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GM sends letters to GM vehicle owners.

IslanderOffRoad

IslanderOffRoad

NAXJA Forum User
NAXJA Member
Location
Houston, Tx
My girlfriend's mom received this letter today via email from GM:

<img alt="" height="1" width="40"> <img alt="" height="1" width="520">
[FONT=Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif]Dear ****,

You made the right choice when you put your confidence in General Motors, and we appreciate your past support. I want to assure you that we are making our best vehicles ever, and we have exciting plans for the future. But we need your help now. Simply put, we need you to join us to let Congress know that a bridge loan to help U.S. automakers also helps strengthen the U.S. economy and preserve millions of American jobs.

Despite what you may be hearing, we are not asking Congress for a bailout but rather a loan that will be repaid.

The U.S. economy is at a crossroads due to the worldwide credit crisis, and all Americans are feeling the effects of the worst economic downturn in 75 years. Despite our successful efforts to restructure, reduce costs and enhance liquidity, U.S. auto sales rely on access to credit, which is all but frozen through traditional channels.

The consequences of the domestic auto industry collapsing would far exceed the $25 billion loan needed to bridge the current crisis. According to a recent study by the Center for Automotive Research:

• One in 10 American jobs depends on U.S. automakers
• Nearly 3 million jobs are at immediate risk
• U.S. personal income could be reduced by $150 billion
• The tax revenue lost over 3 years would be more than $156 billion

Discussions are now underway in Washington, D .C., concerning loans to support U.S. carmakers. I am asking for your support in this vital effort by contacting your state representatives.

Please take a few minutes to go to www.gmfactsandfiction.com, where we have made it easy for you to contact your U.S. senators and representatives. Just click on the "I'm a Concerned American" link under the "Mobilize Now" section, and enter your name and ZIP code to send a personalized e-mail stating your support for the U.S. automotive industry.

Let me assure you that General Motors has made dramatic improvements over the last 10 years. In fact, we are leading the industry with award-winning vehicles like the Chevrolet Malibu, Cadillac CTS, Buick Enclave, Pontiac G8, GMC Acadia, Chevy Tahoe Hybrid, Saturn AURA and more. We offer 18 models with an EPA estimated 30 MPG highway or better — more than Toyota or Honda. GM has 6 hybrids in market and 3 more by mid-2009. GM has closed the quality gap with the imports, and today we are putting our best quality vehicles on the road.

Please share this information with friends and family using the link on the site.

Thank you for helping keep our economy viable.

Sincerely,



Troy Clarke[/FONT]
 
Two problems with the below cut-n-paste:

"We offer 18 models with an EPA estimated 30 MPG highway or better — more than Toyota or Honda. GM has 6 hybrids in market and 3 more by mid-2009. GM has closed the quality gap with the imports, and today we are putting our best quality vehicles on the road."

Too many choices, pare down to 9 models with over 30mpg, and 4 hybrids and put efforts into refining and improving those models.

As Richard said in another thread: get the closing of the quality gap information out there!
 
I like the idea of encouraging buying better than giving them a loan. We can give them a loan but until people are able to get car financing again we will not break the problem, and will just keep feeding cash to the car companies every few months to get them through the crisis. Get car financing moving again and solve both problems.
 
you don't make profits when you have 50 different models in you lineup because that requires 50 different manufacuring plants. that is the reason gm and chrysler are in this mess in the first place. look at toyota, they have a few cars a couple small suv's and a couple trucks. they make changes to the vehicles they are already producing and restructure their existing plants when needed. they make profit. gm and chrysler offer too many models and change their lineup every couple years. its ridiculous.
 
also, these big car companies seem to need money, so they say, but there was a report released a couple weeks ago saying that the companies where not profiting as a whole but the top 10 administrative figureheads for the company are still making over 35million per year in wages. maybe that is the problem???
 
A big part of the big 3 automakers problem.

"The union targeted GM because they have some cash," Brooks says. "On the other hand, GM also famously spends over $1,600 per vehicle on the healthcare costs of current and retired U.S. workers while Toyota pays about $200 per vehicle. Although GM also pays about another $1,000 per vehicle on holiday pay, work rules, plant-shutdown-pay and line-relief to UAW workers -- expenses Toyota, for example, does not have -- these costs were not as much the focus of these negotiations."

