The Shrinking of the Big Three

Another "crap" posting from Agent 009 - we want the original back please.

"The reality is these three auto makers, once domestic behemoths, are downsizing themselves almost out of contention on their home turf." - I don't think making major business changes to dramatically increase profits and profitability is moving "out-of-contention". I think its a way to react to the realities of more global competition - and cuts and restructuring should have been done faster, sooner, and deeper.

They need to shrink and get back to basics.

Limit the amount of cars and build only quailty machines that stay out of the service department.

RIP big 3

Why would you say this? Like it or not, GM is STILL the biggest automaker in the world. And when Toyota will take the crown..GM will still big huge. Soooo..what's the point of wanting all of those people out of work???

GM-Toyota, Ford-Honda, Chrysler-Nissan

GM-Toyota = biggest mega-company ever. Hard to even imagine. Also, to say that the Big3 are on their way out..come on now. GM grosses over $200Billion a year. So they've had to restructure (which cost them alot). They'll be back to profits soon here and all you US car haters out there will be complaining like the Toyota haters are complaining now (about how Toyotas are "lifeless" and boring).

Not so sure about Chrysler, but I have in inkling that Ford and GM are on the verge of a major breakthrough. . . . . . Just a hunch ;-)

Can you follow up on your comment ?? What makes you have this hunch ?? I feel GM has more of a chance than Ford. GM needs to cut some of its brands and concentrate more on others...

If GM is to cut a brand, the only brand they should cut (In my opinion) is GMC. GMC is pointless, GMC vehicles are the same as Chevy just with a different badge.

GM should cut Buick , GMC and Saturn.

Buick is selling well in China tho...

Why??? Saturn has one of the best dealership ratings among all brands...plus is also will have one of the freshest lineups in the industry..it would be stupid to kill Saturn. Plus buick is HUGE in China..the world's SECOND largest market

GM found out when it got rid of Oldsmobile that killing off a brand is way more expensive then saving it.

How is it more expensive to kill a brand rather than keeping it alive on life support indefinitely? They're cutting the bleeding Oldsmobile right?

Oldsmobile has been gone for awhile now, but it is still costing GM money. Billions have been spent paying off dealers and this is money GM has no shot at getting back. If GM had instead invested that money into Oldsmobile, GM would have more then likely seen a return.

having had too many brands was NOT gm's basic problem.

NOT having decent cars, actually DESIREABLE to buyers, was the basic problem. IF they had decent stuff, more of them would've sold in chevy, pontiac, buick, cadillac, saturn AND OLDSMOBILE stores.

I think Saturn will be fine with the new Sky, Aura and Vue. GMC should go, and so should Buick and Pontiac. Other than the new Solstice, Pontiac is lifeless. In addition, please, please, sell SAAB to Toyota or Honda.

The fact that the Big 3 is losing ground is really scary to me...I want them to do well, but they have to offer something that I want first. I do want them to pull through, although Im not willing to risk buying from them...yet.

I hope that made sense.

Shareholders of DaimlerChrysler are asking for Chrysler be sold off (back to what it was before), but they cannot sell it because nobody would buy it. Why? Because unfunded pension costs mean that portion (Chrysler) has a negative worth. OUCH.

Q: "How do you pronounced DaimlerChrysler in German"?

A: "The Chrysler" is silent

LOLOLOLOLOL!!!

Chrysler has to be treated like a separate company kind of like a mini GM, and concentrate on its product identity per brand. Jeep-off road, Chrysler-cars, Dodge-trucks, are all good american brands. Downsizing is the key back to profitability. Plus, the Chrysler group of barnds can use previous model chassis of mercedes to save on development costs. Just dont make it too obvious.

"General Motors, Ford and Chrysler have lost a combined $11.3 billion this year and together their market share has fallen to 55.1% in the U.S. from 72.7% two decades ago."

This is staggering. I'm scared for the Detroit auto industry.

Give them time to restructure, sure they lost 11.3 billion combined, but the projected yearly revenues of the Big 3 are in the hundreds of billions. Growing pains for detroit, its happened before (just not so painfully). They'll get things turned around, just give them some time.

