The idea that a company whose sales are off 40% and who admits that the core business is not coming back soon, would spend the money necessary to market a 4th brand was ludicrous. This was the GM biz plan and look where that got them.

BMW has some very serious challenges facing them;

-adjusting the brand image to the change/requirements for efficiency,
-the collapse of the credit market and the resulting tightening of credit requirements, making it difficult for interested consumers to afford the brand.
-the need to find the money to fund development of alternative drive train technologies. Necessary for a brand whose reputation is built on engineering excellence.

Tease Tease Tease

This is comical, Wiedeking thought he was going to be the mouse that roared, but now he's the canary eaten by the cat.

Curious, all through the BMW and Ford years, Land Rover managed to turn a small profit despite the quality issues.

And the battery depleted far from home, but directly in front of a posh hotel. Say, why don't we take a room while it recharges...

The evaporation of wealth that has occurred in the last year is the biggest reason BMW is suffering and that will not change soon. BMW and other near luxury and luxury brands that require volume to be profitable have allowed pricing to outstrip value.

In 1967, the equivalent of the 3 Series, the 2002 cost $2,700, indexed only for inflation the 3 should be around $17,500. Even if we allow $5-8K for technology and appointment differences, the cost today of 3, over $40K is out of whack. Due to the amount of money sloshing around the economy, BMW and others, priced to what the market would bear. Now they are paying for wealth and income have readjusted to historical norms and not those of the last 20 years.

It would be back to the 60's for Le Mans and big bore sports cars. I'd love to see it.

"I don't seem to understand why can't Toyota design a desirable car?"

The 11th law of automotive manufacturing: Though shalt only be good at sculpting sheet metal or engineering quality.

Hence the Italian and Brits vs. the Japanese and the Germans (looked at a BMW lately?)

A few years ago, on a MC trip down the Natchez Trace Parkway, we came upon a group of pre-Rolls acquisition Bentley's, most of the Bentley Boy's era of the 20's and 30's. It was a UK Bentley club on their annual tour and nary a one was on a trailer, nor was there a chase vehicle. Wonderful cars.

The scarlet letter of guilt for GM's situation should be issued to all those who served as corporate executives and members of the board of directors since the early 70's. They are the ones who made the lousy decisions, and who bought off the unions with ridiculous contracts because they feared taking a strike would cost a point or two of market share and kicked the costs down the road to pump up that quarter's financials.

As far as the union is concerned, they were simply acting as rational maximizers for their members and got as much as possible at the time and they've fought like hell to keep it.

Some how, G-man and NC2010, I doubt if your bosses were willing to pay you 50% more for half as much work you'd turn them down because it would hurt the company down the road.

The unions didn't cause GM's problems, GM's management did.