Word: new
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Some of what the new leadership is saying sounds familiar, such as Reuss's assertion that GM can't afford more talk about being merely "competitive" with Asian carmakers but instead must build "the best" vehicles. He also probes deeper: "We have to rebuild our relationships with customers," says Reuss, who was in charge of GM's engineering organization before his promotion and now openly volunteers that he is disappointed by GM's poor showing in the recent Consumer Reports rankings of vehicle quality and dependability. Reuss blames the bad rankings on an internal GM culture in which employees were...
Susan Docherty is on the front lines in terms of rebuilding the company's relationship with consumers, which has been a disaster. "In large parts of this country, their cars just aren't relevant," says a former GM executive. Vehicles like the new Chevrolet Camaro show that GM is capable of building good, attractive vehicles, says a senior executive at a rival automaker, but "it's all the other stuff that gets...
...sales in the U.S. are improving, aided by cash-for-clunkers, as well as positive consumer response to the Camaro, Buick LaCrosse and Cadillac SRX. In addition, new compact crossover vehicles, the GMC Terrain and Chevrolet Equinox, have sold so well that GM is adding a third production shift at an assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont. Since mid-September, when it began offering to take back vehicles from dissatisfied customers, only a tiny fraction of the cars GM has sold have come back to dealers, Docherty notes. "We've sold 300,000, and we've had 163 physical returns...
...Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich., notes that despite the bankruptcy, GM still holds the top spot in the U.S. car market, with 20% of the market, down from more than 40% in the late 1970s and just ahead of Toyota and Ford. In addition, the new labor contracts with the United Auto Workers have helped GM trim costs by $5,000 per vehicle with changes in health care benefits and work rules. The work rules have been whittled down, giving GM's managers more flexibility and control than they've had in two generations. GM could become...
...plans to start paying back its government loans this month. Repaying the direct government loans well ahead of the 2015 date contemplated by the Treasury Department when it helped GM reorganize during the bankruptcy is the first step toward an initial public offering of stock in the new GM. While GM received more than $50 billion in federal aid, only about $6.2 billion will be repaid in cash; the U.S. Treasury agreed to take stock in lieu of cash for much of the remainder, which gave the government a 60.8% stake in the new GM. Earlier this week, Treasury Secretary...