Come on. That's like me claiming to be the tallest man.

I am. In my household anyway. :rolleyes:

GM still sells more light vehicles worldwide than anyone else. True for 2005. Only a prediction for 2006, but probably true. If you read Jon's article, GM is investing heavily in China and may end up on top after the needed restructuring. Toyota may lead in 2006, maybe even 2007. I wouldn't bet against the General in the 'longer' run.

Your analogy is lame. We're not talking about your household, your neighborhood, your city, or your state. We're talking about the largest in YOUR country, the United States.

GM still sells more vehicles in the U.S. than Toyota and will for several years to come.

E

How about the bottom line? Who is making money selling cars and light trucks in the USA?

I think you all are missing my points. There is no doubt that GM needs to change. Toyota is better than GM at many, many things. Toyota is more profitable. If profitability is the measure of long-term success, GM is not currently as successful as it once was.

What GM needs more than any other single change is to dump the UAW

GM 'makes' about $3000 less than Toyota on each vehicle it sells, worldwide. Almost $2000 of that spread is said to be the difference in healthcare, pensions, and benefits. Blame GM for short-sightedness when they inked the deal with the UAW. The rest of the difference is the incentives needed to 'move the iron'. This may be as much marketing strategy as it is the desirability of the iron itself. As I mentioned, if GM had the real ability to match supply to demand as it relates to their production, they wouldn't have to incentivize as heavily. It's Econ 101 supply and demand.

It's not that they have bad products. GM has good products for the money. However, the perception is lagging. GM made huge product mistakes in the 70's and 80's. They got better in the 90's and they're pretty good today. The perception people perpetuate is that GM produces nothing but gas-guzzling vehicles that can't match the reliability of a Japanese vehicle. Remnants of the reputation they earned up to thirty years ago. Simply not true today.

I am not a GM apologist. I have owned more German cars than American cars, I think.

I do think we have some responsibility to give today's GM vehicles a chance. I think the views some have expressed about GM vehicles are uninformed and ignorant. GM is still the largest employer in the US, and is responsible for a greater portion of our GNP/GDP than any other single company. If you don't think there will be an economic impact for you and your family, you are simply naive.

The pundits that would spend $8000 more just because a car has a Toyota badge is economically irresponsible in more than one way.

E