Wednesday, April 26, 2006
gm and the dorky cars
I think everyone is aware of the problems General Motors (aka The General) is having these days. Following only gas prices and Reggie Bush's Mama's house, it's the biggest story in the news! I don't claim to know the answer to all the company's problems, but I think that changing the company's name to "Troubled Automaker General Motors Corp" was not a wise move. I was not at the meeting during which this decision was made, but had I been there I would have recommended something a little more positive, like maybe "Leader in the Imminent War Against Robots General Motors Corp." Seriously, I dare you to find a single article about GM that does not refer to the company as "Troubled Automaker General Motors Corp."
While TAGM's issues were exacerbated by this name change, I can't help but feel a nagging suspicion that I am also personally responsible for the downfall. In my controversial post the 10 dorkiest cars back in October 2004, I named no fewer than four GM products to the list (five if you count the Suzuki Aerio. Is Suzuki owned by GM? Who knows?). While I can't claim to be Nostradamus (Nostradamus is dead, so making a claim that I was Nostradamus would be ludicrous! I am merely the ninth reincarnation of Nostradamus), I must note that the Chevy SSR and Buick Terraza/Pontiac Montana SV6 were poorly received by critics, and were only literally "received" by a small handful of buyers who all got HUGE discounts. In addition, Hummer H2 sales have been dwindling, along with its smaller, even dorkier (and at the time non-existent) sibling the H3. The Saab 9-7x, well, did they ever even make that? I've never actually seen one on the road.
My point here is that all the vehicles on my list had horrific futures ahead of them, almost as if I were the automotive Grim Reaper or something. And GM has suffered dearly for it. On the day I created the 10 dorkiest cars list, GM's stock price stood at $38.32/share. Today, GM stock sells for $23.11/share.
I am by no means a GM hater. In fact, until I had to sell it to finance my wife's (gulp) minivan, I drove a Saab 9-3 and I liked it (aside from the whole curse thing, of course). I also think that new Chevy Camaro Concept thing looks freakin' awesome! And if I had $757,000 worth of Reggie Bush's Mama's house to finance the gas for it, I'd seriously consider buying a new Chevy Tahoe.
GM just happened to have four (or five) very dorky cars in October 2004. So, Troubled Automaker General Motors Corp, I truly say to you, I'm sorry. ¶ monger187 wrote this on 4/26/2006
While TAGM's issues were exacerbated by this name change, I can't help but feel a nagging suspicion that I am also personally responsible for the downfall. In my controversial post the 10 dorkiest cars back in October 2004, I named no fewer than four GM products to the list (five if you count the Suzuki Aerio. Is Suzuki owned by GM? Who knows?). While I can't claim to be Nostradamus (Nostradamus is dead, so making a claim that I was Nostradamus would be ludicrous! I am merely the ninth reincarnation of Nostradamus), I must note that the Chevy SSR and Buick Terraza/Pontiac Montana SV6 were poorly received by critics, and were only literally "received" by a small handful of buyers who all got HUGE discounts. In addition, Hummer H2 sales have been dwindling, along with its smaller, even dorkier (and at the time non-existent) sibling the H3. The Saab 9-7x, well, did they ever even make that? I've never actually seen one on the road.
My point here is that all the vehicles on my list had horrific futures ahead of them, almost as if I were the automotive Grim Reaper or something. And GM has suffered dearly for it. On the day I created the 10 dorkiest cars list, GM's stock price stood at $38.32/share. Today, GM stock sells for $23.11/share.
I am by no means a GM hater. In fact, until I had to sell it to finance my wife's (gulp) minivan, I drove a Saab 9-3 and I liked it (aside from the whole curse thing, of course). I also think that new Chevy Camaro Concept thing looks freakin' awesome! And if I had $757,000 worth of Reggie Bush's Mama's house to finance the gas for it, I'd seriously consider buying a new Chevy Tahoe.
GM just happened to have four (or five) very dorky cars in October 2004. So, Troubled Automaker General Motors Corp, I truly say to you, I'm sorry. ¶ monger187 wrote this on 4/26/2006
