Taken from a Pistonhead artical...

No escape route yet for GM



Vauxhall and Opel are in ‘terrible trouble’ as their parent company General Motors moves closer to filing for bankruptcy in the US.

That’s the frank verdict of business secretary Peter Mandelson who says the UK and German governments are locked in a debate about how - or indeed if – they should intervene to support moves to spin-off the famous European brands as a separate European entity.

The dilemma is likely to be high on the agenda when Gordon Brown meets German chancellor Angela Merkel who is visiting the UK next weekend.

Reports say that two governments are pressing GM for convincing restructuring plans for the two European GM brands. Opel has already requested nearly £3bn in emergency funding from the German government - which has expressed strong anger about the lack of support from GM for its operations in Europe. UK officials say they still have no specific proposals from Detroit as to the level of support that Vauxhall is likely to demand.

Vauxhall employs 5000 people in the UK while Opel employs as many as 25,000 in Germany.

FFS why cant these companys manage themselves well enough not to need "hand outs" from governments

doesn't look good :s

The problem is vauxhall are paying 5000 people to build cars they cannot sell.

The recession looks like they isnt an end to it in the near future

They're building too many cars.
Why don't they just recycle/repair older cars??

A common joke about GM is that they are a pensions provider with an annoying loss making car building company on the side.

Suppose the problem they face, high margins are based on high output, lower the output and the more processes added into building a car (such as recycling) would add more costs.

Porsche seem to have the right idea, build a lower number of cars with higher margins, makes them a cash rich company

Also helps if they make good quality, attractive cars that people actually want... not "Just afford"

That goes with all mass-produced cars. Brand new car? Yuck, no thanks.

Well yea.... but no-one sits there in school or university etc and says....

"One day, I wanna live in a 3 bedroom semi detached house with an alcoholic wife, 3 annoying and expensive children, work a crappy 9-5 office job every day of my life....and buy a Superb Looking Silver Vauxhall Astra....Phwoar...thats the life.



If they do, they need their head checking

Well, cars like vauxhall arn't cars you aspire to own, they are just tools that get you from A to B.

They are pretty good cars in the past 5 years or so.

Thats the point.

Maybe they should start making cars that people aspire to purchase..something that when they step out of, they always look bak at before entering the house

Ford, Honda, Vauxhall, Volkswagen, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Citroen, Peugeot. They're all the same, all bland and serve one purpose. I have a hatchback for day to day driving (and the boot), but I'll hopefully never have to own one again.