I miss my CTS-V ... unfortunately, driving in Boston ... it took me an hour to go 12 miles to work ... and I didn't need 400 ponies to do that ... and I spent a lot of time at the filling station ... still, an awesome car.
Hugh Briss
· 8 months ago
Dude, when you test drive a new Camaro you're supposed to stomp on it and throw it around like a ragdoll.
courtney benson
· 8 months ago
I too want to see an American car company make it! Hopefully, the GM team are singing from a new page, a page that spells success. Take some pointers from BMW on the high end vehicles.
Thom Schamp
· 8 months ago
Here's what I don't get. They fly you out there and put you up for some cheap PR only to roll out more of the same? Where is the innovation? Where are my flying cars? What are they doing about the day when $4 gas is the norm? Maybe it's me, but I just don't get it.
joan symonds
· 8 months ago
We all want to see GM survive. I have yet to speak to anyone who does not. Many are angry at the needless loss of jobs. The economy blame game does not stand up here.
Personally, it hurts to see this giant crumble. They have been a part of my family for years and years. I cannot remember a time when a Chevy, Pontiac or Caddy was not a integral member of our family. Great cars. Solid, dependable, memories galore.
GM failed its responsibilities to its shareholders by not training its managers properly. They have been on the skids heading for bankruptcy for a long time. A few simple financial techniques put in place would have given managers the tools they needed to keep that company healthy.
We shall hope that a restructuring will bring them to the realization that managers need to know more than design and marketing. They need to know how to understand the bottom line.
Wishing Mr. Henderson and his team all the best with a thousand thanks for the wonderful memories.
Chris Brogan
· 8 months ago
@Thom - they didn't fly me anywhere. I flew out to attend a conference. This was not a paid experience.
Susie Blackmon
· 8 months ago
All I can offer at this particular moment is .... VROOOM VROOOOM!! ;-)
Mom Brogan
· 8 months ago
Great post! Great videos! BUT, did they show you any green cars?
chrisbrogan
· 8 months ago
@Mom - no green cars on this trip, but then, I didn't ask. I'm all for saving the planet, but I went there to move!
deniseoberry
· 8 months ago
Chris --
So glad you had a chance to drive a caddy. I love my 2007 Cadillac STS (which they no longer make, but is similar to CTS). Before that I had a Cadillac ETC (my first love!) and before that a Cadillac Allante. There is nothing like a Cadillac. If you want to feel safe, spoiled and pampered in a great ride, Cadillac is the way to go.
Love the videos! I hope GM survives this mess they are in. Thanks for giving them some good press.
Thom Schamp
· 8 months ago
Chris,
I think I would have you rather told me that they at least paid for your hotel, because you easily gave them a couple of $100,000 worth of free PR. Lord knows they need it after taking our tax money.
David Murray
· 8 months ago
It looks like John was a tough audience ;-) That car looks wicked sweet, wouldn't be surprised if they had a Wii hooked up to that thing. Glad to see GM is still innovating despite their current situation.
john blue
· 8 months ago
Hi Chris,
First I did enjoy this post:). Thanks. But I have an opion on GM ...
The cars you were shown are not what most people buy (WSJ sales data US cars http://digg.com/u1lxf ). Luxury cars are what people love to see but few can afford.
GM makes them look good new but they, over time, do not withstand use. See more at Consumer Reports http://digg.com/u1lw1 ("But a quarter of GM models are still well below average in reliability."). The last 10 (or more!) years GM has know of their issues and have only made so so attempts to fix and improve.
GM is where they are because of their (management and union) own decisions to be too focused on their own internal needs and not of those of the people who really buy their cars. Read "GM: Death of an American dream" by Alex Taylor III, senior editor at Fortune http://digg.com/d1elXi .
I certainly believe GM teams are working hard. I believe they really believe in the company. However, they are working so hard because GM will (most likely) go into bankruptcy and they want to keep their jobs.
I loved your thoughts on shutting down cars via OnStar to let other (more important:) cars through. I laugh and then I think; Holly $%#! I bet that is already in security plans for certain organizations (FBI, CIA, NSA, etc...).
Again, thanks for the post. Keep sharing what you find. John Blue
Chris Brogan
· 8 months ago
@thom - the point was that I am passionate about the direction the company seems to be going and that I liked the cars.
It's amazing how people seem to want to kick a company when it's down. Heaven forbid you ever find yourself in need. I, for one, want to do what I can to get a lynchpin company back on it's feet.
Not that a story saves the world, but then again, maybe they do.
Thom Schamp
· 8 months ago
Chris, That's where I would disagree with you. The point of capitalism and free markets is that we let bad companies fail. (take note of Japan and its "lost decade") GM (along with many others) made many mistakes, and by all rights should fail. But since we don't live in a truly "free market" economy, the government bails them out. Any other company that made the decisions they did wouldn't have a chance to get back on their feet.
Jarlin
· 8 months ago
Yes, GM will make it.
