nt become a trend, if it is'nt already.

 

[TexasT]

It's about the money

To me the picture is clear. Just look at what GM is pushing. Take the Malibu Maxx for example. Who would knowingly buy such a thing. Takes after the Pontiac flop(don't recall the name) stabbing at a market that is very fickle. I am a late thirty family guy(four children) and even when I was an early thirty guy and a late twenty guy with less or no children you couldn't have given me this type of auto. It is about turning an almighty Dollar, and these two have a track record of leading a corporation and turning a profit. That is why they are at the helm. my 2 cents.

Rich

 

[John Larkin]

Somewhat off topic but in a similar vein, this isn't the first time manuafacturers brought in folks from the outside. Chrysler did it with a Nabisco guy, Ford had a Scott papertowel guy. They didn't last long.

Who's seen the nerdy outspoken father figure touting the Ford Freestar? I like the straightforward "this is good because it makes sense" approach, and as we all know, vehicle marketing has focused too much on image rather substance. Who cares if Celine Dion is enjoying herself driving around with her kid? 99.99999% of us will never be famous so how can we relate our expected experience to the one she portrays?

Fads, trends, comedy all make for good entertainment but does it make you want to go spend $30K? It would be similar to showing people having keg parties and then expecting them to run out and buy a house. Duh. Show the car, show the truck, show their capabilities, show their value, show their content; that's what sells people. Price is secondary, people find out real quick what they can afford when they sit at the table to make the deal.

I guess I agree with having car guys in the car business. Like me.

 

[fitz3820]

Bottom line is that GM is making money and has been for a while.

Ford lost money for the last 2 years but looks like they made some in 2003 but that was mostly from their banking/lending divisions - not cars/trucks.

DaimlerChrylser is a mess, they lose $$ like my wife spends it.

It seems that GM is turning the corner, trucks are where the $$'s are today and they have a strong lineup. With cars at least they are switching over to rear drive on a bunch of new models.

The real issue is that the big 3 need huge incentives to move cars while the imports/transplants do not. Having a quality product that people want must be nice

Mark F. 87 GN 11.9 @ 115