General Motors today is just half of what it used to be. However, that’s not saying Old GM was a shining beacon of how a business should be run. In fact, GM was ran horribly into the ground, from the 80s until its 2009 Bankruptcy. Here’s what should’ve happened.

Lets start off by admitting General Motors became too big to turn a profit. It had too many brands, and not enough imagination or cash to differentiate between it’s brands in a meaningful way from the 80s on. It got especially bad by the new Millenium, with things like the Chevy Trailblazer/GMC Envoy/Oldsmobile Bravada/Buick Rainier/Saab 9-7X. Oldsmobile was killed by this badge engineering, where Oldsmobile once had a reputation just became a name slapped on some mediocre GM-wide platform car. Sure, they downsized by shutting down Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn, Geo, Hummer, and selling Saab only to see it go bust within a couple years.

But they did not do this when, and how, they really should have.

When GM decided it no longer needed a Brand, they killed it. But, what if they shed of their worst brands in the early 2000s, before the Great Recession? And all at once? What if they split into two companies, or spun off a company composed of brands they no longer wanted?

Let’s explore the spinoff.

In real life, after their 2009 bankruptcy, they got rid of Pontiac, Saab, Hummer, and Saturn. Saab, Hummer and Saturn, along with Opel/Vauxhall and Holden, could have been spun off from GM as a new, Publicly Traded Global Car Corporation. GM could’ve kept Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Oldsmobile and Pontiac as the more North America-focused Corporation. In full detail, this will be how it breaks down:

New General Motors gets:

Reinassance Center HQ

All North American Assemblies except Spring Hill, Wilmington, Janesville, and Moraine

All North American Plants not assembling the Final Product

Buick

Cadillac

Chevrolet

GMC

Oldsmobile

Pontiac

Warren Technical Center

All Cars made at New GM Factories for Spinoff until at most 2010, after 2010 Spinoff must decide what to do with the cars, and vice versa.

Stake in Fiat S.p.a.

Some International Plants

50% Stake In NUMMI

Global Spinoff (Possible Title International Motor Corporation) Gets:

Headquarters in NYC

Holden

Hummer

Opel

Saab

Saturn

Vauxhall

Spring Hill, Wilmington, Janesville, and Moraine Asssemblies in North America

Stakes in Subaru, Suzuki and Izuzu

Most International Plants

I haven’t worked out in Full detail, for that would be needless, but this is essentially what the two companies get.

While New GM will be focused on North America, it will still sell its brands in a select few Countries in the rest of the World (China, South Korea, South America), The Spinoff will get the rest of the international markets Old GM was in.

The Two New Companies would be of similar size, with the larger global presence giving The Spinoff the edge. The Chinese Market would likely largely benefit New GM down the road, helping them become the larger company eventually.

What are your thoughts? More on this coming soon.