Who Killed General Motors?

Part 1 of the "20/20" special "General Motors: From Dream to Downfall."

[papawjohn]

All of GM's wounds are self-inflicted.

[rodneybrand]

No body killed GM...they comitted suicide...
GM quality started going down after 77
So Sad..

[AcuraLvR]

2:09 maybe there are no songs about Volvo. But there are plenty of songs about Honda which along with Toyota and Nissan would come along and destroy the Big Three and become the new domestic auto makers. 100 percent of GM's problems are self-inflicted.

[bbodinefan]

Look at the oil my Cadillac spills basically sums it up.

[gtpcruiser]

In the past when GM let designers run wild they designed exciting profitable cars that consumers loved and purchased.
Since the bean counters put a rope around the neck of the designers the trend-setting designs disappeared.

[NotBen]

no one ever wrote a song about a Chevy Cavalier

[adanochoa]

Poor quality vehicles, many hard to work on.

GM's cars are known to be disposable cars.

[gregorygeorgoffairforceret]

Killing Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn, and Hummer did not help General Motor's, but makes the GTO and 442 even more rarer.

[charlessteadjr]

Back in the day managers started out working on the line.

[eldo]

General Motors is turning into China Motors.

[Smokeless]

I live in Dayton, OH where GM Truck and Bus was located. Management and labor jumped off the cliff together. Everyone was self-centered and cared little about sustainability. They were in a bubble of delusion for years and the local non-GM people felt little sympathy for them when things got bad. Take this example and spread it to plants all across the USA and there you have it.

[mschiffel]

Except for the expensive Corvette, and to a lesser degree, the Camaro, GM stopped building two door cars...All they made was four door taxi cab style cars...Not everyone wants to drive a taxi, while others don't care what they drive....For lots of people, cars are a passion, and for the rest, they're simply an appliance to be discarded when worn out, ...if they don't fall apart first...Give me a nice moderately priced two door sedan with RWD and a choice of transmissions...Not just automatics only...Just my two cents.

[brx]

I did...
A freelance vehicle designer that will no longer work with GM. I was the best in the business designing vehicles for military, aviation, super/hypercars and over A dozen auto manufacturers.

[markbanfield]

To many execs trying to climb the ladder thru 70s to late 2000s. The product wasn't the focus period. Union execs didn't help either...

[hphillips]

GM was never a consideration after we purchased a 1982 camaro that was a nightmare. They kept it more the first year than my wife and nothing was fixed. They went with a plan that if we hold the car long enough we can wear them down. Now my kids will not but a GM product

[Smokeless]

GM was a healthcare company with a car company on the side.

[mabatommy]

GM killed GM with pretty cars that fell apart to easily.

[tmo]

General motors cant compete with the fast pace of production in Alabama. Just look at GM's SLOW production lines! General motors got fat, greedy, careless, overpriced, lazy, poor quality, and cant compete with the likes of workers in Alabama. Yes, we compete at more than football in this state! We will not give it back. We have taken the high paying jobs.

[hashbrownburgeryt]

Wonder why VW and Hyundai destroy them? Look at their warranties. A lot more generous than 3/36. Toyota and Honda reliability’s crushing GM’s.

[wilburmcbride]

I love that old black corvette. I would take one today...