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View Poll Results: Who is to blame for recent gas price increases?
Market speculators 14 40.00%
Oil companies 13 37.14%
Oil producing countries 8 22.86%
China 10 28.57%
US Automakers 9 25.71%
Lack of refining capacity 10 28.57%
US government/lawmakers 11 31.43%
The Federal Reserve 7 20.00%
Dark Markets 4 11.43%
TheMercenary 7 20.00%
US Consumers 12 34.29%
Other 13 37.14%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 35. You may not vote on this poll

 
 
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Old 07-14-2008, 12:45 AM   #11
tw
Read? I only know how to write.
 
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 11,933
Quote:
Originally Posted by classicman View Post
How does that relate to the other manufacturers? That better, worse or about the same?
Last month, GM instituted more sales promotion including the 0% financing. This is how GM can claim a profit on this years sale while diverting losses to the financial operations. Those losses from 0% financing will not be felt for many years. IOW to keep sales figures up - an 18% sales drop in June. GM is again mortgaging its future. GM's May sales dropped 27%.

Ford dropped 28% in June compared to only 15% in May. Chrysler 36% compared to a 25% drop in May. Honda sales increased 1% compared to a 12% increase in May. Toyota went from a 4% sales decrease to a 21% decrease.

GM's 18% sales drop would have been in the 30 or 40 percentile without sales gimmicks and money games. The industry averaged a June 18% drop. (May's drop was 6% when GM had no sales incentives and a 27% sales drop.) Using 0% financing, et al, GM managed an average sales drop.

GM was recently hyping their increased quality. IOW GM was doing what others were doing 10 and more years ago. Others had moved 20 years ago to other innovations. One innovation is flex manufacture ring. Toyota plant in IN(?) that builds Tundra’s will be switched over to building Camry’s. No massive retooling. Same machines can build both vehicles because management comes from where the work gets done.

GM has no such abilities. Four SUV and pickup plants must shut down. GM cannot convert any plants to making Cobalts. That required planning in the engineering department - not in the accounting department. Flex manufacturing means cost increases when analysis is performed by bean counters - people who stifle innovation.

GM must mortgage precious capital; use money games to maintain sales of bad products. Last month was the exception. GM sales did not drop anywhere near what market analyst expected.

Few remember that GM was only 4 hours away from bankruptcy in 1991(?). How did GM 'fix' itself? Pension funds were shorted by about $7billion. Pension funds are supposed to be fully funded when the employee retires. Instead, GM played money games so that GM now has legacy costs. How does GM find $7billion for the pension fund when GM is only worth $6.5billion? No problem. PBGC. GM can dump those costs on the US Government.

More money games because GM products have been so crappy for so many decades. GM is estimate to have $20billion in cash reserves - and is eating that up at $1billion per month.

Also unknown is Chrysler. Since Chrysler is not public, then Chrysler's financial state is unknown. Nardelli who was running Home Depot under is now running Chrysler. Chrysler recently had to tap a credit line for $2billion implying that Chrysler had burned through its reserve cash. Well, when AT&T was in this position, nobody noticed. And AT&T was publically traded - its spread sheets were public record. If Chrysler is on the verge of bankruptcy, would anyone notice before the crash?
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