General Motors Chief Rick Wagoner Said to Step Down

[jwight]

By Doron Levin and Jeff Green

March 29 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp. Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner will step down after more than eight years running the largest U.S. automaker, people familiar with the situation said.

The people, who asked not to be named because the announcement hasn’t been made, didn’t give a reason why Wagoner, 56, is leaving the job. Wagoner said March 19 that he didn’t plan to resign.

The departure of Wagoner comes as President Barack Obama prepares an address tomorrow morning on his plans for the future of the U.S. auto industry. GM is surviving on $13.4 billion in U.S. loans and is asking for as much as $16.6 billion in additional aid to survive.

General Motors Chief Rick Wagoner Said to Step Down (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

[Duckhunter]

How much did he make for quiting?

[Godfather]

Wagoner is a CAR guy, and the only reason GM has made it this far. This is gonna be the classic case of "be careful what you wish for" if it's true.

[Big Panda]

Originally Posted by Godfather

Wagoner is a CAR guy, and the only reason GM has made it this far. This is gonna be the classic case of "be careful what you wish for" if it's true.

Keep in mind that "this far" is with GM BILLIONS of dollars in debt and at the same time seem to have no direction with their products.

On the other hand, Bob Nardelli's been on board at Chrysler only a short time and from a dealership employee standpoint, has made some decisions within the company that has us now going in the right direction. Chrysler is a long way from being uprighted, but the process has started.

Don't get me wrong though, I'm NOT a member of the 'Bob Nardelli Fan Club'. His comment made last week to Congress, asking for more aid for the 'financial division' (Chrysler Financial) so that 'customers who wouldn't normally qualify for a loan can still get one' really didn't set well with me. Isn't that part of our financial problem today? People that didn't qualify for loans were approved, then when they (for what ever reason) defaulted, the financial institutions were left 'holding the bag'.

You can't keep doing the same thing, over and over, expecting to see a different result. Isn't that the definition of 'insanity'?

[Periclaws]

The Obama admin kinda insisted as they felt he wasn't making enough progress quickly enough and was standing in the way.

[Godfather]

Which just begs the question, What do the politicians know about cars? Nothing...... I'm a dyed in the wool Mopar idiot, but even I can see the improvement in GM's offerings. We've all been beaten over the head for so long about Toyota this and Honda that that most people don't even look at domestic cars. When I ordered my smart it was still a Daimler-Chrysler product. See the Mopar idiot shining thru?

[Orphan-Beggar]

Rick Wagoner - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
As CEO, Wagoner focussed on highly profitable but fuel guzzling SUVs and light trucks. Ignoring Toyota, Honda, and Ford's progress with the gas-electric hybrid cars and SUVs, Wagoner directed GM's research efforts to hydrogen powered vehicles. In an interview,[8][9] Wagoner stated that the worst decision of his tenure at GM was "axing the EV1 electric-car program and not putting the right resources into hybrids. "It didn’t affect profitability," Wagoner claimed, "but it did affect image" In the end, Wagoner's choice did effect more than image.[10][11][12] in a market with high demand for hybrid and electric vehicles, and leading to observations that GM, under Wagoner's leadership, failed to see clearly obvious trends
Carpocalypse: Obama Auto Restructuring Plan, Warranty Commitment Program Details
The most important details are that the U.S. government plans to back the warranties of both Chrysler and GM. The administration's calling it the "Warranty Commitment Program." In addition, the administration plans a separate level of commitment to each automaker. Chrysler gets $6 billion and a requirement that they figure out a deal with Fiat. GM, on the other hand, gets 60 days to figure things out with bondholders and the UAW. If they're unable to do so, they must declare bankruptcy.
... the auto task force has left the door open to Ford with the Warranty Commitment Program. The verbiage of the relevant section says: 'Any domestic auto manufacturer is eligible to participate in the program."

[Big Panda]

Originally Posted by curtis

The government should have never gotten involved but they are so happy they did, now the will control even more of the Auto industry, the banks, and soon health care..I think the government should look in the mirror when they rip on these corporations for wasting money and running businesses into the ground.. Welcome to the United Socialist America. And that's my 2 cents.

I AGREE! But not in this case, but in the lives of ALL Americans. The moment our Government was asked, and allowed itself, to 'assist' those who can't do for themselves, then we've opened a can of worms that can't be closed.

We have no one to blame but ourselves for this mess.....yes, the banks and financial institutions have made bad loans but who did they give the bad loans TO? US. Who then got so upside down in their bills that we started living on credit cards each month? US. Credit no longer was a privilege but a RIGHT. Give me credit....I DESERVE IT! No, maybe you DON'T!

But with automakers making way too many products and the housing industry building way too many new homes, lenders joined in greed and approved loans to people that normally wouldn't qualify. As late as last week, Bob Nardelli, CEO of Chrysler, asked the Feds for more money for Chrysler Financial so that 'we can approve loans to people who normally wouldn't be approved'. WHY? Just so you can sell some cars? This is what got us in this mess to begin with! Have they not learned ANYTHING?

It's a very complicated mess, with not only GM and Chrysler to be concerned with, but the vendors that manufacturer the parts for both, and Ford as well. Should 2 of the 3 US automakers file bankruptcy, it could be devastating to the hundreds of vendors, causing some of which to close their doors as there is no 'bailout money' for them.

While I dont' agree with the way everything been done to this point, I DO hope and pray that our President is successful. If he's NOT.....well I don't even want to think of THAT scenario.

[Orphan-Beggar]

3/18/09REPORT: Congress members drafting cash-for-clunkers bill
Ohio Congresswoman Betty Sutton has introduced a new bill to provide a voucher of up to $5,000 in exchange for your clunker. To be eligible for the voucher, car buyers would have to purchase a new vehicle that is more fuel efficient than the car or truck it replaces. The trade-in also needs to be at least eight years old, while the replacement vehicle needs to sticker for less than $35,000.

The bill will include purchases of both foreign and domestic autos, but there is an incentive to buy vehicles assembled in North America. If the bill passes, foreign-made vehicles will receive a voucher of $4,000, while North American-made vehicles will be eligible for the entire $5,000.

Sutton is hailing her bill as a win for all, saying the legislation will "help consumers, stimulate our economy, improve our environment, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and help our domestic auto and related industries." Not surprisingly, domestic automakers are smitten with the idea of vehicle vouchers. General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner said the legislation would be a "big help," while Ford called the idea a "win-win" for the auto industry and the environment. We're calling it a great way to get $5,000 off the price of a 29-mpg Chevrolet Camaro

[Big Panda]

Yea...MOPAR RULES! Well, at least the 'old ones' did......