GM is ready to reinvent

While it’s not flyin cars, it appears General Motors is movin in the right direction for innovation (kinda). GM invested $25 million into the Global Battery Systems Lab. Here they plan to develop and test the drivetrains for the Chevrolet Volt and other hybrids both battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Like I said, it’s not flyin cars but I can clearly see the government giving a “green” incentive later on for purchasing these kinds of cars. I know there are already rebates for fuel efficient and environmentally friendly cars but those were created by oil barons running the White House. I think Obama will create new programs that will really reward people for thinkin green. GM is also workin with the University of Michigan to create a battery-engineering curriculum. So not only is GM employing more engineers but they are takin steps to creatin more engineers too. I don’t know about you but I’m startin to feel good about GM’s future. I still shoulda sold my stock and bought it back at a lower price. Oh well, live and you learn.

General Motors is dead

It looks like the end for General Motors has arrived. Today at 11:30 ET, President Obama is scheduled to address the nation about GM’s file for bankruptcy and what we can expect to happen moving forward. Even though this seem inevitable to most people, I think the delaying of the bankruptcy still helped the economy. It allowed other companies the time to scale back, rearrange, and cut other costs as they were preparing for GM closures. I definitely don’t think the impact will be AS GREAT now as it would have been if this happened in December or January. What’s next? I guess it’s time to destroy and rebuild. I wonder what will happen to my shares…hmmm. I’m still pretty confident that GM will become a powerhouse in the automotive industry once they develop a car that runs on air. The only problem is that the factories that create this car will pollute the Earth so much that air will be a nonrenewable resource, oh the irony.

Bankruptcy is not fun

Ok, so Mike Vick is filing for bankruptcy and his lawyers are comin up with a reorganization plan to help him pay off his debts. First plan is to get him working. Vick plans on takin a job with a construction company when he on house arrest in May. I don’t know how much Vick owes but unless he plans on building casinos in Vegas, I doubt workin construction will dig him outta the hole. He was a multimillionaire for cryin out loud. And he’s black. He prolly bought his wife 4 dozen 24 karat solid gold roses for Valentine’s day just so that the roses would never wither and die. And he’s prolly been doin that every Valentine’s day since they were married. You know, stupid shit like that. His agent is hoping that he will return to the NFL since that’s the only place he can make the kinda money needed to operate in the black again. NOW, with that being said. This is Mike Vick. One man, prolly a mill or two in debt. WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK IS GONNA HAPPEN TO GM IF THEY FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY? Let’s not even think about the little people that it will hurt. Let’s just focus on the company. GM isn’t goin to start making bicycles in order to pay off any debt while they wait for an increase in customer’s confidence. They aren’t gonna be able to just work their way outta the hole they’ll be in. If GM goes down, it’s down for good. Even if someone else picked up the company, I highly doubt they will call it GM just because of the bad taste in the consumer’s mouths.

General Motor's time is running out

We continue our reports on the GM/Chrysler Lifeline with today’s news about Obama still pledging to help the failing automakers but announcing that filing for bankruptcy may be an option for them. I think a statement like that is a double edged sword. On one hand, it puts a little fire underneath the bottoms of the unions and the corporations to come towards an agreement and get some restructuring done. On the other side of the sword, it keeps consumers worried and off the lots. Let’s be realistic, why would I want to buy a car from a company that may not be here in the next month or two? I would like to see GM come out of this (because they are bringin down my portfolio) but I really don’t see how they can and I’m usually full of great ideas. But workin for a company for 32 years definitely has its perks. Ricky Wagoner’s retirement package is valued at $20.2 milli!!! Damn the boy done did good. The boy done did good.

General Motor's new plan: Fire the CEO

General Motor’s CEO, Rick Wagoner, is expected to step down from his position before the government releases over additional funding. Both GM and Chrysler are expected to present a restructuring plan that will hopefully stimulate growth in the auto industry. The only thing that could save these guys is flying cars. I don’t know what they possibly could present as far as cars goes to the American public that would sway their interest. You know what I like about capitalism? It allows you to grow and make as much money as you can, then spend it on bad investments like Saab or Hummer. Seriously, what the fuck was GM thinkin when they bought those brands? When was Saab ever a cool car? It had ONE demographic and that was the university professor who thought he would stand out from the BMs and Mercs with an ugly hatchback. Correction, there was a second demographic. The college student whose parents bought them a car but they couldn’t afford a BMW or Merc.

