Obama is making a big deal at the Dem convention of how he saved GM.
But did he? They lost a pile of money on the silly Volt among other things.
Paul Lamar
As Market Takes Off, GM's Share Hits A 90-Year Low
The last time General Motors‘ U.S. market share was at this level, Warren G. Harding
was in the White House, George Sisler was the American League’s most valuable player,
and Judy Garland was in diapers.
But GM says it isn’t worried. Its 2012 dip to 17.5 percent is due to a lag in new
products, and the company’s decision to pull back on incentives, the company’s vice
chairman, Steve Girsky, said at a conference on the eve of the New York International
Auto Show last week.
“No one’s panicking,” he said, according to Bloomberg.“No one’s rushing, ‘Gee, we got
to throw a pile of money at the market.’ That’s not the way we run the business these
days.”
However, GM is missing out on a flare in auto sales that is prompting economists and
carmakers alike to raise their 2012 forecasts. Many believe that the market will wind
up around 14 million, which would be an increase of more than a million vehicles from
2011.
It’s also a reverse for GM, which picked up market share in 2011 for the first time
in years. (See the chart at the end of this story.)
The surprise at GM is how much its U.S. share has fallen in so short of a time,
especially since the carmaker recaptured the crown as the world’s best-selling auto
company last year.
GM ended 2011 with 19.6 percent of the American car market. Analysts surveyed by
Bloomberg expected it to hang on to at least 19 percent this year, even with stiff
competition from a stronger Chrysler, resurgent Japanese automakers, and a push from
Hyundai and Volkswagen.
Instead, GM’s market share fell by 2.1 percentage points in the first three months of
2012, to a level the company hasn’t seen since 1922, even though its sales for the
year are up slightly.
Back in the early 1920s, GM was the second-best selling company in the American
market behind Ford, which it eventually passed during the Great Depression to take
the lead as the country’s, and eventually the world’s largest carmaker.
GM’s 2012 share is even more striking considering that 10 years ago, GM was aiming to
return to 30 percent of the American market.
It’s also something of a surprise, given that GM got the chance during its federally
sponsored bankruptcy to shed debt, rid itself of under performing brands, and
concentrate just on the vehicles it thought could sell best. Indeed, GM has
introduced new small cars, including the Chevrolet Cruze and Sonic, and is pushing to
make Buick more contemporary with cars like the Verano, just going on sale.
However, GM also is competing in a market where every company is trying to make at
effort at a rebound, or to hang onto their market share gains.
2007: 23%
2008: 22%
2009: 20%
2010: 18%
2011: 19.6%
2012: 17.5% (year to date)
Paul,
All true, but Obama and company had little do with the Volt. It was slated for
production well before the company fell into the government's clutches.
Csaba
I was amazed when I first heard about it. I did not think GM engineering management
was that dumb. Perhaps Obama applied pressure to go ahead with the Volt.
I am sure they spent most of the money after 2008.
They did not need to go ahead with the Volt.
I get the impression that a lot of innovation has been put on hold due to the bad
world wide recession. You have to be dumb to come out with a new product right now.
Having said that I am working on one :) An open source rotary engine EFI like megasquirt.
Unlike the first one I soldered up this one worked right out of the oven so to speak.
Paul Lamar
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