Found here: http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1486
 
The UAW is absolutely killing the US automakers. Now, that being said I can understand the need for something such as the UAW to make sure the workers are getting fair treatment, but its gotten to the point that it's making the imports take over the auto market.

I don't think this "loan" is going to solve any issues at all, at best it will cover them up for a while till everything catches up.

The thought of the big 3 going bankrupt really scares me though, if we aren't on our way to a depression now, we definitely will be after that.
 
I think if the bailout is gonna happen, it ought to go to businesses that make a bigger difference in the market. I'm against throwing money to any of the businesses, but if we're gonna do it, send some to the auto biz.
 
ehall said:
I like the idea of encouraging buying better than giving them a loan. We can give them a loan but until people are able to get car financing again we will not break the problem, and will just keep feeding cash to the car companies every few months to get them through the crisis. Get car financing moving again and solve both problems.
Click to expand...

I am afraid it will take both to save Detroit's big three. That 25 B loan might be used in part to make car loans by the big 3. GM and Chrysler's parent owns GMAC financing. GMAC financing should have run and bought a 10 million $ bank like Hartford Insurance just did, so that as a bank they could tap the 700 billion dollar bank bail out TARP fund. Probably too late now, but I forget when the deadline was, I'm thinking it was today or yesterday.
 
Yeah, I read on the site linked to in that email that GM is introducing a NEW subcompact, the Pontiac G3... you guessed it a rebadged Aveo. That isn't the solution.

4 of the hybrids are the same SUV with different badges.
 
That's what most of GM is, a rebadged version of something sold by another GM brand. Saturn is quickly becoming a rebadged Opel. GMC is nothing but Chevy trucks, nothing to differentiate them. Pontiac takes Chevys and more frequently now, Holdens, and Pontiacizes them. Buick is doing somewhat unique vehicles (except the Enclave), Cadillac is all unique (except the Escalade). In my opinion it's too much redundancy.
 
" GM has closed the quality gap with the imports, and today we are putting our best quality vehicles on the road."

Compared to older GM vehicles? I have been burned by some of GM's 3 year or 36K mile engineering enough to see the irony in this statement. Design things to be light, or strong or cheep, but don't intentionally design things to break. Nothing short of bankruptcy can change a corporate culture of mediocrity. GM quality control means testing to make sure the part will not last and be insanely inconvenient to fix with out dealer tools.
 
I agree - too much name-branding and historical consideration being given to all the GM "manufacturers".

They started to get smart by shutting down Oldsmobile, and Chrysler did it with shutting down Plymouth...... I wonder if that showed any benefit?

It just seems to come down to the old-school thinking that people are as brand-loyal as they used to be back when there really were significant differences between a Ford and a Lincoln, or a Chevy and a Buick. These days, I think the public is more than aware that the "Big 3" are exactly that - 3 auto manufacturers building a vast lineup of similar cars.

Yeah, it's nice to have a choice where individual styling is concerned, and if you really wanted a Buick Enclave but can't afford all the bells and whistles that come with it, you end up at the Chevy dealer looking at the Traverse.

Where do you draw the line at a diverse vehicle lineup? Could Pontiac give up the Torrent and let it exist as just the Chevy Equinox? For that matter, could they dissolve Pontiac and survive with just Chevy on the low end and dissolve Buick to let Cadillac be the high end? Could GM simply maketheir truck division exclusively GMC and make all trim levels and options available under that badge and make Chevy a passenger car division only?

Seems like whatever they did, it shouldn't affect the buyers - if they're committed to buying from the Big 3, they'd still buy. I know I would.
 
jmfelty said:
" GM has closed the quality gap with the imports, and today we are putting our best quality vehicles on the road."

Compared to older GM vehicles? I have been burned by some of GM's 3 year or 36K mile engineering enough to see the irony in this statement. Design things to be light, or strong or cheep, but don't intentionally design things to break. Nothing short of bankruptcy can change a corporate culture of mediocrity. GM quality control means testing to make sure the part will not last and be insanely inconvenient to fix with out dealer tools.
Click to expand...

Agreed. GM really needs to learn a few things about quality building from their own sister company Holden. The GTO/Monaro is built like nothing else made by GM Stateside.
 
YELLAHEEP said:
Agreed. GM really needs to learn a few things about quality building from their own sister company Holden. The GTO/Monaro is built like nothing else made by GM Stateside.
Click to expand...

