Darren Logan

1) Disband the unions,
2) Institute statistical quality process
for assembly line, and judge assembly line
managers by how close they are to the requirement

3) Institute performance quality process
for the designers which is: Torque per MPG
(the higher the number the better)

4) Keep Cadillac, Corvette and GM(C) brand,
and loose the rest (buick, pontiac and
chevy)

5) Make sure that you have $9K car that
does 40mpg, $13K car that does 30-35 mpg
but is a bit larger and performance oriented
then $18K family car that does 30-35mpg
that has styling not embarasing to a young couple
with kidds. Cars after $30K range should be
cadillac or corvette brands unless it is a truck
(I also do not think
there is anything wrong with extending the corvette brand to more than one performance car style, as long as it is not a van, truck or SUV)

6) Introduce rotary engine into lineup
as well as a couple of excellent diesels
(that burn clean diesel), I personally do not think that hybrids have a big future. Their
mileadge is not great, and they are expensive
and will stay expensive.

I think it will be a combination of diesel cars,
may be with some kind of fast spinning rotary,
and pure electric cars who get charged from future nuclear power stations (but that will take another 20 or so years)

*Engineering- When given a task to engineer something well, cheap and fast, you’ll always get the answer that you can have any two, not all. For years, Detroit did it cheap and fast. First assess what engineered parts work flawlessly, and keep them. For all else, they need to invest in R&D. Hyundai’s top guy decided a massive investment was needed into engineering and r&d to overcome their mediocre past products, and all that investment launched them right past the American cars in quality, right next to Honda & Toyota. Not cheap, but definitely needed. Keep at least current with competitors (ex.-GM’s 4spd auto is 2 spds behind the comp.)

*Marketing & Brand Mgt.- You can’t have the same product with a different grills and make 5 divisions out of it. Nissan has successfully taken several chasses and made 2 totally different brands out of it(Nissan & Infiniti). The secret is just using the chassis, not the same body panels. Utilize the best chassis you can, and build differently from there. If you can not do this for 5 different brands, then you have too many. Marketing should be easier once you have true differences between divisions. Also, each division should have a “Mission Statement” that they stick to. (Ex. Pontiac doesn’t need a minivan-it doesn’t agree with their “Excitement” motto)

*Costs- Ah, the unions and healthcare. Ugh. I’d first see how much production could be sent to Mexican & Canadian plants, then renegotiate the US contracts. Let them strike- you can build in Mexico and Canada. Yes, you’ll take a big hit, but it’s a better bet than having the unions drain you of capital. I’d get rid of that 95% pay for idled workers for x #of years. Much more worker co-pay for insurance. I don’t know the rest of the details. Once the American contracts have been renegotiated, then switch production to US factories and challenge the other country’s workers. Utilize automation whenever possible-computers and robots don’t need health care.

*Feedback, feedback, feedback. Stick a postcard in each car, or have a mechanism to contact GM regarding what’s good, what’s not. Perhaps an owner’s club that aggregates things for each division, and reports to GM mgt.? Use this feedback for regular updates to cars, so they don’t go stale 1 year after introduction.

That’s what I’d do if I were King of GM. Also, I want the reserved parking space and the 20 year old secretary with the big caboose.

Take a look at the Firebird I, II and III of the 1950’s. The Firebird III didn’t even have foot pedals or a steering wheel. It was all controlled by a single joystick in the middle of the cockpit. You could drive sitting on the right or left side. They were even thinking of an automated driving system for this car. The Firebird III is still operational today and GM takes it out once in a while for a fun cruise. Their research found that turbine power is not practical for passenger cars.

There are so many technologies and technological “firsts” that have been developed by GM, I don’t even want to try to list them all here. GM is the 20th century leader by far in automotive technology development.

