<![CDATA[Jalopnik: Management]]> http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jalopnik.com.png <![CDATA[Jalopnik: Management]]> http://jalopnik.com/tag/management http://jalopnik.com/tag/management <![CDATA[Victor Muller Steps Down as Spyker CEO]]> We've made no bones about the fact that we genuinely like Spyker Cars re-founder Victor Muller. He's a friendly, humble guy who comes across as a no-shitter in a sea of egotists and pipe-dreamers, even if he himself is a dreamer. But he's a dreamer in the best possible way. He got the company off the ground and before he announced that he's stepping down as CEO on May 21st to focus on design and branding, he managed to spearhead a number of projects, getting a pack of attention-grabbing exotics off the ground on the back of a brand nobody'd thought of in years, had cars run at events like Le Mans and Sebring, and last year, acquired a Formula 1 team. Not bad for a seven-year run. What's more the company's even turning a profit. We're not sure what the internal goings-on are at Spyker so we have no real comment to offer, other than that we wish Victor the best in his new endeavor. Spyker F1 head Michiel Mol will hold the CEO spot in the interim while the search for a new CEO takes place. Press release after the jump. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=261141&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Autoextremist Not Hot For Wiedeking]]> Sweet Peet fires a few shots across Wendelin's bow in this week's tirade, calling the Cayenne an abject failure and current Porsche management a bunch of bumbling bureaucrats who've essentially pissed away Porsche's legacy. We're not so sure about that. Cayenne sales certainly have reached the saturation point; everyone who wants one has one. But the His Sweetness continually talks about Wiedeking's faithlessness to Dr. Porsche's legacy. Lest we forget, ol' Ferdinand designed tractors and tanks. Porsche, like Honda, is an engineering company, and while the Cayenne is ungainly and not something we would ever buy, it is an engineering feat. We'd probably buy a Tiger tank, though. Actually, we'd totally buy a Tiger tank and roll through the streets of Modesto cranking Wilson Pickett. – Davey G. Johnson More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=242353&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Urea Injection + German Executive + Infantile Hilarity: Thomas Weber Makes a Funny]]> Herr Doktor Thomas Weber von Mercedes-Benz hat einen absichtlichen Witz gemacht! Is this yet another indicator that the Germans may not be quite as precise as previously thought? – Davey G. Johnson More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=227018&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA['Fortune' Not Bullish on Ford]]> Either Fortune's Alex Taylor has an axe to grind into the cutting equivalent of a Henckels with somebody at FoMoCo, or the Blue Oval is as screwed as a garage band that just signed with Warner Brothers without reading the fine print. Taylor is rather merciless in his assessment of the Spawn of Henry, and it definitely comes through that he's not impressed with new honcho Alan Mulally. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=211682&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[You Have No Style, You Have No Soul: Please Eat a Past-Due Eclair and Enjoy Botulism]]> It's one of those evenings. Really. Everything's played. Most of the large majority of a plethora of things by and large suck. Which means we're reduced to ranting. Sure, we could toe the Gawker line and bitch that Si can rim us and Jobs' cotomer sevis is roughly at-or-below third-world levels. And then we realize the reality of a Si Newhouse analingus session and decide that we'll stick to bitching about how Apple's hardware has reached a pinnacle of suckdom, and that we have more Mac knowledge in the rather icky fluid from a singular popped zit than the fools on the tech line have in all of their neurons compiled. So here then, friends, is a call. Jump through, because we like front-page economy and this particular bit of idiocy has rambled on long enough (Wert's Tolstoy-esque posts notwithstanding.) More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=208340&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Did Osama Incentive Us Into the Ground?]]> In a five-year retrospective on the effect that 9/11 had on the nation's economy, Slate's Daniel Gross asks why the financial first-responders have often ended up pushing up daisies five years after the fact, a portion of note to Los Jalopniks was the wave of zero-percent financing unfurled to keep America rolling and consuming. Quoth the Gross: More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=199939&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[The Real Problem With Automotive CEOs These Days]]> Honestly, it boils down to this: Not Rick Wagoner, Bill Ford, Carlos Ghosn, Bernd Pieschetsrieder, J rgen Schrempp, Sergio Marchionne, Roger Smith, Katsuaki Watanabe, nor even Dieter Zetsche nor Lido will ever be known as "Il Commendatore." And this friends, is why modern culture is sucking right now. We need us some Duces, some F hrers, some Emperors; some His Majesties the Whatevers. And then we need a bunch of anarcho-syndicalists just for fun. Throw in a Papa Hemingway for good measure. Remember back in the Eighties when Goodyear used to run the spot that asked something like, "Why does every new Ferrari ride on Goodyear tires?" More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=198077&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Could Kerkorian Push GM Into Ghosn Renault-Nissan?]]> According to the AP, KirkKerk's Tracinda Corp, which owns nearly a 10th of GM, in a partnership with Renault and Nissan, could easily purchase 30% of the ailing American automaker, giving them a hefty vote on the board, and possibly ending Rick Wagoner's lifelong career with the General. Some are for the deal, hailing Carlos as a turnaround genius, while others see it as a ploy by Kerkorian to get his way. In any event, things undoubtedly just got more hairball at the RenCen, especially among the lifelong Michiganders who blanch at the thought of moving to the Volunteer State. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=185349&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Breaking! 37,000 Workers Take GM, Delphi Buyout Offer]]> From Reuters:
