I just finished reading a news report on GM finances which I found rather interesting as it covered at least a Decade of manufacturing and made comments on a number of decisions that the general seemingly has made.
Sort of a sequel if you will from dropping manufacturing of a GM designed Saturn and it's production in Tennessee to marketing something that was badge engineered and could be purchased in multiple configurations with little more than the color and the name tag applied to it (the badge). A but Like Daewoo's no longer sold in the U.S. but manufactured in Korea in conjunction with designs from Opal and sold as a Saturn and other badged GM products.
Apparently as story went, along about the time GM was looking at Bankruptcy and miraculously Buick became the darling of the Asian off shore market it became so as GM went to bed with a Chinese manufacturer of automobiles making it a sweet deal to save GM from financial ruin. As the article said! But it seemed what actually took place is the Chinese manufacturer pretty much bought a controlling interest in GM, or enough of a an interest considering the marketing changes, value's of exchange rates and the profit picture said manufacture has made vs the one GM did not make, they now control most of the European manufacturing and design including a significant portion of hat is taking place in India along with technological transfers of divisions to China for the operation of them under the concept that Buick needs them, in the up coming years more and more manufacturing and technological improvements will be coming out of China and impacting what will show up in GM show rooms both U.S. and World Wide locations. Of course that means that whole model lines of remaining GM marques will be manufactured and imported from China as U.S. and World Wide manufacturing is shut down. Korean manufacturing is already running this way and the Australian Holden manufacturing is shut down leaving nothing but a marketing and advertising branch still drawing pay checks. Or Cheques as it is known there.
Detroit has become known as a vast waste land of empty buildings and ways of life. And it looks like it is going to be emptier. It raises the question of why Pontiac and Oldsmobile will declared over head and shut down and certainly looks as if Saturn was just the leading example of what will take place.
I am just an aging middle class individual who looked forwards to possibly owning a 2dht Desoto or maybe And Oldsmobile wagon with the windshield in the roof, a style I really liked and I think only available from Olds. And the SC2 Saturn that Valerie bought as a 2 year old 2 door keep still keeps it's place in the driveway and when driven reminds me of just how nice the little coupe was on the open road. And just how lousy the first Hyundai's drove when announced over here, but the were good value for the dollar when new and they have changed to be an excellent value in the expanding market place that has been left by the retiring of GM and other U.S. made cars.
I'm going to run my T&C out as far as I can run it affordably because Valerie finds the new ones hard to get in and out of and want's me to look at a Kia. And frankly I have. I crawled under one, it is welded rather than spot welded and body flex is almost zero. (as is the Saturn) MB design impacted the mechanics on my Chrysler that were in trouble, but they sold to Fiat. I'll have to see what Fiat does to them if I can afford one in the future. Or maybe I just won't live that long and my Hornet Station Wagon will serve as a back up replacement for the Chrysler when it is completed.
I dunno, but this article was interesting as it pretty much said, that unless drastic action is taking place, the new seat of GM will be on the floor in Geisha house. And we can thank those in power as not doing the job they were elected to do I guess.
It is too bad that the U.S. could not figure out how to market internationally to their benefit and GM and others (Hudson, Kaiser, Crosley, Checker and Nash and some 3500 or more) could not find buyers.