Was GM a wrong turn?

(To increase the font size of this write up- hold down the Ctrl key and keep pressing +) A very straight forward question: was GM a wrong call? I realize some of you are mad as hell – since it has only risen a paltry 5% since it’s IPO a couple of days ago – and looking at the future GM seems to be more of a donkey than a thorough bred stallion – so of course, there are many reasons to remain cautions – so of course, I can very well understand why some people are asking for my head to be served up along side a plate of salad.

Beside we all know, IPOs have a history of underperforming in their first year. Afterall, most companies try to sell when the going is good. But given the negative sentiment surrounding GM, I think there is a very strong possibility that the restructured GM could end up being a excellent long term investment. let me just give you one reason why I believe this to be the case, not two or three or four – just one good reason:

First of all, the biggest spirit blow that kills off 99.9% of companies is that they are in a sunset industry – so let’s get one thing straight GM is not manufacturing sail ships or clunky mechanical type writers. The way I see it, obsolescence is the one thing that does in a firm and poses the highest risk quotient in any investment calculation.

That’s not the case with GM. We are going to be driving cars for a while. I don’t see us commuting to work in donkeys – granted they may not be petrol powered, but for all intents and purposes they are still cars – and by the looks of it GM has a winner in the electric car category that is darn hard to tops and apparently it’s a pretty good ride.

The other thing about GM is it’s export potential is under utilized – in lay language than means it still has plenty of scope for global growth – unlike some European and Japanese auto manufacturers who already have a big global footprint and are all tapped out – GM has barely explored the global market potential – and as the dollar drops further; it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that it’s only a matter of time before, they will wise up to the idea of selling more of their products to the world.

Don’t be surprised if one day you see more Cadillac’s than Toyota’s cruising along the ECP – pipe dream, maybe…but maybe not.  (The remainder of this essay has been withdrawn from general circulation due to Measured Response)

Read more: http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2010/06/15/is-the-gm-ipo-a-buy/#ixzz16jMo5kjO

“Have you ever seen a 3:4:9 gear shift?”

“No it doesn’t exist, you have an even number in the odd, you mean a 3:5:9 right Darkness? A Maseratti 3:5:9 – or an Aston Martin 3:5:9 with a uptake at 11.5…right?”

“No. I mean a 3:4:9. The Americans are working on such a transmission.”

“You believe in America alot don’t you Darkness?”

“No America is just a place in the map. What I believe in is people who can look a problem squarely in the face and call a spade a spade – all I know is anyone who can do that is bound to improve by leaps and bounds – we can’t do that; whenever we have a problem – we say it is a once in a 50 year problem – and next week, we are fire fighting the same problem again – when someone breaks out of jail – we blame everyone and everything under the sun, except the man who is supposed in charge – when we lose billions we say it is unavoidable and call it paper loses; when we make money it is called the fruit of good planning – so as you can very well see – we see only what we want to see. Whereas the Americans see what they have to see…now who would you put your money on, if you happen to be a gambling man my friend?…The way I see it, winning has nothing to do with aptitude; it’s got nothing to do with which university you went too; or for that matter who you play golf with; or even how many charitable functions you get invited too – it is really only about one thing – do you have the right attitude to win?”

Excerpt accompanies this essay which has been cut short by Measured Response.