GM Bankruptcy - thoughts?

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What do you think about GM filing for Chapter 11?

  • They deserved to fail - good riddance

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  • I'm saddened, but business is business

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  • geez, the governement should do something about this-It never should have happened

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • stupid Americans - they finally learned European products are far superior.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • At least with government control we'll get nice fuel efficient cars

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • nobody wanted to drive a Pontiac anyway.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
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I'd be pretty pissed right now if I had stock in Ford. They now have a competitor that has access to financing at substantially reduced rates. How long 'til the federal government starts rolling out tax incentives and subsidies for purchasing vehicles manufactured by Government Motors?

 
I'd be pretty pissed right now if I had stock in Ford. They now have a competitor that has access to financing at substantially reduced rates. How long 'til the federal government starts rolling out tax incentives and subsidies for purchasing vehicles manufactured by Government Motors?

Conversation with my father last evening:

I was looking to buy my father's truck off him, since he wanted a new one anyways. He goes searching everywhere up North, and dealer prices on GM trucks are through the roof! They wouldn't come down at all. Dealer's reply: everyone panicked and assumed that GM would stop making trucks, so they're selling them left and right without any haggling.

 
How long 'til the federal government starts rolling out tax incentives and subsidies for purchasing vehicles manufactured by Government Motors?
No incentives. You must buy the 2012 Government Motors Trabant 601!

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It is European and far superior to Amurican iron.

 
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I hereby dub the blue cloud of smoke following any running Trabant as the smokestack of liberty!

 
why can't they be treated like any other business and have to take drastic measures or close up. Over extending oneself is never a good idea. Krispie Creme overextended themselves opening stores all over, then had to cut back big time to stay in business.

 
Conversation with my father last evening:
I was looking to buy my father's truck off him, since he wanted a new one anyways. He goes searching everywhere up North, and dealer prices on GM trucks are through the roof! They wouldn't come down at all. Dealer's reply: everyone panicked and assumed that GM would stop making trucks, so they're selling them left and right without any haggling.
Interesting. I've been running GMC products since 1994 and have been thinking about picking up what will probably be my last GMC truck this Summer. I'm just as likely to try to get another 10 years out of the '99 Sierra I have now.

 
why can't they be treated like any other business and have to take drastic measures or close up. Over extending oneself is never a good idea. Krispie Creme overextended themselves opening stores all over, then had to cut back big time to stay in business.
I think the thing is, from what I've heard from the 'experts', is that if GM and Chrysler go down, that not only will you have all those people there out of work. But also the dealerships, repair shops, parts mfrs, etc. and that the net effect on the economy would be devastating.

I have no problem if the big wigs who ran it into the ground are in hot water, but it sucks for all the working class stiffs that would suddenly be out of work.

 
I think the thing is, from what I've heard from the 'experts', is that if GM and Chrysler go down, that not only will you have all those people there out of work. But also the dealerships, repair shops, parts mfrs, etc. and that the net effect on the economy would be devastating.
I have no problem if the big wigs who ran it into the ground are in hot water, but it sucks for all the working class stiffs that would suddenly be out of work.
As a union worker for most of my life, I personally do not feel sorry for the "working" class stiffs. I have not seen so much slacking time then union workers. GM needed to regroup, but not in a way that the fox is guarding the hen house. Personally GM is now way down at the bottom of vehicles I will buy.

 
I work in a union shop (I am not a union member; maybe I'm "management"). I can't possibly feel any sympathy for how GM and Chrysler have been run into the dirt.

 
For me, it is somewhat surreal now that I live about 1.5 hrs outside of Detroit. There have been so many jobs lost already that the additional cuts, while tragic, aren't going to lead to what some have speculated as a complete collapse of civilization as we know it. Things will cut back and then re-grow ... as things have always progressed.

A few weeks ago, I listened to a local newspaper columnist who was invited as the keynote speaker at a dinner I attended. He regaled us with some great stories of memorable news articles, but what stuck with me most was how he talked about THIS community. While things were certainly gloomy people still lived their lives and acts of charity were still visible. I think I am most angered by the fear mongering journalists who feel the need to turn everything into the apocalypse - they prey on that fear in people and sell papers (or other media) by those means. It saddens me because while many of us are hurting ... the end of the civilized world as we know it is not at hand .. because there are plenty of people, despite the printed bullshit that is out there, that lead normal lives.

JR

 
BTW, how can they make good decisions without a Hispanic woman lwayer on the Auto task Force?

 
I think the thing is, from what I've heard from the 'experts', is that if GM and Chrysler go down, that not only will you have all those people there out of work. But also the dealerships, repair shops, parts mfrs, etc. and that the net effect on the economy would be devastating.
I have no problem if the big wigs who ran it into the ground are in hot water, but it sucks for all the working class stiffs that would suddenly be out of work.
with dealerships being forced to close, some of which should never have been opened in the first place. For example, I work in the "big" city for the area. There is a chrysler dealership in town, but then there are also at least 6 other chrysler dealerships within a 30-45 minute drive in smaller towns. WHy do you need so many? I actually think the independent machanic shop/repair place will get a stronger footing in the market. Just like gasoline, cars will always need repairs. The parts manufactures will still have places to sell parts to, just not a dealership price.

 
^ That's true. I own a Honda and was recently searching for a different dealer to take mine to for repairs, as the local one is becoming disreputable. There are 5 within 45 minutes of me. Granted, its the metro Boston area, but its still a lot.

 
Read this rather interesting article on why GM failed.

The thing about business is, if you don't keep up with technology & trends, then the market will run off and leave you.

I also agree about the number of dealers. There are too many here.

 
I believe this administration has forgotten that businesses are designed to make money. They are not designed to employ people. Throwing money at GM merely to keep people employed is completely missing the free market principles that made the US strong in the first place.

 
Maybe corporations that are 'too big to fail' should be broken up. Just a thought. I see both sides of that one and I'm not sure which side I'd advocate.

 
I believe this administration has forgotten that businesses are designed to make money. They are not designed to employ people. Throwing money at GM merely to keep people employed is completely missing the free market principles that made the US strong in the first place.
Agreed that "businesses are designed to make money" but at some point, how much money is too much? and at whiose expense? I'm far from a hard core liberal, but there is such a thing as fair and equitable. Just because you're able to fleece somebody doesn't make it OK. Also, mega-corporations ARE in the business of keeping people employed and the government should act towards that end. Unemployed people need to resort to public assistance programs and the government (and employed taxpayers) ends up paying with no productive work being performed.

Again I don't think I'm a liberal, but I can see the need/benefit of government assitance programs. It's the abuse of these programs (and the expense of trying to police them against abuse) that tick me off.

"free market" is a relative term. Before the unions formed the abuse of the workers by the corporate owners was akin to slavery. It's a difficult thing to balance.

 
Also, mega-corporations ARE in the business of keeping people employed and the government should act towards that end.
I think a similar paradigm is what caused GM's downfall. They stopped being a corporation that built cars and started being a health care/retirement program that used car sales to fund the system.

 
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How was GM fleecing anybody? With the contracts that the UAW was getting, I'd say it was the other way around. Don't you think the union has at least some culpability in not having as many jobs as they had. And how much money should they get paid for operating a wrench, which I'm sure any one of us can do.

 
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