While making my way through the Vlasic book, I came across an interesting article dealing with the fall of GM especially dealing with the former-CEO Rick Wagoner. In light of Vlasic’s interest with Wagoner and GM, I thought this would be an interesting complement to our readings.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/30/rick-wagoner-gm-jerry-flint-business-autos-backseat-driver.html
– Zac Durkin
The late Jerry Flint was a wonderfully perceptive journalist, I learned a lot talking to him on the phone, and regret never meeting him in person.
To summarize the article: Wagoner was in charge of North America for 15 years, years of continuous loss of market share. He never viewed that with a sense of urgency, and while GM did begin developing better vehicles after Bob Lutz’s arrival, that was late in the game and not matched by cost controls. The VEBA that promised to bring legacy costs under control wasn’t negotiated until 2007, and would not have kicked in in full until 2010-11, far too late.