Rumors

[Dave Vince]

Talked to another gear head who has heard rumors that a new Corporate head at GM has killed all specialty cars. This will include the Hummer, and the 2007 Camaro. I do not know how true this is. Can any body confirm or have you heard this rumor. The word is that he wants to concentrate on economy cars, and ecology. Boy these Eco Nazis need to have the brakes put on them. This does sound like a typical Corporate move. GM has been on a downhill slide for the last 30 years. Their management sounds like a bunch of scared rabbits. Letting government dictate all their policies. Ford is pulling ahead in many ways, as GM goes down the tubes. I will keep rebuilding my car, and they can keep all of their new garbage.

[WICKED LT1]

It's intersting to note that there was an article in last months MT that basically said; GM's lack of sales innovation and rising health care costs are working toward wittling away profits to the point of real trouble. Between incentives that destroy profit margins and a real issue with getting folks into the dealers with complelling cars, GM is getting into a real pickle. It really would not surprise me to see a drastic move by GM to try to arrest the freefall their market position is in right now. They have been steadily losing market share to the competition that has done a better job of bringing compelling new vehicles to market with less errors than GM lately. I have no direct knowledge of these rumors, but I would be less than shocked to see GM take a 3 year drastic approach to restore profitability and market share at the cost of certain niches.


Don't even get me started on FIAT and that mess!!!!


-Paul

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

It's intersting to note that there was an article in last months MT that basically said; GM's lack of sales innovation and rising health care costs ...-Paul

Man, that's pathetic that health care costs are dictating what cars GM is developing. I say 'Screw health care. Live hard, Die Fast, and leave whatever is left of your corpse when you pile it up.'

[jessica2112]

That's OK. We can all buy Aztecs and cruse Wal-Mart parking lots. Maybe even get little fuzzy steering wheel covers color keyed to match the paint.

[Dave Vince]

Rumors

Looks like this rumor may be true.?? Health care costs are bad. I understand a weeks stay in a hospital can cost 10,000. without any surgery! Again I do not have personal experience here, but I do not think this is possible. GM has had their head up their butt for a long time, and I don't think it is going to get any better unless the upper level management is changed for the better. There are many ills in the auto industry, and you can blame government for most of them. One instance is import export dutys. Last time I saw the figures, (this was about 15-20 years ago), Japan was charging 5,000.00 in import duties, and laughing at us, while this country was charging 500.00.

[casey02ws6]

GM was guilty of giving in to the unions too much. The unions served their purpose well when they first started - they are pushing the world's largest automaker right out of business now. GM continually pushed health costs into the future - unfortunately the future is now. GM is in trouble!

[Dave Vince]

Unions

Agreed, Unions have their place, but when the balance of power swings to far either way, all suffer. Unions get power mad just like dictators, and greed sets in. Workers want everything, and want to do less. I have belonged to Unions in the past, and while collective bargaining has its place, worker greed can put companys out of business, or make them non competitive in the market place.

[wolfdogs]

T. I will keep rebuilding my car, and they can keep all of their new garbage.

my "new" isn't "garbage"..............

[Dave-S]

If you take some time to do searches on Z28.com and Chirpthird.com you will find some posts where Fbodfather...Scott S.......states as openly as he can (without jepordizing his job) that there will be more RWD performance cars from Chevy.....(hint hint....maybe a new Camaro). Those posts come after all the recent negative press GM recieved for delaying rear wheel drive cars. Personally, I trust Scott implicitly. And from what I can tell there will be another iteration of the GTO as well.

[Steel2686]

If GM cuts out their line of "specialty" vehicles, it could be corporate suicide. Look at what Daimler Chrysler did. They took a gamble with some drastic designs, i.e. Viper, Prowler, PT Cruiser, Magnum, etc... The decison to release those concept style cars may have been what saved a floundering company.

I just hope GM doesn't take the over-cautious route and build sedans/SUVs and fleet style vehicles only. It would be a sad day to see cars like the GTo, SSR, and possible return of the F-body go the way of our F-bods.

[Joe K. 99 Zeee!!]

GM is not sacrificing product. The exec's know that product is key to a recovery at GM. If you'd like, I can find some quotes from Lutz...others have echoed these sentiments as well.

Also, if anyone is paying attention to initial quality surveys at J.D. Powers, GM is doing VERY well. Buick, while most of you wouldn't consider one, is above Toyota. GM recently had 6 vehicles that were considered top of their class in quality. Convincing everyone else...now that's another story.

As for Zeta...we'll still see some Zeta models in North America.




P.S. I still believe a new Camaro is on the way (apparently not on Zeta). It is at the very least being worked on. Late? Definitely. Worth the wait? We'll see....