[No matter what it looks like, reaching a deal] will involve some cost to GM, ... But on the positive side, we believe that GM will likely avoid a potentially devastating shutdown of its North American operations. |
Achieving significant cost reduction will be difficult, as we believe that GM's relationship with UAW leaders could become increasingly contentious as GM's North American business experiences further deterioration, |
Achieving significant cost reduction will be difficult, as we believe that GM's relationship with UAW leaders could become increasingly contentious as GM's North American business experiences further deterioration. |
Customers are unsure of what supplier pricing is, but they are assuming correctly that it is not as good as employee pricing. |
Dana is struggling to obtain secured bank financing and a bank deal may not materialize. We remain concerned that Dana will be unable to overcome weak demand outlooks. |
Excluding fleet, retail sales of GM and Ford were down 7% and 6, respectively. |
Ford's North American operating business model continues to deteriorate, |
Ford's North American operating business model continues to deteriorate. |
Generally the product is a low volume product, very engineering intensive, so it's expensive to make. GM has too much car capacity and not enough truck capacity. Car plants are operating close to 70 percent capacity, while truck plants are close to 100 percent. You can use that manufacturing plant, maybe for a hybrid sports utility vehicle/car. |
I don't see this as resulting in anything dramatically negative. Over time, you'll see incentives rising everywhere. But it's not anything scary yet. |
I think it's a smart move because it's less deceptive. People who are going on the Internet can get the right news up front. |
I think it's almost impossible for Ford to distance themselves from the problem, but I think they've done a very good job conveying responsiveness to the U.S. consumer, obviously being more responsive than Firestone has. |
I think that (labor peace at GM) is largely the news here. They've lost a lot of momentum last year and previous years due to strikes. |
I think that Wagoner was essentially running GM for the past year at the very least, ... He was certainly the operating guy, and Smith was the strategic guy. |
I think that Wagoner was essentially running GM for the past year at the very least. He was certainly the operating guy, and Smith was the strategic guy. |