Cop-out: AP Reporter Swallows Claim that GM's R&D Was Set Back a Year by 40 Days in Bankruptcy
Man, it is getting really deep around here -- and no, I'm not talking about the snow, though there is no shortage of it here in Southwestern Ohio.
What's really deep is the claim by current Government/General Motors Chairman and CEO Daniel Akerson that because of the company's government-engineered, unsecured bondholder-shortchanging trip through bankruptcy, "we lost roughly a year in terms of development."
The Associated Press's Tom Krisher apparently doesn't mind traipsing around in thigh-high boots while he's covering the Detroit Auto Show, as he displayed no skepticism whatsoever at the utter ridiculousness of Akerson's assertion, drily observing near the end of his report that "New products from GM were noticeably absent from the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this year."
For the record:
- GM filed for bankruptcy on June 1, 2009. It emerged from bankruptcy with an opening cash balance in the tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer money on July 10, 2009. That's 40 days, or less than one-ninth of a year.
- The company has been out of bankruptcy for exactly 18 months, and it's admitting that it's still a year behind in product development.
- There was not a hint that R&D would be compromised when the company emerged. In fact, the company clearly made representations to the contrary.
Pertinent to the final point just made, here are a few paragraphs from a July 10, 2009 bankruptcy emergence report by -- imagine that -- the Associated Press (Krisher was involved in earlier versions of this dispatch; bolds are mine):
At a news conference, CEO Fritz Henderson said the revamped automaker will be faster and more responsive to customers than the old one. It will generate cash and repay billions in government loans ahead of a 2015 deadline.
The new company will build more cars and trucks that consumers want and launch them faster than in the past, the CEO said. GM also announced a partnership with online retailer eBay to test auctioning vehicles online.
... Known for its sluggish decision-making process and bloated management ranks, GM will create a single, eight-member executive committee to speed up day-to-day decision-making, replacing two senior leadership forums.
... Top executives at the new company will focus on business results, new vehicles, brands and consumers.
... The new company will focus on customers, cars and culture.
What a load of rubbish that was -- as was Krisher's failure to note the obvious contradictions in Akerson's excuse-making today.
It's worth asking, especially if other products have been or are still being shortchanged, which presumptively appears to be the case, if the surely lavish level of resources the company has thrown at the Chevy Volt -- never mind the awards pouring forth from the green-crazy driving press -- has been worth it. Financially, I doubt it. To keep President Obama's car czars off their backs, it was probably necessary.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
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Comments
GM is still
Submitted by UpNorth on Tue, 01/11/2011 - 11:38pm.
trying to figure out where to plug in the Volt. And, how to secure the charging cord.
If there is a market for stolen air bags, and there is, imagine the market for stolen recharging cords that is going to spring up. And, if you charge your "Volt" at a public charging station, how much is that going to raise the retail prices you're charged by the sponsors of the charging station? Those "evil" folks at businesses aren't going to pay for the charging stations out of the goodness of their hearts without making sure the energy use is paid for.
Even If You Have Money...
Submitted by stratman on Wed, 01/12/2011 - 1:37am.
The biggest factor IMO is the supply of electricity for all these vehicles in the future. The nation's electrical grid is barely treading water during the summer months in many highly populated primary adopter locations.
Without nuclear and coal, all this electrical car rhetoric is just more the same "hope and change" no one should believe in.
You Misunderstand
Submitted by JustAl on Wed, 01/12/2011 - 9:10am.
Can anyone give an example of a socialist state that encouraged movement of the serfs? The purpose of the left is to limit individual mobility to only that which serves the state.
Tom.....One of the smartest decisions I ever made was to move
Submitted by Rush Fan on Wed, 01/12/2011 - 12:51am.
from East Liverpool, Ohio while in my early 20's to Southern California.
It appears that one of the best decisions that General Motors made was outside the automobile business. In 1985 Roger Smith, GM's Chairman and CEO at the time, purchased Hughes Aircraft Company for an estimated $5.2 billion. I was working for the satellite group (Space and Communications) of Hughes Aircraft at the time. In later years GM made a substantial profit when parts of Hughes Aircraft were sold separately to Raytheon for $9.5 billion, to News Corp (Hughes Network Systems renamed DirectTV Group) and to Boeing (Space and Communications).
Perhaps GM should have sold their heavily unionized automobile business and kept their non-automobile businesses.
Like most of the other
Submitted by Barack_must_go..... on Wed, 01/12/2011 - 6:18am.
Like most of the other dubious undertakings with president Obama's fingerprints on them, his quid pro quo scam ( not unlike the one that landed Tom Daley in prison for 3 years ), in which he gave GM to the corrupt unions in exchange for them funneling back hundreds of millions in cash, plus a huge guaranteed voting block to his reelection effort, has turned out to be another utter failure for which the American taxpayer will ultimately pay the price.
Worse yet, the level of duplicity between the lame street press and the Obama administration to cover up these transgretions, on the part of our president, are over the top and criminal.
I think back to the GM commercial, sanctioned by the president himself, in which the CEO of the new Government Motors lied directly to the American people that GM had completely paid back it's monitary obligations to the taxpayers and was well on it's way to profitability.
This was a blatent lie, as the Obama administration gave GM more taxpayer money ( a replacement loan ) that was used to pay off the original debt. They still owe America the bulk of the money, only now it's owed thru a secret White House backroom deal loan instead. This Obama scheme was, for all intents & purposes hidden ( covered up ), both by the administration and the lame street media, from the American people.
Worse yet, the jury is still out on whether GM will even survive in the end.
Barack_Must_Go.....
GM R&D
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Wed, 01/12/2011 - 10:03am.
Just like Obama, GM is absolutely successful in its R$D.
With their Master, Barack Obama, GM researched and developed a plan to stimulate Volt sales with an under-the-table handoff of money through General Electric.