About 37,000 hourly workers have accepted buyout offers by General Motors Corp. and Delphi Corp., potentially giving the automaker greater cuts than expected, a newspaper said on Friday.
More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=182872&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Ford May Be in for Credit-Rating Hit]]> Looks like FoMoCo may soon have to pay the shys a few extra points' vig to cover its "responsibilities" (if you know what we mean, and we think you do). The company and its Ford Motor Credit division have taken a pre-hit from S&P, which placed them on CreditWatch-negative, which means it could be in for another credit-rating drop — putting the company's bonds ever deeper into junk status. The boys on the street say they're not satisfied Ford's keeping up with its obligations — they're losing market share and their product mix is oogatz. They'd better shape up or out come the persuaders, and then it's lights-out time. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=176543&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Autoextremist on Toyota and the Ladies]]> He of the Sweetness, Peetness and D-ness, the Autoextremist himself, weighs in on "Teflon Jim" Press' quest to convince the world that Toyota's not just another car company, and giggles to himself about the company's current predicament. Meanwhile, over at BusinessWeek, Press weighs in on his new position, and says with a straight face, "Hybrid is the way you gain the synergy of combining stored energy that you store when you don't need it and release when you do." Actually, the BusinessWeek piece is worth a read. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=174481&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Fiat CEO Says Company Could Take Back Ferrari Stake]]> Looks like Fiat may be putting some money into its prosciutto-bank, or is at least altering its corporate trajectory in an upward direction. In a speech yesterday, CEO Sergio Marchionne implied the car company could repurchase the 11.7 percent chunk of Ferrari it sold last year to Mediobanca, as part of a major debt restructuring and overall gasp for fidicuary air. Rumors that the company was planning to spin off the prancing horse in a public stock offering have died down of late, but we'd imagine that if such a plan were in place, Marchionne would want Fiat to get the spoils. Watch this space. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=173340&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Kelly Clarkson's Bold Marketing Message For Ford]]> FoMoCo's looking to change their tune, and using Kelly Clarkson of American Idol to do it. It appears Ford's gonna be ditching the slogan "Built for the Road Ahead" after it just hit it's one year birthday. The plan, according to "insiders", is to move to the slogan of "Bold Moves." It certainly is a "Bold Move" for Ford, but it makes sense to align the external slogan with their own internal marketing of "Red, White and Bold." That message was designed to spur internal innovation — one would hope "Bold Move" is able to spur external innovation. You know, like buying Ford products, maybe. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=169372&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[DCX Bites Big Oil]]> Jason Vines, the uncommonly blunt veep of communications over at Chrysler Group, took a swipe at oil companies on the company's media-only blog, exhorting that "Big Oil would rather fill the pockets of its executives and shareholders, rather than spend sufficient amounts to reduce the price of fuel, letting consumers, during tough economic times, pick up the tab." ExxonMobil, meanwhile, commented that Vines' comments didn't merit comment. Comments? More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=166543&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA['Arrested Development' Well and Truly Dead, No Comment from Dieter Zetsche]]> Mr Bakafish just hipped us to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle reporting that Dieter Zetsche's beloved sitcom, Arrested Development, has been finally laid to rest and will not be airing on Showtime as we originally reported. There's no comment in the story from the DaimlerChrysler boss who played Tobias F nke, although we imagine that Dieter's somewhat relieved that he can now leave behind the AD rollercoaster behind and finally concentrate on fixing J rgen Schrempp's mess. