Will you buy from Government Motors?

Government Motors matters not to my car buying plans. The next car I buy will be just like the last one - used, from an individual, in cash!

 

Yes.

Currently, not much.

No more than normal.

I did. (as you can tell, you didn't actually respond to the facts.) The fact is that the UAW salaries are unsustainable in this current market. They have been that way for years. I have long been on record as saying I don't care what people make. But the reality is that the market has to bear the salary.

 

Before the government that was just elected by Michigan's electoral votes, there were three parties in the equation, management, the union, and the market. Yes, I do think the union shares blame for demanding greedy salaries and benefits. However, there is enough blame to go around. Who is responsible for agreeing the the union terms? Management. Who is responsible for judgeing the market? Management. Based on that judgement, who is responsible for making the cars that the people want in order to make a profit? Management. Who is responsible for the profitability of the company? Management and the Board of Directors.

When you throw in the feds, I have no idea what the balance is anymore, nor do I care. I will never buy another GM vehicle.

 

I have said this often.

Not entirely. They are limited by law as to what they can do. In a union state, they are hamstrung by the union. They basically have to agree with the union or close. They can't hire replacements.

All true.

 

Always wanted a Corvette, still do.

 

You left out the fourth party in the equation - the government.

Part of the reason that the auto companies built cars that no one wanted was to meet the government mandated CAFE fleet standards.

In order to meet the CAFE standards it was necessary to build several matchbox cars that no one wanted to buy so that they could sell one SUV that people did want.

 

I think the management should take most of the blame for mismanagement of the company & for asking for government assistance. The government (namely Barack Obama) should take the rest of it for moving forward to take over the company. A responsible leader of the company would have opted for bankruptcy. A responsible leader of a nation wouldn't overtake a company & would have allowed them to go into bankruptcy. General Motors would have bounced back eventually from bankruptcy.

 

That is an excellent point. All I was considering for the government was recent history and bailouts. Thanks for bringing that out.

 

About 30 years ago, GM built a plant at Oklahoma City. The local state tax on land was removed by the state of Oklahoma for the plant for 25 years. Other local, country, state, and federal incentives were freely granted. The plant had about 8,000 employees. 25 years after opening, the plant was closed. Why cannot GM make money - isn't lack of government help -- reminds me of an old native American saying:

Do not attribute to malice what can be easily explained by stupidity.