A Sad Day, GM Declares Bankruptcy

A few words on the subject from Michael Moore.

And a few from me. It is a shame that the bizheads there never caught on to what America wanted and needed. It is a classic case of poor management plus. OMG. First, planned obsolescence. Then, bad cars. Fighting emission and safety regulations. Yet having some of the best engineers money can produce. The culture just sucked. My dad worked for them designed scrapers (Euclid) and dozers. When they were purchased by a West German firm (okay, there is no more West Germany--let's you know how long ago that was), he was amazed at what they had to work with. No more unmuffled deisels using the same transmission as a stressed member for twenty years. You could actually speak next to the machines as they ran, and many transmissions and design possibilities were open. He was happy he had to think again.

The culture sucked. It was all about non-innovation and sales and maximizing profits. Sad that mediocrity could last so long. They weren't always mediocre.

And Michael Moore is right--we could actually diversify and build things that work and are relevant. What a shock.

rojo