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=163886&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[50-Foot Queenie: Wagoner Forced to Apologize For GM Small-Car Exec]]> A friend of ours who, until recently, was in the car-review biz, gave the Chevy Cobalt SS a lukewarm review, pointing out the harsh motor, plasticky interior and doofy rear wing. GM's response? Anger, misery, yanking of advertising from the publication he worked for. When the HHR dropped, GM Executive for small cars, Lori Queen, dropped by personally with the test vehicle, pointing out all of the features, but, to quote our friend, "But, when we asked simple questions like, 'Why does this look just like a PT?' and 'How come the dash is harder than my Labrador's head?' she took it VERY personally, like we insulted her kid." More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=161701&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Autoextremist on Carlos' Folly]]> You know, we always thought Carlos Ghosn's plan to uproot Nissan North America from Southern California and re-pot it in Tennessee sounded like a risky go. After all, what has Nashville given us of any worth since Hank Sr. and Patsy passed on to the great big Opry in the sky? Meanwhile, SoCal's given us all manner of great stuff Bukowski, X, Black Flag, the Minutemen, dubs, 909ers, Ishtar, etc. Still, Carlos' claim that "most" employees would make the move is turning out to be false. Unless by "most" Mr. Bean's long-lost twin means "less than half." More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=161329&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Oof. GM Reports Additional $2B Loss for '05]]> The hoons of Pedro are hootin' and hollerin' for some reason tonight, but we're pretty sure it's not because of the latest dish outta the RenCen: GM has revised its earnings statement for 2005 to include an additional two billion samoleons to the tally, bringing the total to a cool $10.6 bil. The discrepancy is apparently due partly to a miscalculation involving cash flow at GMAC subsidiary ResCap, as well as plant-closure costs and Delphi issues. They've delayed filing their annual report with the SEC, but promised that they'd have their late assignment turned in within two weeks. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=161154&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Forbes on Fitch on Ford: Whose Credibility is Really at Stake?]]> Forbes' Richard Lehmann takes on Fitch's downgrade of Ford's credit rating from BB+ to BB, noting that in the post-Enron era, the credit agencies are doing everything they can to restore investors' faith, including forecasting futures that Lehmann seems to think may be akin to reading tea leaves, given the variables at hand. He points out that at the current rate, Ford could continue losing money for a decade and still survive. The analysis is too in-depth to fully outline here. We recommend checking the link; it's at the very least a light lunch for thought. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=161081&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Mark Fields Drinks from the Bonus Cup at Ford]]> The main architect of the Great Leap Forward, Ford North America cap'n Mark Fields has been offered an extra mil to stay for two years. However, if he bails, he's gotta pay it back. Meanwhile, Bill Ford, who isn't drawing a salary until the company achieves profitability, says that he'll donate all proceeds from performance-based bonuses to charity. Hey Bill, why don't you just donate 'em to Ford? More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=158090&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[DCX Pulls a Catch-22, CFO Bodo Uebber's Contract Extended]]> Really, now. DCX hasn't been doing the best, as of late. Merc and Smart both have a pretty big case of the woes, and even its vaunted Chrysler Group is paying dealers to take extra cars. But they've added five years to CFO Bodo bber's contract. Why? We've got a sneaking suspicion its for the same reason that the United States Army Air Corps wanted a Major Major Major Major. We mean, who doesn't want a Chief Financial Officer called Bodo bber? More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=157241&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Bogus Contract-Buyout Story Circulates at GM Plants]]> Let's see. Who's stirring up trouble this time? A phony news article circulated at five GM plants this week claimed GM was likely to offer substantial buy-outs of its UAW contract. In the phony article titled "General Motors Likely to Offer Substantial Buy-Outs," which carried the byline of a News reporter falsly identified as being with the Detroit Free Press, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger was quoted as saying a meeting with GM CEO Rick Wagoner had produced "a turning point in the auto industry," then went on to highlight buyout options for workers based on seniority. According to the News, the reaction among workers was, "Where do I sign up?" More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=156356&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Autoextremist: York Won't Save GM]]> Sweet Peet D sounds off at the heads who are calling Kerkorian point-man Jerry York a savior. Interestingly, Peet and Jerry worked together on Dodge campaigns, back when pre-Autoextremist Peet was a creative director (not an assistant creative director), and DeLorenzo feels that York's not the man-in-a-storm that GM needs right now, and that he won't work to overturn GM management, nor are his damage-control PR skills enough to right the listing ship. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=155048&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[The $100,000 Question: Take the Ford Employee Buyout?]]> Sheebus. Y'know, we're a little bitter about this. We understand the plight of the autoworkers up there in Michigan, and we sure as hell wouldn't trade the gorgeous day we had here for a Midwestern February day. But that said, $100,000 dollars to get out of one's job? Or 15k a year to retrain? We're lucky if the door didn't hit us on the way out! Anyway, the Detroit News has got more. And while we think it's admirable on Ford's part, and far more than just about any other employee would get in any other industry, we're about as jealous as Jennifer Aniston right now. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=154585&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[GM Halves Dividend, Cuts Exec Salaries]]> Okay, so with the volume of e-mail we've been receiving on the subject, we'd be remiss to report this tiny tidbit of news, but then again, most of all y'all who'd actually care probably know by now. Here 'tis anyway: GM has chopped its dividend as well as Rick Wagoner's salary in half, slashed other exec salaries by 30% (including Lutz's), frozen retiree benefits at 2006 levels, and essentially tied a tourniquet around its own neck. The trick is, will the company stop bleeding before it stops breathing? Stay tuned. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=153302&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Fortune Deconstructs GM's Problems]]> Seven years ago, a friend of ours wrote one of our favorite political punk songs of all time, featuring the line, "Now I'm a happy voter/Freewheelin' like General Motors." At the time, we were DIY'ing it through the tech boom, but today, in light of the political and economic state the nation's in, we're sure he had no idea how prescient he'd be in predicting that everything was gonna go from freewheel to mad coaster brake action. Carol Loomis of Fortune has just laid out one of the most sympathetic and extensive takedowns of GM we've ever read, even if some of her rhetoric paints her as a no-apologies free-market type. Oh, the rogue's march. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=153040&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[More Ford Parking Dumbassitude]]> So we just got an e-mail from a guy who works as a contractor for Ford and reports that the "Ford Only" parking situation has spread at the Rouge complex beyond Dearborn Truck, proving that the Great Leap Forward is leaping forward at a goodly clip. Good onya, Mao Willie Clay! Keep the spirits of the proletariat high! It's Red, it's White, it's freakin' bold! Read our anonymous lamenter's lament after the jump. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=152398&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Gettin' Geely With It: Former California Lt. Gov Bullish on Chinese Cars]]> John Harmer was once Ronald Reagan's second-in-command. He campaigns against pornography. And he's the COO of Geely USA. We happen to like smut, and we also think the Geely's a preposterous little pile of crap. That said, the Chinese are coming, and they will learn. Harmer's being cautious with the rollout, test-marketing the cars in Puerto Rico so they can't run off and escape, and only expects to sell 5,000 of the little buggers the first year, as opposed to Bricklin's grandiose predictions for Chery. Still, man, the only way we're getting in one is if it's equipped with the anti-collision rod. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=152136&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Steve Harris Takes Top PR Spot at GM]]> Tom Kowaleski, GM's public-relations czar, is stepping down March 1st, to be replaced by none other than Steve Harris. We're longtime fans of Steve, having seen him at both the sadly defunct Cal Expo Amphitheatre and at the Concord Pavilion with his group, Iron Maiden. In fact, our terrible high school metal band, Cynical Threat, cut its teeth on his songs before moving on to originals like "Born to Kill" and "The Blood That Runs." We own many of his albums, including Iron Maiden, Live After Death, Piece of Mind and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. And over fifteen years after we first heard his music, we still listen to it regularly. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=152023&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Porsche Predicts 90k in Sales]]> Wendelin and the boys are on a tear, poised to sell 90,000 vehicles this fiscal year (ending in July), and confident that although they'll be taking a heavy hit profit-wise on Panamera and hybrid development that business will stay strong for the world's most profitable automaker. Is it mere hubris, or do the whiz kids of Weissach have what it takes to keep Porsche up to their eyeballs in euros, namely killer products. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=151296&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Was Toyota's Jim Press Once One of the Boat People of San Pedro?]]> USA Today's got a profile of Toyota's Jim Press, who lives in Rolling Hills, a few miles from Jalopnik's West Coast Bunker in San Pedro. Toyota's Torrance headquarters are just a quick shot up the 110 and a slow grind up the 405 from us, and the article notes that he once lived on a 42' boat "docked a few miles from Toyota's headquarters." Which most likely means Pedro. Wow. Mike Watt, Charles Bukowski and the President of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Can we come over for dinner sometime, Jim? More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=150495&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Wolfgang & Winterkorn Get Kicked Up a Notch at VW]]> The man who along with your host, Dieter, was credited with Chrysler Group's dramatic turnaround is goin' straight to the top o' the world, ma. Or at least to the top of VW AG, where he'll now be in charge of all brands' production. Meanwhile Audi HMIC (and yet another German auto exec with a fabulous name) Martin Winterkorn is due for a promotion as well, putting him in the product development hot seat for all VW AG vehicles. These promotions, in the wake of the announced edging out of Herr Doktor Pi ch, seem like steps in the right direction for Hitler's brainchild. But the question looms, whither Donckerwolke? More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=150233&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Ford's Way Forward Plan: Layoffs, Plant Closures]]> For about 30,000 Ford workers in North America, the company's Way Forward restructuring plan announced today involves being shown the door. Ford's plan, announced just minutes ago, includes the shuttering of 14 plants in the next seven years, with seven of them closing as soon as 2008, including St. Louis, Atlanta, Wixom, Batavia, Windsor Casting, and two to be named later. Ford hopes to achieve around $6 billion in material cost savings by 2010, in its bid to get back in the black. Click through for the press release and details of the plan's good news; you know, the coming profitability, the stronger Ford and Mercury brands, the environmental leadership, the innovation, the new 427 Cobra (we can dream, can't we?). [Update: Lean Manufacturing blogged the press conference.] