Idea for the Big 3

[EightySix Four]

I know there is a million threads in here but I'm curious as to everyone's thought at this idea. I'll use GM as my example:

Break down GM into multiple companies in this manner,

Spin off the manufacturing division just like AMD has done. This allows only one part of the company to have to deal with the UAW and seperates the manufacturing away from design and dealerships etc. This also gives the plants the ability to be used for other things as necessary, military contracts for example.

Have a GM platform team that only develops platforms that the manufacturing will be tooled for. This is where all the engineers spend all the work getting a vehicle's platform just right and allow for little overall deviation from the original platform (like stretching or shrinking if necessary).

Chevy, Pontiac, Saab, etc. are all spun off into their own companies. These companies design based off the platforms available to them from the GM platform team, or any other manufacturer that is willing to work within this business model. Their job is to design vehicles, order them, and handle dealerships.

This way if any one section of the business is failing, like Saturn for example, then it dies it's own death and doesn't take everyone down with it.

This would also lower the barriers of entry for other automotive players in the market since now they have platforms pre-built and only need to design the car and order them.

Now tear my idea apart

 

[LegendKiller]

Even though it isn't even possible, AMD is actually a worse run company than any of the Big 3. So taking any business model from them is questionable at best.

Separating out brands into different operating companies is a silly idea. It'd be like having AMD separate out the high/med/low chips into different brands with different companies.

The brands need to DIE, not be spun off. Nobody gives a shit about buik or jeep. They shop for the car, not the brand with little differentiation in quality between brands.

 

[EightySix Four]

Originally posted by: LegendKiller
Even though it isn't even possible, AMD is actually a worse run company than any of the Big 3.

Yes, I know, but I personally agree with their decision to spin off manufacturing and think it will make them much stronger. Especially if they would not favor AMD manufacturing and would have other companies bid to do the production as well.

 

[TallBill]

Haha, you mean, run their business into the ground?

 

[Genx87]

Should run it like Intel IMO

 

[MovingTarget]

Interesting notion as it would possibly allow more competition between auto companies' designs. Under such a deal, would a newly spun off car manufacturer be able to also start producing cars from other car design/engineering companies? (Say from Tesla or something...) Would they be exclusively under contract to only produce vehicles designed by their former fellow engineering divisions?

This could be interesting depending on how it is set up. However the little voice in the back of my head says "buyer beware". The unintended consequences of any such a move could be anywhere from the savior of our manufacturing to its downfall...

 

[JS80]

I thought parts manufacturing is already farmed out and they just put the shit together at their own plants.

 

[Drakkon]

Something tells me the auto industry and the microchip industry are way to different at this point to be run in common ways. It would be like saying "McDonalds is successful so why don't we run car companies like that? GM provides the designs then they franchise out to manufacturing plants..."

 

[EightySix Four]

Originally posted by: MovingTarget
Interesting notion as it would possibly allow more competition between auto companies' designs. Under such a deal, would a newly spun off car manufacturer be able to also start producing cars from other car design/engineering companies? (Say from Tesla or something...) Would they be exclusively under contract to only produce vehicles designed by their former fellow engineering divisions?

This could be interesting depending on how it is set up. However the little voice in the back of my head says "buyer beware". The unintended consequences of any such a move could be anywhere from the savior of our manufacturing to its downfall...

Yes, that's one of the points. Now you have a free market situation for the manufacturer of the vehicles. This adds competition to every level of the system. Competition to design better platforms, competition for better/cheaper manufacturing, and competition for better looking/more comfortable vehicles.

Think about being able to buy a car based on the Z06 platform, with an exterior designed by pininfarina, and a caravaggio interior. Oh wait... Sounds like a Ferrari 599...

 

[Fern]

I do not readily see how braeking up one big weak company into a bunch of little weak companies is an improvement?

That's akin to Georgia disintregrating to several smaller countries in hopes it could defeat Russia next time a war pops up. (There'd by ten of us against them, instead of just one )

Fern

 

[brencat]

Originally posted by: LegendKiller
The brands need to DIE, not be spun off. Nobody gives a shit about buik or jeep. They shop for the car, not the brand with little differentiation in quality between brands.

Totally agree -- Keep Chevy and Cadillac. Jettison everything else. Merge GMC into Chevy and sell only under Chevy. Of course, the idiots just got done spending tons of money developing their Buick distribution network. Yet another example of management stupidity at GM.

 

[EightySix Four]

Originally posted by: Fern
I do not readily see how braeking up one big weak company into a bunch of little weak companies is an improvement?

That's akin to Georgia disintregrating to several smaller countries in hopes it could defeat Russia next time a war pops up. (There'd by ten of us against them, instead of just one )

Fern

No, this means that the little companies all now have to compete against each other. The weak ones end up dead and the strong brands/cars survive and more importantly get BETTER. Instead of GM having to worry about the Silverado 1500 and Sierra competing against each other, if one doesn't sell, then that brand stops production of that model or dies, instead of the whole thing dying.

Think of it as the swarm robot concept, if one robot is inadequate and dies, the others can still carry on their own work. Instead of a single part on a bot dying and making the whole thing useless.

 

[quikah]

Originally posted by: brencat
Of course, the idiots just got done spending tons of money developing their Buick distribution network. Yet another example of management stupidity at GM.

Buick is a huge brand in China, so they would still need to keep it, though they could probably kill it in the rest of the world.

 

[JJChicken]

Originally posted by: Genx87
Should run it like Intel IMO

lol yep

 

[LegendKiller]

Originally posted by: quikah

Originally posted by: brencat
Of course, the idiots just got done spending tons of money developing their Buick distribution network. Yet another example of management stupidity at GM.

Buick is a huge brand in China, so they would still need to keep it, though they could probably kill it in the rest of the world.

Nobody is saying get rid of Opel in Europe. Same thing.