Trumped? GM To Invest $2.65 Billion In Brazil And Keep All 15,000 Jobs

The auto business is global. Plant strategy, product mixes, multi-year investments that take years of planning. Multi-level government discussions in search of property or tax breaks. All in all it has zero to do with who is in the White House and everything to do with the global economy and 5-10 year projections.

Right. And Latin America and China are where thr growth will be. There will soon be one billion people south of the US with expected growth in disposable income.

To bad we did not partner with our allies to address the worst offenders. Instead we seemingly randomly lashed out at every perceived nit and that, along with a continued strong dollar, has put us in a worse spot than before with trade deficits higher than at anytime since 2006.

Before you buy any GM vehicle, remember how GM screwed American workers out of their jobs but kept foreign workers employed.

GM has lost their American loyalty. GM has lost its integrity.

I agree.

Whether American Workers like it or not - GM is not in Business to employ American workers - it is business to make money for its stockHolders. IT now sells far more cars outside the USA than it does here, and the Americans were simply not buying the cars being made here. That is what a GLOBAL company does. ANd that is Capitalism and how it works Globally. THeir loyalty is to their largely AMerican Stockholders - not to their workers.

IF you look it it from that point of view - remember that Both Chrysler and GM would have gone out of business if they had not been helped by the BUSH presidency - ANd we would have only FORD left today - ALL of the GM and CHRYSLER plants still open would be closed - and nearly ALL of those sales would be going to foreign companies that do not pay the same level of taxes here.

The fact is - for where their cars sell - it is more profitable to make the cars outside of the USA. IT does make sense for the LARGEST car seller in Brazil to make the cars there - some models that are not sold in the USA - and I doubt they would be in that position if they made them here and transported them to Brazil - with the resultant price increases needed. THe same is true of China as well. They stopped making cars in Australia because they simply were not making enough cars to be profitable - and Ford did the same several years before.

THis is the way it is going to be - get used to it.

Of course SocialistTom with his elitist point of view cares not about average people. But this is typical of his hatefulness toward average people that we've seen so often here.

He obviously knows NOTHING about business--socialists like him never do--but a bankruptcy does not always mean that a company closes its doors. GM and Chrysler would have been reorganized rather than shuttered.

The American worker is a stockholder. Their 401Ks, IRAs, annuities, private and public pension plans all are invested in the USA stock market. Some wisely include foreign stock holdings taking advantage of the global economy. These workers depend on companies making decisions that increase the value of their stock, growing their nest egg for the future.

While I agree with most of what Tom says, I agree with Matt. Both GM & Chrysler were sent through ZOMBIE processes, normal bankruptcy laws were not adhered to because of the politics. If a Republican had done what Obama did that R would have been forced out of office. Laws were broken and investors were destroyed whereas unions were given massive payouts.

That said GM seems content with approx 25% of the US mkt and a good % of China. This move in Brazil is clearly strategic and certainly bolsters their standing among the citizens of Brazil especially since they have a Trump-like President in Jair Bolsonaro.

While IMO GM leadership is incompetent this move seems to make sense...

@Vette71: The American worker does own some stocks, directly and indirectly, but he or she is not a member of the rentier class. Until they retire, American workers earn their living from their paychecks, not from dividends, royalties, rents and interest. It is inaccurate to imply that globalization is not significantly disfavoring American workers because they have an IRA or 401(k) to supplement Social Security when they retire.

Actually Matt - it is YOU who are on the Socialist side of the workers here. I cannot see how you can not understand the word SOCIALIST - since it is obviously one you like to use often. THis "question" was not about the AVERAGE worker - because you ignore the average worker in Brazil - who actually buy the cars there. GM is a global company. Again - it does not owe allegiance to American workers above its profitability to its stockholders. Yes - Indeed - workers are stockholders too - but you have to look at that globally as well.

At the time - money was not available for true Chapter 11 reorganization proceedings - as virtually no banks were in position to provide the needed funds for both companies. Some of our largest investment houses went south in the wake of the storm. Without the Federal Government stepping in - it is likely both companies would have failed.

Forget about GM being American apple pie.
GM is now foreign Apple Enchiladas.

Good for them. Makes sense for a global company to invest wisely in locations.

How so?

I'm starting to see a pattern here. The countries that DIDN'T save Government Motors (Brazil, Mexico and other shitholes?) are getting the jobs, retools, new product lines. Wham. Bam. Thank you Ma'am!

