No one was surprised when the media around the world unanimously reported GM’s confirmed decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under United States law.
The decision was dictated by logic – and politics, as President Obama had been insisting for several days that GM confirm its position. The goal? Drop the lame brands that are crippling the company, keep only the most profitable, and have a new GM emerge from the death of the bad GM.
While commendable and probably efficient when coupled with exterior aid like Chrysler did with Fiat, this strategy is nevertheless problematic with such an enormous company whose mission has yet to be defined.
GM’s outside support is above all financial in nature, contrary to the Fiat solution, where the latter can at least set things right on the technical front. And Mr. Obama’s vision is first and foremost that of an environmentalist that would like to see the introduction of green cars.
Is GM capable of developing such cars without compromising its future? Because to do so, just to finish developing the Chevrolet Volt, they’ll need money and not a little willpower.
But the Volt is still only one facet. We can only hope that the new GM will keep its green initiatives going and maintain that willpower, as the green path is not the one that will allow the automaker to emerge stronger than before.
Is it just me, or when you start making cuts, you make them everywhere? And research and development certainly doesn’t have the smallest budget allocation. There’s a good chance that it will also make the cutback list.
Let’s hope that the new GM can forget only the marketing side of environmental protection and become a true defender of the planet – then we can really talk about a stronger GM.
Reaction for the press release: The new GM will be stronger and more customer-focused - Fritz Henderson
The decision was dictated by logic – and politics, as President Obama had been insisting for several days that GM confirm its position. The goal? Drop the lame brands that are crippling the company, keep only the most profitable, and have a new GM emerge from the death of the bad GM.
While commendable and probably efficient when coupled with exterior aid like Chrysler did with Fiat, this strategy is nevertheless problematic with such an enormous company whose mission has yet to be defined.
GM’s outside support is above all financial in nature, contrary to the Fiat solution, where the latter can at least set things right on the technical front. And Mr. Obama’s vision is first and foremost that of an environmentalist that would like to see the introduction of green cars.
Is GM capable of developing such cars without compromising its future? Because to do so, just to finish developing the Chevrolet Volt, they’ll need money and not a little willpower.
But the Volt is still only one facet. We can only hope that the new GM will keep its green initiatives going and maintain that willpower, as the green path is not the one that will allow the automaker to emerge stronger than before.
Is it just me, or when you start making cuts, you make them everywhere? And research and development certainly doesn’t have the smallest budget allocation. There’s a good chance that it will also make the cutback list.
Let’s hope that the new GM can forget only the marketing side of environmental protection and become a true defender of the planet – then we can really talk about a stronger GM.
Reaction for the press release: The new GM will be stronger and more customer-focused - Fritz Henderson