What would I be looking to fix? Not quality, but perceived quality. Take a look at JDPower’s initial quality report. It’s not a very large gap. GM is ~20 behind Toyota, and Nissan is ~30 behind GM. Look at VW. Toyota has 11 cars/trucks in the top three in their classes, GM has 13. The same for the JDPower’s dependability report It’s perceived quality that is the problem. So here’s my list:
1. Design
2. Materials
3. Marketing
In that order. Nissan has great design. Their cars look cool. Plain and simple, that’s what gets people into their showrooms. So I would stop watering down GM cars and trucks. The Cobalt looks too similar to the Cavalier. The G6 looks too similar to the Grand Am (or every other Pontiac for that matter). The list can go on. I would be pushing for designs similar to their concepts cars. Turnover rate would be every 4 years, tops.
Materials: The interiors of GM cars look cheap. Why? First, they are replicated along complete production lines. All Chevy’s have the same radio. Standardize the components behind the dash, but the part that comes into physical contact with the driver must be unique. It must be higher quality material. This would cost money, and I don’t know how much. But I think this is imperative, and I would personally spend an extra grand on an interior I thought was better.
Marketing: I don’t know how these guys are still doing this. Typical GM commercial: hmmm…here’s a car. GO BUY ONE! It doesn’t work. They seem to finally be changing this. But it definitely isn’t happening fast enough. A successful advertising campaign can do wonders for sales. Look at VW a couple of years ago.

I don’t know if anyone will read this since it’s at the bottom of a really long thread. But it made me feel better anyway.

I made the agonizing decision to accept a “Career Transition” Package from GM in March. I’d been with the company 15 years. I’m an engineer, and I’ve done a many different things at GM, from design and test on aircraft engines (Allison Turbine, now owned by Rolls Royce), to assembly plant launches in Mexico, Missouri and Texas (with what was then known as North American Truck Platforms, then GM Truck Group). I did quite a few process machine installations, and set up processes so you could have a whole case of beer at lunch, and the product would be impervious to your input. …as there were a couple very sober engineers putting incredible effort into designing a method to build vehicles that didn’t matter if you’re having a bad day. Machines don’t sleep, eat, take breaks or go on strike.

I went over to the “dark side” and went into vehicle development. My first assignment was tire integration. GM does this better than ANYBODY. Full Stop. GM does quite a few thing better than ANYBODY. Unfortunately, there are many things GM does that would be better done by an undergraduate with a blunt No. 2 pencil. Did someone say design?

About four years ago, I found myself in “Quality”. I don’t know how this happened, and I surely didn’t ask for it. My supervisor (in Vehicle Dynamics) explained to me that he was forced to give up one of his guys to a new quality group, and since I was the only one on his staff that had ever used the “tools” (a database) he picked me. I was to suffer one of the longest misguided periods of my career as I worked on “Warranty Issues”. I will tell you, the majority of what is wrong with GM cars falls into two categories: 1) Warren doesn’t know what Milford is doing (Warren being “engineering” and Milford being “integration”) and 2) GM is trying to cut costs so much they generally will run almost any supplier into to bankruptcy on the grounds of one small mistake. Woe be the automotive supplier that doesn’t diversify.

So Michael Moore may have looked at the assembly plants in Flint in his youth (and he really should have stopped with “Pets or Meat” – in my humble opinion, the highpoint of his career) and a few of the other folks that have written may have actually owned a home in Flint (and you have my utmost sympathy – I live about 40 miles from Flint, and THAT is close enough). But my observations from inside those facilities, don’t necessary dovetail particularly well with their observations of the sign in the yard.

First of all, healthcare. I was a salaried employee of GM. I elected an HMO and I had co pays and contributions like most other professionals. This is a good thing, it sort of helps you not waste money, and give some of the responsibility to you. The United Auto Workers has done a fine job of protecting the benefits they won in generations past. My father in law is a pipe-fitter in Flint (he doesn’t actually live their either, but I’d say he’s with in 25 miles). As a skilled tradesman, he is represented by the UAW. You can look from outside, and say “Oh, well, look at the benefits the ‘line rats’ have. No wonder the company is going broke.’” but this is simply a management issue as well. There is a process called “bargaining” that occurs in the auto industry every three years. The UAW attempts to secure the best possible benefits and working conditions for their members as possible. Unfortunately, many folks working at GM often feel they’re working for the UAW and not GM. Their benefits are eroding too. I’ve not been a part of the bargaining process, but its a good process and get the hourly workers as much out of the company as the can afford. And YES, GM must be applauded for taking care of their workforce better than their stockholders. A company exist to make a profit, but there has not ever existed one stock broker that ever actually produced anything of real value. This I know, I’ve held enough GM stock (some of which I paid over $80/share for) and that piece of paper is a nice thing, but there must be laws to prevent me from putting it in my scanner and making a very good copy, that in effect will function just the same.