A combination of producing some crap and biased media.Heres an example of that, comsumer reports for 2006 state that the matrix is a best pick and the identical vibe is an unreliable piece of crap.The latest CR on the front cover state there opinion is unbiased!#@#@ CR now state they are the same! People are catching on to there BS!All companies make some crap from German, Japanese to American!I think outsourcing to mexico or other third world countries may be hirting quality.

"...matrix is a best pick and the identical vibe is an unreliable piece of crap."

your gross EXAGGERATION destroys your credibility. just about every motorhead knows the matrix and vibe are identical UNDER the skin.

the only difference CR noted, is with regard to BODY INTEGRITY. duh! they NEVER said the vibe is unreliable, much less crap.

i know there was an article slamming CR for it's methodology, POSSIBLE biased and lying suscribers, etc. etc. ad delirium.

guess what, that HIT piece of so-called journalism was written by a chrysler flack. ever wonder WHY? look at the OBJECTIVE ratings of chrysler products in CR.

incidentally, there was an article about DaimlerChrysler execs being terribly PISSED at CR too.

CR, after their comprehensive road tests, PRAISED the S-Class for its excellent handling dynamics, powerful engine, safety features, etc. etc.
but after factoring in the POOR reliability, gave it a "Not recommended" rating! likewise for numerous other mb models.

like with toyotas, many people are neutral to INDIFFERENT to CR. but certain people TRULY HATE their guts!

i suppose certain TRUTHS can be VERY hurtful. especially to UNwarranted pride.

When buying a car, CR accounts for 0.1% (yes, a tenth of a percent) of my decision. The crap they call cars "unreliable" for is ridiculous. The new S-Class is unreliable!?!?! Gimme a break!!! The car has only been out for less than a year. How the hell can you say it is unreliable, there is not sufficient data to tell and everytime I turn around all I hear is praise for new MB (which CR berates at every possible instance). CR seriously needs to get their act together, sure Toyota and Honda are great brands but I have a hard time believing this "unreliability" B.S. they feed the public. I don't care if its what their suscriber's have submitted. What do a bunch of yuppie know-it-all liberals who wouldn't know a hammer from a screwdriver know about cars? I can't wait to hear CR label a Mercedes-Benz "unreliable" when some jerk runs out of gas and blames MB. I hope a massive slander lawsuit comes about one day and shoves a big Detroit foot up CR's ass. Come to Detroit CR, we missd you the first time. (sarcastic joke...)

Hey neutral have you ever owned an MB, if you have owned one in this century then you might well have experienced some of the famed unreliability. My own ownership adventures include an S class collapsing on its suspension after 13,000 miles; automatic headlights that functioned randomly; air conditioning units on an SL that had to be replaced multiple times; problems with the electrical systems and so on and on and on. Just because you pay a lot, and drive a vehicle that when functioning is nice to drive, doesn't mean the vehicle is fundamentally reliable.

Obviously there are a lot of current and former MB buyers in the US who have been contacted by CR and given their own experiences.

"When buying a car, CR accounts for 0.1% (yes, a tenth of a percent) of my decision. The crap they call cars "unreliable" for is ridiculous."


yes, and YOUR opinion, if it had been solicited, would account for 0.001% of their survey tally!

Better to build less cars than to have thousands on lot sitting and resorting to GIANT discounts/incentives. GM especially has had more interesting product out lately.

Agreed, the Saturn lineup is swinging hard over the past year or so. Saturn can be a great, great asset for GM (if they treat it right). Good quality, everyday cars with in "import" aura to them ***no pun intended*** should sell well.

Someone said "TOYOTA + GM" as next biggest company?
Huh?
Toyota is WAY too smart to get together with GM.
Even if you paid them $10 Billion they're still too smart to undertake that huge, long-term loss in the making.
Who would want a company with no direction, no style?
GM have great pickups, 1 good car (Corvette), Cadillac is slowly coming off life-support, and I've heard that Saturns are good, but the rest of the crap ...
And GM is "Dilbert Inc"

Dilbert Motor Corp.! LOL! luv it!

note that a former GM exec actually DID have a DMC briefly. DeLorean Motors.