This is a ridiculous company with an even more ridiculous management group. General Motors' (NYSE: GM) cars are mediocre, its union contracts are incredibly extravagant in a brutally competitive industry, and management seems to think we are still in the 1950s.
Recently, the company's auditors raised even more concerns about the automaker's ability to survive without more loans from the government.
GM's own forecast assumes survival based on a car market that is larger in 2013 than it was in 2006. Yeah, right.
True shareholder value: zero
Michael Shulman is a contributor to OptionsZone.com.











Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-15-2009 @ 2:58PM
Patti Williams said...
Did you forget the cadillac? One of the best selling cars.Who gave us the corvette?The silverado has been at the top for years.Remember baseball,hot dogs apple pie and chevrolet? In my small part of the world GM vehicles are dominant in the market because we know our families,friends,neighbors,communities,states and our country depend on us to buy vehicles made here and where the profits stay here.
Do you know how many hundreds of thousands of people would lose their jobs.How many would lose their retirement and healthcare? Taxpayers would pay millions for the new homeless and unemployed.Many more people losing their houses and applying for welfare and food stamps.
Think twice when you start the GM bashing,and think about acting like a good citizen.
3-15-2009 @ 3:22PM
Ben said...
Wow, you are a retard (previous poster). GM is a terrible company that deserves to go under for having horrible management. They are taking billions of taxpayers money RIGHT NOW, not after their collapse. If these people who will get laid off cant find other jobs then they are not worth having a home or a family. They have no excuse for not saving money in case the company they work for goes out of business because that is what it is a business, and a volatile one at that. Competitors will pick up GM's market share and god forbid you are forced to buy cars that are 100 times better.
3-15-2009 @ 5:51PM
farmer0904 said...
patti you said it good! these people just dont care about anything bu their wallet, this greed is why we are in this big mess, not gm or even that fool , George W Bush, It is simple greed of people who have this economy in this dire state. GM lost sell's because of banks not lending loans, gm lost sales cuz of gas prices, thanks to the greedy who push these prices on gas up till the economy broke like a ballon ! heating prices like ele in the east cost and else where has sky rocketed to ungodlky high prices, who can afford a car now anyways with all this! it's greed that has us here in this mess~ pure greed on the wrealthy side of the tracks and btw if gm is so bad vs toyota then why did toyota sells fall as well? GM has good cars now and the reason their in this mess again is greed of banks, wrealhty people who sucked the life out of the system. big companys who send jobs over seas to save a few dollars will really in the end, loose more as this economy fells, again greed ! the housing market jump in the last 10 years to ungodly high prices, driven by people with greed , trying to make as much as they could. people then end up buyig a home that is not wroth these prices and then cant afford to pay for it in the end. it's all greed ! STOP BEING GREEDY AND THINK OF OTHERS FOR A CHANGE AND TRY TO HELP YOUR FELLOW MAN , IN THIS CASE GM THAT HELP BUILD THIS COUNTRY WITH IT'S GOOD PAY FOR WORKERS !
3-15-2009 @ 6:28PM
jjr said...
I also have to agree with Patti. The cadillac CTS is truly a beautiful car that was well awarded the 2008 motor trend car of the year. Or should we talk about the Saturn aura that won the 2007 car of the year or should we talk about the Chevy malibu that won 2008 car of the year voted on by auto journalists. Then there is the Opel Insignia that just won the 2009 European car of the year. The Buick Enclave, the GMC Acadia...both beautiful and both 5 star rated in quality and safety for families with 3 or more children. 8 hybrids on the road now and the chevy volt to come in late 2010. Then there is the issue of the UAW. All I can say, is check out any of the independent 3rd party reports that judge the quality of manufacturing plants (Harbour, JD Power etc) and you will be surprised to find that it is UAW plants that dominate all the top categories...not the toyota plant in alabama or the honda plant in ohio or the nissan plant in tenn. Anyone who tries to make a case GM has a problem on the product front or the manufacturing front is just plain not reading, listening or paying attention to facts. Blame management if you wish, blame a poor reputation probably rightly deserved for the sum total of vehicles over the last 30 years, blame tone deafness at times if you like, but do not throw out unsupportable "facts" that don't hold up to a 3 minute google search just because it is quite the in thing to do to trash the u.s. automakers. Shame on you if you do.
3-15-2009 @ 10:30PM
KimTRinehart said...
Hi Everyone,
I am a GM autoworker. I work at the Lordstown, OH plant and build the Chevy Cobalt. Last summer our car was so popular and was selling so well that we were working 3 shifts, 6 days a week to keep up with orders. We even had to hire new workers! All was going great until the market took it's dramatic downturn. We had to layoff the new workers then had a plant-wide layoff in January. We went back to work in February, at a week on, week off pace. Now we face longer layoffs in April. None of this has to do with us earning a decent wage (28 dollars an hour), producing a product that people don't want (our car was hot,
as are many other GM models)
or having health care benefits. It has to do with the bank's failings along with our massive losses of jobs to foreign countries. Our bankers are supposed to be educated in the prudent handling of money. Where is the accountability for the losses that we have suffered? Are these bankers really worth the bonuses that are still being paid out to them?