This a classic roast of the GM and Ford Execs today for flying on private jets to ask for financial help from the government. I bet they stayed and played a few rounds of golf after the hearing. Abysmal quality and ethically challenged executives do not engender much public sympathy.

http://jalopnik.com/5093642/congres...heading-to-dc-begging-for-money?autoplay=true
 
I think the unions are going to kill off the auto markets like they did the Steel Industry. My Grandfather used to complain that his brother lost his job because of his union and everyone in it being too greedy. If you take a cut back you may not get as much but you'll still be working. And if things get better down the line wages might go back up.
If we give them a loan now its not going to solve their problems, it will just prolong it. If they didn't have to pay out so much on every car made they could sell them cheaper. Also people wouldn't have to get as big of loans so it would be easier to get a loan
 
YELLAHEEP said:
I agree - too much name-branding and historical consideration being given to all the GM "manufacturers".

They started to get smart by shutting down Oldsmobile, and Chrysler did it with shutting down Plymouth...... I wonder if that showed any benefit?

It just seems to come down to the old-school thinking that people are as brand-loyal as they used to be back when there really were significant differences between a Ford and a Lincoln, or a Chevy and a Buick. These days, I think the public is more than aware that the "Big 3" are exactly that - 3 auto manufacturers building a vast lineup of similar cars.

Yeah, it's nice to have a choice where individual styling is concerned, and if you really wanted a Buick Enclave but can't afford all the bells and whistles that come with it, you end up at the Chevy dealer looking at the Traverse.

Where do you draw the line at a diverse vehicle lineup? Could Pontiac give up the Torrent and let it exist as just the Chevy Equinox? For that matter, could they dissolve Pontiac and survive with just Chevy on the low end and dissolve Buick to let Cadillac be the high end? Could GM simply maketheir truck division exclusively GMC and make all trim levels and options available under that badge and make Chevy a passenger car division only?

Seems like whatever they did, it shouldn't affect the buyers - if they're committed to buying from the Big 3, they'd still buy. I know I would.
Click to expand...
I'd say narrow it down to Chevy for general purpose cars (and the Camaro and Corvette), Pontiac for sporty, GMC for trucks, Cadillac for luxury. Sell Saab, Hummer, and bring Opel here instead of rebadging them as Saturns. Meld Buick into Chevy (kinda like the old days of Biscayne on the bottom, Impala as the mid-grade/sporty model, and Caprice as nicer). Ford could kill off Mercury, keep Volvo, sell all the Brits. Chrysler doesn't really have any room to pare things down.
 
I am not for giving them anything unless the exec's have some sort of cap put on what they make and the union goes. If we are gonna stay afloat, we can't expect to pay twice what the Japanese are paying their labor. Do the math. I'm not sure what is wrong with these people. :twak:
 
Darky said:
I'd say narrow it down to Chevy for general purpose cars (and the Camaro and Corvette), Pontiac for sporty, GMC for trucks, Cadillac for luxury. Sell Saab, Hummer, and bring Opel here instead of rebadging them as Saturns. Meld Buick into Chevy (kinda like the old days of Biscayne on the bottom, Impala as the mid-grade/sporty model, and Caprice as nicer). Ford could kill off Mercury, keep Volvo, sell all the Brits. Chrysler doesn't really have any room to pare things down.
Click to expand...

Chrysler may not have much room to trim divisions, but they sure could kill off a couple of vehicles. Chrysler Aspen, Dodge Nitro, Jeep Compass for starters. No need for these repeat models. The Dodge Dakota could go away too, and the Durango. None of these are selling all that well.
 
Darky said:
I'd say narrow it down to Chevy for general purpose cars (and the Camaro and Corvette), Pontiac for sporty, GMC for trucks, Cadillac for luxury. Sell Saab, Hummer, and bring Opel here instead of rebadging them as Saturns. Meld Buick into Chevy (kinda like the old days of Biscayne on the bottom, Impala as the mid-grade/sporty model, and Caprice as nicer). Ford could kill off Mercury, keep Volvo, sell all the Brits. Chrysler doesn't really have any room to pare things down.
Click to expand...

I see no need for Pontiac to stick around. Sporty or not Pontiac and Chevrolet compete for the same buyers. GMC truck should go too (unless they axe Chevy trucks and only make GMC's).

wplbe081118.gif
 
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