Still, there is no fundamental reason GM can not afford these contracts. They as a corporation should have weighed their business perspectives to see if shutting down the operations to squeezed the “membership” a bit was in the long run the low cost way to do things. Unfortunately we, as a society aren’t interested in what will happen in two years, we only look at the quarterly reports. To look at this lesson, we must only cross the Pacific and look at what China is doing.

China has over four times our population and they’re industrializing at a breakneck speed. Wonder why a behemoth like GM can’t afford their pensions and healthcare? Look across the Pacific. Sick and tired of $2.00+ unleaded self serve gasoline? Look across the Pacific. Wonder what your children will do for a living? Look across the Pacific. They’ll be taking returns on the goods that were built in China, at the local Wal-Mart and perhaps arguing with a fellow in India or Jamaica about their tax return (data after all being incredibly portable). The Chinese have a wonderful ability to plan much further into the future than the third quarter. They’ve done a fine job of obtaining current know how and equipment for virtually no investment. Any multi-national company doing business in China must be “partnered” with a local company which must own at least 51% of the joint venture. Go anywhere an attempt to purchase something. If you set the goods down that have the “made in China” identification on it like I do, you’ll find you’re quite often a frustrated shopper; and you end up buying the shoes, television, car or video camera anyway, because your covetousness outweighs your principles.

Yes, children are sober in India. …and they’re coming to eat your lunch. Yes, you Mr. Weatherman, and you, Ms. Stockbroker, and yes, you, Mr. Tax Accountant and oh, by the way you too Ms. Medical Biller. Oh, and madam Physician, you’ll get to know your replacement, as Asian culture allows for growing an individual and he or she doesn’t have to start paying for her student loans and buying Chinese goods as soon as she manages to finish her associate’s degree.

GM is merely a barometer of the equalization of pressure in standards of living around the world. It is a wonderful place, this brave new world (sorry Mr. Huxley) and you and I get to compete with Ping and Vijay for our incomes, and for goods and services. But, we, as Americans (and to certain extent Canadians) have gotten fat and greedy, and we blame our politicians because it certainly can’t be “Our FAULT”.

Well it is. We are short sighted, and envious. We’ve enjoyed our wealth for so long, it is unbelievable we should see the aforementioned “Ping” and “Vijay” living what we so arrogantly call “The AMERICAN Dream”.

We must compete. GM isn’t in a position to do that. Its too big, and too unmanageable. Remember the Soviet Union? Centralized societies can not survive an open culture. There is no one individual that is bright enough, or educated enough to run such an enterprise in the world of today. Too many of us peons actually talk to each other.

Should GM be allowed to fail? Certainly. The US loan guarantees for Chrysler simply made an attractive cash cow for a German company a few years later, and a few executives fabulously wealthy.

GM will not recover unless they’re forced to. “That which does not kill us makes us stronger” is more true in business than in biology.

What would I do as CEO?

Well, were I the CEO I wouldn’t not have to send Mr. Wagner back to Brazil (as this would have already been done for me).

Mr. Lutz? The next time you go to Australia buy yourself a t-shirt or a ball cap and leave all twenty five year old chasses with rather unremarkable bodywork in a protected market, will you (for the uninitiated, the GTO is an embarrassment rivaled ONLY by the Pontiac Aztek)? Thank you for your assistance, and your rather bumbling addresses to the press, but please go enjoy your retirement, and the next time you decide to fly your MiG, please put some ammo in the cannon and strafe Mr. Queen’s house.