David Kaa
· 8 months ago
They will make it because the govt. won't let them fail. The problem is exactly what Chris pointed out earlier - everyone's trying to get them back on their feet.
There is nothing wrong with failure. That's what capitalism is about - good companies succeed, bad companies fail. It's a simple matter of survival of the fittest. If we keep bad companies like GM, AIG, Fannie Mae .... etc. afloat, we'll be bailing them out again.
The dot com bust is a good example of how markets should work. The bubble burst and shook out all the bad tech companies. Now we are left with solid, strong companies such as Google, Amazon eBay etc. We need to let the big companies down in a way that doesn't hurt us all.
joan symonds
· 8 months ago
@John blue GM failed not because it did not build great cars. It did and it does. They failed because corporations have been forced, as have all corporations, to use GAAP reporting standards. Being the vast company that they are, they had no way to measure the true worth of their company as it grew - one division against another. GAAP standards, put in place at the turn of the industrial revolution do not offer a true financial picture for executives in today's global environment. Hence they stumbled. They fell. And the company fell with them.
GM is not alone. They are most visible right now. Look around. GE is heading to be next on the block.
There is absolutely help for GM and they won't have to go to Congress. They will be able to do it on their own.
Instead of bashing GM - whose managers collectively did not deliberately set out to fail - let us rally around. American jobs are at stake here. As is one of the most memorable institutions created. GM is apple pie...mom...and baseball. It simply doesn't get any better.
John Blue
· 8 months ago
Joan,
Thanks for the comment. I am not an accountant and am not qualified to comment back on GAAP and its impact on GM.
However, I am a car buyer. When I buy cars I look at what others are saying plus look at reliability over time. I read what the press says plus use services like Kelly Blue Book and Consumer Reports. My family does not want to spend repair dollars in year 4 ( or year 3!) for things that should just not fail.
GM may well make great cars some people. That is the nature of a market. I will shop for my great cars at other stores like Honda and Toyota. Others may find their great cars GM.
I must disagree with your statement "There is absolutely help for GM and they won’t have to go to Congress. They will be able to do it on their own." GM has already turned to Congress/US government and currently seeking further assistance from multiple national governments for any and all relief they can get. It is far past the time for them to have solved their problems on their own.
It is going to get much rougher for GM and the entire auto industry. I do not wish that on anyone but it is already happening. I want the auto market to survive with cars that I want to buy.
The main reason for Chris' post was to share his interest and like of the cars GM showed him. And he did that very well with his post/videos. This I appreciate.
Good discussion:) John
joan symonds
· 8 months ago
@john blue. We all agree that GM has gone to Congress several times. My point there is that congress does not have to continue to bail them out. They can do this on their own. Not only can they do this on their own - they can pay back the American people on the way - and they should.
I fully appreciate what Chris is doing. It is horrifying to think of the unemployment lines caused by ineffective management. Certainly you have free choice to buy the car of your dreams, John, and we all agree that Toyota has done well. But we cannot deny that GM and Ford kept us all tooling down the highway for years without foreign competition and we might have had complaints but they sure turned out some great cars along the way. Let's not kick them now. Let's find avenues to give them to survive and keep our economy strong and our people employed. We may be mad at them - for certainly many are - but we are - in the end - Americans. Creative and resourceful. Let's "expect" that GM will not let us down.
I
GM
Brandon
· 8 months ago
Great series of posts. The thing I find most amazing, however, is how busy Chris must be. The CTS has been 'sexy' for the last few years- that car is not an entirely new design. They've had sexy ads for a while now, and Cadillac hasn't really been an 'old man's car only' for some time. Of course, he's off mastering other parts of the world, so he can't be up to speed on everything :)
witchiepooh
· 4 months ago
i am so upset GM should be do what they can to keep people intrested in byeing there cars, but instead I take my 2006 chevy Malibu in for a heater coar leak and i get my car back gresses and not fixed with more raddles and thins wrong with it than when i gave it to them, when i took it back to them besides it nothing being fixed after they had it for 8 days. I had a bolt fall out from under the dash on the pasanger side we droped the glove box so we could see the dask behide it and see it was one of the bolt that mounted the air bag and 2 more could of been taken out by our fingers. when we talked to the dealership the service manage told us our car was fixed right this time now when we point out that it is still not fixed they look so SHOCKED. do they want to fail. I'm not even sure I want to bye Chevy again and I'm a CHEVY GIRL that works for Fords
All Comments
Personally, it hurts to see this giant crumble. They have been a part of my family for years and years. I cannot remember a time when a Chevy, Pontiac or Caddy was not a integral member of our family. Great cars. Solid, dependable, memories galore.
GM failed its responsibilities to its shareholders by not training its managers properly. They have been on the skids heading for bankruptcy for a long time.
A few simple financial techniques put in place would have given managers the tools they needed to keep that company healthy.
We shall hope that a restructuring will bring them to the realization that managers need to know more than design and marketing. They need to know how to understand the bottom line.
