Comments on: GM CEO: "Business As Usual Is Over"

Automaker Makes Quick Exit from Bankruptcy; CEO Says Company Will Repay Taxpayers Ahead of Deadline

[beals1978]

Seems like you forgot about Bush my good man.

[beals1978]

Buy Ford? I just threw a mass airflow sensor at this ranger I've been stuck driving. This never happened to my S-10.When i went to automotive college all the teachers except one made fun of Fords poor design and now that I've driven a Ford Lately i see why.

[tmittelstaed]

Good friends of mine had a Toyota Tercel. The engine valve seals disintegrated and the engine drank oil like it was going out of style, this was at around 90K miles. It was a common problem with those cars, google it up. Toyota never lifted a finger to help anyone with this problem.

Most 70's American cars were junk. The reason why was that the emissions standards came in full force and engine designs that muscle cars were built around in the 60's were detuned and loaded down with a ton of garbage in the 70's. And transverse engine designs became the rage which required all new transmissions which were mostly paper miche garbage. The transverse design saved assembly time since the engine and trans could be assembled out of the car then just lowered into it on the line.

Meanwhile the Japanese were coming in with 4-bangers mostly using tried-and-true rear wheel designs with manual transmissions. Conventional wisdom was that Americans wouldn't give up their large vehicles to buy rice-burners so the domestic automakers did everything imaginable to continue the large car designs. Conventional wisdom turned out to be wrong. You would have been far better served in college by something like a Datsun 510 or 210 at that time.

Of course, conventional wisdom also said during the gas hikes of the early 2000's that Americans would get sick and tired of SUV's and jump into small cars with a vengence. Conventional wisdom was also wrong about that, too. Even today, while most are buying small cars, not a lot of people are buying cars at all. Nobody really knows what will happen when the economy comes back and people have money to spend again.

[tmittelstaed]

Frankly the auto dealer network as itis now is a millstone around the factory's neck. If they could figure out how to get rid of the dealers they would in a split second. So many other companies nowadays have dispensed with their dealer networks and are now selling direct. The business I work in, computers, did so years ago. 15 years ago my employer was a Compaq dealer - and today, most of the service work we do is on HP computers that were bought direct off the HP website by their owners.

This partnership with Ebay is stupid, it's just Ebay angling to become another dealer. What's needed is for a fundamental shift in how people buy cars. Too many people today still purchase cars as impulse buys. They walk on to a new car dealer lot thinking they will just browse, and the next thing they know some slick-talking salesguy has suckered them into a deal they think they want at the time - then get home and start thinking "Oh s h i t what did I just get myself into"

Instead of that the GM dealers could simply keep a selection of factory demos of the models for sale, then the buyers decide what model they like then order it online, in the dealership, or at home. Then the car is made to their spec, shipped out, and a few weeks later they get it and it's exactly what they wanted. Unfortunately, the car buying public isn't ready for that yet.

[rf35]

Next time, try reading the whole article before commenting. It said that dealers would still distrubute the cars sold on E-Bay.

[darthcheney345]

Are you on drugs, or what?

[darthcheney345]

Obama is the worst president in 100 years.

Obama hates the U.S. worker. He is using free trade to destroy the U.S. worker.

STOP FREE TRADE NOW

The job you save could be your own.

[beals1978]

Seems like you forgot about Bush my good man.

[darthcheney345]

Seems like you forgot about Bush my good man.
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Obama is making Bush look good.

How many of the companies that Bush bailed out are bankrupt now?

Remember, it was Pelosi who wanted to bail out GM, not Bush.

And why is it, the only way you can defend Obama is by saying he's as bad as Bush?

LOL! Look at all the comments here. Everything good about Obama is something that WILL happen, according to them. But everything that ALREADY HAS happened is Bush's fault. ROTFLMAO!

I'll start believing in your messiah AFTER he has a few ACCOMPLISHMENTS that have ALREADY HAPPENED.

So far, you messiah's miracles are all just PROMISES, PROMISES, PROMISES...

[darthcheney345]

The destruction of the middle class is nearly complete.
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Yes, thanks to Pelosi who first demanded the GM bailout, and to your messiah the almighty Obama.

Obama is a total failure.

Obama hates the middle class. His intention is to destroy the middle class.

Obama is just the next lapdog for the ultra wealthy power elite.

Obama is the worst president in 100 years.

[legacyabq]

haha it blacked out t.o.w.e.l heads, the favorite repug word for muslims.. It was YOU guys chanting DEATH DEATH DEATH about Obama!

Arent you ashamed of that?!?

[legacyabq]

This is good news allthings considered.. Too bad it makes Obama look good, what? The fascists will have to look elsewhere for a boogie-man; and votes for that matter..

Stupid republicans, isnt it you guys who claim the '**********' are chanting'death to america?'
'kill him!' 'traitor' 'commie!'

LMAO that convention will go down in history as one of ugliest anti-american travesties of american political history!!

Ha, its good times again in the USA!!

Like the 90's with clinton, we can bhe happy again; no neo-nazi republicunts trying to round us up to be shot..

Anyone else notice how light and breezy the news has been lately?

And thats with a historic recession going on??

Good thing we elected Obama.. I havent been this optimistic in years..

I thought he was gonna 'take away our guns' and 'roll out communism', eh??

Stupid morons,go put on your white robes and kill yourselves already!! We intelligent, wealthy, happy, well-fed and secure americans, we true patriots, dont need your FEAR anymore!!!!

No more fear!! Vote no on republicunt scum and keep the prosperity going for ALL americans, not just the top 5 percent, the ONLY segment of the population to get RICHER for DECADES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[legacyabq]

haha it blacked out t.o.w.e.l heads, the favorite repug word for muslims.. It was YOU guys chanting DEATH DEATH DEATH about Obama!

Arent you ashamed of that?!?

[darthcheney345]

Are you on drugs, or what?