Mr. Queen, here is a nice boat. I’m sure you survived Mr. Lutz’s strafing, as he couldn’t find a target on scotch soaked cocktail napkin. Please make sure it doesn’t sink on your watch, and learn that here in Michigan we play euchre. Being “short suited” is a good thing (Yes, I actually cringed in all those meetings I was forced to attend when you kept saying we were short-suited, but not as much as when it started turning up in other executives list of catch phrases). You are right though, GM’s cars have pitiful interiors. I accepted the offer to evaluate a Buick LaCrosse. Yes, the seat was very comfortable, but the car is almost as ugly as a 1999 Ford Taurus, and that, friends and neighbors is Ugly (with a capital U).

Mr. Brian Nesbit. You’re a pretty nice guy, and I remember you from church (we met briefly). But you’re a one hit wonder (and Chrysler sells that one). Please come home from Europe (Opel is screwed up enough already). Go to California and do some surfing, eat some weird food, survive an earthquake or two and send me your portfolio when you’ve got something with Style (with the capital S).

Anyone I’ve forgotten? Oh Yes, Mr. Sears. Good job. I’ve got a new one for you. I’ve decided I’m going to get rid of all the me-too vanilla products we build. All your manufacturing facilities are going to be different, because we’ll be building different products for different needs, wants and desires. Find about 40 good people who can manage a facility that builds something different than anyone else, please. I’ll want your report and proposal Monday. There’ll be no need to call a meeting.

Attention all other executive vice presidents. You’re fired.

Attention ALL Vehicle Line Executives. Go sell crackers and cookies somewhere else. Your services are no longer required. We’ll no longer be selling commodities here.

Attention ALL Vehicle Chief Engineers. Please submit to me your what your market segments needs, and how you must achieve positioning GM’s offerings and a plan to do so. Check books will be open, and not only your bonus, but your salary will now reflect the effectiveness of your decisions.

Attention JD Powers and Company. I have not canned all of my attorneys… yet. I have one little task left for them. I will own you. You’ve published garbage and called it statistics long enough.

Oh, all corporate policies are hereby NEGOTIABLE. They’re guidelines, not absolutes. Something stupid, or doesn’t make sense? Only one thing will get you fired in my regime (yes, I’m a dictator, but a malevolent one); the phrase (or variations of it) “That’s the way we’ve always done it, and its corporate policy”.

To all members of the GM family. I’m sorry to tell you this, but many of you will no longer be required. If you go to more than one meeting a day, please pack your desk, as you’re obviously not accomplishing anything.
There will be some very lean times ahead of us. I will not seek bankruptcy protection, although in effect we are bankrupt, financially, spiritually and creatively. You’re challenged to form into your own business units. Those of you occupied working on the following products, should immediately seek other alliances:

Buick LaCrosse – there are lots of Ford Tauruses out there.
Buick Terraza – Just what the hell was who thinking?????
Cadillac STS – if you touched this car’s styling run for your life, because I’m sending Lutz in his MiG after you. How stupid can you be to make a $60,000 car look so much like a $30,000 car you have to look at the tires to figure out which is which????
Cadillac XLR I like this one. I have jobs for you.
Chevrolet Aveo Mr. Wagner, if you’d like to continue working here, this will be your company car. Consider it punishment.
Chevrolet Endloader (or what ever that ugly minivan thing is called) – let DCX make some money, and we’ll get a lambda out here.
Chevrolet Equinox Theta sucks.
Chevrolet Malibu You were right, it’s STILL the car you KNEW America could build. Good car, uglier than the chick that did commercials for K-Mart… what was her name?
Chevrolet Impala I’m not sure if I’m going to can this one or not. Pretty sure, but cops gotta have something to cruise around in… Wait, where what that Holden thing with four doors. Now that’s a cruiser. Canned.
Chevrolet SSR This will be the replacement for the Canyon. I like this one, but we need an extended cab, and a Sedan Delivery version.
Chevrolet Cobalt Why does this car look like a ’92 Cadavaleer? This is suppose to get people in our cars. Has anyone seen a Toyota Echo? A Honda Civic? A Hyundai for goodness sakes? Get out of here.
Chevrolet Canyon What a piece of garbage. Enough said.
Chevrolet Silverado >7200 GVWR will get a new front suspension. See me. …uh, and could I get a stylist in here????
Chevrolet Suburban / Tahoe New suspensions, all around. See me.
GMC Colorado uh, would someone try this again????
GMC Sierra See Silverado
GMC Yukon See Suburban / Tahoe
Hummer H2 Done. So five minutes ago. What are the rappers buying now?
Hummer H3 I like it, that Japanese/Brazilian fiasco of a chassis, but it might work here.
Oldsmobile? Are any of you guys still around? The Aurora and Intrigue had style and character. Of course GM would can them instead of giving the marketing guys a few more drinks. Stupid make, great names, and the best looking cars to come out of GM in 25 years. Could you do it again?
Pontiac G6 Swing and a miss. You’re out of there.
Pontiac… What else they got? That might be a problem You’d think I might remember. Oh well, who wants a car named after an Indian Chief?
SAAB 9-2 SOMEBODY HIDE THE STYROFOAM!
Saturn Hey, I have an engineering degree and EVEN I know Saturn mean “slow”. Did anyone ever look this up? How are you going to sell small cars that are tagged with the monicker “Slow”. No matter, I like the logo. Let’s call it “Mecury”… no wait, that one’s taken and on a bunch of slow forgettable Fords. “Uranus”? Ugly (fits the brand image) but… we might get sued. We’ll stick with Saturn. Get me some poets in here. …and get me a theme for a name. Somthing inspiring. How about Callisto?
Saturn VUE Stupid name, lousy chassis, ugly. No redeeming values? GONE, GONE, GONE

