David Cole Quotations

We're in a time where the clock is moving much more quickly on GM. I think they're fortunate to have Jerry because this thing is going to be played out in the next six months, not the next five years.

What they're really looking at is the long-term implications of this. In the past, there was a decidedly short-term mentality, and basically what (GM) would say is we'll settle so we can meet our quarterly profit projections. That's different today. The financial community is concerned about the short-term return?but what they're focused on is the long-term profitability.

What they're really doing is taking their divisions and shrinking their number in a de facto way.

We're just in experimental phase right now. As long as we're in that type of phase, it's a crazy time. You know we'll get there (profitability) and get there fast. But the ideas that are not out there yet, and the companies that will be behind them, might be the real winners.

With what happened, I think things are on hold. This is not a permanent decision. It's in abeyance right now until they can be more confident in the work force. The Japanese model is one of a higher level of visible collaboration between labor and management.

We've got a real disconnect right now between our market and our educational system.

This will not be the only company where you're going to see this kind of comment.

We're happy that the court has struck these three provisions down, but we're still troubled by the broader expanse of the statute.

The plan will include a great deal of white-collar job cuts. Ford's white-collar employment is similar to GM's, meaning it's disproportionately high.

Low risk is something we generally recommend that users can ignore. Medium risk is something we quarantine, and high risk is something we automatically remove.

Since the GM strike last summer, there's been a full-court press on both sides to improve relations. They're not holding hands, but they're getting close.

Millions of people enjoy the programmed content that MSN.com offers and we will continue to deliver that experience, ... Users also want more flexibility in creating a personalized experience with access to customized content and communications. That's what Windows Live delivers.

No one at these brands in their wildest imaginations thought they would be building SUVs 10 years ago,

One thing they are better able to do is listen to buyers more accurately, ... If you can design it fast and build it quickly on a flexible production line, your risks of putting it in the market are greatly reduced.

More than anything it tells the UAW that their bargaining power is gone. The market is defining wages and benefits of the future and the best they can hope for is to work collaboratively with the companies to survive.

More than anything it tells the UAW that their bargaining power is gone, ... The market is defining wages and benefits of the future and the best they can hope for is to work collaboratively with the companies to survive.

Now they're in the serious business of putting together a three-way deal. This is exactly how this thing needs to be settled.

Neither of these are particularly sensitive to the economics. They have other reasons why they're buying this. There's a question as to how large those groups are, but once you get to more mainstream buying groups, then economics really begins to take over as a primary factor in that decision.

Obviously, it is an image thing. It is good to be green.

Rick might have through the end of next year to show the cost savings. If GM is viewed by the media and others as not having a competitive set of new products, that's going to be a big problem.

Rick has to walk a fine line of doing what needs to be done, but doing it in a positive, collaborative way with the union. Jerry could be very helpful in accelerating some of those changes.

On hybrids, it's a question of whether there's significant demand for a product that's significantly more expensive.

One thing about Jerry -- you have got to pay attention to him.

If they're successful at getting leaner and more flexible as they talk about, it gives them ability to adapt to the market.

If they can't show how the transportation agencies would have responded, then they don't have any case.

If they say there's a 50-50 chance of a strike, my guess is there won't be one, and that this means they think there's pretty good progress. Sounds to me like he's pretty close to a deal.

I find it shocking that in the United States of America in 1999 people can be locked up for years at a time without having the most basic opportunity to confront the evidence against him.

I don't think a great many people really believed that (the Delphi bankruptcy) was going to happen.

I'd welcome the opportunity to get together in the near future to speculate on methods for pre-empting MSFT (Microsoft) in our combined markets. What say?

GM Daewoo is turning out to be a real gem.

He has tremendous leadership skills. He's not afraid to tackle tough things. Jerry is an impatient investor. That just adds to the incentive for labor to do what they can to try to accelerate the restructuring.

He is a very smart guy, and he'll be a constructive presence on the board. He becomes an insider and a representative of a major investor.

He got up there and we knew something was wrong,

There is a increased realization that a green revolution is about to begin, ... This is a real shift in technology.

He's different than Perot and Smale because he does know the business and he's been close to it for a long, long time. Jerry is a disciplined guy. His intent is not to blow the place up.

He's got to be a bad guy and not get consumed himself in what will be a very difficult process.

There are no secrets. You can't hide anything.

has heard your concerns and although we plan to move forward with the alternatives listed in my letter dated June 7, 2005, we will continue to consider your comments as we refine the routes.

I think it makes sense, but it's not without risks,

I think it's a very excellent move that Jerry will be joining GM's board. My only concern is that he may have had more influence from the outside than he will from the inside.

It could be fairly significant in some respects.

I think the biggest risk is that Gore tends to be a little less practical in his approach.

I think that there's a lot of stuff that's going to happen over the next couple of months.

Labor's only hope is to become a collaborative partner with management. They used to have a choice between gold and silver, and they got gold every time. Now, it's between silver and lead.

I thought that was an appropriate phase. They have to change pretty substantially.

I think we'll see some enhancements of pensions.

I think we haven't really connected this to quite the level we should with the sense of urgency to really begin to deal with this in a fundamental way,

I think it's probably a good move. One of the subtle dimensions of this is that when you move like that, not everybody moves. That's an automatic opportunity to significantly restructure.

I think the Moraine plant is probably going to continue, and get considerable investment.

just as we did in the McCarthy era, we have offset the decline of traditional forms of repression with the development of new forms of repression. A historical comparison reveals not so much a repudiation as an evolution.

