GM Stock Drops to its Lowest Point in 55 Years...Is the End Near?

Sayonara General Motors.

thats a grim statement..... for the whole auto industry =(

I would give GM a *restricted* bailout if the money was only allowed to be used to build and RnD cars that were energy efficient (e.g. volt) or popular enough to sell on their own quality and performance (corvette, pickup, etc). This is how government finances research into drugs and technology; like a grant.

Not a penny to the CEO's, stock or the unions. Keep the hi-tech and good american car R&D manufacturing here, import the product manufacture from overseas.

Oh, and I can save GM millions of dollars today; Simply fire their CEO and hire me for 1/3 less, I can't do any worst....

While I have never been a fan of GM, it will be a rather catastrophic blow to the world if GM goes. I really can't imagine just how many people are employed world wide not just by GM but by suppliers, dealers, etc.

If they did get a bailout they should use it to buy out every union position in the company and send them packing.

well, bad companies should GO DOWN, its just the consequences of bad management, marketing etc... for decades...
if the goverment save them it will just encourage bad handling of corporation and a waste of money....

SINCE WHEN DO YOU WANT TO INVEST IN A CORPORATION IN BANKRUPCY?

The only way GM could survive is if they got money out of thin air(i.e. Government Bailout). Its not like they can keep cutting costs, people will lose their jobs and even less likely to buy GM vehicles. They also need to sell off some of their useless brands or combine them into one.

They kinda screwed themselves by putting 2 great cars into different but similar brands. Find a way to bring the G8 to Chevrolet and kill Pontiac.

Let them(Big 3) go down. Besides thats the american way. Capitalism. Free markets. Competition drives and decides who win and who loses. If we start bailing out companies, can we still say that we live in a free market country. There's no such thing as too big to fail. Other car companies will fill the void. Thats what capitalism offers, a chance for other smaller and innovative companies to rise to the occasion.

-spoken by a true conservative republican.

NoDos, that's a pretty simplistic view. losing GM would probably mean the loss of about 9% of all the manufacturing jobs in the U.S. considering the big three and their suppliers represent 20% of the manufacturing jobs in the U.S. That would cause all facets of the economy to spiral downwards. You think other car companies would fill the void. for one- the car buying public would contract by a lot. second, that money would be going overseas, and not reinvested here so job growth would still be minimal. of course, a situation like that would foster crime and property values would continue their free fall. It would be a tragic situation for the world.

bliq:

Yes, the US economy would be hurt for a few years if GM goes bust, but it's better than tax payers shelling out billions every few years to keep it's bloated corpse floating. Also, you fail to realize that Honda, Toyota, BMW, and other foreign companies have plants here -- building cars in the US, but paying their workers reasonable pay since they are free from the UAW.

I'm excited for the day when the US car companies start going bust -- then the greedy union workers will have run themselves out of a job thinking that they should be paid more than people with a masters degree when they have (at best) a high school diploma. The best part will be, the other car manufacturers like Honda, Toyota, etc won't hire them since they don't want to have the same problems the American companies had.

The American auto industry has had 50 years to learn to compete without the government protecting them -- they couldn't figure it out and as a result they deserve to go bust.

Let them collapse. Management was stupid enough to agree to a union contract they couldn't afford and the greedy union were blind to the fact they were making the Big Three collapse. Maybe they will get a reality check when they go to the unemployment office and find out other equvialent factory jobs pay $8 - $11 hr.

None of you can think past your own biases. The situation is so much more complex than any of you gives credit/blame for.

It's not a question of right or wrong, it's a question of best scenario. It's a question of least-bad scenario.

Regardless of the way it looks, practically speaking Pelosi and Obama can't allow that many union jobs to go away on their watch. The money will be loaned, sooner rather than later.

The money will be paid back, sooner rather than later.

GM at least will be significantly more capable (note I don't pretend I could promise that they'll deliver) of competing from a cost structure basis.

