GM back on top in global sales race!

[cam62]

Well, would you look at this. Glad I could help.. bought my camaro last year.
Congrats GM!

"DETROIT (CNNMoney) -- General Motors is poised to once again be No. 1 in global auto sales, after three years out of the top spot.
It's a comeback that will be official when final 2011 sales figures are reported in the coming weeks.




Recapturing the top spot seemed unthinkable in 2008 when GM lost the title. At the time, the company was in a tailspin. Its very future was uncertain, and a bankruptcy filing and federal bailout loomed.

..."


http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/10/auto...source=cnn_bin

[FenwickHockey65]

Eh. I'd rather be a profitable 2nd or 3rd than #1. That title is bad luck for any automaker that gets it. Just look at Toyota.

[cab2g]

luck shouldn't have anything to do with business decisions. Toyota made bad business decisions and therefore had many quality woes. GM did a similar thing and produced crap bucket after crap bucket cars for many years while @ #1. I think the real moral of the story is to produce quality cars and cars that people want to drive for reasons better than "it cost less than..." and they'll be fine.

[rez333]

being number one breeds complacency. It's human nature and human nature can't be fought, unless you're not human. When you're #2 or #3, you are motivated to move forward because there's a place to move to.

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

Eh. I'd rather be a profitable 2nd or 3rd than #1. That title is bad luck for any automaker that gets it. Just look at Toyota.

I don't know ... the two aren't mutually exclusive. Afterall, GM had a good run of more than half a century where they were both highly profitable and sold more cars & trucks than anyone else.

The problem becomes when you try and be the global sales leader and let that dictate your policy. Build great cars that people want, and both sales and profit will naturally follow. Focusing on either sales or profit will eventually end up hurting both. I would have thought that a fellow Lutz disciple would understand that.