Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Blur
This would be hugely incorrect. If the government has a majority stake, then it has to get its money back out of the company as an objective. The goal isn't to socialize autos. The goal is to get paid.
When the government starts making GM's decisions, the objective is to make it money. Green cars are great, but the government will have to invest even more to make all of GM's cars electric or green in other ways, even though GM has more hybrids and green cars than any other manufacturer. The fact is that the government actually has less incentive to force green cars on the market because the government will be responsible for making GM more successful. In other words, the US government will have to let the business professionals at GM continue making decisions while all they do is veto the bad ideas.
Who gets to decide what is a bad idea? That's where it gets tricky. The US government is very number-oriented right now. They need a success story to look good. They need GM to survive and beat the import market to restore faith and investment in the US economy. In order for that to happen, GM must be focused on the market. The good news is that the hard decisions GM has already made will allow it to be more profitable. The bad news is that, if I'm wrong about the government being numbers-oriented, GM will go into bankruptcy and have to shed core brands. I have a lot of faith that the US government is focussing on the numbers right now, and that will save GM.
I'll provide an example. Did anyone notice that GMC is still around? I would love to see GMC trucks replace Chevy trucks as far as the options go, but GM has pointed out that GMC can't be killed. It's simply too profitable, whereas Pontiac has not had the same backing. It's sad to see Pontiac go, but this may be one of the sacrifices necessary for GM's survival. The numbers killed Pontiac, but they saved GMC, a truck company that produces a few hybrids and a whole lot of gas-guzzlers. In the end, this will be the way GM is handled. Where can we cut costs and still turn a profit? Expect more hard decisions in the future, but you can certainly expect GM to be making cars for another hundred years.
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I think I understand what you've said here, but maybe what's got many people worried (well, me at least) is a general thought that with the "Green" push that's out there, on the
whole, that more and more cars are going to bo hybrid or electric, and cars like Camaro, Corvette, Challenger, Mustang, etc., are just going to be pushed out. Again, I'm pretty stupid when it comes to how this works. I just have reservations. I do hope that whatever happens will allow GM to heal and to continue to provide us enthusiasts the cars we want to buy.