Still Open for Business
Bob Lutz talks to reporters at the 2005 New York Auto Show.
By Bob Lutz
GM Vice Chairman
Some of you may remember my opening salvo for this blog back in January: “After years of reading and reacting to the automotive press it is finally my turn to put the shoe on the other foot. In the age of the Internet, anyone can be a journalist.”
What began as an experiment has become an important means of communication for GM. It has given me, personally, an opportunity to get much closer with you, the public. Often, I find your comments insightful and compelling. At times your criticism is harsh. But the fact that you have remained interested and continue to have faith in our efforts to develop great products is a worthy motivator.
Questions have been raised as to whether I will continue to be involved in FastLane given my re-focused responsibilities. The answer is an unequivocal “yes.” From its inception this blog has been a forum for GM’s leadership to discuss important issues with a spotlight on product… product plans, product virtues and truths. In fact, I hope to see more GM leaders begin to engage in this conversation on the FastLane over the coming weeks.
We hear your words loud and clear. We’re redoubling our efforts to build great cars and trucks and we’ll continue to talk about them, right here.
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A lot of comments deal with “gotta have” cars and arguments over which car has the best styling, etc. I had a thought. GM has such a history to pull from. Some car companies are pulling from the past. Why doesn’t GM do more of that? I personally would never buy a Ford, but the new Mustang is beautiful.
It seems like we try to look like the Japanese to the point where I can’t always tell what kind of car it is until I am right up next to it. The Japanese do not have GM’s history or legacy, plus they are boring looking cars!
Why not pull from past GM designs, update them and put that on the showroom floor? GM vehicles have always had a distinct look in my opinion. I’m in favor of pulling from our past, not benchmarking the current Japanese offerings.
This is good to hear! You and GM continue to put out great products I just hope GM can overcome the current Anti-Domestic bias the American public seems to have lately. I just keep telling my family and friends…
“Don’t like it? Have you even driven it yourself? No? GO! TO THE DEALERSHIP NOW!”
Does anyone have information on when the new Tahoe/Suburban are coming out?
Good work Bob. You’re going to be featured in every Marketing 101 textbook for the next 10 years, and not many folks can say that.
I’m looking forward to the RWD Sigma derivatives, and a hardtop Kappa coupe.
Glad to hear you’re gonna stick around. Not a bad idea neither, nothing like putting your ear to the ground to find out what’s moving around you.
GM has a lot of work to do if it wants to change its image, and proove it can still be the worthy number one auto manufacturer. And I feel it might take some sacrifices that the public may not like to get products out there that are truly competitive and have true value in today’s marketplace. But I know it can be done. Good luck.
And I know I’ll be interested in whats to come from GM and Detroit in general.
Get out of the wind tunnel when you design cars because except for the grills all GM cars look the same, sloping front ends. Get the fuel milage up by using Displacement on Demand you have been talking about for 3 years and D/C has on the market already. You can not tell a 2005 impala from a 2000 one unless you are a car nut because of the computerized wind tunnel design. Motorman GM new car owner since 1953, 30 new chevys and 10 new corvettes later
Hey Bob,
First of all, I think what you are doing with this blog is great! We know you’re working on it and seeing it through your eyes is something that could never have happened in the past. Bravo.
If I could offer any input, it would be to draw from GM’s deep well of past design masterpieces. I don’t mean across the board – just try it on a few choice models. I live in jaded Southern California. Seeing a new GM passenger car is actually unusual in a daily commute here. I know you’ve got the Midwest covered, but here is an entirely different ball game. And this is, after all, ‘Car Mecca.’
A good example is the new GTO. I finally saw a new GTO on the freeway a few weeks ago. It was underwhelming, to say the least. It could have been a much stronger statement if it looked anything like any of the great GTOs of the past. Pick a body style, ‘64, ‘65, ‘66, ‘68, etc. And I’m not talking about copying the early cars verbatim. Just a few styling cues could have made all the difference.
Many of us that think the new Nissan 350Z is an abomination and should have been much closer to the original 240Z. But, its design is good enough that it works for its target buyers. The numbers prove it. The design of the GTO does not and the numbers prove it.
There are a lot of ‘GM guys’ out there that have ’60s GM cars in their garages. How great it would be to be able to mimic the old days in a new GM car that has the styling cues from the ’60s with all of the latest technical and safety improvements of today.
You have such a history to pull from if you just use it correctly. Good retro design is not an SSR (or an HHR). Good retro design is the new Mustang and Volkswagen New Beetle. Don’t let lackluster sales of the SSR fool you into thinking retro styling doesn’t work for GM – it’s hideous.
You just need better retro designs that could actually help to boost the sales numbers – not bring them down. A new design chief that, ‘gets it’ and has enough stones to make great designs happen wouldn’t hurt. Thanks for the opportunity to add my two cents.
GM is really letting America down. I’m a proud American who believes our country must have a reasonable amount of manufacturing to be health. I purchased 2 Buick Regals in the past few years and was hoping to buy GM again this time.
I, like most of my friends, am in my mid 30s and make a good solid income. I’m not writing to brag, but to point out that I can afford most any car or cars GM (and other automakers) build.
In the ’70s American car companies missed the mark. This lead to the rise of all the Japanese car giants in the market today. Why? Because GM, Ford, and Chrysler didn’t build cars the American public wanted. The cars lacked quality, styling, gas milage among other things and people cast their dollar votes somewhere else.
Now it’s 2005 and it appears to be happening again. Look at the success of Nissan/Infinity, Toyota/Lexus, Honda/Acura, even Subaru now is moving a lot of cars.
GM’s response is to debut all the new Chevy cars? The Corvette is the only decent car on the lot. GM spent so much money, announced more horsepower (basically taking the 3800 engine and supercharging it like Buick has done for years) and calling their new offerings SS models.
This is pathetic. Saturn is losing money. Oldsmobile is dead. Now Buick and Pontiac may be on the way out too?
This is from a guy who badly wanted to buy American again, but I’ve decided and bought a Mercedes. Now I’m looking to buy my wife a new car and I’m so disgusted by GM’s offering it makes me ill.
Do you hear me? I want to buy your products, I can afford your products, but you’re letting me down. All the college graduates on your staff cannot figure out how to build cars people want to buy?
Why is it GM cars get loose after a couple of years? Anyone who has an American car probably knows what I mean. German cars, Japanese cars, probably even Korean cars stay tight year after year. After about 30K miles, the GM cars especially start to loosen up, rattle, plastic parts start to break, etc…
I don’t profess to be that smart of a guy, but if I can see what’s wrong with your company, why can’t you? Is this like the fish not being able to see the water in the aquarium?
Here’s a free gift. Gas is about $2.75 per gallon. Honda has a hybrid Accord that has about 255 HP. This car has great milage and good power. Why couldn’t GM build this first? Did you not think of it? How is the feul cell car coming along, do you think I’ll see it before you’re gone? How about before I’m gone?
I just pray to God you read this and you do something. I’m sad to say the only way I can think to benefit from your company now is to short your stock.
Please hear me clearly, and I know I’m not alone when I say this. I have the money, I want to buy your cars! You’re making it impossible for me to do so which will lead to a downward spiral. What’s next, ask the Government for a bail out? They’re not bailing out United Airlines why should they bail out GM? The answers are right in front of your face, you have the tools and infrastructure to be the best, why are you not doing it?
Just combine Japanese quality, electronics, and efficiency with true American style. Sprinkle in some power and some alternative feul choices and you’ve got a winner. Earn our business back, we don’t want to buy from the Japanese, the Germans, the Koreans, or anyone else but you’re leaving us with no choice.
Glad to hear it Bob, I think this is such a great way for you to hear it directly from the street. I agree, GM cars are getting better by the year. I only hope that they become the best again. I think gas mileage certainly needs to be addressed. If you guys could make trucks that get 30-35 mpg, you would have a huge success! (And not with a $5,000 hybrid option) Take back the American dominance in the automotive world. Please be competitive and keep your eyes on what the Chinese auto industry is doing! Bring back the Camaro, as well as the Chevelle, Biscayne, and the Nomad. I think Americans all WANT to buy American, but they need reasons as to why they should again. A lot of confidence was lost in the ’80s and ’90s and now you are playing catch up. As a side note, I hope you guys put Visionary Vehicles out of business! Thanks for saving GM!
Mr. Lutz:
I am glad to hear you will continue to be involved in the blog segment. It is a great marketing and image sharpening tool, and you should, it’s always good to hear how the people whom you are building, designing and creating products to purchase feels about you, your company and your product. You have much to accomplish, improve and regain. I wish you well and look forward to hearing your input in this blog. Congratulations.
Mo
Mr. Lutz,
This blog is an industry first, and is very important. It connects you instantly with your customers in a very personal way. Not only should you keep doing it, but Ford and DCX should start management blogs as well.
Bob,
Keep up with the good works. GM needs more people like you.
I would like to share a few thought.
The younger generation would not know the history of GM or other domestic company. As the number of immigrant increasing in North America, I can see that the import market share will increase, because back home all they drove were Toyota, Honda and Nissan. They cannot even name all the brands under GM or Ford. I am a Chinese Canadian. I can tell you that over 90% of the Chinese/oriental here buy Japanese and European cars. All they go for is the perception quality, they buy brands name like LV, Gucci etc. and most or I should say all of the domestic cars’ interior does not measure up with the import. (I can see that the new GM products like the G6, Allure, re-skin mini-van and the new Impala show substantial improvement.) People spending thousands of dollar for car want to take pride of the ownership, something they can show off. That’s why I always state the important of perception quality.
GM also needs some “in products” to reverse the trend. (Ex. IPod is an in product). Cadillac reverses the trend with break through product like the CTS. Aura might able to do that for Saturn. I personally like the G6 very much, but somehow it lack the spark.
GM needs to raise the bar so that the anti-domestic has nothing to say. (Some journalist accuses the interior of G6 being grey, while Audi A4 has the same back grey interior and nobody say anything. They accuse the ION with centre locate IP, but say nothing about the Echo, Nissan mini-van and the X-trail, now tell me if it is bias or not.)
GM needs products that can knock out the import, not just on par or win by points.
This blog was a great idea… But just like all my ex-girlfriends used to say: “You may be hearing me, But YOU’RE NOT LISTENING!!
Also, when you think about it…visitors to this blog are probably a pretty fair demographic…hopefully some of this is taken to heart…
Dear Mr. lutz,
All this talk is great, but to borrow a line from Nike “Just do it”. General Motors had a history of developing cars that captured our imagination and drove us into the future. It’s time to be a leader again!
Mr. Lutz Is In
Bob Lutz stays in the blogosphere for real with his latest post.
Bob,
I am VERY happy to hear that you will be staying on here. GM has a history of trying something for a short time and moving on. As usual, you are proving yourself to be a counter-culture influence at GM.
There are many GM fans out there who have confidence in GM putting out great product across the board some day. But I think the few bad products and rebadges – like the Blazer, the Torrent, the Astro, and the Aztek get the most attention because the Automotive Media want to focus on GM’s failures more than its successes. They’ve created a world where GM must fail, and Toyota-Honda-Nissan must win in their own minds, and so they selectively print articles on GM’s weaknesses while ignoring its triumphs.
A good example is the JD Powers results – when the media spin it, “Domestics get better, but Lexus still on top” — this allows them to gloss over Buick and Cadillac being so high on the list.
On the other hand, many of them love Cadillac, the Cobalt, and the Solstice – so if GM were able to cut the fat and get rid of old platforms rehashed for the 5th time – those slippery new wine bottles for the same old W-bodies and 4-speed transmission – maybe they’d warm up to you.
Good luck, and we wait to see more!
Bob:
Looks like your site has been infiltrated with “ricers” and Ford sympathizers. My family fleet includes a ‘99 C5, ‘00 3500 Dually, and a ‘04 Impala SS. I have previously owned a DTS, STS, Suburban LT and GTP Pontiac. I think they are all great cars with wonderful interiors, strong engines and solid styling. I never get rid of a car with less than 100k miles and have never had any serious problem with any of my GM cars.
I also think that the new 300 C and Dodge Charger are hideous and I wouldn’t take one as a gift. I guess it’s human nature to pick on the biggest guy, but the tone of the criticism in this blog and in the left wing foreign car supporting media is amazing! Keep up the good work (Vette, Caddys, Trucks, etc), and everything will be fine. The sludged engine, bland styling, rat fur interiored Toyotas may sell to the Consumer Reports crowd on price, but not to me!
Thanks Mr. Lutz
It’s great to know you will still be involved with Fastlane. I continue to consider you to be GM’s best hope for a positive product turnaround. I am\was going to be leasing or buying something in September of this year.
I continue to hold out hope for a GM vehicle that will thrill me but so far, I’m unimpressed. A rear wheel drive performance car or truck under 50G’s Canadian is at the top of my list. I’d like you to know except for a couple of misguided non-GM purchases when I was a teenager I have never owned or leased anything but GM. I’m now in my late forties. I live in Ontario and I planned on holding out until ‘07 for a redesigned GTO or the new GMC Sierra.
I hope you can and will continue to assure all of your loyal GM customers that the product planners are listening. We also need better interiors and wider paint color selections to go with our new product choices. Thanks again, it’s encouraging to know someone at the top is listening.
The blog is an excellent idea and so is discussion of new products!
But it is sad to read nothing from GM regarding those who already __own__ GM products. The message here keeps implying we should dump our “old” cars ASAP so we can then drive the “exciting new products”. Only way this seems feasable is if everyone __leases__ their car, doesn’t drive over 12K miles per year and trades it in on “new” every 3 years.
A thought for those of us still __buying__ our cars; how about some emphasis on the GM Performance Part group? Some of us might want to enhance our vehicles with forged wheels, freeflow exhaust, super/turbo chargers, onstar upgrades. Where is dealer support for this? I saw it at your “autoshowinmotion”, not at any Calif. GM dealer I’ve visited! Are GM performance parts just for sanctioned racers or what?
Come on GM, see the whole picture! Get out and __talk__ with us customers. Offer upgrades to existing cars as well as new models! Toyota “gets the picture” – are you going to let them run you over with it?
I have no problem buying foreign or domestic; I just want the a good car at the best price. The winning formula for GM [or anyone else for that matter]– asian quality and reliability combined with the european fun-to-drive factor combined with distinctive american styling. Easy to state the goal; good luck in shooting to achieve it.
Mr Lutz,
I applaud you and your team again for creating and continuing to contribute to this blog. Most top execs probably don’t have the head to handle some of the harsh critiques written here. I sincerely hope some of the criticism and wishes alike can be funneled into great ideas for better cars for GM. As a Cadillac, Saab and Subaru owner, my hope is to be able to stay loyal to the GM family.
Todd,
Did you try a Saab 9-5 Aero before buying your Mercedes? Do yourself a favour and try one for your wife. In these global days even you can be a proud American and buy a European car. Neat, huh?
Bob, thanks a lot for the blog. Industry blogging is in its infancy and you should be one of the trendsetters in the field.
WRT the future of the blog, I’d love to hear some more on the global approach to design. GM has some very, very different marketplaces to cater to and it’s baffling more than a few people how this can be handled by a global design team. As a Saab fanatic, it actually has me a little scared. Design innovation was always a huge Saab plus, and that has waned somewhat over the years. I hope it can be a feature into the future.
PS – I hope you read the trackbacks as well. It’s not just in comments that people have valuable things to say. Trackbacks allow your customers to say things in more detail that what they’d feel comfortable doing here in comments.
Again, thanks and good luck.
Bob, I hope you print Mr. Graverns and Mr. Warners Posts and show them around. They are right on target. Ford’s new Mustang? GM’s new GTO, Looks like a Grand Am. Make Camaros, 4, V6, V8 they Will sell. Use the history.
Thanks Bob
What’s a Saab guy like me got to thank GM for at the moment?
Autoblog mess up testing the 9-2x
Let me get this out of the way first – Autoblog IS a great website.
mr lutz i know that a lot of the comments in reponse to your commentaries may seem overly harsh and undeserved but that’s in responce to gm’s performance before you came on board, and as you know they are well deserved! but i hope you and others who read this take it as extremly passionate constructive critisim. we love gm as an american institution and it’s a shame to see it in such a state as its in now.
gm seems to constantly make decisions to insult the customer base rather than please them, and always seems to error on the side of lowest cost when producing a product rather the side of pride. i realise that gm, being the largest corparation in the world can’t just turn around on a dime. it takes time and i have faith that you’re beginning see the light. now it’s just time to stick to your guns and produce the best that can be produced and not the best we can do to at a certian bottom line.
we all know that gm is first and foremost a corparation and in the buisnes of SELLING cars not necessarily making dreams come true, but if you attempt to build products that you would be proud to drive no matter what the price, then gm couldn’t help but succeed.
American heritage is brash, bold, arrogant and enormously confident; we are tail fins, fender skirts, chrome, squealing tires, whitewalls, racing stripes with bountiful miles of open road. Our American culture screams opportunity but GM is selling us Euro-Asian design.
Please Mr. Lutz, we want our “in-your-face” car culture back.
I can’t believe GM would try to manipulate coverage of an independent and respected newspaper like the LA Times! Stop whining and make some cars that people like.
Mr. Lutz,
I love this blog, it’s refreshing to hear a contrarian point of view to all of the nay-sayers. The secret to selling cars is make a great car at an MSRP that will surprise people. Dodge’s new Charger is starting at $23k, and that includes things like a 3.5l v6, power windows and ABS, I was frankly blown away with what they are offering for the price, and I hope GM can blow me away with the greatness and affordability of their new products in the future (the Solstice is a great example of this).
Enough about “looks” -
Mr. Lutz, Colleagues, Staff and Company,
Please do not take what I am about to say as an impute to your professionalism, verve, and capacity to execute at an executive level. However, I am not inclined to forgo my curiosity as to why certain mistakes are still made upon production level vehicles. As a young staff engineer @ Northrop Grumm. Space Systems (Masters of Science Aero.Space Engineering, BS Mech. Engineering)- I am well versed in the timely execution of schedules, long lead items, customer/supplier quality control, cost, risk, engineeing benchmarks, and the alike – as I am sure you and most likely every staff engineer at GM is as well.
However, may I remind you – here in the business of satellite engineering we do NOT have the luxury to pull over and fix the problem – and hence forth Every attention to detail is METICOUSLY poured over, REPEATEDLY IF NECESSARY, and as time schedules become compressed, every possible intellectual and physical effort to UNSURE final seamless execution is pursued. This is to say EXTREME effort at the Engineering and Assembly level is applied, Expected and merited.
Hence forth – this is the reason why American satellites actually land on Mars, Rovers move, Photos are shot back, and all the while European collaboration is often met with disdain. It is not an accident that we have this record of accomplishment.
Furthermore, European, GERMAN, ASIAN companies pursue OUR prowessness. And let me assure you – WE are in the business to Execute & Lead at the Elite level, NEVER follow, all the while abiding by the pedigree of moral and business conduct – and let me assure one more thing, if our competition is crushed in the process – well then let the cards fall where they may (sound familiar as a former Marine?). You my friends would be best served to remember well this, while under your tenure, GM ought to be as surgical, tactile, passionate, and Deathly Aggressive about vehicle production as war & symphony become one. What you allow your name to reside on, ought to be a testament to mans’ mental, artistic, physical abilities, not handicap.
As the automotive business track record endures – it is obviously the notion of your competition to step on you. Furthermore, all the ranks-executive levels of European auto corps are filled by nothing short of Formally trained Engineers, Physics – NOT Business management degreed individuals – Because they are Running a Automotive Engineering Corp. Period. Might I suggest that the powers-that-be should have long ago concluded this as a natural credential for GM senior level management as well?
As a fellow staff engineer, it insults me to think that the mass levels of intellect that GM employs is left highly untapped because of the standard(s) that are set by the GM’s management are NOT Elite – if anything they are merely tail coat chasing goals that are shortly lived.
As I am sure you are nothing short of experts, even artists possibly at choosing which platforms and vehicles are chosen for production, how they look, where assembled etc. and ultimately the profitability – I am inclined to believe that the education, experience, and talents that you are paid for- is not intended to forgo their use – and the same abides with your Engineers, trades and craftsman, and Administrators. Set the standards high, have a stiff lip, repeatedly – insist on the best, to the point of insanity: because as it stands you have nothing to loose, GM could burn down and it would NOT mean the shirt of your back, because quite frankly, your mortgage is not on the line, not your kids college education, not one of your dreams and aspirations will be p**sed away, – because you have the gold parachute, the multi-million dollar a year salary. And Believe me, I do not see anything wrong with wealth – but if pay cuts and negotiations are to be made, then let your true leadership and integrity step up and suggest that you receive negotiations as well.
After all, this is under your tenure that Billions of dollars have been lost. This is the caliber of executive that is needed NOW. Do not blame the UAW for high cost – because if that were a legitimate argument, how in the h**l are cars made and sold from Germany?
- Only as a former Marine would know and understand the Honor, The Absolute Privilege to walk with the troops, to fight in line, even with worn out shoes. Only a talented Executive would truly know where to apply the right kind of leadership. Because its about the man in the arena who deserves to be heard, not the spectators. Who knows – one day long from know you may lie in bed wishing the one CHANCE to fight now – NOW is the moment of opportunity. You have come far and there should be NOTHING consciously allowing you to stop short. “Fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds of distant run” – and all I ask is a can of whip a** a day.
Dear Mr. Lutz,
I can honestly say I’ve started enjoying blogging only after you launched this site. What I really think you should do, is make it compulsory daily reading for the entire marketing set-up at GM (across the globe). There’s a lot of passion from your fans and car freaks and they’re clamouring for the kind of products they’d like to buy from GM. This obviously won’t last forever if ya’ll are perceived to be making the right noises, but doing nothing in the end.
And the best way of taking the fight to the Japanese, is by competing in their home market. No matter that GM will make losses on that operation for ever – it makes a good business case simply because it will teach your company to compete in the toughest marketplace in the world and then atleast you’ll be able to apply your lessons elsewhere against them (where they are perceived as bland, boring and don’t have as great a heritage to fall back on).
Next, from the comments in the media, you would have found that GM needs to shout louder than the others to be heard, simply because it stopped screaming when it was THE “Big Daddy”. And that means adverstising in a huge way. If you’ve read Mark Zimmermann, you would know how much of a premium the Japanese place on Advertising – that keeps them constantly on instant recall in everyone’s heads – and you’ll just have to get yourself heard and seen by the American consumer.
Last, but not the least, bring Cadillac to India. I remember seeing a photo in late 1991 of a Merc S-Klasse dwarfed by a Cadillac Fleetwood limo right beside it and the image has stuck ever since. Being a Taurean, I have a natural inclination to like all things big, but to be frank, I believe that “Big is Beautiful” sells in India as much as America. Use that kind of stuff in advertising to change consumer perceptions. Indians believe that the bigger a car, the more prestigious it is and it’s a psychological kick when you place a huge Cadyy beside the top line Merc and say – “Look, which one gets your vote?”
Vazir Fatehi
Bombay.
GM: Poster child for the executive blog
Since General Motors began the GM FastLane Blog in early January, it’s attracted considerable attention from business communicators. That attention has been sparked by who the bloggers are – senior corporate executives, starting with GM Vice Chairman B…
GM: Poster Child for the Executive Blog
Since General Motors began the GM FastLane Blog in early January, it’s attracted considerable attention from business communicators. That attention has been sparked by who the bloggers are – senior corporate executives, starting with …
My first suggestion is to kill the new minivans. Not all of them, just the Pontiac version and the Chevy version.
Second, and this really isn’t a suggestion – more of a complaint, the Saab 9-7x, a.k.a Trailblazer, is extremely disappointing. Where does this stuff come from? The Saab is supposed to compete with BMW, Mercedez, and even the Porsche Cayenne, at least it’s priced that way. Why just re-badge a Trailblazer and lower the suspension trim? Everyone looks at it and thinks: “Expensive Trailblazer.”
This is a shining example of GM executive mis-management. Please stop it!
While you’re at it, get rid of the Pontiac Vibe too – it should have been a Chevy anyway! Give me something in a Pontiac that can blow the doors off a Mazda 3, and something that will make the Mazda RX-8 wimper and something that will make the 350Z cry for its mommy. Also, give me something classy, and sporty that’ll make the Acura TL and TSX look like something only your grandmother would drive.
I know you’ve got in you, let’s see it.
Good to hear as I love coming here, keep us informed with what is going on in the front.
Oh yeah, please use a “Sigma-Lite” for a you-know-what.
First Chrysler, and now GM. I think you should resign Mr. Lutz, and I think you destroyed Chrysler and now you are destroying GM. I am sure the knee jerk GM supporters out there will disagree, but come on, look at your sales, and look at chrysler when you left! Needless to say, I will never buy another GM, and its a shame because I use to own nothing but GM’s, but now I have two brand new Fords sitting in my driveway.
Did you really think you were going to sell more GTO’s then Firebirds? You should bring back the Firebird, they are everywhere now, and all I see is 98 and up Firebirds on the road. It took some time for the prices to come down to what the consumer could pay, but just think if you would have made it for the same price as the Ford Mustang. Your sales would have skyrocketd. And, I am sick of the myth in which you state there is no market for the f-body, just look at the sales of the Mustang. They are unable to meet consumer demand. Therefore there is a market for a rear wheel drive, AFFORDABLE, high horsepower car!
Bob,
You continue to be GM’s greatest hope and I think you’ve already done a heroic job given the task at hand. Stay the course and trust your judgment.
Case in point, the LA Times. GOOD JOB and about time! Make no mistake, if someone had printed misrepresentations about something the LA Times said that someone would be in court now. They got off light. The LA Times will stand by their man and blithely claim they did nothing wrong. Also expect additional media to rally to their support. First, the LA Times did do something wrong and they have done so repeatedly. Second, the other media outlets are really voicing a fear that this will happen to them too and are trying to head it off by scaring you into thinking you are wrong and the public supports them. Don’t buy it for a second.
Keep your advertising out of the LA Times for a year. No, I’m not kidding. Give this punishment teeth such that a real sense of fear settles on the media and gives them pause the next time they think they can get away with what they have been doing for years. Whatever you think you will lose by being out of the LA Times for that long is nothing compared to what you will lose if you go crawling back so soon that they and all the observers disregard your actions as toothless. Don’t forget the hatchet job the media did on Audi. Audi is still paying for that today.
As a matter of fact I would go one step beyond suspending advertising at the LA Times. Don’t bother to threaten or punish the media anymore. Simply replace them. Have you ever considered a monthly GM Magazine? Bentley, BMW and Mercedes all produce magazines showcasing their cars. Do the same and put it on newsstands for a low price. Reveal breaking news about your products there first and heavily dial back advertising in other media. Mass media will say it won’t succeed because they don’t want you to succeed. Guess what, it will succeed. Many enthusiasts like myself read the monthly car buff magazines and are distressed by the coverage of GM’s products but have no other outlet to view them. A monthly GM magazine with reach would put the fear of God into all of the mass media as they were forced to contemplate the very real possibility that you would no longer need them much at all. The GM Magazine should be extremely high quality (look at Bentley’s magazine) and use a set of standard performance metrics (0-60, ¬º mile, lateral g, slalom, braking and lap time around a well-recognized track) whose parameters are clearly delineated (ex, upshifts are lift throttle i.e. no powershifting). Hire independent professional drivers to do the performance testing. Readily compare other vehicles results from published buff magazines and highlight where your car offers more equipment and/or performance for the money. Do it.
GM Blogs On and On
Bob Lutz is positively brimming over about the success of his Fast Lane blog.
f-body
Sorry about the LA Times situation. Did GM realize that it would get so much national attention? I wouldn’t have known about the article if GM hadn’t made such a bold move by cutting advertising (and thus getting national coverage in the WSJ). This certainly is a complicated business!
Hi Mr.Lutz.I just bought a new 2005 Chevy Suburban LT 4×4. And it’s really nice i’m satisfied with it. But i have one sugestion well actually 2. (1) The next gen suburbans need more standayd HP and TQ. Use an LS7 if you have to but make them #1 in class. (2) Give the interior a bit more elegance. If you doe those two things i’ll buy another.
The Empire Strikes Back – GM Pulls Ads From LA Times
In this AM’s Automotive News email wrap up and in the online edition of the Los Angeles Times it was announced that General Motors is suspending ALL advertising in the LA Times over what it calls “factual errors and misrepresentations in the newspape…
It is really kinda simple GM, you have ignored the American buyer for “gobal” market for many years.
You kill off American history such as Olds or Camaro and then try and sell us re-badged Holden as a historic nameplate such as GTO.
You call the next generation Corvette, C6 which really is nothing more then a warmed over C5 that was slanted in looks as what a buyer wants in Europe. GM racing with the Corvette, most of your drivers are Non American.
You selling the C6 for $45K plus when a new Mustang costs much less and has 50 horsepower more then a C6.
You have lost touch with the segments of American buyers and have ignored those of us who have bought your products for decades.
My 1st car was a 1953 chevy, since 1974 I have owned 13 Corvettes, 10 of them I bought new and I have never been asked what a long term customer thinks much less a Xmas card from GM.
Quit making cars to suit the non Americans in this country and go back to making what made American cars famous in the 1st place.
We have been loyal to GM but we do not see that in return.
Bob,
Are comments on here harsh? You bet they are. GM management is personally responsible for tens if not hundreds of billions in lost shareholder value over the last twenty years. GM management’s lack of a compelling game plan and just plain ugly automobiles have cost hundreds of thousands of jobs in the US.
While the upcoming crop of cars appear to be “less” ugly, I see no huge winners in the market. And there is obviously no sense of urgency because GM would be working at a feverish pace well before this fiasco. While I am a fan of yours from a standpoint of design excellence, I have yet to see much compelling product in your many years at GM.
I have no faith in the CEO at all. For him to push aside key lieutenants in a time of crisis is about the worst form of management there is. It sure looks like a little of “You guys don’t know what you are doing, so I’ll do it myself.” I’m not sure what he is going to do since your only problem is cars people don’t want.
A relative of mine has a new Impala through the employee purchase plan. (Your only loyal buyers willing to consume just plain ugly cars) I drove it when they were out of town as they left it at my house. When it got to highway speed, the front end was so loose, I thought I was going to lose control of the car. Nothing at all like my Acura. Is this the best GM can do?
Frankly, as a concerned American, I believe the best thing for GM is either outside talent or bankruptcy which will force extremely radical change on a company unwilling or incapable of meeting the market challenges posed by the best of breed auto manufacturers. Crazy? Yes. But it’s better than the status quo.
So sad it has come to all of this.
I fear that the stock value will tend downward until you are able to energize the entire admin colosus that is GM, toss out all the inept and slow, and stress excellenece in every corner of the operation. You all need LEADERSHIP.
Good Luck.
GM is providing deluxe health care for .5% of the American population. Think of all the elderly that this is such a benefit to. So what does the media write about – factory guys drinking beer at lunch?
Somehow GM has to get the message out better. Picking fights with newspapers will backfire. GM needs to learn to MANIPULATE the media, not fight with them.
I am probably in the minority, but I believe that GM SHOULD cut down on its divisions. Chevrolet, Cadillac, Opel. Thats it! This will free up much needed development dollars to concentrate on fewer designs. It works well for the Japanese and the Europeans. Honda/Acura, Toyota/Lexus(and scion) Nissan/Infinity etc, instead of having to spread dollars so thinly over so many brands.
Mr Lutz, i’m glad to see your still here at gm.
I still dont see gotta have cars. I am very curious though. Will we EVER see pictures of the Buick Regal slated for 2007? I really want to see it. I hope it is really bad so people would stop bashing you. I think you did a good job at gm. You should really release photos of STS-Before and Regal(LaCrosse) – Before.
Why the h**l did you get rid of the regal name? that name was like the best. And why is the LaCrosse engine detuned? Thats why the Regal GS does 0-60 mph in 6.5 seconds, it’s a torque monster. I really want to know what you guys have in store for buick….
Right now I want a supercharged 3800, thats why im going to be getting a regal gs in two years time, because its the only buick with any preformance left…
Bob,
First, let me say, good for you for not paying the LA Times anymore. Freedom of the Press is one thing, but unlike Tenured Professors living in a world where their words have no consequences, the media shouldn’t be given free reign to arrogantly (and with a typical entitlement mentality, I might add) bite the hand that feeds them advertising dollars, Puke-litzer Prizes or not. Of course the Media will be all over you for doing it – in their minds they should be free to dip into your advertising millions no matter what they say about you or your product, brutally right or misleading and wrong.
Second – it would be a full time job for you to attempt to implement even a fraction of the suggestions given here by GM fans.
So here’s another one to add to your list:
Go AROUND the media. Go around the establishment mentality and target the Youth Market that doesn’t care less what men with salt & pepper beards and tweed jackets like to pontificate in their anachronistic paper rags.
Give up the newspaper advertising game – let the local dealers do that – and pump more money into efforts like the GM site called the “27th Element” and would you finally make an attempt to get a MUCH wider variety of your GM cars into video games — and sponsor youth events like “Hot Import Nights”. How about “Hot GM Nights” – which showcases real modified GM rides – a sort of mini SEMA show-off for GM product, but with Gen Y music bands invited, and center showroom space dedicated to the best GM modified rides, with the Civics left outside in the cold.
I know that marketing isn’t necessarily your thing – but enough with the incentives and lame traditional advertising already!
My final point: Nissan never had to advertise the Japan market Skyline here – but kids know all about it. That’s the kind of press GM needs, and it wont get that press by weak advertising efforts here and there, and good product alone.
GM needs to make a push into the youth consciousness – and games, music, and events…the “youth sub-culture” is the way to do it.
And they won’t care what the L.A. Times has to say about it.
This is a sad day, not only for GM but for American business as a whole. The “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say it at all” tune is cowardly and pedantic and too many American corporations sing from the same songbook. You don’t pull your advertising as a way to punish those who say things about you do not like. As a major advertiser and one of the largest companies in the world, I am sure Michael Kinsley (the editorial page editor) would have given you or Rick Wagoner a forum to defend your product.
But let’s be honest with ourselves, most of your product right now is not worth defending and is subpar in both looks and performance and the public has given their response in return. If people summarily rejected the Ford Taurus in 1996, what made you think people would flock to its spiritual brethren the Buick LaCrosse 10 years later?
That is not the fault of the LA Times or any other media outlet. The funny thing is I do not recall many articles fawning over GM’s trucks. Many of the “liberal media elite” derided the SUV trend, but I don’t recall customers caving to that sentiment. Unfortunately, the company rested on the overwhelming profits from its trucks and failed to really look to a future when relying on trucks might not work any longer.
You also flubbed in a substantial way with the handling of the EV. The EV was far from perfect. It was a niche of a niche vehicle. But it was also a statement vehicle. The company was making great progress with battery technology and there is no telling what the EV might be today, if your company had not ceased all R&D so abruptly.
Instead, you simply handed over the environmentally conscious mantra and mindshare to Toyota. Even more boneheaded was the company’s supercilious reply to customers who loved the car. It was bad enough to cease all production and development of future models, but to not even listen to your customers was completely uncalled for.
Unfortunately, GM has been a company that for too many years has been playing not to lose instead of playing to win. You should have been taking chances on designs two, three, and four years ago when you were swimming in profits. Sadly, it is a lot tougher to take chances when there’s not so much extra cash lying around.
Mr. Lutz,
I am a GM owner and have been most of my adult life. I have a red Yukon and my husband has a red p.u., which he just purchased. He has owned probably 25 GM p.u.s out of the past 30 years. However, I would like to purchase another Yukon or Denali, but I have a problem… where have all the red ones gone? My dealership informed me that GM is no longer offering these vehicles in red!!! Now, I ask you is this smart? Maybe decisions such as this are one of the problems that GM has today. For the first time I am actually considering purchasing another brand because I can’t get the color that I want. If white, black and red are the main colors for vehicles and you are still offering P.U.’s in this color apparently there isn’t a red shortage.
Any suggestions?
Mr. Lutz,
Pleased to see GM suspended ads in the LA Times. Some of the media bias is completely unwarranted.
GM’s foreign competition often receives what amounts to free advertising from some of these biased news sources in their articles and reviews, while GM gets unfair coverage of its products and innovations. When GM does something great, the same sources conceal it from their readers.
Time after time, I’ve read slanted reviews in selected papers of what I thought were great products from GM.
I’m not sure whether newspaper publishers realize its been going on.
Thanks for taking a stand.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Good news is swept to the side against the current of bad news but I tell you this. Lutz and Wagoner may not be perfect but they are perfectly adequate and no one is better suited for the job at hand. And no one has a better plan.
The congratulations is for Chevy’s success at bringing the brand worldwide. Sales are taking off in Russia and Europe and it is nice to see GM working as a global brand. Yet it still has a unique and individual touch in all its brands and markets.
The automobile industry is a cyclical business and their will always be times like these, look at Mercedes as their largest incentive reached $35,000 for a single vehicle and irate shareholders, its industry wide.
But good things are happening. as Chevy and Cadillac go global. The Hummer in Africa, super. This is a great plan and GM will remain #1 because of it.
I hope to see in the future Opels in California and more foreign models in the US and more US models and brands going global.
Enouph with suggestions I know you have enouph of them but I want you to know you are not alone. Despite all the negativity you have people watching you with hope, pride and expectation from below and above. I love that you make dreams like the Solstice and then make those dreams come true.
May God Save the Neapolitan.
IF YOU DESIGN IT, THEY WILL COME.
Make beautiful cars. Styling sells. You know that. Look at the excitement the Solstice is alredy generating.
Buyers are willing to ignore a lot of things–cars can be underpowered or overpriced, but if they look beautiful, they will sell.
Look at the Solstice and to lesser extent the Sky. Both are getting lots of publicity simply because of the way they look.
A friend who’s not very into cars saw a Sky on the freeway. They said, “I didn’t know Saturn made cool cars–this thing was gorgeous, I had to speed up so I could get a better look at it.”
They didn’t know how it drove, handled, or felt. They only knew how it looked and they wanted one.
I have ordered a Solstice because it captivated me the first time I saw the concept!
I don’t know how it drives, handles, or feels. I just know I want one.
GM has many talented designers–let them let loose and design creative, original, BEAUTIFUL cars.
A few years ago Buick had a gorgeous concept called the LeCrosse–a four door with an XUV-like sliding roof that made it into a mini-truck–a true crossover–and the look was SPECTACULAR.
GM should have built that LeCrosse (even without the trick truck backend or suicide doors), rather than the current one which is nice enough but bears more than a passing resemblance to a used Ford Taurus.
Look at Chrysler’s 300. Why is that selling? STYLING.
GM can no longer afford to be timid when it comes to style. GM needs to be the style leader it once was and can be again.
DESIGN IT, and THEY WILL BUY
As a Detroiter, I want to buy a GM product. I really do. But you don’t offer anything that really hits on all cylinders in the style and size I’m looking for. The interiors materials are still too cheap, (enough with the hard plastic, where are the padded dashboards that the imports have?)
The Aztec is about the size that I need, and I really don’t mind the styling except for a few things like the exposed gas cap, but I sat in one and the seats are trash. Forget underwire frame seating and get a plate under there. I presently drive an old Bonneville that has busted down seats that gives me a backache.
Next question: who came up with the mis-marketed Malibu Maxx? Exactly what demographic are you aiming for with this vehicle? Borrowing platforms is fine if you do it right, but don’t sacrifice your name on nonsense like this car.
The G6 is a nice car. It really is. But the rear doors are a terrible fight because of the door handle placement.
The Vibe / Matrix twins are another good idea that was cheapened out too much to be appealing, and the ergonomics of seating position vs. door armrest are terrible.
People buy their current car based on size, need, looks, and their experiences with previous models.
The other day, a Chrysler executive said the most idiotic thing on TV I’ve heard for awhile: ‘The public considers their vehicles as appliances. That’s unfortunate. We don’t sell appliances.’ So what this guy’s saying, is that Chrysler is going to thumb their nose at what the customer wants to buy. That’s a stupid attitude, and if GM copies it, well then, whatever.
Well, Chrysler can afford to do that, becaue they have stylists that know what they’re doing, and they don’t bother with half-hearted cars that they can build on the cheap. But GM cannot afford that kind of attitude.
It’s not the CEO’s fault, mostly. It’s the bloated company, the rundown factories, the union, the executive stylists, etc.
This is the finals, and you have to show up with all of your players in top form.
Hello Mr Lutz,
Good to know you’re not abandoning the blog during such troubling times for GM. I hope you read every comment posted on this blog and see how REAL Americans see GM.
Mr. Lutz, here are some things to consider as you design future cars and trucks.
About 40,000 people are killed every year in US traffic fatalities, yet we watch NASCAR drivers hit the wall at 170 mph and walk away. To someone who has lost a loved one in a 40 mph accident, this must be agonizing to see.
Give us a car with a roll cage construction, 5 point belts, and head restraints. The paradigm in auto safety is that people shouldn’t be bothered or even notice the safety features. Nonsense. A super-safe car, especially in the low-price market would be a sales juggernaut. What do we do? We make our most expensive luxury cars the safest, even though the oldest, safest drivers are the purchasers, and then we offer to the very worst drivers (the young) our least safe cars. Tell Ed Welburn to make the primary design feature ultimate passenger safety, and then watch every parent clamor to get their teenager into one. Forget marketing campaigns as a way to grow sales. yawn.
We aren’t going to win, or even survive by continuing to play catch-up and by simply mimicking benchmarked designs. We need to leapfrog past them and create an all-new class of ultra-safe cars.
You guys are running away from your past glory and its a mistake.
Bring back the Camaro and Firebird.
Rename the G6 the Grand Am G6.
Stop renaming the Buicks.
Make the Deville retro and bring back the Coupe Deville.
Bring back a Chevy Chevelle.
Make the Monte Carlo Rear Wheel Drive.
