GM Announces First Full-Year Results as New Company: $4.7 Billion Profit

[UCI CamaroFan]

Originally Posted by 1bad65

Someone on this very site said that might well happen before the IPO happened. Who was that guy who didn't lose his money....

I sold my GM stock back in late December when it was closer to $40

However, I did pile back into F yesterday. F is way too cheap at these levels.

[AngryAmish]

Profits will be even better this year. The Volt was just named COTY at a time gas prices are expected to skyrocket.

[Fightinfire921]

This was in a newspaper the other day.

http://heraldnews.suntimes.com/busin...last-long.html

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by Hylton

It would never have come to that. Don't think for a second that another car company would not have jumped at the opportunity to buy the Chevrolet assets.

I doubt it. Due to the interdependence of the various operations, I can't think that selling off brands wouldn't really work unless GM lived on or you bought the whole kit and kaboodle. Buying all of GM as it was pre-bankruptcy would have been a horrible move for any automaker. They were all facing the same lousy global market, for both cars and loans. Toyota was in the red. Ford was only scraping by. VW might have been able to, but they had their sights set on Porsche (and had problems of their own, I think. Nobody else would have been big enough to even give it a thought.

Originally Posted by AngryAmish

Profits will be even better this year. The Volt was just named COTY at a time gas prices are expected to skyrocket.

Unless something has changed (which it might have, given GM's intention to boost production) ... they're forecast to lose money on each Volt sold, at first. The Cruze will be where they make their money back (people get drawn into the showroom for a Volt, balk at the price and drive away in a Cruze). Nissan is probably doing the same thing with the Leaf.

But anyway, small efficient vehicles don't carry a very big profit margin, especially in comparison to $40,000 trucks and SUV's which always take a hit when gas prices go up.

[chain777]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

Good to see. Continual profits and award winning cars should raise the stock price for when the next batch of shares gets sold off.

It might happen sooner than you think:

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/02/25/t...-shares-early/

That doesn't bode too well for the taxpayers getting all their money back.

[AngryAmish]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

I doubt it. Due to the interdependence of the various operations, I can't think that selling off brands wouldn't really work unless GM lived on or you bought the whole kit and kaboodle. Buying all of GM as it was pre-bankruptcy would have been a horrible move for any automaker. They were all facing the same lousy global market, for both cars and loans. Toyota was in the red. Ford was only scraping by. VW might have been able to, but they had their sights set on Porsche (and had problems of their own, I think. Nobody else would have been big enough to even give it a thought.


Unless something has changed (which it might have, given GM's intention to boost production) ... they're forecast to lose money on each Volt sold, at first. The Cruze will be where they make their money back (people get drawn into the showroom for a Volt, balk at the price and drive away in a Cruze). Nissan is probably doing the same thing with the Leaf.

But anyway, small efficient vehicles don't carry a very big profit margin, especially in comparison to $40,000 trucks and SUV's which always take a hit when gas prices go up.

I was mostly speaking towards the positive press.
Wasn't aware that they lose money on every Volt. Any idea how much and why? Is it a problem with not buying parts in bulk from part suppliers?

[GTAHVIT]

Originally Posted by garagelogic

When presented with a vaccuum, something always rushes in to fill it. I still don't buy the doom and gloom predictions that were given, but it's a moot point now.

And some things never change do they....

[Berean]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

I don't like it either, but it doesn't take a whole lot of thinking to see that it was better than the alternative. In my opinion, people tend get a bit too focused on the process, rather than the results achieved.

The end doesn't justify the means.

[GTAHVIT]

Originally Posted by Berean

The end doesn't justify the means.

So who's to blame, our government or GM...

GM asked for help... just like anyone would.... was that wrong?

The government chose to help them.... why does GM get the finger pointed at them when the Gov. chose to help them... GM explained the situation as they saw it. Enough of our elected officials agreed and they bailed them out. and now GM is paying it back... with interest... And GM is not the first company to do so... And, all of the Big three accepted federal funds. Hell we gave money to foreign automakers as well.

But we all want to kick GM in the yam bag...

