All Cars, All the Time

Rick, Rick, Rick
With GM's recent earnings error "what did they use a Willard?” Rick Wagoner's situation is looking ever more tenuous. News comes from this Free Press story that Rick and Co. could be held accountable for these “uh ohs.” This bad news on top of a potential Delphi’s union “work action” that could slow down parts production. As previously discussed in the comments section of another story, GM may have to strap on a lot of additional pension liability from the Delphi meltdown. Now add in a slow sales month in October and continued pain as GM tries to educate its customer base about the greatness of “value pricing” instead of meaty rebates. This isn’t looking pretty. GM is placing a lot of hope in next year’s renewed SUV line that it has been trotting out over the past couple of months. However, GM can now only hope to retain its existing market share rather than increase sales. There will be a slew of crossovers (the latest fad) and the new Malibu and CTS are supposed to look great but that’s conjecture until we see them. There is hope and it’s in the likes of the soon to be revived Saturn division and hot selling niche products like the Pontiac Solstice and Hummer H3. Mr. Kerkorian is waiting in the wings and ready to slice and dice his way to a tidy profit. Maybe Mr. Wagoner does need Amy Poehler running around to energize GM.