To: Alighieri who wrote (494304 ) 7/11/2009 10:14:36 AM From: i-node Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 1576893 >> I've never been a salesman. And I've never been a "bean counter". >> do you even know the difference between sales and marketing mr mba? Of course, but most "marketing" people end up being "salesmen" on some level. As I've told you before my wife's Master's was in marketing and while she was exceptionally good at it, it isn't exactly rocket science. Ultimately, the CPAs have to run the business. A CEO without a proper accounting background is going to be a disaster, because he simply cannot understand the business without it. He doesn't understand the language. I think this is the situation with you. You simply do not UNDERSTAND what has transpired here, as far as I can see.A couple of posts ago you ask me how I would go about selling GM cars that nobody wanted at any price, now a reduction in labor costs would make the companies competitive...very consistent. I've seen no indication that labor costs at GM will be in line with those at other automakers. And the other big part of the plan, getting rid of dealers, offers little, if any, financial benefit going forward. All that has really changed through the Chapter 11 is (a) an injection of $50 Billion in taxpayer cash, and (b) GM is now run at the behest of the Obama administration. While a massive cash injection like this is adequate to get any company in America out of Chapter 11, the interference from government will make the company less able to compete in the future. A great example, IMO, is the "Volt" -- a $40,000 vehicle that nobody in his right mind will buy even with the government subsidy. Yet, due to pressure from the administration, the company must pursue this vehicle which is commercially untenable at this point. GM is now a ward of the state which will require perpetual funding. Politically, it is impossible for anyone to shut it down. So, we now own a car company and have no way out of it. Nobody wants to buy it, it is a sinkhole for money, and the government should never have been allowed to do this.