Topic: GM again. News conference at 08:30 Tuesday

[CSH]

Contrary to popular rhetoric GM is unfortunately not getting more efficient. They have failed to really take a hard look at every facet of their business to encourage efficiency and innovation. They gains that they are currently making are the result of a better engineering focus (admittedly a very good thing) and the rest is still being done the way it has always been done by beating suppliers into oblivion. The news is rife with large Automotive suppliers that can't do it anymore (bankruptcy) and sooner or later GM's (Ford and Chrysler too) component costs are going to rise. Suppliers won't take it forever and soon there will be substantially less competition. My prediction is that Valeo may be the next to declare and that Delphi will never emerge. Valeo just got finished building a nice big plant to support Chrysler truck production next to a plant that is, as of recently, being shuttered. I wonder if that was in the budget?

I met someone who now works with Honda in Alliston and used to work for GM. He indicated that while he was at GM all he had to do was stick a small piece of metal rod on the frame of a truck. There was a second worker to do the same thing on the other side of the frame. He said machines would often leak oil and the shop floor was not exactly clean
He now works for Honda where he makes 34$/hr, says he has to do much more work now and the floor and everything is so clean one could eat off them...

34$/he is not  bad... it makes me think why did i get a university degree..

[Triple Bob]

Why does everyone always blame the beancounters? 

By the same token..what do beancounters know about cars? Often, some very nice concept components/details on cars never make it into production because they don't make financial sense to the beancoutners.  Part sharing? Beancounters again......I could go on...but you get my point...

You're missing the point RR, I'm a Commercial Accountant, which means I have to understand the industry I work in.  I don't just do the numbers, I'm on the "shop floor" as it were and the vast majority of my time is spent with operational people.  If beancounters (solely) designed a product it wouldn't sell, if marketing (solely) designed a product, it wouldn't make any money.

People see financial problems and blame financial people, most problems like this are caused by stick in the mud execs who can't see the wood for the trees.

Cut marketing?  Pshaw!  Just thinkhow much money is wasted having cars available in press fleets for so-called automotive journalists?  Or paying those fat-cat salaries of the bean-counters and financial people.  If those financial people were doing their job, the company wouldn't be in financial trouble now would it?   

And as for you Jeffy, how very dare you! 

[Triple Bob]

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080717/BUSINESS02/600655705/-1/BUSINESS

They need to sort it out or more consumers will be scared away...

[Trainman]

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080717/BUSINESS02/600655705/-1/BUSINESS

They need to sort it out or more consumers will be scared away...

Even has its own thread   

http://www.canadiandriver.com/forum/index.php/topic,58348.0.html