Microsoft has been taken over by the MBAs too

[dar512]

Originally Posted by tw

If it was so obvious, then why did so many Cellar dwellers buy General Motors cars (Chevys, Oldsmobiles, Pontiacs, Saturns, etc) even 30 years ago?

I don't speak for the rest of the dwellars, but Mrs. dar and I bought a brand new Honda Accord in 1987. We donated it in January 2009; 22 yrs with the same car. It just refused to die.

I dunno. Maybe it was more obvious in the software industry than elsewhere, but every major decision made at public companies I have worked has been made with an eye toward the quarterly report. It often makes for some fairly stupid short-sighted decisions.

And I still maintain that the proliferation of MBAs is just the symptom. The illness is the way the current stock market works.

[tw]

Originally Posted by dar512

I don't speak for the rest of the dwellars, but Mrs. dar and I bought a brand new Honda Accord in 1987.

Of all my Accords, my 1986 ranks as one of the best. Had both a 1980 and a 1986 even in the mid 1990s when I drove a less than one year old Pontiac down the expressway. About every third tar strip, I had to adjust that Pontiac steering to keep it in the lane. Even my 1980 Accord in the mid 1990s did not wander about the highway.

No innovation existed in a GM car in the past 30 years - except those required by Federal regulations. GM products were designed in the accounting department. Then MBAs blamed union workers for their problems. GM products costs more to build than comparatively equipped Mercedes Benz - because cost controls increase costs. Because GM products are designed by business school graduates (and people like my friend who is also a lawyer).

[glatt]

I've only owned GM cars. The first was an '82 Buick Century that my grandfather passed down to me. It had lots of problems but was great on road trips. Very comfortable. Had it for around 5 years.

The next and last car I've owned is a '96 Geo Prizm we bought brand new. GM discontinued the Geo brand several years ago. It's a great car. My only complaint is that some of the plastic climate control knobs broke. Plastic fatigue. Other than that, this 14 year old car is going as strong at the day we bought it.

[xoxoxoBruce]

glatt, tw said that's not possible. Obviously somebody slipped you a Honda with GM badges on it.