This Made Me Sick Today...GM begging for support
 

I'm a subscriber to the GM Volt newsletter and over the past few months I've enjoyed receiving the updates about the car. It has been very informational and very low-pressure from a marketing/pr angle. It is (allegedly written) by a non-GM everyday citizen...believe that one and I'll sell you a bridge in Brooklyn.

Today, I nearly became physically ill when I received the newsletter. What is this crap GM is trying to do? Begging consumers to bail them out of the mess they created by threatening to halt/delay/end production of the Volt? While I was considering Volt vs. Prius for a PHEV option...GM just lost my interest. If this is the kind of crap they are going to pull now...what happens when I am a customer of their company...will they beg me to buy two Volts instead of one?

Here's what I received in my email:

Dear Volt enthusiast:

The auto industry is at the brink of collapse, and the Chevy Volt is in peril.

Please consider helping by signing the letter to the US government at this link:

GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site » Blog Archive » GM-Volt.com Letter to the US Government

Disgusting. GM CEO makes over $60,000/day. Just look at the fabulous expertise 60k gets you!

the guy that runs this blog is allegedly a doctor running an informational site about the volt yet he somehow has unprecedented access to gm execs and the latest breaking news about the volt.

Hello,

The same person is credited with running another site, that appears to be more balanced:

All Cars Electric | Electric Car News, Information, Reviews, and Discussion

If the Big 3 go down the tubes, consider 30% or more of the nation unemployed. This is not only auto workers, but factory and delivery workers who are involved.

Why? People are still going to buy about X number of cars & trucks each year. If the Small 3 go down the drain, they'll just buy about the same number from Toyota, Honda, and the others. The parts suppliers will ship to different factories, the delivery people may pick their truckloads in Alabama (or at the dock) instead of in Detroit, car salesmen will work on different lots, or maybe the same lot with a different sign...

I think any company should be left to live and die on its own, no matter how big. People and support industries can adapt and move on. If the US based manufacturers close up shop, it's their own fault. I'm sure the "imports" would love to pick up a few extra factories.

I've never supported the Gov. bailing out any private industry. If they can't figure out how to run a sustainably profitable business, then tough s**t.

That statement while having some truth also carries a lot of ignorance. Here's why. Let's say by your logic Ford fails. Now micro manage the problem. A local Ford dealeship closes as a result, which use to sell 400 cars a month and was managed properly, now the 300 people there are unemployed, a casualty of poor upper management. Now the vendors that supplied that dealership with parts for service, take a large hit or close because their are no other dealerships in the area or the other surrounding dealerships will not increase sales in order to take up slack. So they close despite running a good business.

All those employees, they eat @ surrounding restaurants, buy gas at local gas stations and buy products @ stores all in the area around the dealership. All businesses that were running soundly before this dealership closes.

So true A large corp like Ford could use a bit of re tooling, but letting it fail, impacts a much greater spectrum of the business world than its own employees. Globally even, because many parts are sublet to other countries like Mexico. So the impact of even one of the big three closing its doors will have world wide implications which will require a larger hand out than what is needed to slow the bleeding currently.

You really need to look at a larger context. So the Ford dealership closes. People still need cars, and they'll have to go to Toyota, Honda, etc dealerships to buy them, Those dealers will have to add staff. The people who own Fords will still need service & repairs, so the independent mechanics will need more staff. Honda & Toyota will have increased sales, so they will ramp up production at their US factories (hiring more workers), the suppliers will be making parts for them instead of Ford...

In a few years, the only difference will be significantly increased quality & fuel economy.

The statement of people "Needing cars" is not accurate, new vehicles are a luxury. Today's cars are lasting well over 10 years. Your larger context statement does not include time, if Ford lets say were to dissappear, true eventually you would have no choice but to buy from competitors, but in that interim you would destroy a local economy.

I do not know where you live, in Florida the impact would be small, but have larger ripple effects, in smaller cities or towns it would be crippling.

The excess sales or increased sales volume from another manufacturer, lets say Toyota, would result in minimal staff increases on the sales floor and have no impact in other dealer areas.

Imagine the ramification of no Ford or Chevy in NASCAR ... believe me this is much larger than people think.

NASCAR is already being hit very hard by the economy. Their president was quoted last week as saying he would not be surprised if a major builder (Ford, Chevy, Toyota, Dodge) was not involved in the sport in the near future.

NASCAR got rid of all testing sessions in the top 3 racing divisions for 2009 and I read last week a few of the owner teams are merging to save costs. They might have a tough time qualifying 43 cars each race if teams/garages go belly-up. About 5-10 cars a week enter qualifying without a major sponsor and it will be worse next year at this pace.

Note: I'm not implying that NASCAR is on Ford, Chevy or Toyota's scale in terms of economy impact.

True, but you get the point, other "things" are directly impacted by this and ignoring it or hoping it will fix itself is like an ostrich hiding its head in the sand. We simply cannot wish it away.

The sad part is the ones that caused this mess are sitting pretty with their money in hand and will never be punished for turning the world upside down.

if your business is so very focused that it relies entirely on ONE other entity or business to exist, then your business is risky, companies closing doors will open up other doors, those who just sit and stare at the closed door and complain will live in a dead town, those who walk through the open door, will find different but maybe as good conditions

For those that care to look...

Bob Lutz: Chevy Volt Update | GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

Today's cars? I've owned very few - the current Insight, and a Datsun pickup I bought for work a long time ago are the only two that come to mind - that weren't at least 10 years old when I bought them :-) No, wait: Back in the late '70s I was hit by an attack of buyamericanitus, and got a Chevy Vega. I think that car effected a permanent cure.

But the point I was trying to make still stands. People are going to keep buying cars, according to their tastes and as their financial situation allows. If Ford's not around, those sales and all their associated jobs aren't just going to disappear, they're going to go to other automakers.

Imagine the ramifications of no NASCAR :-) The only effect on me would be a gradual disappearance of those puzzling "In Memory of..." white decals on rear windows.

Thats priceless .. LOL

However NASCAR generates billions of dollars in business, from in memory stickers, to apparel, toys, restaurants ..

Seriously these companies are truly woven into our society, whether or not it is in your life. Nature has a way true, so there is no doubt that we would recover from that, but are you willing to weather out that fall out?

It's like asking the suburban world to turn in their cell phones, sounds easy enough, but it would send us back to the stone age ...