Does General Motors deserve to die off? Yes it does. In the 1970's, while Honda and Toyota were investing in new plants, GM took their gigantic profits and bought other companies like Frigidaire, ignoring the fact that most of its plants were built before, during, or shortly after World War Two. By the 80's, with their market share falling and their quality lagging behind the Japanese, they no longer had piles of cash for new plants or retooling, and had to start borrowing money. Disastrous aquisitions like Opel and Saab drained more money away from GM's coffers. Like Jaguar had been for Ford, Saab has done little but lose GM money. Now up to their eyeballs in debt, they are having trouble merely meeting their pension requirements.

Having said that, GM will not go bankrupt. They employ too many people, both directly and indirectly, for the US federal government to stand idly by while they collapse. There are more than 160,000 GM employees, and it is estimated that there are 5-7 supplier jobs that depend on GM to continue. Putting more than 500,000 Americans out of work, especially right now, is simply not an option for anyone keen on being re-elected four years from now. One way or another, deserving or not, GM will get the money it needs to stagger onward. It would be nice if the money was conditional (use it to develop more fuel-efficient cars and green tech, etc.), but either way, they'll get bailed out. They're too important not to.

Most likely GM will re-emerge as the General Motors
Bicycle and Skateboard Company.

Dont be silly: no-one gets hurd.
I remember the same nonsence when PANAM went bust. Now what? Others took over.

Its good when sub critical players are removed from the scene; that includes suppliers, dealerships the lot. People are still going to buy cars, they go somewhere else.

And look, when a troubled company is worth saving (ie is has a good brand, good tech, good whatever) then usually it doesnt need to be saved by a government. It will be bought over by competitors.
In case of GM: there is simply nothing of value.

I agreed that GM deserves to go bust. The US government will not let this happen because of all the jobs that will be lost.

I think GM will get some sort of bailout but this should come with some strings attached. Hopefully the government will be smart enough to insist on restructuring and bringing in management that is smart enough (and tough enough) to run the company. Look what Carlos Ghosn did with Nissan. They should also insist on cutting brands and cars. Does GM really need four versions of the same truck (Chevrolet Traverse, Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave)? This to me is poor management and a waste of marketing dollars.

The world was at their finger tips with the EV1, and they pissed it all away! At least they positioned themselves for a bailout with the car with the magic (not yet in existence) battery. I will give GM credit for producing one thing of value. The failures at GM will be studied and produce many great books, and Masters and Doctoral Thesis's on what destroyed what was once considered a globally dominant company. Good job wasting our nations intellectual, manufacturing, and energy resources for all these years GM. Foreign car companies used American workers to beat you too!

Bright side: Maybe my Buick Grand National will go up in value if Buick and GM does not exist anymore.

Perhaps if they would have actually released the Camaro and Volt by now they wouldn't be in such a bind. Two cars that people obviously want to buy and GM can't seem to realse them without doing 3 years of marketing first.

Sad to see them go, I'll lose a few hours a week at work if the local GM dealership closes down, but nothing make or break for me. Sad to know that lots of people could lose their jobs, but that's how it's gotta work. I for one don't want the government using my money to save them.

I also find it funny how so many people are "scared of the socialist Barack" when the same people are for the Gov saving these companies. At the rate we're going the government is going to own our car manufacturers, banks, and home builders. Throw a couple food companies and hospitals in there and you've got the makings for a nice socialist US.

uh, tap tap...
the people against Obama voted against the bailout. that is why it failed the first time, duh. just correcting idiocy.

Nationalize GM. It would be a great investment. It is stupid to bail out companies without taking some form of ownership. Britian did it and it works.

Look at it the way it is. Corporations own the US Governement so why not have Government own some corporations? Isn't it the same as saying Corporations are buying a Corporation. Look at the money donated by Corporations during the election compared to private donations. It is pretty clear that this can't be considered a socialist move since the "people" had little influence over who the Government is or what they'll do anyway.

Wow, Vince actually is pretty close to the mark there.

The world, powered by greed....

Frankly I agree as well. I love GM/Chevy, but it's there own damn fault. Hello, OHV engines? Everyone else had gone to OHC by that time... I'll admit GM has made a few strides forward in the last 5 years or so, but it's to little to late. And Saab, don't get me started on the fact they were sitting on great technology doing nothing with it. (The Saab 2.8L V6 turbo, makes more torque and hp than the 3.8L V6 GM engine, and gets equal or better mileage). Sorry GM, but technically this should be a free market, and it's do or die....

