EDDIE WAS RIGHT ABOUT GENERAL MOTORS

“For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.” (Matthew 25:29)

At various times over the past two and a half years or so that this blog has been in existence (previously on AOL Journals and now on blogspot) I have written about my brother Eddie who died during the summer of 1983 at the age of twenty-seven. I’m one of the “unhandiest” guys you’d ever want to meet, but Eddie was a gifted mechanic. He knew more about cars than almost anyone I’ve ever known. This month as I’m reading headlines which state that General Motors is in very serious trouble and possibly will not even be able to stay in business for another year, I can’t help but wonder what Eddie would be saying. Thirty years ago, Eddie predicted the demise of General Motors.

(In all fairness) I realize that it’s ALL the “traditional American” auto companies that are in serious trouble, not just General Motors, and Eddie did NOT foresee that happening. I guess the shocking part for most Americans is that most of us thought that the one U.S. car company which would survive to the end of the 21st Century no matter what would have been General Motors. GM’s market share of new car sales in North America in the 1950s and 1960s was staggering. I think they had a share of at least 55% in those days...AND they had quite a chunk of world new car sales, as well. As the years went on, GM grew and grew. One of my friend’s mothers worked for GM’s investment division (or whatever it was called) during the 1970s. In those days, GM was a fabulous investment. A person had to invest a minimum of $25,000. at that time, but the return was great. People were investing left and right. On today’s news I heard that a share of GM stock now sells for the price of a fancy cup of Starbuck’s coffee. Who’d have ever believed that?

Back in the 1970s, Eddie pointed out that GM was getting all sorts of sales based on their past reputation, but that the actual cars they were building in the 1970s (with the possible exception of Cadillac and maybe one or two other high-end models) were riddled with problems, and honestly substandard compared to the vehicles Ford and Chrysler were selling. Eddie did not like foreign cars, but even that far back he pointed out that the Japanese were building better cars than any of the U.S. companies were, and that this was a trend which would continue. People of my parents’ generation tended to buy the same make of cars and in fact tended to buy all of their cars from the same dealer, which often was a small “Mom and Pop” auto dealership. It’s sad to think of on this Veteran’s Day, but most of those World War 2 vets are now either dead or too old to be driving. People in my age group have no particular loyalty to a car company or dealership. Eddie was quite right in that those World War 2 vets who bought the junky Chevys and Pontiacs in the 1970s were fondly remembering the grand General Motors cars of their younger days. Many of them were also mindful of the famous saying of Charles “Engine Charlie” Wilson, President and Chairman of G. M. who in 1953 ACTUALLY said, “What’s good for our country is good for General Motors.” It was usually misquoted (even by Archie Bunker on “All in the Family”) as “What’s good for General Motors is good for America”.

I’m not mechanically inclined, but I DO appreciate the beauty and style of American cars of the past- particularly of the 1950s, 1960s, and very early 1970s. With the exception of Volvos and certain Chrysler makes, today's cars all pretty much look alike. They are either Toyotas or they look like Toyotas. I haven’t owned a Toyota yet but I probably will one day.

During my vacation to Hershey, Pennsylvania this summer one empty building in Hershey’s downtown caught my eye. It was a medium sized one-story red brick facility with a large parking lot. The sign said “Chevrolet of Hershey”. There was the familiar Chevy logo, signs directing people to the service center, etc. But there were no cars, no salesmen, and no mechanics. The dealership was all closed up. It looked like it had probably been shuttered for over a year.

Yes, Eddie apparently was right. I may well be living to see the death of General Motors. Incidentally, our church building at 32 South Street in Framingham, Massachusetts was originally the United Auto Workers union hall from when GM had a big auto plant here. The plant was still operating when I moved to Framingham in 1987. In fact, for awhile, I owned a 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass station wagon which I believe was built in Framingham. It worked out well for our church to move from our tiny wooden church building (with no parking lot) to the union hall back in the 1990s, but I can’t help but feel the decline of a once great American corporation is kind of sad.