That doesn’t leave much, does it. Good thing. Yeah, we’ll bleed red ink for a while. We might survive. GMAC will keep us afloat… Ever wonder why they do so well? Perhaps Ford will recover and buy us out. No matter, What does not kill us will make us stronger!

Oh yes… who does Toyota’s advertising? Buy them please! They’re just NOT that good… I’ve driven them.

Its is not the fault of the American worker either as most “Japanese” cars sold in the U.S. are made here by American labor. The worker problems they do have are completely caused by labor mismangement and by the corruption of the communist labor unions. They started to go down a decent road when they first started Saturn but they have since destroyed that. The only hope for the brand is for it to collapse and be bought out by someone else.

Look at Chrysler since it has been taken over by Mercedes. They are starting to receive accolades for thier quality and their designs are spectacular. Ford is coming along too although more slowly. GM is toast. There is no hope for them so long as they continue to operate like this.

The worst part is they are betting theeir hopes (and cash reserves on trying to manipulate the government into taking over their health care and pension plans so that they can remain afloat. Let them die. The worthwhile parts of the company and workers will be absorbed by other companies and the unions will be broken. Its all good.

Hey, GM management, listen to your potential customers for once: When you make cars that guys with mullets named Earl and Roscoe think are cool, you should drop those cars immediately and go for guys named Michael and Will. Earl and Roscoe drink Jim Beam mixed in koolaid. Michael and Will drink mocha lattes, and they’re buying from the competition.

What would I do? Day one: Go to the HQ in Michigan, sit down with the top management, and instantly fire anybody who (a) has a mustache, (b) has a gut, (c) thinks any current model looks great, and (4) any of the above.

How’zat?

Maybe Toyota should buy GM, but them why should they tarnish their BRAND.

Oh someone said Toyota doesn’t make money on cars and trucks, if so how would did they put almost 12 Billion $$ on their books in 2004?? AND their dealer body are the riches dealers in the US.

I believe there are several issues often cited as problems at GM that are not ’significantly’ impacting sales negatively. While GM reliability can’t be used as a selling point like some other manufacturers it isn’t so bad that I believe large numbers of consumers shun the vehicles for that reason. Vehicle styling is also an issue that I don’t believe is turning consumers away in large numbers. Think about it, is the Honda Accord or the Toyota Camry your idea of exciting styling? For most of us the answer is no, yet they have generated enormous sales for their manufacturers.

The biggest ‘hit’ I’ve seen in the automotive press regarding GM products is initial build quality. A consumer interested in a small SUV is going to turn away from the Saturn Vue when they read reviews complaining about large gaps in the body panels and CVT transmissions that regularly have problems. This isn’t an isolated incident. Many GM vehicles suffer this malady and others like it such as: one touch windows that only open with one touch but need to be held to close the window, body molding that doesn’t stay attached and significant amounts of road, engine and wind noise.

