General Motors Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

[chatman]

IT'S over – General Motors has filed for bankruptcy. The ailing car giant has sought protection from its creditors under Chapter 11, allowing it to continue to trade while it restructures.

Read rest of story HERE

[ewen1605]

Oh deary me :(

Was bound to happen sometime - sales fell a further 26% or something last year.

[Red diesel]

Heres the thing i don't get though - youve got Opel and Vauxhall making the excellent (according to reports - haven't driven one sadly) Insignia - and what are they doing - trying to save the useless american business and getting rid of the Insignia business - it gets better the new Astra is due out and if its as good as the Insignia is reputed to be - then it will be another fantastic car - whats more am i right in thinking that the Opel/Vauxhall side of the business was the best performing - or was i only dreaming when i read that. If im right then surely the way forward is to put the american part of the business out of its misery and continue with the best performing parts of the business.

One things for sure its bad news for anyone whose going to lose their jobs over it

[cabcurtains]

Its a sad day for the workers, however if the product is poor and your not covering the cost of pensions and healthcare of previous workers, what future do you have?

Hopefully Magna can breath some life into Opel/Vauxhall and not let it turn into Rover no 2.

[Norfolk n Chance]

Its a sad day for the workers, however if the product is poor and your not covering the cost of pensions and healthcare of previous workers, what future do you have?

Hopefully Magna can breath some life into Opel/Vauxhall and not let it turn into Rover no 2.

Magna?

The science adventure centre in Rotherham?

:P

[cabcurtains]

Its a sad day for the workers, however if the product is poor and your not covering the cost of pensions and healthcare of previous workers, what future do you have?

Hopefully Magna can breath some life into Opel/Vauxhall and not let it turn into Rover no 2.

Magna?

The science adventure centre in Rotherham?

:P

[Karma Supra]

Thats it though.... Make rubbish cars for too long and you'll go broke.

Same way Rover went ;) The current lineup here in the uk is meant to be very good, but it's all come too late.. like the Rover 75.

[Boro Sera]

Vauxhall just came up with that trick bike rack on the new Corsa too - One good idea and the place collapses !

[Red diesel]

According to a newspaper report i read yesterday - this Magna crowd are along with some Russian outfit and someone else i cant remember - along with Opel employees (employees will have a 10 % share if memory serves me right - are taking over the GM Europe set up - i believe GM are retaining a small share holding. Did anyone else hear the same - the head of GM Europe is also saying appearently that events in America will have no impact on the european operation. It would be good if it was true - some of the modern products that Opel/Vauxhall are making (ie Insignia) are actually very good - say what you like but the Insignia is a very nice looking car at a time when everything else on the road that can be bought at normal money looks dull and boring. I can't verify the accuracy of the newspaper report though - its surprising it would be agreed so quick - what with unions and stuff having to agree - although theres always the chance that the unions have realised that the gravy train is broken down for the forseeable future (thats not a comment aimed at GM Europe unions - but unions in general

[Bizarra]

Yes, I read that article too. I agree that it would appear that Opel/Vauxhall will keep going

I thought that I also read in a different article that the US Government are not going to allow GM go down the drain, as it would put too much of a strain on the economy.

[chatman]

Are we not in this state of recession because banks and American mortgages fell though... Building cars to fill fields and disused runways was never going to last forever.. If the product is no good then no one buys it so you cant keep on building and borrowing and building if it's not selling then your gonna run out soon.... Maybe GM had an account in Iceland and dealt with Lehman Brothers as well...

This will not be the only big company to go under... I was doing some work near the Vauxhall Luton plant when they closed that...sad day there that day... an old neighbour of mine when i was living Northampton worked for the Van side of things.. he saw the coming so got out quick.... The European side of GM is better placed and financially better than the American Parent company.. so hopefully we will still be seeing the Opel/Vauxhall cars over here...

Who's gonna tell those puppets from the Vauxhall adverts they have no job anymore

[Red diesel]

According to autocar this week they were speaking to an insider whose told them that the Ellesmere Port (apologies if the spellings wrong - not sure how to spell Ellesmere) plant is the only plant thats geared up to produce the 5 door version of the new Astra - and that if production of the new 5 door had to be moved elsewhere - they would lose a years production - appearently they and/or their insider seem to think that this is good news for the plants future - i hope theyre right.

However my cynical side reckons (and i really hope im wrong) that all that means is that only the first years production is guranteed at Ellesmere Port - theres nothing to stop them deciding - right my good chaps - we are switching production to (for example) Russia in a years time and we are starting production in a year (okay if they have to build a new factory it will take a little longer but if they want to they will do it) .

However i suspect that the insider knows a lot more about this then i do - so hopefully they are right

[KPARRIS-JONES]

I have no sympathy for GM. I feel sorry for the workers, but GM was making (like others have said) sh*te cars for far too long.

They kept selling cheap and useless rubbish with no quality such as the Escalade, Ford Lightning, every Cheverolet and they were constantly pouring money into huge and outragous SUV's.

Top Gear magazine was talking about the pending failure of the SUV market a while back, and here on this day, they're bust. HAH!