Do I want GM/Ford/Chrysler to go bust? No.

Does that mean that I'm willing to drive an American car? HELL NO!

Im pretty sure both Ford and GM are doing fine (relatively speaking) in other countries. They also happen to sell much better cars overseas. It's too bad it took them so long to realize that they should sell the popular international models here as well. The GTO flopped big, as did the G8. Noone was paying attention anymore. They were busy pushing big V8s when the country was clearly heading for fuel efficiency. Now they are marketing hybrids that barely get better gas milage but cost a lot more. I mean seriously who is gonna buy Aura hybrid that gets 2mpg better than the base model.

The same way the finance collapse was caused by lack of diversity in investment, the car companies clung to their SUVs until it was too late and hit a downward spiral.

The American way...down the sh*tter in everything but military power that never even gets used enough to break a sweat.

yeah, the top people in GM are too greedy.
the car industry has left them to dust and they still sell old looking and less reliable cars. it's so evident in just the way they design and advertise cars.
too bad they affect a lot of suppliers/employees who work for them.
what the car industry can help is capture GM's suppliers and workforce after being laid off.

Call me synical, but if the Japanese came here in the '50's; saw what GM was doing with their product then(like the 6 cylinder engine in the 55 BelAir), and went back to Japan to take the idea and vastly improve on it to make it their own, then WHY on earth, can't GM do the same in reverse, and learn from their mistakes, instead of making more mistakes and compounding on the ones they already have made!!!??? I just do not understand it!!!

One reason that they are hurting is that all the big shots and everyone who works there for the big shots, except the underpaid and underappreciated line workers, is that the bigshots need to fill their already deep pockets, suck the company dry, so they can m aintain their fat cats lifestyles!!! I say, the hell with them all, and let them continue to do what they have been doing for years!! Make a poor product, charge too much for it, and make the consumer do all the quality testing by buying their POS and force them to visit the dealer more than they see their own family. Been there, done that, definitely DO NOT want the T SHIRT!!! What goes around comes around!!!
And the givernment should be bailing out the cr--ppy roads, bridges and tunnels of our great country, so we can drive our Toyotas, Hondas, Nissans,Bentleys and Rollers!!!
Shame on Bob Lutz!!!! And to think I wanted a new Camaro!!!
Not now if the "General" is going to die!!! Who's gonna fix it???
I am just hurting for the hard working folks that make these POS'S!!! They are sooo disrespected by the company they work for.
I am sure someone on the factory floor has ideas on how to run the company. And since there is a 97 day supply of Caddy XLR's as of the end of last week, GM should have a buy one get one free sale. Maybe they should even throw in a freakin Lucerne(65 days supply) TERRIBLE!!!!!! Just go to Hamtrank Michigan, and pull up to the holding lot for aa real good look!!! Pitifull!!!!!

Good luck!!!! To Toyota, Honda and Nissan, for here is their chance to be " The NEW Standard for the World" just like Cadillac used to be, way back in the early days!!!

Wow, more nonsense as usual. Where to start?

First, said it before, will say it again, when you pay 50% more for labor and 7 times more per vehicle for health care, and then have close to half a million people collecting a pension off of you, see how well you will look.

Second, we can stop with the technology basing. During the 80s, GM was criticized for not 'seeing the future' and having small, fuel effiecent cars like the Japs, since that was all they made then. Thus, Saturn and the EV1 was born. Then during the 90s, GM was criticized yet again because they were making small cars and working on electric vehicles when everyone wanted trucks and SUVs. So, GM ramped up truck and SUV production, shifted Saturn to be 'upscale', bought Hummer, and the world was happy again. Now here we are in the 2000s, and what happens again? GM gets criticized for building all those trucks and SUVs that everyone wanted a few years ago and not making small cars. I guess GM better employ some better physic's. Any one have any idea how hard it is to get a large company to shift directions quickly?