Our other problems lie with the fact that it is now nearly impossible to find anything produced in the USA. We
have lost everything from textiles to toys. We don't produce our electronics. Even our drugs are made in foreign countries. Our steel factories shut down. We used to be a nation of producers. Just try to find a microwave or a mixer or mower made in our country. We aren't making them, and those are lost jobs.
Those lost jobs are lost incomes. Turn anything over...it says "made in China". It has finally caught up with us, and we did it to ourselves, by our lack of consumer patriotism. We are so patriotic when it comes to waging wars, but where are we with our fellow American when it comes to earning our bread and butter? Why don't other people want me to have my job? I certainly don't want anyone else to lose theirs! I have been to China and have seen communism and poverty first hand. I do not wish an economic downward spiral for anyone, and especially for my fellow Americans.
GM makes great cars. I take much pride in their production. I want to see production of other goods come back to our country, and I don't mind paying a little extra and consuming a little less if it means that my neighbor will have a good job too. We need to see "Made in America" again.
PS To the guy that thinks we are at fault for not getting another job or saving money...there are no jobs to find in NE Ohio, sadly layoffs are the norm here. Also, I saved nearly 600. a month in mutual funds and a Roth only to see the financial genuises lose it for me. Please don't blame the auto worker. We are just hard workers. There needs to be division of labor. We can't all be employed in the same sector.
Thank you.
3-16-2009 @ 8:24AM
Muu said...
Sure says something when the 'honest auto workers' will go anywhere and everywhere to somehow try to paint a clean image of themselves while doing their damndest best to blame the other guy. Remember, there's already millions of people that've been laid off, without federal backed funds to potentially save them, that are already feeling like they've fell off a ledge.
Ridiculous claims aside, yes -- GM needs to at least go through a bankruptcy to survive at a later date. And hey, assuming they don't go the liquidation route I don't see why most existing emps would be able to keep their jobs/be rehired -- it does cost money to rehire, after all.
3-16-2009 @ 10:30AM
babyraymond8 said...
PLEASE!!! It is not the UAW hurting GM. It is government regulation in the form of the EPA, and cafe standards, Unfair trade agreements, and competition that has most of its operations in countries that have nationalized health care and support their manufacturing base unlike us. Things are changing though. I say buy GM stock. it is not going away during this administration. If McCain had gotten in it would be bye bye to a 100 year old American Company.
3-17-2009 @ 6:41AM
Bob Johnson said...
Product Origin is important now more then ever. That is why I started our website: http://madehereinamerica.com/default.aspx
If were supposed to be the leader in a free world then we need to remain strong. Rewarding companies to outsource our production to other countries has to be one or the most foolhardy mistakes we have ever made as a country!
I'm excited everytime I find a company that is returning production or is starting up a business to produce a product in our country we hold so dear. Be sure to visit our website often as more USA companies are added daily. http://madehereinamerica.com/default.aspx.
Buy made in USA products, save American Jobs!
3-17-2009 @ 1:28PM
John said...
Mismanagement in any business is a recipe for disaster.
We allow people to tell us how smart they are, and how much they're worth, but in actuality, they lie. We give bonuses for incompetence? "Stupid is, as stupid does!"
The average wage earner cannot compete with a UAW worker. The only reason automobiles are so expensive is that we want all the comforts of home, and have to make payroll for Detroit. My last new car(a 1969 Camaro) had no A/C, no power windows, no power steering, no power brakes. A 300HP engine and 4-speed transmission. I was getting 28 mpg then.
What happened Detroit? Your cars have gotten no better. GM built a few good tanks, and it looks like the technology stopped there. You've been building junk for so long at inflated prices, you have lost pride in what made you great.
You have screwed up so badly, even I have turned against you. I will never.....never buy another American vehicle as long as I live. I'd rather push a Yugo.
3-17-2009 @ 1:37PM
NAMVETTE68 said...
Hey Bob Johnson,
Can you name 1 product that is made solely in the US?
Can you remember when "Made in Japan" was a joke?
"Assembled in America" is the new sticker.........sorry.
I don't care if they all go bankrupt. Just do it now and let someone with common sense get us back on our feet.
I'm putting money into a Chinese fireworks company. At least my money will go up in smoke for a good reason.
3-17-2009 @ 1:58PM
John said...
I love everyone blaming Bush for all this.
H. Ross Perot's "giant sucking sound" has come to pass. He forewarned us about it.
Who signed NAFTA into law? There's your culprit.
I hope you like a lot of rice in your diet.
3-17-2009 @ 1:57PM
NAMVETTE68 said...
Hey Kim (autoworker),
You can save $600/mo? That's almost half of my gross. I have to pay for a roof over my head, food, electric, heating, and etc.
I never had a 401K. I live from overdraft statement to overdraft statement.
I can't earn enough to have an IRA.
Most employers have no health or medical plans. A pair of glasses cost more than a week's pay.
I'm glad you still live with your parents, and don't have to worry where your next meal comes from.
If you only make $28.00/hr., is that net?
Oh....and a Cobalt. It's the Cavalier of the new millennium. It's a "throw away".
Good luck in your job search. You'll be in our boat soon.
Try being a single parent in New York.