Forbes contributor Louis Woodhill pointed towards a 2% drop in year-over-year market share from 20% to 18% as the biggest indicator that General Motors is headed towards bankruptcy again. The writer even brought up market share from the 1960s (yes, really) as if the market conditions 50 years ago had anything to do with the automotive market of today. Sounds like a bunch of hot-air in a politically-charged editorial if you ask us. There’s also this rant about how the Chevy Malibu is some sort of red flag that the GM product department has lost it, yet gave no praise to the first-ever Cadillac ATS.
Enter Bob Lutz, possibly the most revered automotive executive still alive, and ironically also a Forbes contributor. Lutz  quickly had a piece of his own published on the magazine’s website in order to cool off rumors of another impending bankruptcy.
“The fact that he would focus on GM’s admittedly-lower U.S. marketshare as a harbinger of impending doom demonstrates the most profound lack of understanding of the vehicle business,” Lutz wrote in his rebuttal story titled “Chicken Little’s Second GM Bankruptcy: A Gold Medal for Silly Op-Ed Pieces.”
Indeed. Is it November yet?
Comments
What was ever wrong with the Malibu?
The 2013 ‘Boo has a shorter wheelbase making the rear seat legroom cramped (allegedly), something important in this segment. The accusation is they used a world platform because it was cheaper, not better. I’m sure it’s true, just like they do with most every category. The new Fusion will pounce on it in the marketplace, not to mention the Japanese brands. Pretty car though! I saw one on the road and it looks great.
Having spent a few hours in the back of a 2013 Malibu recently, there is nothing “cramped” about it.
And who ever said that American cars must be larger than their European segment/class counterparts?
Heck, let’s talk space efficiency, not overall dimensions, shall we?
I said allegedly! I do know that it’s competing with the Fusion which is a strong seller in present form, and the next gen is getting bigger (longer WB, higher and wider). Which is amazing because they often make things look smaller like the Mustang they screwed up in 2010.
I think the Malibu looks GREAT. I think it has the best identity with real Chevy styling cues vs. the Ford borrowed Aston grille or the generic “squigly” cars from Hyundai/Kia.
The Forbes article claims that GM is stuck with the cramped Malibu for the next 5 years. That’s not exactly true; GM has rushed stretched versions of cars that disappointed buyers for lack of room before, as with the late-1980s Cadillac 60 special, the stretched 1978 4 door Chevette even the 1963 “rope-drive” Pontiac Tempest had a longer wheelbase than the ’61 and ’62 (though they were all fairly roomy). What’s more distressing is that, having been burned before, GM would again release a car that was too cramped for its market segment. The original 1986 Taurus had a shorter wheelbase than the 2013 Malibu, but it had plenty of legroom due to a higher roof line and seating position. GM just decided to sacrifice passenger space for styling and shrink the wheelbase at the same time; a strategy that was guaranteed to backfire.
And let’s not even get started about the North America- and China- specific Passat while a smaller Passat roams the rest of the world. The new ‘Bu is the right product at the right time that will make GM heaps of money and sell by the boatload.
A political article from an official of the Club for Growth. It joins his articles denying Global Warming and railing against electric cars. No surprise that he seeks and “finds” signs that confirm his right wing views, including the Club’s relentless antipathy toward the saving of the American auto industry.
Global Warming discussions are rediculous!
How did the earth warm from the last ice age? and the one before that? and before that???
I don’t see an issue with the shorter wheelbase Malibu, it creates less overlap between it and the new Impala coming next year. A big improvement that is rarely mentioned is that the new Bu is a little wider, making it feel a lot roomier. The last gen Malibu felt long and narrow, and the shorter wheelbase will make the new one more maneuverable.
The guy (Woodhill) is a moron and doesn’t have a damn clue. The only take away from his article is that he likes the Passat more than the Malibu. Not only did Lutz shut him down, and I was surprised at how reserved Lutz was. The Lutz of old would have put him in his place and then some. But another Forbes contributor, who is also a contributor on Jalopnik and is extremely well educated in not only the automotive world but business world and the economy as a whole also wrote a counter article for Forbes telling the guy to STFU and all his claims aren’t even worth a damn in his own mind let alone reality.
Forbes ran a troll article that made no sense.
Micheline Maynard, was the other contributor for Forbes.
This guy is a wanna be expert who just wants some attention by putting out a catchy headline that gets media attention(and see it worked! 🙂 ), nvm that the article is more about politics than GM or its cars.
Im surprised Forbes let this article through, I thought they had higher standards.
Babersher, have to agree.., Expect better then sensationalized garbage from Forbes…
wow is that Forbes Magazine the next Consumer Reports??
love the new malibu checked one out at the dealer first rate all the way