Next we have all these people saying close/sell GMs brands. Does anyone remember what a mess it was when GM closed Oldsmobile? First, GM had to pay off the dealership network that took billions. Then GM had to deal with all the lawsuits from angry costumers who had just lost their brand fro that new car they bought, there is a few more billion. Lastly, not everyone wants a bow tie. GM lost costumers over closing Olds, as to how many, no one can say for sure. As for selling brands, all of GM's brands are deeply embedded within the company now. They all use the same engines, the same platforms (except for Caddy, Saab though soon to change, and the Vette/XLR), and the same facilities to build them (again, except for Caddy, Saab, and Vette/XLR). The only two that aren't heavily embedded are Saab and Hummer, though Hummer is shifting to smaller truck/SUVs which are closer and closer to GM's other trucks and SUVs.

Then people wonder why GM has companies like Saab. Gee, I don't know, turbo and AWD technology maybe that people seem to be crying for? Saab/Opel engines are also the basis for the Ecotec line, both Gen I and Gen II, which happen to be some of the best 4 cylinders out there right now. I laughed when I say the Toyota article about the new 2.7L going into the Rav4. GM is bringing out a new 2.3-2.4L (not sure on displacement 100%) that is making more like 200 hp and 200 ft-lb of torque and apparently gets the same mileage or close to it as the 2.2L 155 hp Ecotec, the one that gets the class leading 37 mpg highway on the Cobalt/G5.

Next, ye ol' OHV vs OHC/DOHC argument. In one coroner, we have a DOHC 3.7L 305 hp, 273 ft-lb of torque, uses premium, 5 speed auto (this is suppose to be a luxury car, right?), weighing 3948 lbs and every time I see that grill, I can't help but think superman that ho. Some more random specs:
Headroom front/rear: 38.4/36.6
Legroom front/rear: 42.5/36.2
Hip room front/rear: 55.7/54.8
Shoulder room front/rear: 58.1/56.2
Cargo volume: 12.5
Annual Fuel Cost: $2198

vs

a OHV 6.0L 361 hp, 385 ft-lb of torque, regular fuel only or tune it and make around 400 hp and 400 ft-lb of torque for premium, 6 speed auto, weighing 3995 lbs, and I don't think about Souja Boy when I see it.
Headroom front/rear: 38.7/38
Legroom front/rear: 42.2/39.4
Hip room front/rear: 56.7/58
Shoulder room front/rear: 59.1/59.1
Cargo Volume: 17.5
Annual Fuel Cost: $2218

So you to can achieve faster 0-60, faster 1/4 mile, more cargo room, more interior space, more power, more torque, and not have to superman that ho for the low, low cost of $20 bucks more per year in gas? Yup, DOHC clearly wins out over OHV.

There are many of you saying that we should let GM go into bankruptcy, or ultimately go under.

Here is the problem with that mentality. PENSION PLAN. Remember US Air's filing? Their pension fund had to be bought by a US govt run corp, ala taxpayer dollars. I'd much rather see GM get a bailout to prop them up, and their suppliers up. A 10 billion dollar bailout today may prevent the us taxpayer from having to absorb their under financed pension fund at a cost of 10's of billions.

US auto makers are stuck with unionized labor that is far over compensated. I'm sorry, but spending all day in a climate controlled facility doing what is essentially piece work does not constitute 60-80k a year. It is time the unions concede much more in pay and benefits if they want to keep their members employed.

Not all unions are bad, but when I look at the auto industry, and how they are held hostage by the UAW, it makes me sick.

Couple that with poor management and you've got the issue's GM and Ford are facing now.

i digress/.

I think the US giverment will bail them out just like they bailed out the banks because thats the only thing the horrible corrupt republicans can think of and Obama cannot do anything until January when they can finally put Bush on the short bus to get the heck out of there

and why the heck would anyone buy a company thats in such a mess. buying GM in the state that its in would be a huge gambol especially when the economy is in bad shape

the only way people will buy into GM is if they auction off the brands one by one

"Nationalize GM. It would be a great investment. It is stupid to bail out companies without taking some form of ownership. Britian did it and it works."

You're right -- it does work.........at increasing prices and harming consumers.

"One reason that they are hurting is that all the big shots and everyone who works there for the big shots, except the underpaid and underappreciated line workers"

UNDERPAID?! They make 50% more than non-union workers in other auto plants in the US.......and those non-union workers are getting paid pretty extremely well for not going to college. The biggest problem is the union, followed by poor management, followed by GM always finding a way to screw up SOMETHING about each car they make. They can have a car that looks great, drivers great.........then will have a crap $2 interior that makes you go "sorry, no way am I buying that".

