GM loses $9 billion in 2005

[Asher]

Originally posted by Apocalypse
The GM engineers are obviously crap because they had to take too many liberal arts classes in college and couldn't spend enough time actually studying engineering.

The problem is low quality standards by GM management. I've said this before, my brother is a mechanical engineer working for independent companies that have contracts for components of cars to GM, Toyota, Ford, and Honda.

The difference in quality assurance demands from Toyota and Honda compared to GM and Ford is really pathetic.

GM and Ford make estimates and has the tests based off these estimates, so most of the parts will last the period of the warranty and warranty alone. Toyota and Honda go well beyond that.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Kidicious
The workers have been getting blamed probably since the eighties. The problem is obviously management. After all, Mazda's are mostly built by America workers these days.

Most Mazdas are still built in Japan.

Mazda 6s and the B-series pickups are the only American-made vehicles, IIRC. They're also Mazda's 2 lowest ranked vehicles in quality, ironically.

[Az]

IIRC, all of our Mazdas are made in Japan. Our Toyotas are made in Turkey. solid stuff.

[Asher]

My Mazda3 was made in Hiroshima, which is what gives it the glow it has.

Mazda 6s here are made in Michigan, IIRC.

[Az]

It's time for them to take over Ford's bussiness. Design their cars, engineer their cars. Everything. Actually, ford's latest cars weren't that bad, but still.

[General Ludd]

A big to car manufacturers losing money.

[Az]

The meat industry is still going strong, though.

[Asher]

Originally posted by General Ludd
A big to car manufacturers losing money.

Don't you live near London, Ontario?

My uncle lost his job this week when Ford cut one of the two shifts at the St. Thomas plant.

[Dinner]

GM has two main problems of which the CEO only bothered to mention one of them. He's right that the company has massive pension and health care costs for retires which are costing it an arm and a leg but they also have a convoluted design process where everyone gets a say in every little detail. That means accountants and every Tom, Dick, and Harry get to say what they want so the end products GM produces tends to be unfocused rolling compromises which just don't compare well to the competition. That is directly the fault of management for not cleaning up the design process the way Chrysler, Honda, and Toyota have.

Next the management ignored cars for decades dispite everyone telling them eventually you're going to get burned when people move out of trucks and back to cars. Why is it GM's management is always the last to figure these things out when even 16 year olds at the gas pump knew about it years ago? Clearly they're so worried about this quarter that the ignore long term strategy. Successful companies don't do that.

Lastly, the real loses likely aren't as big as they seem. CEOs have learned that the stock is going to be hammered if you miss the earnings mark or lose money no matter the amount. Lose a penny and the stock tanks, loses 20 dollars and the stock tanks. Might as well just realize every cost in one quarter instead of dribbling it out over several that way the management can claim they're turning things around when in reality nothing has changed. All they've done is taken all the stuff they were going to write off in stages over several years into one big event right now. Next quarter GM's spokes dullard will stand up and proudly declare "we've reduced the loses by X% in just three months. We're well on the way to recovery."

[Dinner]

The deeper economy wide problem is all the old line companies have the same pension debt and health care debt problems. It's a gaint lead weight which is driving the majority of them down. We're going to get into a system where old companies will start dropping like flies while new ones do kind of ok since they don't have the legency costs (yet). The better way to do this would be to spread the costs around through a wider field like an insurance company does. If health care costs were spread out through the entire economy through universal insurance then the per unit costs would be much lower and the liability well spread out. In the long run it may be the best way to save the giant companies which still equal a lot of the US economy.

[Asher]

The simple problem is Ford and GM have boring-ass, unreliable cars.

The more complex problem is Ford and GM have boring-ass, unreliable cars and a huge blood-sucking union that Toyota and Honda aren't burdened with.

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by Asher

Don't you live near London, Ontario?

No, I live out in the boondocks north west of Sudbury. All we care about here is uranium and nickel.

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by Az
The meat industry is still going strong, though.

What's all this I've been hearing about chicken flu and mad cow, then?

[Asher]

No idea, but the meat industry is doing well despite it...

[General Ludd]

And the car industry is doing well despitre this.

But having to cull culling millions of livestock, baning meat imports, and people dying from eating meat is always good.