General Motors' auditors announced that they have severe doubts the company can remain viable. I say ... let it go under ...
The government gave GM billions of dollars to bail them out. It turns out that the money was only a temporary patch to get the company through 3 months. GM is burning through cash so fast that there is no way it can remain solvent, certainly not in this economy.
GM's problems are many, but two stick out like sore thumbs ....
Too many brands - even after dumping Oldsmobile, they still have divisions producing cars and trucks that compete with each other. Pontiac and Chevrolet compete. Chevy and GMC compete on trucks. Saturn is pretty much useless. Hummer is a dead horse in this economy, and with the strength of the 'green' movement. Cadillac stands above, but has suffered from poor quality for years now.
Labor costs - the UAW's strangle hold on the Big Three is killing the companies. Bloated retirement and health care costs for current and especially former employees make their per hour labor costs twice that of foreign manufacturers who build cars here in the US (Nissan, Toyota, etc.). The UAW owns the Democrat Party - no one in the Obama Administration or in Congressional leadership dares hint that the union has to go, or be diminshed, or that benefits gained under threat and execution of strike have to be relenquished.
Stop dumping taxpayer money into GM right now. Let it go into bankruptcy for reorganization. Cancel the union contracts. Drop the brands down to Chevy and Cadillac. It will succeed if organized correctly.
I'm a Ford man through and through. However, the contribution of GM to America's auto heritage is undeniable, and who doesn't like the looks of a restored '69 Camaro tooling down the road? GM is simply not viable in its current form in today's market. Stop wasting our money on a hopeless cause. Let it die, to be reborn.
P.S. - I sure feel sorry for all those lined up for the 2010 Camaro - if something isn't done pretty quick, it will be stillborn .....
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