GM in freefall?

I am an auto enthusiast. However I don't have the monetary resources to go out and buy cars that I like. So I own a 96 Honda Civic that can't go up a hill with five people in it. But it's a stick shift, so I burn some rubber occasionally.

So, with me being an auto enthusiast and all, I plan to talk about cars on this blog from time to time. But I haven't really done that, so I figured that today was as good a day to start as any. First off, let me provide you a list of auto sites that I visit regularly:
News and Reviews
www.autoblog.com
www.caranddriver.com
www.motortrend.com
www.roadandtrack.com
www.detnews.com/autosinsider
Prices, Reviews and Ratings
www.edmunds.com
auto.consumerguide.com
www.kbb.com

Ok, recently there has been a lot of talk about the problems being faced by the big three automakers out of Detroit. While it's true that only GM is in big trouble, Ford and Daimler Chrysler are not far behind. Let's talk about GM in this post.

Ever since I came to the US, I have been surprised by the number of brands in the GM stable. Let's go through them:

• Chevrolet: Basic brand, with pretensions of being the performance division because it has the corvette. Also makes trucks.
• Buick: Semi Luxury brand, which translated into old people's brand. Now trying to be hip, don't know where that puts them.
• Pontiac: Performance brand, but many of the offerings are less sporty than regular Hondas and Toyotas
• Saturn: Projected as cheap brand with good quality, also trying to be a performance brand
• GMC: Makes Trucks. But doesn't Chevy make trucks too?
• Saab: European performance brand. The only problem is that the cars now share the platforms with cheaper GM brands.
• Cadillac: Sleepy luxury brand, now reborn as a luxury performance brand.
• Hummer: Kickass SUV brand.
• Oldsmobile: Another basic brand, thankfully discontinued.
• Opel: In Europe only.

Notice some overlap above? Get the feeling that some consolidation might be needed? Well it has been argued that, that each of these brands sells a sizeable number of vehicles and if GM gets rid of a brand it will just lose all those sales. Well first of all the vehicles across different GM brands are so similar, that such a scenario seems unlikely. For example, GM sells identical truck models as both Chevys and GMCs, and the same minivan across 4 different brands. So it seems like this kind of redundancy can be removed. And that'll leave a few brands with zero or one unique models, so those brands can be done away with. And this can be done gradually. GM has to realize that the current structure doesn't make much sense and should do away with it.

Another major problem has been the quality and the appeal of the vehicles produced by GM. GM made big profits from it's trucks and SUVs over the last decade, and the development of new models, especially cars, was overlooked. Now that truck and SUV sales and the corresponding margins are dropping, deficiencies in GM's car lineup have become apparent. And the new products introduced by GM over the last year haven't been very successful. The result: a whopping $1.1 billion loss in the last quarter. And with the current lineup of vehicles, things might get worse before they get better. GM certainly has the resources to build quality vehicles, and should do just that rather than spend time juggling numerous brands. They have some promising models on the horizon, so let’s see if they can turn it around.

Monkeys Flying off Spartans' Backs

Spartans beat Duke for the first time in 50 years or so. (On a side note, I watched a good part of the second half. So the jinx might finally be broken. Yippee! ) Needless to say (but I am saying it anyway!), it was the Coach Izzo’s first victory over the Blue Devils. Izzo had lost 4 straight to Coach K. About the game, what can I say that three hundred and forty two (don’t worry I didn’t count) sports writers haven’t said already? The Spartans defense was sensational to say the least. MSU players stuck like superglue to Redick and Ewing outside the perimeter. When those two tried to bring it inside, there was always someone there with Paul Davis to block the move. Which brings us to Paul Davis. That was probably his best game as a Spartan. The play with which he fouled out Shelden Williams was a thing of beauty. And the absence of Williams was a big reason that MSU won by 10. At the time Shelden got his fifth, MSU was leading but Duke was hanging tough. His departure forced Duke to go outside, and made defending just a bit easier. Davis’ stats for the game were great, 20 points and 12 rebounds. He shot 6 for 14 from the field, but he often got his own rebound when he missed. Actually Michigan State as a team didn’t shoot very well (42% for the game and only about 35% in the first half). The fact that the game was tied at the end of the first half was because of the Spartans rebounding edge and the number of turnovers they forced. If the Spartans had shot field goals at their customary 50% or so, this game would have turned into a rout. Apart from Paul Davis, Anderson and Ager also put in stellar performances. Anderson has been playing really well of late and has definitely improved his NBA draft stock. Chris Hill on the other hand has regressed this season. He was 0 of 6 for field goals yesterday. I just hope that he can regain his touch and end his college career in style. He has done a lot for this program, and the drop-off in his game has been saddening.

So what did this victory tell us about Michigan State? They have obviously shown that they can win close games and maintain their composure when the stakes are high. They are pretty good, but are they good enough to advance to the final four or the championship game. Many writers have said that the win over Duke shouldn’t be considered an upset because Duke wasn’t very good this year. Well they had a 21-4 regular season record, they beat North Carolina(supposedly the best team in the land) at home and lost a close game to them on the road. However they got the no. 1 seed because of winning the ACC championship, and they didn’t have to beat UNC and Wake Forest on the way. If we discount the ACC championship, Duke would have been a no. 2 seed at the least. So the Spartans have beaten a very good team. But can they beat another one in Kentucky tomorrow? Kentucky is the deepest team in the tournament, and they will bring out numerous players against Paul Davis in the paint. Incredible as it may sound, the Spartans depth might be a problem in this game. For the Spartans to win they will have to defend well, shoot better, and keep their key players out of foul trouble. Can they do it? I can’t wait to find out.

The Ring Two: So bad, it was scary

Watched "The Ring Two" over the weekend. I hadn't planned on watching it in the theater, becaue of the bad reviews (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ring_two/), but my friends were going, so I tagged along. Bad move, make that: really bad move. I liked the first movie, "The Ring". It was sufficiently creepy, and also had the mystery angle thrown in. All in all a great movie. Well the sequel had none of those elements. Anyone who liked the first movie and expects the sequel to be similar is going to be very disappointed. Sure, the characters are the same, but the sequel doesn't carry over any of the tension or the fast pace from the first movie. On top of that, storyline feels disjointed and much of it doesn't make any sense. It feels like the director has shot some scenes that he liked and clubbed them together.

I would categorize "The Ring Two" not as a bad horror movie but as bad drama. It doesn't count as horror or suspense, because there isn't a single scary scene in the movie. There is a good CGI sequence, but it has little to do with the development of the story. There is hardly anything new here. And whatever new plot elements are there, they don't make sense. The "Ring" series has gone from 60 to 0 in 111 minutes. And I feel let down. The last time I was this disappointed in a sequel was when I watched "The Matrix Reloaded". But in that case, I had already seen all the cool scenes in the extended trailer leaving precious little in the movie. In this case, there was nothing in the movie at all.

Sweeet!! Spartans in final 16

The Spartans reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament after a 72-61 victory over the Vermont Catamounts. The Spartans shot well but defended even better, holding the Catamounts to a FG% of just 31. They employed a full court press, and constantly harassed the Catamounts on defense. Germain Mopa Njila, the star of Vermont's victory over Syracuse, didn't score a single point. T. J. Sorrentine scored 26 for Vermont, but shot below 40%. Freshman point guard Drew Neitzel played superbly for the Spartans, coming up with 6 assists in 23 minutes on the floor. As Neitzel's play has improved, Tom Izzo has been playing him more than Chris Hill. Despite being the primary point guard and the top scorer on the team over the last two seasons, Hill has found himself out of a job this year. Alan Anderson and Maurice Ager have emerged as better scoring options and Neitzel has taken over at the point. It's understandable that coach Izzo has to play the best players, but it's a bit sad that Hill has been sidelined towards the end of a great college career.

Next up is Duke on Friday. Although Duke will be favored to win, the Spartans have a decent shot at upsetting the Blue Devils. They played Duke tough at Durham earlier in the year, and the Spartans could pull it off on the neutral court at Austin. More about the upcoming game later in the week.

Indians, Gunners and Spartans

The Indian cricket team won the 5-day test match against archrivals Pakistan yesterday. After surprisingly similar scores in the first three innings Indian spinner Anil Kumble finally broke through in the final innings to beat Pakistan by nearly 200 runs. In the English Premier League, Arsenal beat Blackburn, 1-0 to stay in the hunt for the second place. The score isn't very impressive, but taking into account the fact that the Gunners were missing more than half of their starting lineup(Henry, Bergkamp, Pires, Campbell, Gilberto, Edu etc.) one has to give credit to them.

So two of my favorite teams had a successful weekend (McLaren improved their performance at the Malaysian Grand Prix, but didn't really contend for top honors), and I hope that rubs off a bit on the Spartans today when they take on the Vermont Catamounts in the second round of the NCAA tournament. There are a few factors working against the Spartans today:
- Vermont fans will heavily outnumber MSU fans and everybody else will be pulling for the Catamounts, effectively making it a home game for them.
- MSU has had trouble all season in restricting the star players of the opponent team. If Coppenwrath and Sorrentine both have good games, it will be very tough.

Factors in favor of the Spartans:
- They have the more talented starting line up.
- The Spartans are very deep; the Catamounts hardly have a bench.
- Tom Izzo has been here, lots of times.

I am hoping the desire to win will be strong for the Spartans. I say that because I still cannot understand their defeat to Iowa in the first round of the BigTen tournament. All things considered, the Spartans have to be the favorites, so just keeping my fingers crossed for now.

Pesky Mid Majors

The lower seeds are playing like crazy in the NCAA tournament. Look at these statistics of games between the following seeds (2-15,3-14, 4-13, 5-12, 6-11):
average halftime score of higher seed - average halftime score of lower seed ~ 4, that's right 4 measly points
average final score of higher seed - average final score of lower seed ~ 7 points.

I mean these are supposed to be easy games for the higher seeds. Could mid-majors teams(which make up most of the lower seeds in this group) really be better that what they are given credit for??

I also sent these stats to the Big Ten Wonk (http://bigtenwonk.blogspot.com).

Whew! That was close!

The Spartans managed to beat Old Dominion in a tight game yesterday. The game had all the trimmings of the not-so-long-ago Iowa disaster. MSU fell behind early and came back repeatedly only to have ODU regain the lead each time. As many have pointed out, this was 5-12 game for god’s sake. I mean that's like the 20th best team taking on the 50th team in the country. The higher seed should win 9 times out of 10 on a neutral floor, right? Rationalizations aside, recent history has made it amply clear that the 12th seed can be more than a handful for the 5th seed. So what am I saying here? The game was too close for too long, but this type of win was probably the best thing that could have happened to the Spartans right now. Granted, I didn't share that emotion during the game, but as Paul Davis said, that's one monkey off the Spartans back. I mean it was the exact situation in which the Spartans are supposed to crumble: physical opponent, close game, pressure situation. Well ladies and gentlemen I am proud to tell you that the Spartans passed with flying colors. Their performance, especially on defense, in the second half was fantastic. And this despite the fact that ODU outrebounded the Spartans, taking away one of their key advantages. Yet the lingering doubt remains, this was after all a 12th seed ...

Onto the next match up now, with the Vermont Catamounts. That was a bolt out of the blue. Who would have thunk?? Syracuse, a favorite for the Final Four, losing in the first round. Well it's not called March Madness for nothing. I haven't looked at the Catamounts closely, but right now I feel much better about the Spartans chances of getting into the Sweet 16. Vermont has two players who can really hurt you and they are a good rebounding team. It's not an easy game by any stretch of imagination, but I would take the Catamounts over the Orangemen any day.

Spartans take on Old Dominion

The Michigan State men's basketball team takes on Old Dominion in the first round of the NCAA tournament later today. Hope CBS shows that game, but most probably the Stanford game will be on. It might be a good thing though. MSU has lost both the games that I have watched this year. I am not overly superstitious but after it happens a couple of times, one gets a bit scared of watching a game.

Anyway, MSU's chances in the tournament don't look too good to me. The season was going pretty well till the game at Indiana. The losses to Indiana and Iowa can possibly be explained and the overall record is still good. But I think MSU should have won at least one of those games. Sure both the other teams were playing for a place in the tournament, but MSU was supposed to be head and shoulders above them. And in the BigTen tournament, the MSU seniors were supposedly playing for the last shot at a title that they could realistically win. And they went out in the first round?!

Those two losses also added evidence to the theory that MSU can't win close games; although, I would definitely prefer a close loss to a blowout. Back to the close games, this team on paper looks like one that should win a majority of close games, rather than it being the other way around. Out of the seven players logging the most minutes, three are seniors and two juniors. All of them have played enough games to be able to keep their cool at the end and grind out wins. This aspect of the current team has been the most baffling. If they could lose to Iowa on a neutral venue, why would a game against Old Dominion be any easier? Another team that has nothing to lose and everything to play for. I am not saying that it is more likely that the Spartans will lose. But those two defeats have definitely shaken my belief in this team. Before the BigTen tournament, I believed that the Spartans could reach the final and give the Illini a run for their money. No such fantasies anymore.

If the Spartans do win against Old Dominion(and I hope they do because another first round exit for the outgoing seniors will be really sad), they will most probably go up against Syracuse. Talk about bad luck?? What difference a single seed makes! If MSU hadn't lost to Iowa, it would probably have got a 4th seed and played someone like Alabama or Villanova in the second round. Good teams both of them, but not even close to where Syracuse is right now. Heck! Syracuse is a popular pick to win the region and we play them in the second round. If by some miracle (it did happen in 2003) MSU beats Syracuse, they will most likely face Duke. Out of the pan and into the fire. Well the NCAA tournament isn't supposed to be easy, but why couldn't we have possible matchups with Boston College and Washington, in the second and third rounds? So right now, if I had to predict, I would say that MSU wins in the first round and loses in the second. The second round game might be on CBS in my area and that will be the third straight MSU game that I would have watched and MSU would have lost. But wouldn't it be fun if MSU could actually win that one? That would be a solid punch in the face of naysayers like myself.

De Facto First Post

OK. Technically this is not the first post. But this is the first "blog" post. I had wanted to write what I have in here in the first post. But then I got thinking.... What If I write all this and something goes wrong. All that effort gone to waste? Of course I could have saved a copy, but that seemed like too much work. So I just posted the one line, you know the one that I am talking about. You don't? Jeez. Go right now and look at the first post ....... hello! you are still here....Ok now we can move on.

So the first time I heard about blogs was about two years ago. The idea didn't make any sense whatsoever. Why would someone write personal things that everyone else could see? Okay that's not a problem for many people, but why would someone else read what the first group wrote unless all the people in the first group were celebrities? Of course you do not have to write about yourself, you can write about anything you like. But once again, why would anybody read what you wrote unless you were a known columnist? Anyone can write, few can write well. So, I figured that only a few blogs will be successful. And how will that be different from reading articles at espn.com and nytimes.com?

Well, looks like I was wrong. There are lots of good writers. Their lives or at least their account of it is rather interesting. Many of these people also have lots of interesting things to say about happenings in the world today. I think another reason for the popularity of blogs is that people need reinforcement of their views. So one would read an article if it supports her viewpoint, even if it has nothing new to say. Anyway, there are many popular blogs out there. But I figure the number of not so popular blogs is much higher. All that effort of thousands of people gone to waste? (did I use this line before?). Hopefully they enjoy writing their blogs, so it's all right. But that desire for recognition has to be there somewhere. And I don't expect many people to visit this blog in the beginning. So will I keep writing? If you and your friends keep reading, you bet I will.