"General Motors Vice Chairman Robert Lutz admits it may be impossible from preventing Toyota from becoming the No. 1 automaker in the world.

"Obviously, our goal is to stop that," Lutz said. "It may be impossible to stop even if we gain market share in every one of our markets because Toyota is so huge and expanding so fast in the Asian markets.

"If they only grow with the market in those rapidly growing Asian markets, they risk knocking us off."

Lutz said GM is determined to do what it takes to remain the No. 1 automaker in the world "but we've got to run our own race."

GM cannot react like a race car driver who is in the lead position and is being gained on by a competitor, Lutz said.

"He is so obsessed with that competitor's car growing larger in the rear-view mirror that he finally spends all of his time on the rear-view mirror and not enough on his own driving and winds up going off the road," Lutz said.

Speaking of Toyota Motor Corp., Lutz said that automaker stated it wants to be No 1.

"We think we have the right strategy to remain No. 1, and after this initial surge by Toyota I am confident that we are headed for a surge.

"As Rick Wagoner pointed out, we gained a lot of market share in a lot of areas of the world" this past year, Lutz said, "But time will tell" how long GM can remain No. 1."

http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=101578

 

Lutz = Captain Obvious...

They should make more Rendezvous's

 

It shoudnt be a surprise to anyone.

More Rendezvous?

 

Its just a mater time before that happens. I say within 5 years considering the crap that GM makes.

 

they've been saying this would happened since last year

funny how lutz finally admits it, erm...kinda slow...and ppl wonder why GM is going downhill

 

used ones right?

 

Maybe.....

IMHO, GM should do a few things:

- Concede Buick's geriatric market to Ford/Mercury (Crown Vic/Grand Marquis) Off the bat this means, dump the LeSabre, Century and Park Avenue. Remake Buick into an Acura-type lineup. Dump the Rendezvous and Terraza but keep the Rainer and LaCrosse.
- The same QC methods employed to make Buicks, Caddys, C6s and Saturns should also be used for Chevy and Pontiac.
- Dump that 3800 series II motor in the lesser LaCrosses. Buick is an 'upscale' nameplate thus refinement is a key ingredient in this segment. Stick with the 3600 for all trim levels.
- Rethink the powertrain in the Cobalt SS and Ion Red Line. FI 4 cylinders are cool for the aftermarket stuff of ricer wet dreams but they dont necessarily result in an enduring and profitable product line. Developing a K-series type 2.0L 4 cylinder motor with iVTEC or MIVEC type variable valve timing will go a LONG way towards producing a finely tuned solid 4 cylinder that'll last at least a decade.

I have a lot of other ideas to revamp GM but, I'd be typing for days.

 

No new ones....

I already have my first mod. The headlights on the 05's are all clear while the 02 to 04's have yellow at the top. Obvioulsy the clear looks better so I have my first mod.

 

@ 's first mod.

 

What about the Unions. Thats where most of the problems are.
Get rid of them, and you'll see a a major change.

 

While I agree, Union's can't help bad enginerring.

Seriously, my 03 Rendezvous is pretty well built, it doesn't rattle and the interior at least, is put together nicely. Buts its the materials used that I question as well as the not so smooth tranny and engine.

They could take a lesson in ergonomics and ease of use from Honda as well.

 

then you'll have to slap on a sticker for an extra 30whp

 

Doesn't he know the steps to recovery...admitting that you have a problem is step 1. But now it's too late, he should've done that, oh, when Toyota penetrated into the heart of the Big2's main market...pickup trucks.

And it's only going to get worse...Toyota's revamped Tundra will definitely copy the Ridgeline's ingenous trunk idea, and then some.

 

..I refuse to go there Madcat.

























(But, BIGTIME!!! from union thugs.)

 

Look at most of the car manufacturers without Unions and see how succesful they are. ie. Toyota/Honda.

 

I do agree to an extent that Unions adversely affect the quality of a car, but like domn said, it's also from the engineering standpoint. It's not just build quality (or lack of) that hurts domestic cars, it's also the ergonomics, the desirability, etc.

 

Trust me. I live near the Oshawa GM plant here in Canada. During High school, they took us on a trip through the GM plant. I can’t begin to tell you the things I have seen there. All bad. Most are disturbing. And that’s not even talking about their horrid quality control, materials, people, etc. I only wish I had a digital camera back then.

Their PR people are good and covering up what they do at these plants.

 

Duh... this is old news and definitely not good news. GM had such a head start on the rest of the world 20-30 years ago they could have solidified they're place as #1 for a very, very long time. Toyota has effective broadswipped GM. It's really a shame to see this happen. GM has excuse for being the preminet car manufacturer. I guess it teaches a valuable lesson; don't rest on your laurels.