Auto industry needs more money

Three MILLION people unemployed. Let me put this into perspective, as of 2007, Chicago had an estimated 2.8 million people. Houston had 2.2 million. Phoenix 1.5, San Diego 1.2, Detroit >100K. Imagine visiting a city and finding all its citizens unemployed. That’s pretty much what’s gonna happen. The auto industry is kinda spread out over the country (with dealerships and things like that), but the manufacturing is pretty much centralized and you are gonna have an area of people HURTING. We already have a fucked up society, I’d hate to see what would happen if 3 million people hit the bottom.

Pointless polls

One thing I love about the American people is their blatant ignorance. Sometimes you just look at the decisions or thoughts they make and say what is goin on here. Take for instance a recent poll that was conducted by CNN. They called up about 1000 people and about 63% are ok with the auto bailout. EARLIER THIS SAME MONTH, 61% were against the bailout. Huh? Ok that really doesn’t irk me, because some people are slower than others. How bout this statistic: 70% would rather see them go bankrupt than receive addition assistance, but 66% wouldn’t buy a car from a company that went bankrupt. So basically if the bailout doesn’t work, the companies go bankrupt, then the doors are closed forever (or until a foreign company buys them which I already explained why it wouldn’t be a good idea). Because if the companies go bankrupt and try to restructure themselves, it will be a waste of money because nobody will buy their cars once they start up again. Maybe I should wait for next month’s poll, the number will probably make better sense…like I said, some are slower than others.

The economy is waiting

Hearin that the Japanese automakers wouldn’t buy out the Big 3 if they collapsed is depressing. Hearin that it could be automakers from China or India is downright scary. What do we get from China? Knock offs? Who wants a knock off Escalade? Call it a Fescalade. All (lame) jokes aside, the truth of the matter is they don’t want to see the Big 3 get knocked off because their sales are tied to our economy too. Their part suppliers go outta business too. The guy that owns 5 different dealerships, when he loses one the others hurt too and that hurts the Japanese automakers. This bailout is needed, but I feel Washington on not tryin to lose $16 billi like they did with Wall St. But stop bullshitin and get this thing passed.

Big 3 needs help from Wall St

The mayor of Lansing, Michigan is blaming Wall St. for part of the Big 3’s troubles. I woulda embedded the video but CNNMoney doesn’t allow it, so click the link and check the video with the article. But he basically says that GM was in line to being successful, they had MotorTrend (or J.D. Associates) car of the year, the numbers were better than Toyota’s and then the recession hit. He also mentions how it’s unfair that Wall St. got bailed out no questions, but when it comes to the manufacturing industry (the blue collars) there are all these strings. I pretty much rock with him on a lot of his points, though he needs to hire Obama as his speech coach (talking fast like he was on crack lol). I think that it’s wack that the government is puttin these guys through the ringer when a bail out is inevitable. Just the other day when I was renting a car for work, I asked if the recession has really messed them up with people not traveling as much. The agent laughed and said that being in LA, there’s always a car accident and someone will always need a rental. What they are worried about is if GM goes under. Where will they get their cars from and who will service the old ones? I do blame Wall St for the auto industries issues (kinda) and think that some of their bailout money should be used to help the Big 3. But I do also remember a couple summers ago when the Big 3 was strugglin to sell their cars and had to give employee discounts to EVERYONE. The only time a company gives the customer the employee rates is when it’s Christmas or you need to get rid of some inventory. Still, we need to bail out the Big 3, otherwise we’ll see what Reganonomics really looks like.

A different kind of car company...one with no sales!

One group of car owners I don’t stand behind is the people who drive Saturns lmao. I didn’t even know they had a fan website for that brand. Buyin a Saturn is like dating the black sheep in a wealthy family. You know he or she ain’t in the will so why bother? You just prayin for a lost cause. At least they got their own post!

Who is gonna make the cars when we can afford them?