Love or hate GM... I am in NO way saying we have to have blind admiration for GM... But, IMVHO, our criticism here on camaro5 is largely misplaced on GM and not the elected officials who chose to act in favor of "bail outs".

Just my thoughts...

[Berean]

Originally Posted by GTAHVIT

So who's to blame, our government or GM...

GM asked for help... just like anyone would.... was that wrong?

The government chose to help them.... why does GM get the finger pointed at them when the Gov. chose to help them... GM explained the situation as they saw it. Enough of our elected officials agreed and they bailed them out. and now GM is paying it back... with interest... And GM is not the first company to do so... And, all of the Big three accepted federal funds. Hell we gave money to foreign automakers as well.

But we all want to kick GM in the yam bag...

Love or hate GM... I am in NO way saying we have to have blind admiration for GM... But, IMVHO, our criticism here on camaro5 is largely misplaced on GM and not the elected officials who chose to act in favor of "bail outs".

Just my thoughts...

Oh I agree. It's definitely an elected official problem as well. That changes nothing though. What happened was wrong.

It's done though, so it is what it is.

However, the problem I have, and many others I suspect, is the lets-rub-it-in-your-face attitude that comes with trumpeting a $4.7 billion profit. If anyone at GM or the government had a shred a moral decency, they would use that money to pay back the SECURED bondholders that the government helped them screw in bankruptcy court.

GM stole their money with the blessing of the government. The least they could do is shut up about it.

[GTAHVIT]

Originally Posted by Berean

Oh I agree. It's definitely an elected official problem as well. That changes nothing though. What happened was wrong.

It's done though, so it is what it is.

However, the problem I have, and many others I suspect, is the lets-rub-it-in-your-face attitude that comes with trumpeting a $4.7 billion profit. If anyone at GM or the government had a shred a moral decency, they would use that money to pay back the SECURED bondholders that the government helped them screw in bankruptcy court.

GM stole their money with the blessing of the government. The least they could do is shut up about it.

and again, I don't disagree that the whole thing is bad. but, I tend to see it as,

GM was given access to money that wasn't rightfully theirs by our government.

However... That is the point of bankruptcy court, To screw the people you owe money to. The company that built my home went under 2 years after I moved in... guess what... That 5 years of warranty I got with my house....

Gone...

So who'd gonna fix the cracked stucco??? me...

I have a special hatred for the bankruptcy process... it is stupid confusing if you want to make a claim against the company and to do it right I'd have had to hire a lawyer... in the end I just took the loss...

So again, is GM clean in all of this no... Did they use the system the way it is designed for all of us? meh I'd say, No... But was it the Government who allowed and even paved the way for them to do it.. OH yeah. The knew full well what they were doing. So again...Blame DC first.. be disappointed in GM second...

And you are absolutely right. not worth debating... it's really 6 of one and 1/2 a dozen of the other.

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by AngryAmish

I was mostly speaking towards the positive press.
Wasn't aware that they lose money on every Volt. Any idea how much and why? Is it a problem with not buying parts in bulk from part suppliers?

No idea on how much (it might not even be the case anymore). The explanation is basicly that batteries and the other electric/electronic components of the Volt aren't cheap and it takes time for their costs to come down.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Good work, GM. KEEP IT UP!!!

Originally Posted by DGthe3

No idea on how much (it might not even be the case anymore). The explanation is basicly that batteries and the other electric/electronic components of the Volt aren't cheap and it takes time for their costs to come down.

It's worth noting that they didn't make a mistake somewhere...toyota lost money of the first several years of prius in the same manner....both of these scenarios should be a statement on the character of these types of cars.

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by Dragoneye

Good work, GM. KEEP IT UP!!!


It's worth noting that they didn't make a mistake somewhere...toyota lost money of the first several years of prius in the same manner....both of these scenarios should be a statement on the character of these types of cars.

Yeah, I meant to include that but it looked more like rambling than point-making.

Legend has it that this came up while Bob Lutz was pushing GM to build the car. Presumably, at some point he said something about Toyota's positive image due to the Pious and GM's image building nothing but gas guzzlers. The cost of not building the Volt would be greater than the financial loss taken on the first generation of the Volt. And that 1st gen part is important too. Word is, they've been working on the 3rd gen for some time now already ...