[A decade from now,] Ford will be in the mid-teens and GM will be in the high teens, ... They might be making money at that point, if they can cut [costs]. |
[Meyers notes that GM also is buffeted by macroeconomic winds that are damaging the company's bottom line and over which it has no control. Prices for steel, oil and plastics all have risen in recent years. GM also is burdened with legacy costs over which it has little control if it keeps its current promises to employees.] Health care is the one you hear most about -- and it's big, ... But pension costs are enormous too. |
GM's got enormous momentum of the wrong kind. It has, in decades past, been hugely successful. The culture has said, 'Whatever we've done in the past will repeat itself', but that's not working in the current environment. |
He may ask for a harder line with suppliers, and more cost reductions, and eliminations of brands, ... Those are all disruptive demands. |
I've known Jerry a long time, and he isn't a guy who sits back, or tries to 'get along' with everybody. He's a pleasant enough fellow, but if he's unhappy about something he's going to blurt it out. |
If the sport-utilities coming in January don't save the day, the restructuring we're seeing now will be the first in a series of restructurings. |
It's necessary now. The message has to not only be presented, it has to be accepted. |
That's dire, that's drastic, that's terrible. |
The critical point is right about now, |
The dealers have to buy in, the suppliers, their shareholders, Wall Street. Each of those constituencies need to buy into the brand identity if it is to succeed. |
The heat is excruciatingly high. |
The U.S. auto industry will be much like the European industry is right now -- in a word, fragmented. Everybody will be fighting to get as much as 15% of the market. Nobody will exceed that for very long, if they get it at all. |
They need every penny they've got to pay out their health care and keep things going, ... They've got too many demands now on their cash. |