Brian Shields poses the following:

"Can you post/comment on what you think it will take to "fix" General Motors (GM)? I would very much appreciate your views on the subject."

Well, Brian, here you go:

GM has an extremely difficult challenge ahead, and continuing to follow Toyota will not get them out of the pickle they are in. GM lost $15.5 Billion last quarter and expect to bleed red ink every month for the foreseeable future. GM claims to be well capitalized and capable of operating through 2008 and 2009 without difficulty. However, GM's so-called conservative forecasts are likely to be optimistic as America's credit spigot is turned off and Americans are forced to live closer to their true means. The tightening of home lending standards will spread to auto lending standards (if it hasn't already), putting added pressure on auto sales. Finally to top it all off, GM faces higher than normal vehicle returns at the end of leases, with GM suffering losses in the resale of those vehicles.

So what is GM to do?
 

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As Google's share of the search business approaches 70%, Microsoft is left needing a bold move to remain relevant.

While Live Search is a good product, Cashback will not save them from the Google monster.

Let's look at the problem that they are trying to solve. Or rather, let's look at what Microsoft is trying to achieve in the search business. Ultimately, Microsoft is trying to become the ad platform of choice. Being the search engine of choice would be nice too, but it is not their primary goal.

So if Microsoft wants to be the ad platform of choice, what do they need to do?