In the past year alone, a fuel crunch has put a crimp in the sales of SUVs (Detroit's most profitable product), unions have rattled their sabers in the face of more job cuts, and people have started whispering about GM possibly declaring Chapter 11.
After modeling GM against Ford on a 11.5 million car year, followed by 12.5 million and eventually 16 million units, GM's market valuation comes in a touch cheaper than Ford but that assumes they hold market share which is not a given.
For all of 2011, Ford sales increased 11% and GM's rose 13%.
In fact, last week, GM announced its best quarter in over 11 years.
While Daewoo has given Ford exclusive negotiating rights, GM has said as recently as Sept. 11 that they "would still be interested" in buying Daewoo if the Ford negotiations don't produce a deal.
At any rate, even if GM and Chrysler had been liquidated in Chapter 11, Americans could still buy Toyotas, Nissans and other cars that the transplants usually make in the South and Midwest.
However, there is considerable scepticism both within the industry and among analysts as to whether Chapter 11 is a way forward for GM and Ford (though it may, some concede, be more appropriate for Chrysler).
Similarly, American companies, led by General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), have shown a nice increase from 11.7 percent five years ago to 15.5 percent today, and the Korean companies have increased their market share by over two percentage points over the past five years to 9.8 percent currently.
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Once in Chapter 11 bankruptcy the unions would have less clout and GM might suffer greater costs (for example to its reputation, and with consumers even less willing to buy the cars).
Bailey, the former GM of the U.S. national team from 2007-11, says the NWSL is in the final stages of landing a major apparel sponsor to help promote the league.
Toyota, which enjoyed a robust 11% jump in sales last quarter as it sprinted past GM, still dropped output by 1% in March.
Chrysler sales were up by 11%, Ford's numbers grew by 18% and GM sales were 23% higher.
It now has taken on more urgency, especially since gm and Ford had to temporarily shut down some production lines because of parts shortages after Sept. 11.
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