G.M. Is Fined Over Safety and Called a Lawbreaker
By MATTHEW L. WALD and DANIELLE IVORY
In a civil settlement, federal regulators said General Motors also agreed to change its internal review process after a defect was linked to 13 deaths and a recall.
Wide-Ranging Recall
By BILL VLASIC
The departures of General Motors’ chief spokesman and head Washington adviser, and its top human resources executive are the first major changes in the automaker’s senior management since a recall in February.
這種事， Alfred Sloan 會如何處理？通
用汽車公司(General Motors Co.)首席執行長Mary Barra稱，該公司計劃在其產品開發團隊中設立一個全球產品整合部門 ( 這翻譯有點問題： global product integrity organization) ，這一部門將涵蓋該公司不久前成立的產品安全部門。今年2月以來，通用汽車公司因多種問題在全球範圍內累計召回700萬輛汽車，其中包括點火開關、剎車和其他問題。
通用汽車首席執行長Mary Barra稱，計劃在其產品開發團隊中設立一個名為global product integrity organization 的部門，該部門將涵蓋公司不久前成立的產品安全部門。
My Years with General Motors我與通用汽車公司
紐約時報的書評中譯，參考二十世紀的書
*****
Henry Ford is rightly credited with inventing the assembly line—and with it mass production. But it was his great rival at General Motors (GM), Alfred Sloan, who really invented modern professional management. Sloan organised his company into divisions that specialised in cars “for every purse and purpose” and he fashioned a managerial class that turned GM into the world’s biggest company. His 1964 book, My Years with General Motors, is a cool explanation of how he did it (“management has been my specialisation,” he wrote flatly). It is a book that puts subsequent business autobiographies to shame.
今天2014讀
GM's Opel Accelerates Its Path to Profitability1
My Years with General Motors By Alfred Sloan 我與通用汽車公司 台北：協志，1971
第18章海外的活動，有併吞Opel公司的詳細決策分析。
2014.7.24
Opel shines on quality as parent GM recalls more cars
US auto giant General Motors (GM) has issued another million-strong recall.
While the announcement brings GM's tally to 30 million faulty vehicles this
year, its subsidiary Opel has flourished.
The www.dw.de Article http://nl.dw.de
The carmaker refused to quantify how many cars it has recalled so far this year, but industry experts estimated that the latest wave had brought the total to 30 million vehicles.
Unlike in previous recalls, which primarily affected models no longer in production, Wednesday's batch concerns a number of current models such as the Chevrolet Camaro, Chevy Equinox and the Chevy Silverado, as well as GMC's Sierra pickups.
Opel subsidiary stands out
But while GM has issued one recall after another this year, its German subsidiary Opel has remained unscathed.
Just a few years ago, GM was debating whether to sell its then loss-making European units that included Opel and UK-based Vauxhall.
Today, GM would appear glad it kept Opel as the German carmaker is experiencing a sort of revival. Its latest SUV model, Mokka, and the Adam city car have becomes sales hits in Europe.
Opel's City car Adam is leading the company's drive to regain lost ground in European markets
"In the huge GM family, Opel is making the best headlines, while parent GM is struggling with more and more recalls," industry expert Ferdinand Dudenhöfer told the German news agency dpa.
Opel's market share has begun to rise again and may get an additional boost from its new Corsa model scheduled to be realased this year, Dudenhöfer added.
In the past 12 months, Opel has lifted its market share in Europe to 5.6 percent - its first rise in 15 years. By 2022, CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann hopes to boost that market share to 8 percent and operative margin to 5 percent.
"This would be an excellent margin for a carmaker that is operating almost entirely in European markets only," Neumann has said.
Under GM policy, Opel has for years been restricted to selling its cars only in Europe, causing earnings to tumble amid fierce competition and a slowing of car sales across the Continent.
Restructuring and praise
In spite of Opel's recent successes, experts have said it is unlikely the carmaker will log a profit in 2014. But this has not stopped GM Chairwoman Mary Barra from banking on a rebound of the company.
Opel CEO Neumann (left) was able to convince GM chiefs Marry Barra and Dan Ammann of the company's future
"For me it's important to underscore GM's commitment to Opel and its position within the group as a whole," Barra said during her first visit to Opel's headquarters in Rüsselsheim, Germany, last January.
Meanwhile, Barra has matched words with deeds, announcing plans to build a new motor development and research facility at the plant.
Opel has also been allowed to sell its cars in Russia, expected to become a major growth market for the industry.
Additionally, engineers from the GM subsidiary have been charged with overseeing car production at Buick in the US and Holden in Australia and New Zealand.
But GM's restructuring drive has not left Opel unscathed. The company's plant in Bochum, Germany, will be closed by the end of the year.