More Videos
- Inflatable Seat Belts Aimed At Second Row Safety
- Do You Buy Marchionne's Turnaround Plan?
- October Shows Auto Rebound Will Be Slow
- How Mulally Got Ford Back in The Black
- Green Car Incentives Are Just Starting To Roll
- GM Touts Progress, Serves Up Details on Latest Refunds
- Why Ford Is Winning With Reliability
- Can Hybrid Luxury Automaker Thrive With Old GM Plant?
- Toyota And Honda Take Cautious Approach With Electric Cars
- The Ugly Truth: GM and Chrysler Were In Worse Shape Than Many Thought
MOST SHARED
- US Becomes Top Country Brand Under Obama: Survey
- BofA Board in Civil War Over Lewis' Succesor
- Obama Delays Start of Asia Trip to Attend Memorial
- Sweeping Health Care Overhaul Bill Passes House
- Framed for Porn – By a PC Virus
- What Stocks to Buy Amid Health Care Overhaul: Strategist
- Kraft to Formalize Hostile Cadbury Bid on Monday
- GE, Comcast Agree on NBC Universal Valuation
- Tamminen: Why Does Oklahoma Want To Drown New York?
- Food Network, HGTV Drive Scripps Networks' Upside Surprise
- Tommy Lee, Medical Tourism and Nasty Santa, Your Emails
- U.S. Markets Gain 3% for the Week Despite 10.2% Unemployment
- Disney's 'Carol' Tests Widest 3-D Release Ever
- Stimulus II? Jobs Tax Credit=Cash For Clunkers
- Rockwell Automation Earnings: What Options Are Saying
- Gold Will Touch Higher Lows and Higher Highs: Analyst
- Is Misery Alive And Well in Your Office?
- Goldman Sachs Head Says Banks Do 'God's Work'
- Fed's Bullard: Tighten Only When Recovery's 'Solid'
- Bankers Are Like Domino's Pizza Franchises: Expert
- Kraft to Formalize Hostile Cadbury Bid on Monday
- GE, Comcast Agree on NBC Universal Valuation
- Hottest Zip Codes for Home Prices
- US Home Values Follow Sales Higher, For Some
- China Urges US to Control Deficit to Stabilize Dollar
- US Health Care Reforms Face Tough Path in Senate
RSS FEED
Behind The Wheel
Text Size 
 |
AP General Motors Headquarters |
But, this one from Nathan did just that. He wrote: "They (GM) deserve their tough times, and they deserve to go out of business. As harsh as that statement is, management made disastrous decisions regarding ignoring the car market, ditching electric vehicles, and ramping up truck production."
Nate's comments are strong, direct and got me to thinking, "who really is to blame for the problems at General Motors [GM
Loading...
()
] ?
1) Is it GM's leaders?
On one hand, they have been unable to get North American operations back in the black and the company's stock is at a 26 year low.
On the other hand CEO Rick Wagoner and his team have cut costs in North America by $9 billion and lead a dramatic increase in earnings overseas. Without those profits in foreign lands, GM would be dead in the water right now.
2) Is it the UAW?
On the one hand, the legacy costs of hourly workers, particularly health care benefits, were a drag on GM's bottom line for several years when it was clear the automaker was unable to keep up with foreign rivals.
On the other hand, the union has not received the credit it deserves for making GM's plants more efficient and competitive Yes, whether you want to believe it or not, the UAW has worked with GM to improve the company's operations.
3). Is it America's love affair with trucks and SUVs?
On the one hand, we demanded the big rigs and GM gave us what we wanted. On the other, it wasn't until gas started surging that we moved out of SUVs and into cars.
4) Is it GM's competitors?
On the one hand, Asia's big 3 have picked GM apart by exploiting segments like hybrids and crossovers long before the world's #1 automaker got into those segments. On the other hand, Toyota [TM
Loading...
()
] , Honda [HMC
Loading...
()
] , and Nissan [NSANY
Loading...
()
] are not infallible. They've struggled to crack a pick-up market GM leads with the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra.
Let me know who you blame for GM's struggles and why. And take the poll.
I'll be curious if any e-mails make me stop and pause like Nate's did.
Questions? Comments?
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes