Rick Wagoner, a lifelong car guy who has headed General Motors for the past eight years, needs a little respect and a lot of money.
Wagoner is in Washington this week, pleading his case for a government bailout of at least $10 billion. Without it, he says, the country’s biggest automaker will collapse, pulling the other car companies, suppliers and dealers down with it.
Unlike Lee Iacocca, who became a brand unto himself during the Chrysler bailout in 1979, Wagoner has avoided a media blitz as part of his lobbying effort. He did tell Automotive News, however, that it would be a bad time for a change in management.
Rick Wagoner
Critics disagree. Republicans oppose support the bailout plan, while the pundits generally dismiss the Detroit execs as “idiots” and “imbeciles.”
Even some Democrats - including Mich Sen. Carl Levin, who is sponsoring the bailout bill - say it may be time for a change in company leadership.
Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, Levin said Wagoner should consider resigning if his departure would clear the way for the federal loans.
“I’d be happy to tell Rick Wagoner that he ought to consider resigning if that is the difference between getting this kind of support and not,” Levin said. “I haven’t been asked to do that.”
Wagoner joined GM 31 years ago after graduating from Harvard Business School. He became chief executive in 2000.
Under his leadership, the automaker focused on trucks and SUVs, stepping up development of green cars such as the Chevrolet Volt late in the game. Company losses in the last three years have totaled $73 billion, with $20 billion in losses this year alone.
As head of the biggest, and historically smuggest automaker, Wagoner may be in prime position to be the industry’s requisite sacrifice.
“He’s been a part of the crew that drove this bus right into the wall,” industry analyst Maryann Keller told the Washington Post.
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