[truth_seeker]

"Blaming Mgmt is only a small part of the problem. The unions have caused a large part of the problem & they know it."

What do the unions have to do with naming the car "Lucerne?"

Why can all the other auto companies deal with their unique labor situations, except GM and Ford?

Bottom line for me: GM has been badly managed for a long time. Too many mistakes.

Yes, caving to labor is among the mistakes, but is only one.

[CoRev]

You asked: "Why can all the other auto companies deal with their unique labor situations, except GM and Ford?" ass Daimler Chrysler.

The OTHER auto companies are mostly new entities, without the HUGE negotiated retirement and legacy health care tail, and mostly not unionized.

So how does it compute? Newer company pays for X-Z workers with reasonable health care to build the car. No retirement or legacy health care payments. Legacy auto companies pay the same X-Z workers to build the car with bloated health care benefits plus they pay wages and health care for an @10% laid off employees. Additionally they pay for the bloated health care and retirement benefits of an additional
2(x-z) retired workers.

Bottom line, legacy company overhead is much higher, and when they try to negotiate more competitive wages and benefits get struck.

As for the Lucerne? Why did anybody name a car the Edsel? NO! I am not in MI or in any way connected to the auto industry.