Jerry is a very competent guy and somebody who has very deep knowledge in the business. He could be exactly the kind of board member GM needs.

People are going to look at this and say this is pretty rich wage increases for people who already make a lot of money. But the opportunities to improve productivity are still pretty high. A few years ago, 30 to 35 hours a vehicle was what was accepted as best practice. Now it's close to 20. The goal is now around 10.

Over the years it had a checkered history. It became more like a college fraternity thing.

Rob brings extensive and highly relevant experience to our Company at a critical stage in our turnaround.

Recognizing that the No-Build alternative fails to address the long-term congestion problem, we believe that only the N8c and N2 alternatives are realistic prospects for a solution,

Parrish is rich in history. Part of the goal in creating a new community center is to have a shared history, so that everyone can feel a part of that story . . . it will be a place where everyone can come together.

My only reservation whatsoever is: Can he be more effective inside than outside, where he can speak his mind?

I think Ford views this as 'change or die,' frankly. It's a very serious effort.

It is defining a new segment, and it'll do it big time. It's not a low volume segment. It could be as big as minivans. My belief is it'll reshape our whole idea of how we think about a small car.

It is defining a new segment, and it'll do it big time, ... It's not a low volume segment. It could be as big as minivans. My belief is it'll reshape our whole idea of how we think about a small car.

Windows Live is our strategic bet to change the game and win.

We really want to figure out what the land wants to grow.

Wagoner isn't interested in a quick turnaround; he's looking long term.

We were stunned by their brazen indifference to law enforcement and the extent to which they emulate a sophisticated economy.

We are in a very competitive telecommunications market in Texas, so it was only natural that we would ask our auditing firm what it was doing for a major competitor of ours.

You have one part of the pickup market that is not going to change, but most will shop around, ... It's good to have loyal customers, but it's not 90 percent or even 70 percent.

The Delphi bankruptcy is a real watershed point for the UAW, ... The UAW is virtually powerless now.

The delay is a good thing; it means there's room for a deal here.

The executives really took a huge hit. That's typical in a bankruptcy, where executives lose a significant part of their compensation.

Why should women from Rutgers and Livingston be denied the right to participate?

The president was right. If Detroit has to wait around for Washington to act, they'll be dead and buried.

When you look at the complexity of the business, it's not really a surprise. There's a lot of legacy practices that need to be fractured. What they have now with e-technology are the tools to really get at it.

With that out there as uncertainties, it would be a mistake for them to put out any estimates.

The president is free to ask Congress to change the law, but he isn't free to order officials to break the law.

But no customer is going to buy based on their existing wage structure.

What this really says is that major surgery is required. Doing nothing is not an option. It's change or die.

What their engineering folks are telling (the automakers) is they have a real shot at it.

What everyone wants, the judge as well as GM and Delphi, what they want is to come to an agreement that is mutually acceptable. That is what's still in the cards.

We saw resistance to the initial Korean cars, but that was mainly related to quality. If the quality (of Chinese cars) is up to snuff, if the consumer feels there's value, they'll go for it.

Visitors are turned off by employees who mispronounce local street names.

You have to surround yourself with people who know the other parts of the company. Rick has done that. That's one of his strengths.

Bill Ford's philosophy is that he wants a team at the top of the pyramid,

Everyone was up in volume, but if some are up more, it means redistribution of the market, ... The real growth has come from the Koreans and Europeans while the Big Three (GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler) really suffered loss in market share.

Each cycle of console launches, the companies have a fresh start. Microsoft will likely do better with the Xbox 360.

It wouldn't surprise me. We've seen some definite refocusing away from California.

It wouldn't surprise me, ... We've seen some definite refocusing away from California.

The wild card is whether consumers are really going to come out in the holidays for the Xbox 360 or just wait for Sony next year.

The risk is that consumers are ready to go to buy a system and then you give them a chance to have second thoughts about it,

The Supreme Court felt that these warnings were critical in order to ensure the confessions are truly voluntary and not coerced. And now what the 4th Circuit has said is, we don't need these warnings. And I think what that will lead to is more coerced confessions.

Right now, they're on a track that makes sense, but until it is resolved, it's not a done deal. It is a possibility.

A fairly realistic market is beginning to emerge here. Some of the luster is wearing off.

Details are still being worked out, but the point is that we're turning this disappointing situation into a positive new program that will benefit Rutgers as a whole. We hope that by setting up a committee of members of the University community who would interview potential nominees for the Rutgers Board of Governors and advise the governor on which candidates are most friendly to Rutgers, we can encourage greater communication between the state and Rutgers.

Any kind of restructuring like this is a very holistic kind of thing where nothing is really sacred.

As DOT we would like to do it all - have rails and have trails, too. But we have to work with the resources we have. And we have limited funding.

The bottom line is that in an American interrogation, no physical coercion is permitted, not even the threat of physical coercion.

A weak GM gave everybody an ability to do things without having to worry as much, ... As GM gets stronger, it's going to put more heat on people like DaimlerChrysler.

This is the fundamental restructuring that they have needed for a very long time. I would say things are looking a lot better today than they were yesterday.

This is not a place for weaklings or the faint of heart. It's a rugged part of the business.

The upcoming console transition period is a time when a struggling company can either make a turnaround or plummet to the point of no return.

This is a major restructuring. The people inside of Ford basically believe they are betting their company on this restructuring.