GM going down the pan??
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GM going down the pan??
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Ooooooffff who would have seen that!.
Maybe people are finally realising they can now buy a corsa cheaper by buying a GP
Maybe people are finally realising they can now buy a corsa cheaper by buying a GP
Tbf fiat nicked a large chunk of GM's bank balance by forcing them to buy themselves out of a merger...then used it on new cars which brought the company back into profit...
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Tbf fiat nicked a large chunk of GM's bank balance by forcing them to buy themselves out of a merger...then used it on new cars which brought the company back into profit...
quality move :slayer:.I think its helped by the fact people are now "downsizing" their living expenses and are choosing cheaper small fiats rather than bigger german wagons. I was speaking to a fiat salemen and he says the amount of golf, passats, mini's,BMW's etc that are getting traded in against a new fiat is beyond a joke lol.
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jugs buys a VX and the parent company goes down the tubes
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Well...... we can laugh and joke and about it but look at the big picture. If GM are about to go tits up its a pretty good indicator that everyone else is in the same boat and if the situation does not improve it wont be long before another major manufacturer turns round and says the same thing. It could easily be Fiat/Ford/VW/Toyota saying the same thing next month. GM are one of the worlds largest companies and they are involved in a lot more than car making, if they do go to the wall the implications will impact on the economy of every developed nation in the world.
There is a lot more to it other than the fact there will be no more Vectras Astras and Corsas....but in saying that I believe the US Government will step in and save them in the same way the UK Government did with our Banks.
There is a lot more to it other than the fact there will be no more Vectras Astras and Corsas....but in saying that I believe the US Government will step in and save them in the same way the UK Government did with our Banks.
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i dont see GM going down
yes it will involve some financing from whatever source but its more to do with liquidity
yes it will involve some financing from whatever source but its more to do with liquidity
Toyota issued a profit warning today and their shares were down 9% so it's hitting all car makers quite hard.
GM needs $11bn per month to pay it's bills! so they are due a serious shake up and restructure.
But GM would either be bailed like AIG were, or broken up into various divisions (Saab, GM Europe etc) and sold off cheap. I'm sure Vauxhall and Opel would remain as they are popular and well selling brands and someone would make money from them, long term.
GM needs $11bn per month to pay it's bills! so they are due a serious shake up and restructure.
But GM would either be bailed like AIG were, or broken up into various divisions (Saab, GM Europe etc) and sold off cheap. I'm sure Vauxhall and Opel would remain as they are popular and well selling brands and someone would make money from them, long term.
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Can we have a whip round just in case they want to get some of their money back from FIAT. I can put in a couple of quid. On a more serious note, I wonder if they may like to relise on some assets quickly by selling their interest in diesel manufacturing to FIAT.Tbf fiat nicked a large chunk of GM's bank balance by forcing them to buy themselves out of a merger...then used it on new cars which brought the company back into profit...
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So why are GM in the sh**?
the issue is no-one is buying new cars regardless of make.
http://www.just-auto.com/article.aspx?id=96670&lk=sd02
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GM provide parts to alot of industries, not just cars and with nearly all sectors contracting, nearly all their demand areas have reduced
European sales are sluggish I agree, and they will get much much worse.
However a bigger cause of this is the SUVs, 4x4s and commercial vehicles that aren't being sold in the USA. Factories are having days slashed off their working weeks, across the board and this will continue for some time. R&D for these cars, plus the expensive US employee and pensioners costs are hitting them hard. Same with Ford.
European operations for both Ford and GM are in relatively good shape, all things considering, however they both failed to get their Middle East and Asian divisions going in any meaningful numbers compared to the Japanese companies so they are not as diverse.
As I said, sales are slow in the Western part of the world, this will not change for quite a while. However even if sales are slow, they will still have a large market share.
However a bigger cause of this is the SUVs, 4x4s and commercial vehicles that aren't being sold in the USA. Factories are having days slashed off their working weeks, across the board and this will continue for some time. R&D for these cars, plus the expensive US employee and pensioners costs are hitting them hard. Same with Ford.
European operations for both Ford and GM are in relatively good shape, all things considering, however they both failed to get their Middle East and Asian divisions going in any meaningful numbers compared to the Japanese companies so they are not as diverse.
As I said, sales are slow in the Western part of the world, this will not change for quite a while. However even if sales are slow, they will still have a large market share.
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Tbf fiat nicked a large chunk of GM's bank balance by forcing them to buy themselves out of a merger...then used it on new cars which brought the company back into profit...
Very true..and if I had a choice between the corsa or the GP I know which one I would chose..
THE CORSA..
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Tbf fiat nicked a large chunk of GM's bank balance by forcing them to buy themselves out of a merger...then used it on new cars which brought the company back into profit...
A large chunk??
lets get real eh?...... In 2005....3 years ago! GM paid Fiat $2b to get out of the deal they had between them. Its a **** in the ocean. Look at the figures. GMs monthly cash outlay (wages overheads etc) is presently $11b. If GM stopped overtime for 2 months it would more than cover the cost of the $2b payment made to Fiat.....and it didnt bail Fiat out of the ****...http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4263125.stm
GM is big company but they are asset rich and lack cash. The problem they now face is that they only have $15.8b left in cash reserves and as it stands they wont have enough money coming in after next month to pay the bills....thats where they went wrong, in forcasting cashflow.
That $2b 3 years ago doesnt even come into it. There is probably more cash in their tea-machines.
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Well its 13 and 1/3rd% of their current bank balance...but they wish they still had it. Tbf by large chunk I meant a sizeable amount of money rather than a huge hole in the coffers
was talking to a vauxhall 'related person' today who openly admitted the current range is sh*t.
Can Fiat survive? Well most of their cars are at the lower priced scale and they are pulling out the stops to reduce warranty expenditure (something that costs vauxhall big time) so I would say yes they will.
Anyone notice how recently the secondhand car market was dead as new cars were chaep(ish) but now everyone is looking for low priced secondhand cars again.
Can Fiat survive? Well most of their cars are at the lower priced scale and they are pulling out the stops to reduce warranty expenditure (something that costs vauxhall big time) so I would say yes they will.
Anyone notice how recently the secondhand car market was dead as new cars were chaep(ish) but now everyone is looking for low priced secondhand cars again.
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Unlike a lot of the big players who have had it relatively easy over the years, and become complacement as a result, Fiat and their management have plenty of experience when it comes to hard times, in fairness they have a reputation for surviving.......I dont doubt they will pull through this and be in better shape at the the other end than some of the competition.
Er...playing a bit of devils advocate how is introducing 5yr warranties on the GP reducing expenditure, the car is well known to have faults that keep on cropping on up, or are the phase 2 GPs significantly different?
And as an aside fiat is better off than many other companies as they don't rely on prestige cars so can keep selling new cars more easily than companies who make there money on more expensive and now less attainable stuff. Also new rules in this country for tax help alot of the fiat range be more attractive whereas ford and vauxhalls petrol engines seem to be very heavy on the CO2.
Because techs across the UK (and europe) have been logging/reporting these faults so Fiat can act on them.....the hard work that goes on out of public eye is very impressive. Also sub-contract parts that are faulty are 'claimed back' from the maker.