Improve what you have:
Give all of the Malibu’s the same front end as the Malibu SS(do we really need a Malibu SS? You’re putting that moniker on too many cars.)
Put the round taillights back on the Impala.
Fix the exterior of the Cobalt-give it some pizzazz.
Get rid of the Steering Wheels on the 4 door G6 and Malibu.
Lessen the number of engines you have. Instead of 12 mediocre engines produce 6 world class engines.
Use pushrods only in Sports Cars and Trucks-not in passenger cars.
Time to switch to a 5 or 6 Speed Automatic.
Make adjustable pedals and telescoping steering wheel standard in all cars-an industry first.
Make side air bags standard.
Time for a 10 yr warranty. It worked for Hyundai, it would work even better for GM.
Replace the cheesy plastic front grills on the Caddys-you can do better.
Fix all the Caddy interiors-the STS isnt even that good.
Replace the Pontiac Sunfire with the Pursuit. Why is it only sold in Canada?
Get that Chinese built engine out of the Equinox.
Dont even think about canceling the Rear Wheel Drive program! GM has billions in cash-use it to save GM.
Time to put the pedal to the metal-stop screwing around!
Mr. Lutz:
I echo the sentiments of several of the writers above. I am in my early 40’s and on my 5th Honda/Acura product right now. Quite frankly, I am SICK AND TIRED of driving these things. But in 2002, when I was shopping around for a new car, I couldn’t find anything for the money put together as well as my Acura.
I echo the sentiments of the others who are telling you THERE IS NOTHING I WOULD LIKE MORE THAN TO BUY AN AMERICAN CAR. But I work hard for my money and demand only the best. Give me something that’s as tight and solid as my Acura… both when I buy it and three years later. Give me something where the carpeting and the fabric on the seats won’t look ratty after 3 years. Give me a car that doesn’t feel loose.
But people like me won’t make the mistake of falling for sexy styles only — I want the whole package. I want a car that is reliable, designed well, has an attractive interior, and provides a SUPERIOR driving experience. GM has had 25 years to provide customers with this kind of product, but it hasn’t.
Time is running out.
A great business blog is one that has the executive discussing situations good and bad. Mr. Lutz, I invite you to read my recent analysis of the LA Times situation, where GM has pulled all advertising over a spat about a car review, and comment upon it:
http://www.intuitive.com/blog/general_motors_miffed_at_la_times_review_pulls_all_advertising.html
Thanks Mr Lutz for your effort and your team.
I hope that GM can recover the way to competitivness.
I am quite affraid of what will happen to Saab. I hope that will keep not only the swedishness of the designs, also this philosophy of engineering, innovation and functional designs.
For example there is a big big big opportunity for Saab in the new era of gasoline engines that for example was a common idea in the industry, as many of your coleagues in Europe said that in 2010 the diesel engines will peak his share. In autonews Fritz Indra, Rinolfi, Honeywell and many others express the idea that the future are the turbo gasoline engines and similar. Mercedes said that willnot use kompressor anymore and will use turbo, and also BMW will use gasoline engines. Here you have one of the best opportunities with the Saab experience in turbo to became “first” in this technology. When you will launche the Saab Combustion Control?? I think it is incredibly better than the FSI and anyother direct injection gasoline engine. Also you have the safety features of Saab, aerodinamics….
You have many opportunities to stay the first and be trully competitive in the industry, please catch them!!
greetings
I am glad to hear that you are going to continue this blog, infact I have been so impressed with the fact that have a blog that for the first time I am actually considering the purchase of a GM vehicle. In an age where information and relationships are so important for companies, its nice to see GM make the effort to get back to the consumer. Keep up the good work and I look forward to future post.
Hello Bob,
Thanks for the blog and getting to know some of us. I am a long time G.M fan and see no reason to stop now. I worry about the market share for the big 3 and know what a big part of the problem is that people just don’t seem to talk about.
I’m also sure you know this but it is never talked about.
What I’m talking about is the millions of people coming into this country every year. These people do not buy, or even look at American cars.
These people do buy new cars, but not from the big 3.
I think you make a great product, I have drove new Honda’s and such and I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about. The road noise was so bad you couldn’t talk to the person next to you, and the seats felt like plywood. No thanks. Build cars for the people you know will buy them and forget the people who will never even look at them.
All you need to do is look back to the history of G.M. and what got you to be number 1 in the first place.
With gas going up the way it is, it won’t be easy. Just build what the people are asking for and they will buy.
I for one will hang around.
Good luck with your new job.
This is from another http://www.firebirdnation.com member:
Dear Mr. Lutz,
It is unfortunate that GM chose to discontinue the Gen IV Firebirds and Camaros. However, I can understand how a lack of sales can contribute to the unpopularity, within GM, for a non-profitable car. After all, profitability is the name of the game if you want to keep a corporation alive and well, and continue to pay mega-buck salaries to those who deserve them.
However, my thoughts on this subject are that it wasn’t that no one wanted the GEN IV cars, but rather that they were being priced out of the market. I would suspect that the high prices were due to the many warranty repairs that the consumer was required to pay for despite the fact that the costs of paying for those same repairs were hidden within the gross price of the car. After all, since each car line must support itself–and if a certain car was constantly failing and requiring increasing repairs, it is only fair to assume that the consumer of that automobile be willing to pay his/her fair share for the warranty repairs by paying a much higher price at the dealer for the car and then paying again to repair it after Mr. Goodwrench failed to find anything wrong while under the warranty time period. That way, the consumer can buy his/her car and GM won’t go broke keeping it running for him while under warranty.
While this enlightened policy, so evident at GM nowadays, certainly has its proponents, one can understand why the allmighty, and certainly fickle consumer, would have problems understanding why this policy should affect him or her in the pocket book, while trying so hard to maintain their cars without resorting to the time consuming process of warranty repairs. Then again, paying such a high price for a car, even though that high price helps to offset the warranty repair costs might be fair, in your opinion, it would tend to price the car out of the market (you can pay me now or pay me later, but either way, you gonna pay for repairs that should be under warranty). Then again, the fickle consumer, somehow, got it into his/her heads that high prices equate to quality–their mistake, and a misunderstanding, to be sure. I’m certain that, with a little re-education in the new way to conduct business (it could be done with advertising spots on TV), the consumer can be enlightened to help out…, and then GM could continue to sell Gen IV and future Camaros and Firebirds. It’s a proven fact that lots of advertising buys quality.
Thanks for your time and as always,
Charles
mr. lutz,
i am an auto enthusiast and i also follow what’s going on in the business world. lately there is a lot of talk about GM’s financial problems and the cause of. You here from all sides it’s the pensions fund, it’s the rebates, it’s the UAW, the dollar, blah, blah, blah.
the problem with GM is the cars!!! they are lame. you make and sell cars by committee and it shows.
Chevy MAXX – dog
Buick – all dogs. who needs a Buick SUV
Pontiac – you actually still have the sunfire and the aztec on your website. embarassing.
that cross over sport anteater van concept? what are you guys smoking? how do you sit through product development meetings with a straight face? i bet you would not want to be seen driving that in public.
sorry for the rant, but it seems you guys live in a vacuum. to me the answer is simple. cut the number models like the two buick SUVs. quit relying on marketing to try make silk purses out of sows ears. last years chevy launch campagain with the driving on to the semi was awful.
remember that it is not financially rational to spend $30,000 on personal transportation. the deciding factor is the visceral and emotional experience of driving the car. look at chrysler. emotionally exciting cars. they are selling tons. ford, the new mustang a huge winner, the 500? boring. DOA. chrysler gaining market share, ford losing.
name one GM car other than a cadillac or corvette that, when you see it driving down the street, creates any emotional response or turns heads.
it seems to me market share is a result of making cars that (aside from reliability, etc.) people enjoy driving, want to be seen in and can brag about with friends. do that and they flock to the dealerships. make a cookie cutter committee car and it’s “that’s nice, let’s go check out the new nissan”
why is that so hard to understand?
good luck with the GM turn around.
tom
Mr. Lutz
I for one have been a loyal consumer of GM all my life, but not anymore. I think it is a sin that a company could destroy in such a short time what I grew to love and respect in a car division. Your way of twisting racism in order to appeal to certain ethics and races is below the standards of acceptable and for that you should be ashamed of yourself. You put many people out of work, not because of poor workmanship, not because of price but just to appeal to minorities by giving contracts based on race and creed, and lets not get me started with your ridiculous donations. I also think that with your education and experience you would have a better understanding of business and the asset of your consumers. I for one saw your mistakes even before you put any of these abominations such as an Australian so called GTO. Did you not think that with such a name that holds so much regards to the Pontiac enthusiast that there would be extreme high expectations? You failed miserably on understanding what loyal consumers enjoyed and appreciated from GM. But then again your car knowledge is so weak that you actually called the Cintreon one of the best cars ever built. You play guessing games with the consumer for so long that we had enough and now for the first time find ourselves driving Fords and Chryslers to escape the headaches. Even when it comes to Cadillac, you think you are doing the right thing, but the truth is when seeing the depreciation factor of this once fine automobile you try to go further up on price leaving the consumer to lose even more.Are we trying to force leases on people? It is ridiculous. I have been a loyal Cadillac owner all my life, but that is over, you threw away class and room for speed, if I wanted to get my kids to Grandmas in under 12 seconds I would use a Vette or my 70 RAIII Formula. I love Cadillac for the room and size it once stood for, not to mention class and detail that seems to lack as of today.I am not the only one that feels this way aswell, for birds of a feather flock together and this holds true for car enthusiast as well. I own a Deville STS and my car is tweaked for performance. See that was the thing, I would buy Cadillac have what I appreciated in it and then took care of the speed thing myself. Don’t you think that if people wanted a garbage BMW or slouch Benz they would just buy import and ignore domestic. I do, considering the fact that most consumers buying imports today do so as to follow fad and not by choice of intelligent reasons. I also have a gripe seeing a once American car company selling cars with Australian or any other foriegn influences. To be honest I for one stay true to our own economy but here is something that disturbs me, the way GM is doing business, it puts money in the pockets of others that do not spend back into our economy while taking away from Americans workers that do. How do you expect us to afford your overly inflated window stickers?
