GM keeps nosediving... loses top a billion.

YouTube · Post by **Jesda** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 11:49 pm

GM Makes It Official: $1 Billion Plus in Losses

Date Posted 04-19-2005

DETROIT — General Motors reported a net loss of $1.1 billion for the first quarter of 2005, prompting analysts to insist the automaker take action to reduce health-care costs, boost sales and market share, and possibly close assembly plants and eliminate brands.

GM's North American automotive operations alone reported a quarterly loss of $1.3 billion, compared with a profit of $401 million a year ago. The losses were offset by profits in other areas of the business, including financial services.

Analysts are telling GM and specifically Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner, whose job may be in jeopardy, to get tougher on costs. One analyst noted GM's health-care and pension costs per vehicle now surpass what GM pays for raw materials.

They warn continued rising costs and falling sales and market share may prompt credit rating agencies to further downgrade GM's debt, making it substantially more expensive to borrow money. GM's stock has been selling at 12-year lows as investors grow wary.

Some analysts also are pressuring GM to eliminate production capacity of about a million cars and trucks, the equivalent of about eight assembly plants. Others are pushing for the elimination of a brand or two, likely Buick and/or Pontiac.

The situation is looking no rosier for the year. GM has already slashed its profit forecast.

What this means to you: Car buyers can expect substantial incentives being offered in the form of price cuts as GM looks for higher sales and market share. GM employees, dealers and investors had better brace for impact.

Post by **MinisterofDOOM** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 1:02 am

Jesda wrote:What this means to you: Car buyers can expect substantial incentives being offered in the form of price cuts as GM looks for higher sales and market share. GM employees, dealers and investors had better brace for impact.

Too bad these incentives will only apply to GMs noone wants! Why the hell do they think they're going under? Offer deals on the anemic, front drive, not at all up-to-it's-namesake Impala, and offer deals on the Malibu (again, NOT living up to it's namesake....you realize that fugly thing is the decendent of the CHEVELLE!?), and on the Caval...Cobalt. Offer deals on the Monte Fugly. But will the offer deals on the "Vette? Hell no. The SSR? No way. Any of their SS line? Doubtful. Maybe smaller ones if we're lucky.

All their cars (but two--maybe three if the Cav...Cobalt is decent) suck, so what do they do? Let's offer incentives! Give me a car I WANT with an incentive, maybe I'll bite. Meanwhile, I can go to a Nissan dealership, get $4k cash back on a Maxima SE , fully equipped minus nav system(bringing the price to $31.5k). Or I can buy an Impala SS for 29k?! I think the decision is quite obvious.

YouTube · Post by **Jesda** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 5:09 am

The follow-up to the Monte Carlo is equally hard on the eyes, and I'll bet as bad to drive.

The new Impala is coming at the same time, and from the photos I've seen its pretty bland and unttractive. I thought the current 00+ Impala was nice to look at and decent to drive, and pretty competitive five years ago. Now it doesn't stand up to competitors at that MSRP. Typical of GM to release something good and fail to keep it up to date. The currently successful Equinox will go the same way.

Post by **metalsyth** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 10:03 am

GM is f*** up big time and producing s*** vehicles or expensive trucks. If GM wants to fix their mistakes fire the whole damn design crew and higher someone that will change the company in a good way and also if the want to compete with the import market work on reliability. Those two things can help GM.

But I am not looking for this to happen anytime soon so I will stick with imports.

Post by **driverdriver** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 10:59 am

The new Impala is a dead ringer for a Camry. Its lost its distinctive rear lights which I liked. Maybe their new corporate strategy is to build vehicles that look like Toyota's but are engineered poorly, in hopes it'll confuse the consumer who'll end up mistakenly buying an Impala.

Post by **Mr1der** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 2:40 pm

good.

maybe Ford will buy them.

YouTube · Post by **Jesda** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 4:00 pm

driverdriver wrote:The new Impala is a dead ringer for a Camry. Its lost its distinctive rear lights which I liked. Maybe their new corporate strategy is to build vehicles that look like Toyota's but are engineered poorly, in hopes it'll confuse the consumer who'll end up mistakenly buying an Impala.

LMAO!!!!!!!!!

Can you imagine the cultural upheaval if Ford and GM merged?

Post by **Mr1der** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 1:46 pm

better yet...Bill Gates decides crashing PC's isn't enough.

Post by **MinisterofDOOM** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 5:15 pm

Mr1der wrote:better yet...Bill Gates decides crashing PC's isn't enough.

Post by **metalsyth** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 8:05 am

BUWAHAHA

I couldn't agree with several of the statements so I would not be able to operate the vehicle.

Post by **nismofly** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 2:58 pm

they need incentives on the caddies

also jesda said the new cobalt is ok, which means i need to go look at one

Post by **driverdriver** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 4:29 pm

Wednesday, April 13, 2005

GM's sales solution: Slap its logo on every brand

By Ed Garsten / The Detroit News

Look for the GM logo

GM has decided to stick an additional GM logo on all of their brands in the U.S., to emphasize the connetion with the parent company.

