March Meltdown: GM's troubles dominated the New York auto show

摘要

THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER at the New York auto show is always someone whose company is making news. That was certainly true of GM's Gary Cowger, but for the wrong reasons. A few days before, GM had announced that earnings for the first quarter would be far lower than projected and followed that up with word that it was axing its Zeta platform of rear-wheel-drive cars (the next Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Impala, the Pontiac GTO and Grand Prix, and the Buick Velite). GM's stock went into a tailspin, and the media went into a frenzy, which was still building at the start of press days. After his speech, Cowger took no questions, but the media continued to obsess over GM, talk of which totally drowned out the car introductions.