Last but not least the RWD/Mid-sized high performance car that you, Mr. Lutz claims has no market…. well the new Ford Mustang speaks for itself, thanks to that car it is Fords bread and butter right now. It was not the F-body that failed it was your prices. Show the consumer some proof that the F-body actually cost more to build then say a Grand Prix GT. I also think bringing back the F-body in a Chevy will be your next mistake. Chevy has the Corvette, let them perfect and concentrate on that and let Pontiac make back some revenue on what you invested in them by having them bring back what was once a better competion against Ford. Sometimes you have to look back in time to be able to learn, so you can move ahead. This is only a small portion of what is wrong with GM right now, but do not write off what I state so easily because you disagree, I spent my life in restoration up until 7 years ago, that is when I became an offlease adjuster for the finance companies. I deal with your customers and others and I hear all the praises and complaints, more so than you as a company tend to listen. Open your ears, eyes and mind to your consumers and stop shunning your loyal consumers in an effort for new ones. This is a practice that will only hurt you. I am 36 years old and grew up on GM all my life, but unfortunatly I have become so tired to insult and ignorance that I now too am on the waiting list for a new Shelby Cobra. Tell me Mr. Lutz 70k for a car that only produces less than 50HP more than a 40k Shelby????? and you can’t figure out whats wrong. With 30k saved I think I will be able to more than add 50 hp to my Shelby. Sorry Mr. Lutz but after a while I realized the GMs I once loved have unfortunatly died with people like John DeLorean and John Lingenfelter. It is nothing more than bad management and poor decision making that has destroyed you.
~Louis Calabrese
Dear Charles of Firebird Nation,
The japanese cars cost less than the GM cars and yet require less time and money to be spent by the client and car company getting it fixed cos the car is properly designed in the first place. Dont do that and you will never sell cars. Would you buy a car that costs you 50,000 dollars and needs to be taken into the mechanic every two months to fix a problem. I think not. That is the problem GM has and it shows in that their quality is bad and so people don’t buy their cars.
In all of the GM refocussing…GM should reach out to their dealers and see what insight they can provide. After all, they are the ones who sell the product day after day. If GM has neglected anybody, it is those who paid for franchises just to sell GM product.
Dear Mr. Lutz,
I have to ask what you are doing to improve the production quality of American cars because it seems that every time I turn around, you are trying to build more SUV’s and hoping that they will sell and make enough money for you to cover all your loss making products.
Realise something, the key to making money is not having one or two hit products that make multi millions and everything else running at a loss but being cross subsidised.
You need all your vehicles to be profitable. If you make a car that is not profitable, it can only be because you need it to showcase something. Otherwise, you are just dragging the company down and GM have one too many of those products. You can probably identify them a lot faster and more effectively than I can.
Fix that problem and you have a good car company that is successful, albeit at a much smaller and lower level than a few decades ago. Otherwise, you are manufacturing yourselves to your grave, which will admittedly be a few years away because of your financing business, but is inevitable.
Wake up today and correct it or wake up in a few years and find that you have no company to go to work for.
Mr.Lutz
Your message is very important for a community like the Blog is. But you have to improve it ,to be distinct from the others.
Why don´t you answer or give some feedback, to some number of posts.
Best regards
Miguel Carvalho
Back again to add something to my previous post.
I wonder what your designers think sometimes. I know its impossible to please everyone but can someone over at Chevy explain to me why in the Malibu there is an off-center emergency signal and next to it is a cheesy looking ‘malibu’ sign. Do you think people don’t know what they are driving? Shouldn’t the emergency signal be centered? Did someone actually look at this and think it looks good? I don’t get it. And the steering wheel. Are you kidding me? That thing is so ugly it ruins whatever appeal it may have, and it doesn’t have much since it’s basically a large slab of grey. Or even worse, beige with fake wood going across.
And that front end. Do you really think that huge chrome bar going across looks good? It probably alone knocked out thousands of sales.
Get rid of all fake wood! Noone likes the way fake wood looks.
Heck, even the real wood in the Caddy’s look fake.
Pay attention to the details!
A couple of things:
1) Politely listen to your loyal customers but don’t blindly take their advice! As much as celebrating glorious history is tempting, it is not a solution for developing winning products. Most people make their purchase decision based on competitive analysis of the current products in the market.
2) GM has something like five or six divisions. This organization provides a great opportunity to take some product risks (like D/C did with 300 model). The recent Buick, Chevy and Pontiac cars and minivans look different but all project a strong similarity. Why not push the envelop with the products of some of the divisions? For instance, Saab has a good quirky product line and reputation. Don’t try to shape it to become like other divisions of the company.
3) Improve ALL GM engines! Most of the GM car reviews I read goes like this: .. the engine is good but it gets noisy in high RPM and it is not as smooth and fuel efficient as its Asian competitors…. Can someone in GM open up these competitors’ engines and copy and improve on them! (or send Northstar engineers to train other engineers in the company).
4) Have a descent executive succession plan for the company: I understand you are a great car person. Of course you should stay around and help the company. But soon you will want to retire and enjoy other things in life. GM should be training new generation of younger executives.
I hope you have a “Skunk Works” where you are secretly developing the next step in the evolution of the automobile. You better be so far ahead of the rest of them that your resurrection and long term survival is a ‘lock’. Otherwise, farewell, it was a good 100-year run.
The current “Flavor of the Year” and the clammering for performance f-bodies and the like, will soon change when pump prices reach and stabilize around $3.00 a gallon in this country.
Sorry you have such a nightmare to work with re: UAW benefits, but the both of you should be drawn and quartered for what you created.
Last week, all I wanted to do was get information on the HHR from my local Chevy dealer so I could decide whether or not I wanted to put some money down and get my name on the waiting list, but they didn’t have a clue what I was talking about. What’s with that? (Not a very promising sign).
It hurts as I watch my hard earned GM dollars evaporate because I can no longer afford to even dream about buying “what I really wanted to buy.” So, when I inquire about what will probably be the last new car I might ever buy, and get the response I received, I’m worried.
The problems faced by domestic auto manufacturers are of their own doing, with help from the unions. More than 10 years ago, analysts were saying that the Big Three would eventually suffer by getting fat and happy with truck/SUV sales while allowing their car line-ups to languish. And despite having the resources and talent to do otherwise, domestic manufacturers have produced mediocre cars at best.
Harsh? Rebadging a Holden as a GTO…you got what you deserved.
I just saw the Cadillac STS SAE100 written up in the detroit news. Saw that it has a blown LS2 under the hood. Is this the future of Cadillac? Why? For the sake of the company why!
If you want to make the ULS an instant flop just put a V10 based on the LS6/7 under the hood. Nothing will make it fail faster.
Check out what GM TechLink said about the LS6 in the CTS
Rough Idle
A key element of the 400 horsepower LS6 V8 engine is better breathing ability through unique valve lift and duration. A normal result of this camshaft design is an unstable idle or random roughness.
http://www.gmtechlink.com/images/is…/TLsept04e.html
Does this sound like something that belongs in the ULS, or even the STS, let alone the CTS-V?
Please, just build a V12 Northstar. Do it right, offer more than the competition for the same MSRP and GM will soar.
You have damaged my opinion of Cadillac with the SAE100 STS. I really thought the CTS-V with the LS6 was a stopgap because the Northstar V8 would not fit and wasn’t powerful enough. Now I find out this may be a future direction?
This is the best set of comments on the blog ever!! The passionate response by so many individuals tells me that people still love GM and what it was, what it currently is in some areas, (Cadillac, Corvette, etc.) and what they hope for it to be in the future. The bottom line is this; “You are the biggest car company in the world, start acting like the best!” To introduce a product that is good or even above average is not enough, it must be the best available…period. Aim high, engineer excellence, take styling risks and you will win back the hearts, minds and lease payments of the people. Greatness is an attitude, excellence is in the details, make us proud to drive your product. I know I am every time I put the keys in my 04′ CTS
Bob,
We’re going to miss you. Everyone thought you could make a change. We wanted to believe. But once again GM has won.
What genius thought they could intimidate the LA Times? I hope that person is gone before you leave.
Then again they’ll probably get promoted. That’s the GM way. Sadly.
They’ll push you out the door and promote the guy that tried to screw over the LA Times.
GM continues to be tone deaf.
Richard Newton
Ok, I haven’t read the article, nor do I care to. Since when, has an auto, movie or any other product review been considered news. There are repsectable publications that report product reviews (ie: Consumer Reports, etc.). Second, if the review was a negative political review on a politician, let’s say for example, George W. Bush, then the stuff would’ve hit the fan a long time ago, people would be raging, and the writer would’ve been fired, or forced to apologize (remember Mr. Dan Rather?). Oprah got sued for a bad comment about cows, Dan Rather got his ear pulled for bad comments on Prez Bush. Guess what? It happens!
If you’re a newspaper, stick to news, who made this dude an expert in automotive. Let the people take themselves to a delaer, test drive the stupid thing and make a decision for yourselves.
To/About GM: If you don’t want criticism from the media, improve the quality of what you build, stand behind your product and prove them wrong.
To/About The LA Times: Stick to the news, if you don’t want a spanking from a corporate Giant who provides you millions in Advertising Cash (be it Ford, GM, Kraft or Microsoft), watch your words, don’t bite the hand that feeds you, and stick to the news, REAL NEWS!! If you can’t survive without their bucks, don’t tick them off!! And for crying out loud, stop using the “FREEDOM OF SPEECH” gimmick to save your butts every time you stick your foot in your mouth. Report on real news, leave product reports to Consumer Reports or Consumer News. They don’t need GM money to keep them flowing.
That’s all I have to say about that.
Sasquatch
GMs’ and to lesser extent the whole domestic industry’ biggest problem is its stubborn reliance on the Hollywood model; lots of PR, smoke and mirrors, day-to-day vaccilation.
Meanwhile the Japanese and Korean companies (and to new effect, Chrysler) are rolling away from you because they build product that is REAL.
Can we believe what you say, Bob, when hyped GM platforms vanish in a round of short term cost cutting, or end up as rental cars despite earlier vows never to do such?
Please don’t get me wrong – GM has improved their cars dramatically in last few years, and has the potential to do so much more. Let’s see more real product, honestly sold and properly supported. Don’t squander GM’s potential with Hollywood-style hype and showmanship!
Mr. Lutz,
First, thank you for continuing your support of this site and your time in reading and digesting these comments. I hope others executives at GM share your sentiments regarding this site.
I’ve come to realize that this is the best site to find out what is really happening at GM. Who else is in the know better than you? Given this, would you be so kind as to post a message informing all of us what models we should expect to see for 2007 and 2008. I’m sure I speak for thousands of others who are interested in knowing how GM is planning to answer the Ford’s SVT and Dodge/Chrysler’s SRT cars.
I, personally, “need” to know. My wife looked at the GTO and then at the 300C SRT. Even at over $10,000 more her choice was the 300C. I showed her the new GT500 Shelby but she wasn’t interested. I can’t argue much with her. Now, put the LS7 option in a GTO and I may have a bit more “I insist (please)” in my tone.
Anyway, thanks so much for your valuable time. I hope comments here are truly helpful.