Oh, and for the guy saying that Bush will bailout GM and Obama wouldn't......news flash, front page of the Wall Street Journal today is about Bush and Obama meeting yesterday and how Obama is insisting we need to bail GM out. The "Messiah" will destroy our economy for years to come, but people refuse to see it since they're so greedy and think they deserve money someone else earned.

My opinion of what WILL happpen...

Government comes up with a sub-par bailout program that costs us tax payers billions, and doesn't solve the management issues within these large American manufacturers. UAW continues their greedy and retarded ways of management and Amercian cars do not get any better, they just continue to disappoint. This will continue a perpetual downfall for American manufacturing and further hurt our already spiraling economy. Its going to fall a bit anyway, but a bandaid does not fix the gaping wound.

My opinion of what SHOULD happen...

UAW, GM, Chrysler, Ford, all need to figure out their own problems. They dug their graves, now they get to fall into them. This is not the fault of the American people, we all stood up and purchased superior vehicles from better manufacturers like Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, VWAG, and Toyota. Survival of the fittest. If you can not survive and be competitive, your ass goes out of business, deal with it. There are going to be losses in the job markets, those working in the auto industry chose your jobs, now learn to live with them. I chose a job in Medical Staffing, not for money, but for stability.

- Your products suck, you lose
- Your quality sucks, you lose
- Your products are not inovative, you lose
- Your employees are overpaid, you lose
- Your styling sucks, you lose
- Your CEO's are greedy, you lose
- Your company has no pride or integrity with their product, you lose

.... are you people starting to get the picture yet? Or are you still whining about the "BIG" picture. The "BIG" picture is this. Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, VW, BMW, Mercedes, are all providing jobs to americans and supplying great products. This is a GLOBAL economy. Get off your American Pride high-horses and stop supporting junk manufacturers and their overpaid employees.

I hope GM, Ford, and Chrysler BURN if they don't survive on their own. IF, they don't survive on their own.

-jOSH

I think that it was government interference on behalf of union own politicians and a union owned political party that is mostly responsible for the mess that GM and the others of the Big 3 are in. The government/unions interferes and over-regulates every aspect of their business.

People complain about over-paid executives mismanaging a company but say nothing of all the bought off politicians in Washington that are smothering the domestic auto-makers.

The management can't even scratch their own butt with out the union approving. The government/unions interfere with where they manufacture, how they manufacture, who they hire and how much they pay.

The government forces them to design and build cars that they can't sell at a profit in their current manufacturing situation and then the government penalizes them for making profitable cars and over-taxes those who buy them.

Their labor can't be forced to hit productivity and quality targets, and has to get paid more than their worth to under-perform. Can GM do anything about this? Not really.

The government/unions even interfere with how they sell and market their products.

The real incompetent boobs in this situation reside in Washington DC, and in the Michigan State capital, not in GM's management. So, who are we gonna get to fix the problem? Those who created it. And what are we gonna do to fix it? More of what created it - more debt, increasing restrictions in favor of the unions, and more restrictions on what kind of cars they have to design and build. And the union-owned politicians in Washington think that this is a good idea.

What GM needs is not the government's help, but for the government to get off of its back and let it run an automotive company competitively. Doing more of the same, when it is clearly not working is part of the left's big-government bureaucratic mindset, and absolutely insane.

