Auto Bailout, yea or nea?

[NC_X5_Guy]

caddys aren't selling either!

[X5rolls]

Disclaimer:

I'm a car fan, I like cars from many manufacturers and I'm not anti GM or American cars. I'm just against bad decisions in the car business when the public (me) might have to foot a bill for it.

Straight from GM's 2007 Annual Report:

http://www.gm.com/corporate/investor...da/mda_01.html

Key points I took away:

• 2007 net loss of $38.7 billion
• global market share in 2007 was 13.3% compared to 13.5% in 2006

2008 plan:

• Continue to Execute Great Products - what about cutting bad ones?
• Build Strong Brands and Distribution Channels - double talk - this does not addres the core issue
• Execute Additional Cost Reduction Initiatives - guess they missed this one entirely

X5rolls


__________________________________________________ ___
2007 Overview

As more fully described in this Management’s Discussion and Analysis, the following items are noted regarding 2007:

• Consolidated net sales and revenues declined by 11.9%, reflecting the de-consolidation of GMAC following the GMAC Transaction in November 2006; Automotive revenues increased 3.9%; 2007 net loss of $38.7 billion ($68.45 per diluted share) includes valuation allowances recorded against our net deferred tax assets in the U.S., Canada and Germany of $39 billion; Sold our Allison Transmission (Allison) business for $5.4 billion in cash proceeds resulting in a gain of $4.3 billion; Results reflect a $1.2 billion loss on our 49% interest in GMAC; Signed 2007 National Agreement that we anticipate will support our structural cost reduction plans; Achieved structural cost reduction target in North American turnaround plan; and
• Continued progress on finalization of our support for Delphi Corporation (Delphi) in emerging from bankruptcy proceedings.

2008 Priorities

As in 2007, our top priorities continue to be improving our business in North America and Europe and achieving competitiveness in an increasingly global environment, thus positioning us for sustained profitability and growth in the long term, while at the same time maintaining liquidity.
Our growth and profitability priorities for 2008 are straightforward:

• Continue to execute great products;
• Build strong brands and distribution channels;
• Execute additional cost reduction initiatives;
• Grow aggressively in emerging markets;
• Continue development and implementation of our advanced propulsion strategy; and
• Drive the benefits of managing the business globally.

Continue to Execute Great Products

Our first priority for 2008 is continuing to focus on product excellence by fully leveraging our global design, engineering and powertrain expertise to produce vehicles for a wide variety of regions and market segments. In North America, we plan to introduce several new vehicles in 2008 including the Pontiac G8 and Chevrolet Traverse to complement our successful 2007 introductions of the GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook, Buick Enclave, Cadillac CTS and the Chevrolet Malibu. In emerging markets, we plan to expand and enhance our portfolio of lower cost vehicles, with special attention to fuel economy.
Build Strong Brands and Distribution Channels

Our second priority for 2008 is building strong brands and distribution channels. We plan to integrate our product and marketing strategies and believe that if we achieve product excellence, stronger brands will result. In addition, we plan to build brand equity with a special focus on key car segments. Programs in 2008 are intended to enhance the effectiveness of our marketing, particularly using digital marketing. Finally, we propose to leverage competitive advantages like the OnStar telematics systems, which is available in more than 50 GM vehicles throughout the world. We also plan to accelerate our channel strategy of combining certain brands in a single dealership, which we believe will differentiate products and brands more clearly, enhance dealer profitability and provide us with greater flexibility in product portfolio and technology planning.
Execute Additional Cost Reduction Initiatives

Our third priority for 2008 is addressing costs by executing additional cost reduction initiatives. As discussed below under “Key Factors Affecting Future and Current Results,” we have taken action in a number of areas to reduce legacy and structural costs. In 2007, we achieved our announced target of reducing certain annual structural costs in GMNA and Corporate and Other primarily related to labor, pension and other post-retirement costs by $9 billion, on average, less than those costs in 2005. We have also reduced structural costs as a percentage of global automotive revenue to below 30% for 2007 from 34% in 2005, and have announced global targets of 25% by 2010 and 23% by 2012. We also plan to reduce structural costs as a percentage of global automotive revenue by pursuing manufacturing capacity utilization of 100% or more in higher cost countries, and will continue to assess what specific actions may be required based on trends in industry volumes and product mix.
In October 2007, we entered into a new collective bargaining agreement with the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Workers of America (UAW), including the Settlement Agreement, which we anticipate will significantly support our structural cost reduction plans when it is put into effect after January 1, 2010. Additionally, we plan to execute a collective bargaining agreement with the National Automobile, Aerospace, Transportation and General Workers Union of Canada (CAW) that will support our cost reduction goals. We have announced a special attrition program available to all of our 74,000 hourly workers represented by the UAW, and we expect that participating employees will begin exiting in April 2008. We remain focused on repositioning our business for long-term competitiveness, including achieving a successful resolution to the issues related to the bankruptcy proceedings of Delphi, a major supplier and former subsidiary. We recognize, however, that near-term continuing weakness in the U.S. automotive market, and its impact on our Canadian operations that are linked to the U.S. market, will provide a significant challenge to improving earnings and cash flow, and could constrain our ability to achieve future revenue goals.
Grow Aggressively in Emerging Markets

