General Motors Is Headed For Bankruptcy -- Again

[ALS]

March 2012, Car and Driver published another D-Segment comparison test, pitting the 2013 Chevy Malibu Eco against five competing vehicles, the Malibu came in dead last.

Louis Woodhill - FORBES - August 16, 2012

Using the same failed business model usually generates the same results --Ed.

President Obama is proud of his bailout of General Motors. That’s good, because, if he wins a second term, he is probably going to have to bail GM out again. The company is once again losing market share, and it seems unable to develop products that are truly competitive in the U.S. market.

Right now, the federal government owns 500,000,000 shares of GM, or about 26% of the company. It would need to get about $53.00/share for these to break even on the bailout, but the stock closed at only $20.21/share on Tuesday. This left the government holding $10.1 billion worth of stock, and sitting on an unrealized loss of $16.4 billion.

Right now, the government’s GM stock is worth about 39% less than it was on November 17, 2010, when the company went public at $33.00/share. However, during the intervening time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has risen by almost 20%, so GM shares have lost 49% of their value relative to the Dow.

It’s doubtful that the Obama administration would attempt to sell off the government’s massive position in GM while the stock price is falling. It would be too embarrassing politically. Accordingly, if GM shares continue to decline, it is likely that Obama would ride the stock down to zero.... [Read More]

[xcel]

Hi Al:

This guy must be reading our daily diatribe?

He was a little harsh with the political overtones and bankruptcy but dead on with regards to VWs Winterkorn, the Malibu and market share decline. He missed that GM is still profitable although with an ever shrinking market share. The large sales fall off of both the Cruze and Malibu last month was more than disconcerting and I am beginning to become worried. The Silverado 5.3L V8 story is another ominous sign of what they need to do but failed to provide.

One thing he did miss is GM has some excellent employees with world class capabilities. Unfortunately their talents are being wasted with major design overhaul decisions that are far above their pay grade.

Regarding the Bailout losses, while $30 + Billion is a huge number, saving GM saved probably one to two-million jobs. What I believe the UAW should consider is request a contribution from both GM and Chrysler UAW workers to forgo their bonuses with those payments going directly back to the federal Government until that debt is paid off. Exec’s and white collar should be required to pay the same percentage on their incomes as well. It would be not only be politically palatable for the rest of us but generate the right kind of good publicity for a “Roll up our sleeves and get back to work” attitude needed and remove the bailout stigma overhanging both GM and Chrysler once and for all.

Wayne

[southerncannuck]

So I read this article, and it appears that the blame for GM's downfall is being attributed to the bean-counters in charge as opposed to having engineers running the show as VW does. And yet they finish the article with a dig on "its unionized UAW workforce". I guess that it's just a requirement to blame the blue collar workers. At least in Forbes circles.

[Carcus]

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein

[WriConsult]

Ouch. Too bad GM is having trouble staying profitable with new-car prices having escalated quite a bit in the last 2-3 years. Of course, they are saddled with the staggering costs of our bloated healthcare system, while a lot of their competitors are not.

[rfruth]

President Obama is proud of his bailout of General Motors ? Who signed the TARP bill in 2008 ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trouble...Relief_Program

[ALS]

Hi Wayne,

Like I said in my comment,

Using the same failed business model usually generates the same results

There is plenty of blame to go around when it comes to GM. I'm no Union lover but you have to remember "Management" granted those benefits in the first place. The problem is everyone in management is an expert at building and selling cars, just ask them.

The problem with GM is they are several years behind the competition with innovation.

Example: Ford Eco Boost line of engines and their introduction of a real Hybrid back in 2010.

Look at the new Malibu it's a good looking car but "WHY" doesn't this car get an EPA rating of 38 plus mpg's on the highway. The EPA rating of 34 mpg highway is three to five years behind in this continually evolving fuel economy market.

[Jay]

I suspect that GM will never be a profitable company again as long as the government has any hand in its management--just as the post office and Amtrak are perpetual money losers.

[herm]

I dont think the gov. has a hand in the management* since GM came out of bankruptcy and paid its debts.

The gov. should distribute the GM shares it owns to the taxpayers, depending on how much taxes they pay.. then tax them for the gift

*besides OSHA, EPA, IRS, and the myriad other agencies with their hand in the pocket of companies.

[southerncannuck]

Originally Posted by Jay

I suspect that GM will never be a profitable company again as long as the government has any hand in its management--just as the post office and Amtrak are perpetual money losers.

I suspect that if the Post Office were allowed to charge rates close to UPS and FedEx for document service they would be doing just fine. I and if Amtrak were allowed to select which city pairs they could serve they also would be OK. In other words act more like businesses. But would you folks living in small communities like that?