I definitely think GM needs a bail out. Now is the time for the government to come in and help. GM also needs to sell/kill off some brands such as Hummer,Buick,Saturn, and Pontiac. Pontiac styling is bland and they aren't even performance oriented at all. Buick is just blah catering to the old. Saturn's styling for the most part is actually cool but just an unnecessary brand. All they need is the every man brand such as Chevy, the luxury brand which is and would forever be Cadillac, and GMC .Cadiallac's styling is great its even starting to rival the german cars the CTS-V will be killer. Chevy is starting to get their groove the new corporate grill looks sweet such as on the new malibu and the new cobalt replacement the Chevy cruze the silverado looks good to. And GMC should strictly be a truck brand and industrial brand. They should solely be responsible for developing and manufacturing pick-up trucks, large suvs, and semis and stuff. No matter what people will still need to work. Hummer just needs to be killed off it was just another jeep like vehicle. Or what i actually think would be cool is if GM decided to keep Hummer and kill GMC. When everybody sees a Hummer and their distinctive big muscular menacing grill they know its a truck and get a feeling of ruggedness from it. The new chevy volt may actually be on to something imagine tons of those being bought for taxicabs as prius fighters and the malibu as maybe a larger alternative if it were implemented with the volts technology. Think hundreds of taxicabs being brought back home to recharge for the next work day. Also if they were smart they could install solar panels on the roof. Even if the cab company could install them on the roof of their building possibly of setting some of the cost of recharging all those hybrids. The U.S. economy cant handle losing all those jobs its going to kill the economy. And i agree with gary the governement should own those key parts of the countries life it would forever ensure a stable country/economy but i also think their should be allowed competition to continue progress at a more rapid rate.

But thats just my 2 cents.

This is BS if the gov bails out the auto industry screw them. GM deserves to go under. No one saved other peoples jobs when their companies went under so why should we save GM. Yeah it sucks people will lose their jobs, but that's the nature of the beast, blame your company. We the tex payers should never bial out companies, because companies will never learn. What's next more companies asking for bailouts? Screw them.

Let it die! Let it die! Let it die!

it might be good for government to take majority of the control on GM if decided to give them money in exchange of the company stake/shares. For the time being, government can restructure the company from management to manufacturing plants and the work force (keeping unions or not). After this GM revives even not at the level its peak, government can sell it again to the market players.

seeing GM value at its history low level, whoever (including goverment) interested in buying this now CHEAP company can really do it easily getting lots of shares. When the economy stabilizes a bit after a few years and GM's bad habits has been cut or restricted, government may sell it at a much higher value.

making it state owned for a "limited time" may not be a bad idea at all, there's chance to bring Billions of dollar in profit. It's one of the ways to use our tax money and not to waste it, i guess.

very capitalist... but it might work right?

Yeah, because the government has a great history of dealing effectively with unions, streamlining operations and making a profitable organization.

All the stupid government interference is why GM is in the mess it's in right now. They don't need more of it. That would just prolong the disaster and shift the burden to the taxpayers.

Don't let them fail, they've just begun to see the new era of electric cars that are coming, I love V8 Mustangs, But oil and gas is over, electric cars that take a charge off the electrical grid are going to let you drive for much less money and not hurt the environment, Supplied by wind and solar power GM Ford and Chryser with Obama's leadership will engineer the future for us, It's going to be clean and make a lot of new jobs here in America. It's such a huge shift in technology and infrastructure we need them to work together to get it done before we either run out of oil or cook the planet.

I hope that the Mustang will still be made, but with an electric motor hooked to a manual trans and a traction lock rear axle, so I can still powershift 2nd gear and lay some rubber.

Ha ha ha! The U-S-A is more socialist than China. Go there if you want to see a capitalist system at work. Way to elect Chairman Obama.

Move to China then. I'm sure you'll love it.

But seriously, don't freak out, about the huge changes coming to the auto industry and the governments helping hand. It's just time for a shake up, Leadership towards a new type of engine or motor or battery, or hybrid is needed, nobody knows what is going to come out on top. Not even the Chinese.

I bet the rest of the worlds automakers are watching our automakers to see which method of propulsion will sell best. Our manufacturers are watching them too, to see what sells best. I think I want an electric car, but I could be persuaded to buy a fuel cell too, if the hydrogen is made by wind power or solar power. The powertrain we as American consumers choose is the one China and every body else will build That is capitalism, no matter what manufacturer designs the solution.

Bob Lutz said he is betting the company on the Chevy Volt. I hope he's right.

Jake.....

Someone has been drinking the Koolaid haven't they?

Is clean power, Koolaid? Drink it up, it's good for you.

Bob Lutz is on the right track with the Volt.

Cars (like many other things) are not selling, GM can build a car for $1000 that runs on water and it still wouldn't sell... It's not the cars that people don't want... it's that the industry is currently building 10 cars per 3 in demand...