General Motors Corp. is going to stamp its corporate logo on every car and truck it sells in North America in an effort to better link its eight brands with the parent company.

The automaker, revving up marketing efforts to reverse declining sales, plans to use the logo first on a slew of important new vehicles such as the Buick LaCrosse and Pontiac G6.

The new badges will land on every 2006 model sold in North America across GM's eight brands -- Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Hummer, Saab, Saturn and Pontiac.

"Our own studies show that consumers place a tangible value on the General Motors name," said Mark LaNeve, GM's top sales executive.

Ford Motor Co. sells Ford-branded vehicles and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group sells Chrysler products. GM is the only major automaker that does not market cars or trucks under its corporate name.

The new initiative dovetails with GM's marketing strategy for OnStar and the StabiliTrak stability control system, which are pitched under the GM umbrella and will become standard equipment across the GM product line.

"The GM corporate name has a stronger public image than some of the brands that make up the company," said Joe Barker, with CSM Worldwide in Farmington Hills. "It tells consumers GM is backing this vehicle."

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Interesting article for two reasons (a.) GM is possibly laying the ground work to kill one or two more brands in order to market everything as GM. Or (b.)this is another idiotic move to link there brands to GM thus further diluting and cachet the Saab, Hummer and Cadillac might currently have (very stupid move).

Post by **elwesso** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 4:57 pm

I agree... Buying a GM car isnt something you want to be reminded by every time you jump in your cadillac or look back and see that nice GM logo.....

Post by **Mr1der** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 1:35 pm

oh man I'm gonna love it when GM cars are branded Ford...

Post by **vicQ45** » Thu May 05, 2005 6:10 pm

Gm is great. new impala SS looks like a friggin malibu/camry hybrid with a 5.3l v8 that puts out a whopping 303hp! not up to spec for an 06 v8. anyone compared a '70 chevelle to an '05 malibu? what happened there? I simply can not believe that this is the same company that created teh 96 impala ss, Chevelle, grand national, camaro, etc. when i heard the chevelle's successor was going to be a FWD gutless 4cyl corolla-clone i basically considered it one of the signs of the approaching apocalypse.

Post by **vicQ45** » Thu May 05, 2005 7:41 pm

monte carlos are only cool when they look like this:

rollin' froo da hood in dat thang izz gotz ta be hott. reprezentt yo

[for the love of god please note the sarcasm here]

YouTube · Post by **Jesda** » Thu May 05, 2005 9:16 pm

I see no pic, vic.

Post by **MinisterofDOOM** » Thu May 05, 2005 9:34 pm

EEEEEW!

That's NASTY!

Big chrome wheelsPinkAND it's a Monte Carlo

Wonderful.

At least it's not a Camry Solara.

EDIT:Hmmm...Browsing that site...:

AND it's next to a pimp Caddy!

Post by **vicQ45** » Thu May 05, 2005 10:00 pm

Jesda wrote:I see no pic, vic.

ministerofdoom saw it so i dunno what's up. anyway here's the link for ya:

http://www.digitalwheels.net/E...4.jpg

that max is HOT!

Post by **vicQ45** » Thu May 05, 2005 10:30 pm

da laydeez luvzz da zponjebobb! i'm scared

where have i seen this before

now i don't spend a lot of time in the ghetto, but come on. does anybody actually think this is cool? how could it possibly be cool to put wheels so big on your car that they can't fit in the wheel wells thus requiring the car to be lifted. these things make me go wanna watch 2 fast 2 furious for the awesome cars(sarcasm). then shoot myself. then if there's time go to taco cabana because i want a burrito. seriously these cars make lowriders look cool.

Post by **gniknave** » Fri May 06, 2005 5:04 am

I don't get why these ghetto a** folks look so broke but yet have $ sign spinners. Contradiction at it's finest. Do you wanna be broke lookin or rich lookin? MAKE UP YOUR MIND!

Post by **vicQ45** » Fri May 06, 2005 10:09 am

WELFARE!
Modified by vicQ45 at 12:08 AM 5/9/2005

Post by **driverdriver** » Fri May 06, 2005 4:18 pm

Those are some ugly a$$ cars. I guess that's where the welfare money goes, besides liquor and crack.

Post by **vicQ45** » Fri May 06, 2005 7:44 pm

mmmm...refreshing crack!

YouTube · Post by **Jesda** » Fri May 06, 2005 10:00 pm

I think crack is a better value.

Post by **Repo Man** » Sat May 07, 2005 2:53 pm

nismofly wrote:they need incentives on the caddies

There are plenty of incentives on Caddies. Just ask me how I know.

Post by **driverdriver** » Sat May 07, 2005 6:10 pm

Those pics in VicQ45's post should serve as an endorsement for "work for welfare" programs.

GM keeps nosediving... loses top a billion.

GM keeps nosediving... losses top a billion.

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