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=150070&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[New AMG Boss Sounds off: No V6, Bye Bye Supercharging, Dual Clutch Coming?]]> In the high-end, explosive-horsepower genre of German cars, AMG has always been the ber daddy. BMW's and Audi's factory tuners were downright adorable facing down one of Merc's boys' supercharged autobahn sleds. Now, BMW's M and Audi's RS divisions' newest V8- and V10-powered models are narrowing the gap with AMG's hand-signed rides, and even Cadillac has entered the 500-horsepower game with malice aforethought. AutoWeek Sat down with AMG boss Volker Mornhinweg to get an insider's view of how AMG plans to meet such challenges. For one, the era of supercharging is over, turbocharging will become the shop's boost technology of choice (as seen in its 6.0-liter V12 turbo), and a two-clutch manumatic box might one day see daylight. As for possible AMG hybrids, the following quote pretty much answers that, and any other questions about AMG's intentions. "If one day it becomes fashionable to silently drive up to a hip location in California with electric power, we will have to play a role there, too." Wow, we haven't had that spirit here since 1969. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=150006&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Pre-Formal-Announcement Ford Restructuring Dirt!]]> Our boy in Detwa, Ray Wert, has access to some high-placed sources in the Ford administration. Tomorrow morning, as is widely known, the company's going to announce its plans for restructuring, including the immediate pink-slipping of white-collar execs as in, "Okay, Chumpkin, thanks for your years of service, but we're flushin' ya down the toilet. You're gone, as of now. Have your desk cleaned out ASAP." The more interesting part of the news after the jump. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=149985&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[We're Not Sure What to Say: Lutz on the Enclave]]> A few days back, GM posted a vodcast featuring the Wall Street Journal's Joe White interviewing Bob Lutz on the new Buick Enclave, a car that we admittedly don't hate. That said, when Lutz is stumbling over his words, badly enough to take too long to say, "I think it's a very powerful, very athetic shape," we wonder about how much the company actually really cares about its products. It seems like every time we've seen a GM exec talk about the company's vehicles lately, it's been from a very defensive place, even if the posturing is supposedly offensive. Actually, it's all kind of offensive. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=148966&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[God Bows to Math?]]> Mark Tapscott dredged up a bit from Business Week that makes the case for mathematicians and takes note of the ramifications highly- advanced number- crunching could have on the way the auto industry does business, not only in how it allocates its ad dollars, but also in product planning. Which, of course, when the bean counters do the math, it tends to lean toward a median blandness like the one seen at General Motors. People want appliances, but they want appliances with soul. And so far, nobody we're aware of has been able to quantify that. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=148927&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Toyota Chairman Speaks Up on GM's Woes]]> No more publicly pondering raising prices to help out ailing American automakers, but Toyota chair Hiroshi Okuda has stated that he believes GM is in serious trouble, noting that its market share has eroded and that it has "failed to produce quality cars." Yowch. When companies you've partnered with in business start talking smack to the media about you, your oars are long gone and Shit Creek is getting perilously deep. Better find a spare Vega door and start paddling... More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=148405&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Lutz Fires Back at York, Takes Out Own Foot]]> In response to Kerkorian crony Jerry York's recent salvo at GM execs, Lutz had a few choice words about executive salaries at the Ren Center: More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=148299&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Slate on GM's Boardroom Mess]]> While hand-wringers worry that Kerkorian putting Jerry York on GM's board could lead to the dismantling of the automaker, Slate's Daniel Gross takes a different tack: why shouldn't York have a seat on the board? After all, Kerkorian's the third-largest stakeholder in the ailing behemoth, and his holdings in the company dwarf the amount of stock held by the rest of the board combined. Also of note, Gross takes the motley crew that represents the General's share holders and points out their weaknesses and/or their current lack of activity in corporate America. Our feelings on Kerkorian aside, could a boardroom shakeup save GM? It seems like it couldn't necessarily hurt. [Thanks to CTE for the tip.] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=143680&view=rss&microfeed=true