Today the Big 3 auto manufacturers are meetin with Congress to get some moolah to help bail them out. They all sold their jets and are drivin to D.C. Ford’s CEO is doin it in a hybrid, lol. Humble pie is the worst kinda pie. Interestin fact, 6 outta 10 people don’t think we should bailout the auto industry. That’s a real shame because they are gonna get bailed out regardless. The only problem now is if the American people don’t have faith in the auto industry, they will never regain the market and make a profit. This will cause them to eventually file for bankruptcy. GM better come with some flyin cars pretty soon…Me personally, I never liked American cars. Oversized engines with lots of torque and no top speeds. Cheap materials for the interior and not many cool features. Maybe they should get bought out by another group. Could you imagine if the Volkswagen group owned Ford? Can you say V10 Gallardo engine in a Focus? HAHAHAHAHA. NOW THAT IS WORTH A BAILOUT!

The final act

I think I may have been born during the best times in American history. Technology is poppin off, my President is black, and I don’t believe in job security. Could you imagine livin durin the like 60s, 70s, or even the 80s? Workin for a company for 30+ years and then when you retire they have this pension plan set up for you so that you still make money after you stop workin? Then look at where we’d be now. Still workin at Wal-Mart just to pay the bills. And while I would like to give all the credit to the generation that I was born in, I think some credit has to go to me as well. I mean, this isn’t the first time our economy has seen some hard times. Why didn’t the older generation learn from past mistakes? Why didn’t they put some money away or invest it in ANYTHING (didn’t have to be stocks or real estate, but just somethin that would increase in value)? As I type this up I think about the retirees of GM who are goin to lose their pensions once the company goes bankrupt. To me it’s bad planning. Of course I would have never expected GM to go belly up, but I’m really skeptical about things in general so I wouldn’t have put all my eggs in one basket. I wouldn’t have worked for GM, retired, and say I plan on livin off of GM for the rest of my life. Cuz to me, that’s what a pension is. Company life support. And because I’m not old enough to get a pension (if I ever do), maybe I might be missin a few concepts here so feel free to fill me in. Losing pensions isn’t like a new concept that got started last week. So why would these people still trust in one?

I wonder if they used Diddy's jet?

So the CEOs of the Big Three (that’s auto industry) had a hearing in Washington to see if they could get bailed out. Each one of them muthafuckas flew in on their private jet. Now I can see how that could be a slap in the face. Imagine if a bum came to you askin for a hand out but instead of the regular busted tin can, he sticks out an iced out pimp cup lol. You’d prolly jack him for the cup! Well that’s how the Hearing Committee felt. They asked the CEOs why they flew in on private jets instead of commercial and if any of them were going to sell their jets and fly back commercial. None of the CEOs raised their hands. I mean if I was a CEO and I had to go ask for money, I wouldn’t take the bus. That’s just stupid. I guess they coulda flew business class, but still. What if someone recognized them and tried to kill them. HAHAHAHAHA. Nobody knows who them old white men are. I prolly got more recognition than they do.

Do I hear H2 hybrid?

I own securities in GM, so imagine how my stomach tumbled with its value. Most people would panic and dump the shares immediately, but I stuck with it because I said to myself “There’s no way GM is gonna go under, SOMEONE is gonna save them.” My rational was that GM is fuckin GM. Like when you think American car companies, first one that comes to mind is either GM or Ford. So I figured it was impossible to let an icon just diminish (with no new contender to replace it). If GM goes under, who do we get our cars from? Well this isn’t a problem for me since I don’t buy American made. But what about the hillbillies? They aren’t gonna put their shotgun in the back of a Tundra (even if it’s a better made truck). I figured if our government didn’t bail them out, some foreign automaker would buy them out but keep the brand name so that the Americans didn’t panic (like the Budweiser deal). Then I read about the tremendous impact the shutting down of GM would have. For one the companies that supplied their parts would start hurting. So would the other industries linked with car manufacturing. It’s really scary when you think about it. So will GM go under? I still say most likely not, considering what’s at stake. But how much it will cost to keep them afloat isn’t a pretty number either. It’s going to cost GM $12 billion just to SHUT DOWN 3 plants. How it cost you money to close? Lol. You think your life is rough, imagine how the directors are sweating bullets over there. I mean, even though financially they cool, I don’t think I live with the fact that I took one of the Big Three under. There’s a special place in Hell for people like that (I think you are forced to design a fresh new car but the only thing you draw are Aztecs lol).