Our fourth 2008 priority is to focus on emerging markets and capitalize on the growth in areas such as China, India and the ASEAN region, as well as Russia, Brazil, the Middle East and the Andean region. Vehicle sales and revenues continue to grow globally, with the strongest growth in these emerging markets. In 2007, 38% of all vehicle sales took place in emerging markets; we project that in 2012, 45% of vehicles will be sold in emerging markets. In response, we are planning to expand capacity in these emerging markets, and to pursue additional growth opportunities through our relationships with Shanghai GM, GM Daewoo and other potential strategic partners, such as recently announced joint ventures in Malaysia and Uzbekistan. During 2007, key metrics such as net margin, operating income and market share showed continued growth across key emerging markets. In addition to the product and brand strategies discussed above, we plan to expand our manufacturing capacity in emerging markets in a cost effective way and to pursue new market opportunities. We believe that growth in these emerging markets will help to offset challenging near-term market conditions in mature markets, such as the U.S. and Germany.
Continue to Develop and Implement our Advanced Propulsion Strategy

Our fifth priority for 2008 is to continue to develop and advance our alternative propulsion strategy, focused on fuel and other technologies, making energy diversity and environmental leadership a critical element of our ongoing strategy. In addition to continuing to improve the efficiency of our internal combustion engines, we are focused on the introduction of propulsion technologies which utilize alternative fuels and have intensified our efforts to displace traditional petroleum-based fuels. For example, we have entered into arrangements with battery and biofuel companies to support development of commercially viable applications of these technologies. In September 2007, we launched Project Driveway, making more than 100 Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell electric vehicles available for driving by the public in the vicinity of Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C. During the fourth quarter of 2007 we introduced new hybrid models of the Chevrolet Tahoe and the GMC Yukon. We anticipate that this strategy will require a major commitment of technical and financial resources. Like others in the automotive industry, we recognize that the key challenge to our advanced propulsion strategy will be our ability to price our products to cover cost increases driven by new technology.
Drive the Benefits of Managing the Business Globally

Our final priority for 2008 is to continue to integrate our operations around the world to manage our business on a global basis. We have been focusing on restructuring our operations and have already taken a number of steps to globalize our principal business functions such as product development, manufacturing, powertrain and purchasing to improve our performance in an increasingly competitive environment. As we build functional and technical excellence, we plan to leverage our products, powertrains, supplier base and technical expertise globally so that we can flow our existing resources to support opportunities for highest returns at the lowest cost.

[AzX5]

Originally Posted by NC_X5_Guy

caddys aren't selling either!

Nothing is selling right now. Chevy makes up the bulk of GM sales. Pontiac and GMC are nothing but Chevy clones for the most part. Buick just cannibalizes Caddy sales, IMO. They need to keep Caddy to have the premium flagship brand just like Honda/Acura, Toyota/Lexus, Nissan/Infiniti. It should be Chevy/Cadillac and lose the GM name. Spinoff or sell the remaining companies that are under the GM umbrella.

[NC_X5_Guy]

I have been looking at some new SUVs for the wife, she wants a new X5, so do I....but the suburbans and tahoes are looking mighty good for the price you can get them for.....LOL! We looked at one coming thru Richmon Va today, listed for $52K, marked down to $39K. The price of the new x5 with the 4.8 loaded up is $75K......I am kinda scared to sink that in a vehicle the way this economy is......she might wind up driving hers a tad bit longer.

The reason I don't like caddy is they are ghetto, they don't sell as much as pontiac or buick in this area. I say keep pontiac, chevy, and GMC. Make the GMC the top of the line truck suv platform, chevy the more every day use stuff, and pontiac to the car market. Chevy has basically no car market other than the vette.

[Dannyell]

I don't know about... Cadillac...the car is as expensive as BMW and Merc...and it looses its value much quicker

[LeMansX5]

They are dropping Saab, Saturn, Hummer and Ponti.
http://www.xoutpost.com/lounge/54853-...ac-saturn.html

[blondboinsd]

Originally Posted by Dannyell

I don't know about... Cadillac...the car is as expensive as BMW and Merc...and it looses its value much quicker

I disagree, Mercedes loses it value faster than Caddie if you ask me, a 2006 E350 that retailed for 65k is now priced at 25k, that is a huge drop!

[LeMansX5]

They woke up.
Ford CEO to drive to Congressional hearings

Why can't he just take the AA or United flight?
Will rather waste his time on road driving for 8-10 hours. A regular economy flight is more cheap if he really wants to make an impression.

[Wagner]

Originally Posted by LeMansX5

They woke up.
Ford CEO to drive to Congressional hearings

Why can't he just take the AA or United flight?
Will rather waste his time on road driving for 8-10 hours. A regular economy flight is more cheap if he really wants to make an impression.

IMO, Ford should be saying "look we are more profitable than GM or Chrysler if you plan on helping anyone, it should be us". GM = death, Chrysler = PRIVATELY owned. I keep wondering why no media person is harping on that, Chrysler is a private company that doesn't even have to report full earnings.

[LeMansX5]

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