It is not geopolitics or perceived slights from GM that will keep me from buying their products. It is the perceived 90 percent solution of development. I really wanted to purchase a new CTS when introduced 5+ years back. But the STDs 4cyl sounded hoarse and the 6 cyl put it at price parity with the E-Class. But the center stack touch screen killed it. Why, why, why not just have a knob like everyone else. Maybe I could have lived with it at 10 percent less, but it reminded me of an article in Fortune regarding the introduction of the ATS. They said in order to be successful in this competitive segment they needed flawless execution and had not demonstrated this in decades.

I agree in some respects. The 2014 CTS was a great leap from the 2013 model and was not a bad rival to the 2013 E, whereas the 2014 E was refreshed, and IMO is perhaps one of the best E's ever (14-16)

I actually had a 13 ATS 3.6 Premium, Black w/Red interior and frankly, I thought it was terrific, strong, good looking and "different" in a sea of C's 3's and A4's. When one compared a 2013 ATS to a 13 C-Class, 3 Series or A4 (which I did) it was the better car at a good value. Problem is late 2014 brought the current C Class which crapped all over the ATS, then the new 3 and A4. GM never improved the ATS, just intro'd it and left it. They had the ATS-L in China with a slightly longer wheel base and bigger back seat so why not delete the US version for the larger back seated China version? (Seems it would have been cheaper to build one version vs 2????).

The 2.0T was a great mill upon intro as well whereas Mercedes 4 had 245bhp the Cad had 270 and more torque, again, it had much better specs and I didn't find it buzzy like the Mercedes 4s. One could also get an ATS 3.6 for about the same money as a loaded C250/328i and A4-2.0 ALL with 4cyl's vs the 3.6 V6 w/321bhp. It was a better car at intro and a ball to drive.

CUE was great I thought and loved it for 3 years. I think users found it fascinating and edgy but auto journalists’ poo poo'd it, so the mkt soured on it. When it came out it was much better than Mercedes Command which is in my wife’s MB SUV and is like "pong' compared to CUE. Cadillac's new cars have the wheel/knob I believe as that is what the mkt seems to demand. At the time everyone was trying to figure out how this option pkg would ultimately pan out.

I also agree on flawless execution and I don't blame "Cadillac' I blame GM and the dealers. GM is cheap and they're stupid. They deliver 80% and demand premiums for their 1/2 @$$ed efforts... when cars don't sell, they discount. My ATS was recalled probably 5X in the 3 yrs. I had it and I've never had any car recalled. I’m so pleased I only leased it as I can’t imagine how it might rattle today. One recall needed to have the dash removed to repair something. A car is just not right after that IMO. I just heard they are having another recall on it, that is simply wrong for a luxury car and evidence of GM's pathetic MO. Caddy dealers are arrogant jerks and I don't think they care about the customers at all. I consistently got my car back filthy and even dirtier than when I brought it in on occasion and only with plenty of notice (week to 10days) did they have a loaner for me. Whereas Mercedes Cust Svc is insanely good, I've never once had an issue w/a MB dealer. I've gone to MB dealers where I didn't even buy my car there, for svc and ALWAYS was given a loaner. My Cad dealer was simply pathetic... I will absolutely never buy from them again..

I don't even want to say "I hope" for these new Cadillac CT4 & 5 vehicles as I’m so disappointed with the not even o

not even on the market yet, XT6..

I actually Bought a CT6 - It turned out to be a joy. First = no other car manufacturer has as advanced a structure - lightweight yet strong - as the CT6 Omega Platform. It actually weighed less than the CTS vehicle a class below. WHile I agree that it should have had the V8 out - I still would prefer a naturally aspirated Engine to all of these twin-turbo mechanic nightmares.
If they had initially styled it like the Escala - I think it would have sold better - arts and science has run its course. It remains in my family today.

Frankly - all these people who say they would not consider this car or that car - at this level - are likely to be people who are not in that price category to begin with. Car manufacturers are not socialist - they are Capitalist by nature. GM has the ability to produce high quality cars - but for some reason they have decided to make their bed in the mass market (China, Brazil, etc) where they have to produce cheaper cars - because the market does not support large purchases of high end vehicles. A great example of that is Buick in China - which is the leading luxury car brand there.

As far as EVs - I still do not believe that there is a real pent up demand for the number of cars the manufacturers will put on the market and a LOT of them are going down for the count - UNLESS - the countries economically support the EVs with tax incentives and laws against ICE cars in some areas. (THAT is socialism).

Xjug, I agree with your comments, especially the 5th paragraph. I see effort fro Cadillac. I drove ATS and it was well sorted. It and the CTS were let down by GM cost cutting. I think Cadillac has the capability to build a great car. They are running out of chances.

So you're against bribes to buy EVs?

It trips me out how GM makes a weak excuse to lay off Americans when they can have the cars produced at the plant the Cruze and Malibu were produced at.