Wishing Mr. Henderson and his team all the best with a thousand thanks for the wonderful memories.
So glad you had a chance to drive a caddy. I love my 2007 Cadillac STS (which they no longer make, but is similar to CTS). Before that I had a Cadillac ETC (my first love!) and before that a Cadillac Allante. There is nothing like a Cadillac. If you want to feel safe, spoiled and pampered in a great ride, Cadillac is the way to go.
Love the videos! I hope GM survives this mess they are in. Thanks for giving them some good press.
I think I would have you rather told me that they at least paid for your hotel, because you easily gave them a couple of $100,000 worth of free PR. Lord knows they need it after taking our tax money.
That car looks wicked sweet, wouldn't be surprised if they had a Wii hooked up to that thing. Glad to see GM is still innovating despite their current situation.
First I did enjoy this post:). Thanks. But I have an opion on GM ...
The cars you were shown are not what most people buy (WSJ sales data US cars http://digg.com/u1lxf ). Luxury cars are what people love to see but few can afford.
GM makes them look good new but they, over time, do not withstand use. See more at Consumer Reports http://digg.com/u1lw1 ("But a quarter of GM models are still well below average in reliability."). The last 10 (or more!) years GM has know of their issues and have only made so so attempts to fix and improve.
GM is where they are because of their (management and union) own decisions to be too focused on their own internal needs and not of those of the people who really buy their cars. Read "GM: Death of an American dream" by Alex Taylor III, senior editor at Fortune http://digg.com/d1elXi .
I certainly believe GM teams are working hard. I believe they really believe in the company. However, they are working so hard because GM will (most likely) go into bankruptcy and they want to keep their jobs.
I loved your thoughts on shutting down cars via OnStar to let other (more important:) cars through. I laugh and then I think; Holly $%#! I bet that is already in security plans for certain organizations (FBI, CIA, NSA, etc...).
Again, thanks for the post. Keep sharing what you find.
John Blue
It's amazing how people seem to want to kick a company when it's down. Heaven forbid you ever find yourself in need. I, for one, want to do what I can to get a lynchpin company back on it's feet.
Not that a story saves the world, but then again, maybe they do.
That's where I would disagree with you. The point of capitalism and free markets is that we let bad companies fail. (take note of Japan and its "lost decade") GM (along with many others) made many mistakes, and by all rights should fail. But since we don't live in a truly "free market" economy, the government bails them out. Any other company that made the decisions they did wouldn't have a chance to get back on their feet.
There is nothing wrong with failure. That's what capitalism is about - good companies succeed, bad companies fail. It's a simple matter of survival of the fittest. If we keep bad companies like GM, AIG, Fannie Mae .... etc. afloat, we'll be bailing them out again.
The dot com bust is a good example of how markets should work. The bubble burst and shook out all the bad tech companies. Now we are left with solid, strong companies such as Google, Amazon eBay etc. We need to let the big companies down in a way that doesn't hurt us all.
GM is not alone. They are most visible right now. Look around. GE is heading to be next on the block.
There is absolutely help for GM and they won't have to go to Congress. They will be able to do it on their own.
Instead of bashing GM - whose managers collectively did not deliberately set out to fail - let us rally around. American jobs are at stake here. As is one of the most memorable institutions created. GM is apple pie...mom...and baseball. It simply doesn't get any better.
Thanks for the comment. I am not an accountant and am not qualified to comment back on GAAP and its impact on GM.
However, I am a car buyer. When I buy cars I look at what others are saying plus look at reliability over time. I read what the press says plus use services like Kelly Blue Book and Consumer Reports. My family does not want to spend repair dollars in year 4 ( or year 3!) for things that should just not fail.
GM may well make great cars some people. That is the nature of a market. I will shop for my great cars at other stores like Honda and Toyota. Others may find their great cars GM.
I must disagree with your statement "There is absolutely help for GM and they won’t have to go to Congress. They will be able to do it on their own." GM has already turned to Congress/US government and currently seeking further assistance from multiple national governments for any and all relief they can get. It is far past the time for them to have solved their problems on their own.
It is going to get much rougher for GM and the entire auto industry. I do not wish that on anyone but it is already happening. I want the auto market to survive with cars that I want to buy.
The main reason for Chris' post was to share his interest and like of the cars GM showed him. And he did that very well with his post/videos. This I appreciate.
Good discussion:)
John
I fully appreciate what Chris is doing. It is horrifying to think of the unemployment lines caused by ineffective management. Certainly you have free choice to buy the car of your dreams, John, and we all agree that Toyota has done well. But we cannot deny that GM and Ford kept us all tooling down the highway for years without foreign competition and we might have had complaints but they sure turned out some great cars along the way. Let's not kick them now. Let's find avenues to give them to survive and keep our economy strong and our people employed. We may be mad at them - for certainly many are - but we are - in the end - Americans. Creative and resourceful. Let's "expect" that GM will not let us down.
I
GM