Why GM Matters

In this summary you will learn

• How General Motors (GM) fell into crisis mode
• What former chairman Rick Wagoner did to reinvent it
• How it innovated new products and vehicles for the future

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Why you should read Why GM Matters

Everything reported in this book is just right – you only need to adapt to its time frame: The book ends with the 2008 national recession. It explains how General Motors hit a financial crisis in 2005, and how former CEO Rick Wagoner and his team tried to fix things before the federal bailout. Business journalist William J. Holstein’s cast of characters includes not only Wagoner and fabled former CEO Bob Lutz, but also a whole constellation of designers, engineers and marketing specialists in Asia, Europe, Australia and Detroit. Holstein tells GM’s story complete with behind-the-scenes sagas about the Camaro, the Volt, OnStar and the rise of Buick in China. All this is intriguing information, and the author’s insights remain valid even though the book ends with Wagoner testifying twice before Congress in 2008 before his ouster by the feds. Holstein fills you in on the situation before Wagoner’s departure, the government takeover of GM and Toyota’s recall crisis. If the events leading up to GM’s fall and rebirth still intrigue you, getAbstract believes this book delivers fresh reporting about the auto giant and its biggest drama.

About the Author

Car buff William J. Holstein won awards as a United Press International foreign correspondent, an editor at Business Week, and an economic reporter for U.S. News and World Report.