Bob,
I ran across an article in Business Week about GM pulling its ads from the LA Times. This paragraph, sadly, about says it all.
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“…. And as Neil points out in his review of the G6, GM far too often produces perfectly adequate vehicles rather than vehicles that truly excite and inspire people. The current Buick LaCrosse simply doesn’t handle as well or feel as good as the Honda Accord or Nissan Altima, and no amount of strong-arming is going to make a reporter say otherwise.”
============================
Rather than get mad at the reviewer, maybe it’ts time GM Management got their heads out of the sand and addressed the core issue: Your cars truly don’t handle as well or feel as good as the competition. Take the Impala, for instance. I think it’s a great looking car — but how does it drive? I know that car is considered relatively successful, but that car could easily have been a HUGE hit if it handled better and had a better interior. That’s not to say to just go and copy the Japanese, but you still have to give people what’s come to be expected in looks and feel.
…. And don’t try to fool us with smoke and mirrors. Chrysler had some very sexy, good-looking cars in the last last line-up, but they didn’t sell well either. But the Chrysler 300 is a big hit!!! Could the use of an MB E-Class frame and the mechanical feel of the car have anything to do with its success? On the other hand, Ford could have had a hit with the 500, but they screwed up too. Unlike the reviewers, I thing the styling is okay. But the Duratech engine was a poor choice for this car. Of course, nobody at GM will ever stumble onto these truths.
REPEAT AFTER ME: IT’S LOOKS AND PERFORMANCE. Either alone just won’t cut it! And if you can’t do that, then you need to come up with some other gimmick like Hyundai’s 10 year warranty.
P.S. Not a huge fan of Retro. I think the current Mustang looks way too much like the 67-68 Mustang for my tastes. Using retro styling cues is one thing, but I don’t see a streamlined version of the same exact style as anything other than a novelty item. I don’t see it having staying power for the full 5 year model cycle duration.
http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/brandnewday/archives/00000059.htm
If the Cadillac revolution has been such a success how come Cadillac is outsold by Lexus, BMW etc. And how come Cadillac STS very poorly in comparison tests by both Automobile Magazine and Car & Driver.
If the Cadillac resurgence is basically hype, why are we even thinking that the Pontiac G6 and Buick LaCrosse could ever be competitive?
I have had an 05 GTO for awhile now. I must say, regardless of where it came from, or what people think it is supposed to represent or look like, it is quite a nice automobile for the money. We need more automobiles like this. I’m guessing that marketing is the issue here. Keep the exact same car, give it a different name and make it here and everyone would probably be tripping over themselves to get it.
GM to badge cars, Bob speaks, and 505HP for Z06
GM to add “GM Badge” to all vehicles…. hmm, not sure what to think about this one. I recently saw this on a 2006 Corvette, and i must say, it looked horrable! Time will tell, but i think people are not going to like this one bit..
Bob Lutz respo…
Mr. Lutz, GM needs to rid itself of the executive level groupthink mentality that has led to the overall poor performance of the corporation. It won’t happen the way GM does HR, and here is why.
GM requires all unclassified employees move around the country (and/or globe) to different plants and divisions every few years to widen their experience. This leads to a body of executives made exclusively of people from single wage earner families. One reason is the constant moves, another is the long work-hours require a full-time parent partner. Sure there may be a few genuine two-career couples among the higher ups, but I would estimate that number at less than 5% and closer to 0.
With large salaries come large lifestyles, and when only one person has to pay those bills, they better not screw up at work, lest their world come crashing down. So risk-taking is avoided, standing out is ill-advised, and shaking heads in unison rules the day.
You may think you are shaking things up, and I’m sure you’ve attended many boisterous meetings. But when you go down a step or two, you’ll find a vast expanse of faceless executives who are afraid of their own shadows and highly averse to taking risks. Having managers who absolutely need their job is no way to promote free-thinking and ingenuity.
Further, in this day, it is supremely short-sighted to shut out the large portion of your salaried workforce from ever aspiring to becoming leaders simply because they have a spouse with a college degree and their own career. Why cut the talent pool down by 80%?
Regards…
Isn’t the GTO manufactured in Australia? From what I have heard it is a ‘fine’ automobile, why manufacture it here in the USA?
I love my GMC Yukon XL. It seems to have “everything.” I live in the UP of Michigan where we have long winters. I love the heated seats and wonder why we can’t add a heated steering wheel?
I have been looking, comaring and shopping. I think GM needs to change the trend they have of copying style and likeness of other brand models. unfortunately, the re-badging of vehicles within the GM umbrella. Did it work for you in the ’80s. Umm, no, it didn’t, so why try it again, and so forcefully.
This is not the ’50s, when customers only had a couple of choices in the US to buy cars, AM General, Ford, Chrysler and GM, and of course, GM was king. Now consumers have choice, options, warrranty coverage and well built product. Everyone knocks on Kia, Hyundai and Daewoo, however, their product sells, works and holds uo, unlike many GM models, and surprisingly, the dealer support and service is great, not to mention the warranties. This is what Volkswagen, Nissan/Datsun, Toyota and Isuzu were in the ’60s. Look at them now, and you can’t knock on those Korean/Japanese companies, because GM itself is using their platforms, all over the world, with more rebadging. In the US alone:
Vibe: Toyota
Aveo: Daewoo
Equinox/Torrent: Toyota
GTO: Australian (Holden/Opel)
Also, many new GM vehicles are looking very similar to other brand models, for example:
G6: Toyota Solara
Lucerne: Toyota Corolla/Camry (rear)
The Soltice needs a hardtop, you did it with all the convertibles, even the new G6, why not the Soltice, and why not have a turbo engine or a V6, and AWD. Come on, you can do this, you have the tools, the resources, the design and the customers begging you for this, so why don’t you utilize the feedback, both negative and positive, and implement what you already know you should. Don’t wait 5-6 years down the line, when the interest is gone to your competition.
Hope this helps.
Mo
Bob, when you’re imagining what GM *could* be, you might try looking to another vehicle company for inspiration — Harley-Davidson.
Take a look at their product. It’s totally fine-tuned around their customers’ needs and desires. It’s unabashedly American. It balances “retro” and “modern.” It’s desiged for universal appeal rather than a target demographic. It’s designed from the ground-up to be customized by the owner. There’s no evidence of cost-cutting. There’s no need for incentives to move fresh products.
Take a look at their showrooms. People go there to hang around and talk shop, not just to buy things.
Take a look at their customers. Most of them wouldn’t even consider a competitor’s product.
And all of this success despite the fact that the market is loaded with less- expensive and (in many cases) higher-performing imports.
Part of the reason that the Mustang is considered so successful is that it channels many of these attributes. Something tells me the Chevy brand could be re-born in this vain. And the world would be a better place.
Bob-
Just read of your endeavor to try to teach your engineers drafting. There was a time when educated engineers were the best draftsmen and also capable machinists. Not today. “Drafting” is too demeaning to the “educated” For the latest in Pick-up truck design go to
http://www.alateinc.com. If you think this is a viable concept, e-mail Bob.
Cheers
Hi Bob,
I heard on the news yesterday that we’ll be putting the GM corporate logo on some of our vehicles, and I wanted to express my concern regarding this. While I understand the strategy behind doing it to raise awareness as to one common corporation among all our brands, I disagree with it from an aesthetics perspective. While our GM logo looks wonderful on tops of buildings, letter stationery, and the Powerpoint slides I make for my presentations, I just can’t see it belonging on the sheetmetal of a vehicle. It is just too bland looking, and I doubt it was EVER meant to be used in such a way while in its current form (chromed out or not). This logo is by no means as aesthtic as, say, a bowtie (Chevy), an artsy L (Lexus), a wreath and crest (Caddy), or a cool looking propeller (BMW). I’ve seen the GM logo being used this way just once, on the EV1, and it simply looked un-aesthetic. If we are to proceed with this marketing strategy, let’s at least come up with a revised common GM logo!
Bob,
Recently GM announced its plan to brand all its vehicles with a silver square with the GM logo. I think this is a great idea, and a great way to link all brands together to a single moniker.
Now all you have to do is consolidate your dealers. You have too many dealers, and too many of those dealers are mixing brands and acting independently of what the branding and marketing strategy should be. I have the following suggestion…
Consolidate your dealer network to only provide for the following type of dealerships:
1. Chevrolet Dealership – This is your meat and potatoes of brands. The vehicle for the everyday working man/woman. The generic brand.
2. GMC and Pontiac Dealership – This is your step up from Chevy. Upscale trucks (GMC) and performance cars (Pontiac). Don’t sell Pontiac trucks and don’t sell GMC cars. Your Montana minivan should probably be GMC and not Pontiac. Same with the Torrent.
3. Saab and Saturn Dealership – This is your European alternative dealer. If you want a European styled vehicle, come here.
4. Buick and Cadillac Dealership – This is your entry level luxury and luxury dealer. Start with Buick, move up to Cadillac. These will be prestige dealerships with quality sales and service.
5. Hummer Dealership – This guy doesn’t really fit with the others and can therefore stand alone.
Each of the 5 types of dealerships above should be their own stand alone dealership. For example, do not mix Chevrolets with Buicks. Stand by this strategy firmly and don’t let dealers negotiate their way around it.
This strategy allows you to keep all of your marketing brands (like you want to do), but it combines them into classes that be associated together (effectively reducing your brand offerings without eliminating the nameplate).
Mr Lutz,
Most of these comment echo the same theme, boring cars.
The earlier Pontiac Bonnevilles, Grand Prixs, and Grand Ams were sharp looking cars. The new Pontiac styling is bland.
Looks like the Buick division is going the way of Oldsmobile.
Here’s the killer part. I work the tech counter for a Buick-Pontiac-GMC dealer, so I see the problems that GM has. I always drove Gm vehicles but when it came time to replace my 1996 Astrovan I purchased a 2004 Dodge Durango. Why? After driving the Yukon and Envoy, there was no comparison to the ride, handling and performance (yes its got a hemi) of the Durango. Also, Dodge has enough faith in their quality to have 7yr/70000mi warranty. GM’s warranty is 3yr/36000mi.
My daily driver is a 2001 GMC Sonoma with 90000mi on it. When I get ready to replace it, I will probably look at Dodge again. The new Colorado/Canyon does not offer the smooth ride as the Sonoma.
As a person that depends on GM for a living, I’m worried.
Poor styling, poor quality, equal poor sales.
On the positive side, as long as GM keeps making the poor quality cars that they are making now, I should be able to work the parts counter until I retire.