Another issue is the quality of materials used. Hard plastic may keep prices down but if it gets mentioned in the automotive press consumers will consider it when making purchase decisions. If you have to use fake wood trim go the extra mile to find something the press will at least say ‘looks good for fake wood’, not ‘fake trim that was meant to look like wood’. Also, things that are meant to move should move smoothly, like sunroof covers, doors and door handles. They do in Hondas.

The final issue I think is a problem for GM is the drivability of their cars. Why does a Honda Accord handle well but feel comfortable, while GM’s competitors to the Accord either ride harshly or have the ‘bouncy’ feeling so well associated with Buicks. GM can, should and needs to get drivability (including steering, steering feel, etc.) correct in every car.

To address these issues is simple. Use the press. Those guys (and gals) love nothing more than to say such-and-such ‘manufacturer listened to me’. So, I would put together an auditing team to identify issues the press has with products then 1) attempt to fix those issues, and 2) retrain or replace the people who allowed them to happen in the first place.

Finally, GM needs to rework their Union contracts to ensure they can immediately fire any person who drinks anything during working hours – to include lunch breaks.

2. Demand reliability upgrades so that the company earns a different reputation. Now it’s “Possibly may outlast the warranty, but don’t bet it’ll outlast the payments.”

I have owned six or seven GM’s and none of them have been reliable. I laughed at one of the previous posts about the Pontiac 6000 on a relative’s car lot. It must have been written for me. I paid dearly for an 86 Pontiac 6000 that repeatedly blew headgaskets(defective headbolts) and cracked the head, all undoubtedly due to piss poor engineering and quality control. Starters, alternators, knobs, switches, window motors constantly going out. I will never buy another GM at any price, because if a car isn’t reliable it’s worth nothing.

I’d carve out key assets such as onstar and gmac into a spin out with its own stock. I’d use GMAC to finance/buy electrical generation businesses in leading markets such as California, Washington DC, Phoenix, Atlanta, Orlando…mostly highly educated/high income areas.

Appx 1/2 of all generation capacity goes unused (nighttime) representing a shameful waste of capital stock and an incredible arbitrage opportunity.

I would contract Lotus, Shelby and Porche to individually compete to design a legal knockoff of the Prius plug-in with 40 mile range with 55mph speed on electric only…making explicit alliances with many PR worthy orgs/institutions to show that the tide is turning. The contest/competition will generate enormous PR and buzz and will have the public rooting for their favorite design – we’ll own the trade pubs and with a definite 16 month finish line, everyone would know how long the contest will be. If you’re late, you lose. Drama – reality shows – spy scandals.

- The winner gets a 5 year contract to produce the cars up to a ceiling number mutually agreed to.

I’d only lease the cars, and do everything humanly possible to offer them at a price that would be within 10% of a standard car.

I’d encourage another 15% tax CREDIT to be enacted for US assembled plug-in cars with nn% domestic content. Thus making the effective cost less than a standard car – meanwhile, the dollar will have continued to be devalued relative to the yen – and I’ll produce the vehicles in countries such as India who have notoriously unreliable power systems and “fix it for the right price” – owning as much generation and transmission infrastructure as I can.

I’d make most of my money on financing the leases and by selling electricity at night to this new but growing cadre of viable/practical plug in hybrids.

Cars would become the blades and my electrical utilities would become the razor.

Parked plug in hybrids would then feed back power to shave peaks off my generation costs when all the air conditioners went on…and this parasitic generation would be paid back to the owner as a modest but still profitable to me reduction in the periodic lease payment.

I’d buy water rights throughout the US. This is the largest store of energy there is.

Go Diesel. Then bio-diesel.

2. Consolidate final assembly plants and eliminate overcapacity.

3. Open up the UAW contract, and renegotiate terms, particularly regarding health benefits and plant closings as outlined in 1 and 2.

4. Set clear performance targets for top managers, in line with 1 through 3 above. If short term goals are not met within 6 months, fire them, and replace with people who will execute.

5. Inform everybody of your goals and strategies outlined above: stockholders, investor community, the public, everybody.