By James B. Stewart,
Published in the Wall Street Journal
...SNIP...
It has been long in coming, this slow death of what was once the greatest and biggest corporation in the world. The myriad causes of its demise have been thoroughly chronicled, but to my mind one stands out: The custodians of GM simply gave up trying to build the best cars in the world. To accommodate a host of competing interests, from shareholders and bondholders to labor, they repeatedly compromised on excellence. Once sacrificed, that reputation has proved impossible to recapture.
GM has made strides in quality after decades of churning out troubled cars. Cadillac, in particular, has regained a little of its lost luster. But can anyone say GM builds the best cars in any category? Can it rival a Toyota Prius or Honda Insight for fuel efficiency and reliability? A Lexus, BMW or Infiniti for luxury and performance?
In other words, the new, government-controlled GM likely to emerge from bankruptcy faces an uphill battle in a highly competitive global market. That doesn't mean the effort is doomed. Indeed, it seems to me that the sharper the break with the past, the better.
Shareholders in the old GM should be wiped out. (It mystifies me that anyone was buying last week when GM shares were trading at just over $1, with bankruptcy imminent.) It helps that new directors with fresh ideas will be named to the board. Is Fritz Henderson, who rose through the ranks of the old GM culture, the CEO to lead GM into a new era? Is the much-anticipated Volt, an electric-powered car conceived under the old regime, the right car to lead GM into the future? I leave those questions to the board, but the more the new GM is perceived as truly new, the faster it can repair the damage to its reputation.
I've been encouraged by President Obama's remarks that even though the government will own a majority stake, the new GM will be run by auto makers, and the government won't interfere to pursue policy goals that may be inconsistent with shareholder interests.
I usually don't see trash such as this in the WSJ, but I was stunned to see this POS article. The author is apparently some sort of writer for SmartMoney Magazine and pushes the investments he personally owns (howzzat for impartiality?)
This guy's a ****ing idiot. First, for believing a single word that comes out of the mouth of Lord Zero (I guess the laundry list of broken campaign promises got washed in the laundry and got ripped to shreds in the process); and second for even approaching the idea that the federal gummint ain't gonna gum up Gummint Motors.
Idiots like this guy never learn.
Where were the WSJ editors on this one? Asleep at the wheel?
Gummint Motors and the WSJ
