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GM was once the biggest automaker in the world by far. This reign at the top lasted for decades. But, with news that Toyota is on pace to take over the number one spot sometime next year, based on projections and GM's recent history, things are changing. GM's stock is in junk status, they are over $300 billion in debt, they are losing market share to the Toyota's , Nissan*s, and Honda's of the world.

GM likes to blame a lot of their problems on increased employee expenses in the United States due to the unions. This is a small factor I am sure, but mostly just an excuse. Toyota and other foreign automakers manufacture their cars in this country as well. In fact, the American car companies do a lot of their assembly in Mexico. So, the competition that is taking over GM's top spot is incurring similar expenses.

I think the real problem is the poor quality and the design of the cars. As someone who used to only buy GM vehicles I can say I wouldn*t even consider buying one again. I find the design and look of the cars to be unattractive, I also feel the quality of their cars is inferior to their foreign competitors. While they clearly have not put as much effort into their cars as their competition, their prices somehow still remain equal with the competition. The sticker prices on the cars are similar I should say, but the promotions being used by the Big Three American automakers to sell cars is much different. Even with the sales promotions all three companies are still losing market share. Toyota gains market share every year and they have not had to offer an employee discount or a red tag sales event. They just build high-quality vehicles and that is all the promotion they need.

People work very hard for their money these days. It has become increasingly more difficult for families to make ends meet. The internet offers tremendous opportunity for buyers to research a product before making a purchase. Given how valuable people's money is to them you can*t blame them for spending it as wisely as possible and looking for the best value.

It is unfortunate that such an immense company is now doing so poorly but they have nobody to blame but themselves. The management over the years has made poor decisions that has brought them to the place they are now. The management turned their back on the people of this country by moving jobs outside the company and also by charging them premium prices for inferior products. Now the people of this country has turned their backs on GM.