Other Editorials

Words Not Deeds

Jim Dollinger
Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Quotes from GM Annual Reports

"We believe there is, among all of us at GM, a renewed sense of urgency...1999 is the year for GM to retake the lead." 1998

"True, our market share in the all important US market was flat last year. Of course we are not pleased with that." 1999

"Overall US market share fell one percentage point to 27.8 percent, while GM's global share declined half a point to 15.1 percent. Make no mistake, we do not accept GM's continued share decline." 2000

"It would be wrong to say we're satisfied. We are not. Overall we were disappointed with our 2001 results...Our margins were well below our expectations and our targets." 2001

"Despite our progress, we know there's plenty more to do. Too many potential customers don't consider buying our products." 2002

"Here's what's new about GM's strategy this year: Nothing." 2003

"But overall, it was a year in which we did not take the step forward we were aiming for." 2004

"The recent discovery of prior-year accounting errors has been extremely disappointing and embarrassing to all of us...We recognize that our shareholders have shared the pain as GM has struggled over the past year."
2005

"Following a review of deferred income taxes and our accounting for derivatives under (SFAS) No. 133...we restated our balance sheet, stockholders' equity and reported net income in our financial statements from 2003 through the third quarter of 2006." 2006

"Our management is responsible for establishing effective internal control over financial reporting...Based on our assessment, and because of the material weaknesses described above, we have concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2007." 2007

This is not a management team to put a lot of faith in. There are reasons he's called Red Ink Rick.