Bob,
Hopefully your dealership consolidation (not IDENTITY’S idea, since its in the news!!) will help to trim some fat, but can you honestly tell me that a division or two will not be dropped once all the dealerships are together?? It obviously is not gonna happen overnight, I just hope your product line for Pontiac can keep it alive…I would hate to see your customer base disappear as quickly as it would if Pontiac were gone. You think you lost alot by eliminating the F-Body…
Bob-
Why not just put the GM logo on the sill cover? That way you dont cluter up the exterior with a bunch of badges that you know will not be put on straight. That will also eliminate all of the meetings that are going to crop up weather it should be to grid or to stance.
What Does It Mean To Drive a “GM”?
[Cross posted at HotWheelsBlog]
In the Fastlane blog post Sharpening Focus, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz explains the recent corporate reorganization at the top instituted by GM Chairman Rick Wagner, wherein Wagner is taking over responsibility for all…
The decision to include silver GM badging is terrible for GM’s products and future business results. It will alienate current and prospective customers (enthusiasts, business critics and dealers are already either protesting or ridiculing this announcement see links below), disrupt otherwise drastically improved exterior styling (the solstice, sky, G6, Lacrosse and Lucerne have such nice lines – why add this silver ZIT to a nice face – Design Center protest this decision please!) and damage currently strong brands (Corvettes, Cadillacs and Saturns need not share any badges with Aveos)
GM customers and enthusiasts do not want to pay for additional badging and corporate advertising for GM, customers HATE overt marketing. This marketing ploy is the opposite of Scion’s clever viral marketing. Customers will reject it, resale values will plummet as well. GM enthusiasts and greatest supporters are starting to line up against this decision:
http://www.cheersandgears.com/forums/index.php?s=29eed1a7c46a3cada98545744935ec7d&showtopic=15181
Analysts are already making fun of this move, there goes the stock price marching further down:
http://biz.yahoo.com/fool/050412/111333009417.html?.v=1
And dealers are already warming up their heat guns to melt of the adhesives and take these badges off:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2005-04-12-gm-badges_x.htm
I love GM and would never want to buy another brand of vehicle, but I too will remove this overt marketing trash from my next vehicle. Please, this effort will do two bad things: 1) increase manufacturing cost and 2) decrease sales and market share. Please stop the madness.
WOW… I read about this blog in “GMC the Magazine” (which I get because I’ve bought a couple new GMCs in the last 10 years)… and I can’t believe an AMERICAN car company finally had the insight and became so desperate that they designed a way customers could communicate with the “black hole!”
When I travel around the world, I spend more time observing vehicles than anything else. When I was 3 years old I could name every car that went by. I’ve owned 52 vehicles and even sold Chevrolets for 3 years. I’ve always been a GM fan and it absolutely depresses me to see how this company is managed. I just sold my GMC Envoy and replaced it with a new Honda Accord. I’m on Toyota truck #8. I doubt I’ll ever buy a new American vehicle again. Until American manufacturers can figure out how to build cars that hold their resale value, I’ll never buy another one. The first step for GM should be to extend their warranties to make prospective customers think their vehicle will last more than 3 years. I’ve read several articles that show the cost of extending warranties doesn’t cost manufacturers much, but GM obviously is more interested in the bottom line at the end of the quarter. I’d love to write a book to GM to tell them how to run their business, but based on their “we know more than u” attitude, I’ll save my time and effort… again!
At least this blog seems like some effort to listen to their customers… FINALLY!
Bob… I’ll try to do this in short pieces, because no one wants to read 6 pages on the internet… and I’ll try and keep it to one topic at a time (not easy for me). I’m retired and bored to death, and would love to work for GM… FOR FREE… just because it’s obvious that people with the corporate mentality are more concerned about keeping their job than coming up with new ideas that will make money for the company. I find it fascinating that I can take one look at a proposed product and tell whether it will be successful or not. Who the heck reviewed the Pontiac Aztec… and why is GM still producing such an embarrassment?
Bob… next topic… GTO
I’ve owned 2 REAL GTOs, the last of which was featured in a classic car magazine last year. I’ve also owned 10 Corvettes (I still have a 73 LS4 Convertible with 53K miles on it). I’ve also owned 5 ElCaminos (the last was a 66 396 4 speed factory a/c).
I’ve been to Australia and while there the first time, became fascinated with Holdens. I’m convinced that several of the Holden lineup would sell well in the US, but for some reason u chose to bring the Monaro here and call it a GTO.
I’ll spare my criticizm of what modifications should have been made to it to make it respresentative of a GTO. More importantly, u just axed the Z28 and TransAm because they weren’t selling, and brought something even less American here and thought it would sell. WOW If that wasn’t bad enough, u thought u could make it sell by putting a revered name on it. WOW
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve driven the original Holden Monaro (GTO), and the new one with the LS2. It’s a great car, but I need a truck occasionally. So do most Americans, so I read… since about 70% of the vehicles sold in the US are some form of “truck”. I’m guessing that’s why the Z28 and TransAm didn’t sell, as well.
BUT… there’s an El Camino like version of the GTO called the Maloo that would have hit the target BIG TIME. We Americans like to think we came up with the car/truck concept, but “utes” (short for utilities, which is what Australians call pickups) were popular in AU long before the El Camino and Ranchero came along… and they still sell well there.
So… now that gas is gonna be $3 a gallon, how about bringing the Maloo over here, so I can have 400 HP and get 26 MPG… and still haul something?
Hi Bob… me again.
Subject this time is GMs “Request To Consider Submission” form… from GM websites.
In the past, the only way I’ve found to submit comments like those on this blog were with the aforementioned form… and it’s amazing how long it took to even develop this method for submitting suggestions.
Well this form is the typical example of big company bureaucracy and legaleze… and even if u go to the bother to fill it out and pour your heart out to someone… for the purpose of helping them with their business… u never know who it went to or if it even ever got to someone. I was a gubment bureaucrat for over 20 years before I retired, and I know the drill all too well.
So… bottom line here… this blog is a great idea, but it needs to be manned full time by people at GM who really care and have the time and ability to respond to comments from people.
If not… well I’ll just sit here and watch Hyundai put GM in the grave… which I’ve already predicted. Kinda reminds me of watching Reagan outspend the Kremlin till they were out of business. Here’s hoping that there’s really someone at GM that even gives a d**mn.
Patrick,
The main engineering purpose of the Cadillac STS SAE 100 is to learn how to integrate new and different technologies in a harmonious manner. That’s why we call it a technology integration vehicle. The
supercharged LS2 engine was selected to power the STS SAE 100 primarily because it raised new challenges in vehicle integration. Our engineers already have experience integrating the supercharged Northstar V8 engine into the STS architecture for the STS-V. Using a different high-performance engine not specifically intended for the STS was simply a means to add yet another vehicle integration challenge for our engineers.
– Renee Bryant, program manager for the STS SAE 100
Here’s the Detroit News article.
And from the GM Web site.
Bob is still blogging
Bob is still blogging
Mr. Lutz,
I thought there was gonna be more focus now, not less. The very idea of putting GM logos and badges on the sides of your cars seems to be a really naive proposal.
How are the individual brands supposed to maintain a separate identity and hence appeal to a select clientele if the cars are all badged same? Next you’ll probably get some hare-brained marketing guy telling ya’ll to combine your dealerships into a GM SuperStore. Hello! How many Cadillac buyers do you think want to shop along with Chevy buyers? And if not shop together or at the same place, then how many would want to buy similarly branded cars? Doesn’t everyone know Lexus is made by Toyota? They don’t co-brand even though Lexus vehicles are sold as Toyotas in the Japanese home market.
This idea should’ve been nipped in the bud by you. You’re the only car guy over there for Christ’s sake – take notice and sharpen the ‘FOCUS’
Vazir Fatehi
Bombay.
Hi Bob,
Where is a El Camino for the 2000’s?
GM wants to sell more vehicles this would be it.
I been waiting since 1987 for a new El Camino from Chevy.
I still have my 86 holding on that I purchase new.
Its a perfect vehicle for me. Drives like a car but can carry lite loads like a truck.
I bet there are a lot of buyers out there ready to buy with there check books open.
If Chevy can build a SSR then the New El Camino should be next. Which would be a better seller.
I have faith in you Bob.
Thanks,
Paul
Bring back the V8+RWD Camaro (At a reasonable price) and you’ll have me as a customer….
Bob,
10 year Warranty.
Bland designs, slight misses, not perfect, bad past experience, etc.
They all dissapear with a 10 year warranty.
5 yr front to back
10 yr powertrain
That is all you need until you guys figure out how to perfect your designs.
Has anyone submitting comments to this blog ever spoken to an business executive?
BE BRIEF. GET TO THE POINT.
POINT 1 – Putting a GM BADGE on the outside is a dumb idea. Don’t brand with words or symbols on outside of a vehicle, it’s not needed. Think about it this way… if getting a badge were an option on a vehicle, WOULD SOMEONE BUY IT? Make vehicles recognizable with distintive styling.
POINT 2 – Anyone seen the latest GM HOTBUTTON COMMERCIAL? It is pathetic and condescending to buyers. The music background is RAP MUSIC from the defunct female group ‘Salt n Peppa’. At the end of the commercial, this dork-looking guy blurts out something dumb like “Wow, I won!” after he hits the OnStar button. To me, it’s like GM is saying that the consumer watching the commercial is as dumb as this guy, what he says, and how he says it.
Of course, we could still be watching ‘DANCING’ CADILLACS.
hey Bob,
I was wondering when you plan on putting a Navigation system in the G6. It has just about everything else. What is a Vibe owner who depends on a Nav system supposed to upgrade to when they want something more? Grand Prix? nope – I think that vehicle appeals to a different buyer – but the G6 on the other-hand seems like a logical upgrade.
Liking-the-G6-convertible-Derek
WTG Bob. This blog site is cool. Ford and DC would have never done anything like this. Ford could care less about customer input. I’m a witness to the last 10 yrs of crying for a better Stang to only see a piece of junk get smoked by the Camaros and Firebirds. They finally turned the tide, but I have a serious doubt the hype will have a lasting effect. It’s just a matter of time.
Dear Mr. Lutz,
Thank you for supporting and participating in this informative site.
I have a request (and there are many Saab owners that want the same….)
You have the pieces:
- RWD Kappa platform
- 2.0T or V6T engine from the Saab 9-3 Aero models
- 9x design point from Michael Mauer’s concept
The task: Build a modern RWD interpretation of the 2-door, hardtop 2-seat Saab Sonnett.
I will buy one, I’ll give you my deposit to be on a waiting list now, I just got on a waiting list for a Porsche Cayman S yesterday, but in the time I wait for the car I could hear news of a new Sonnett, perhaps ?
A new Sonnett would keep me in the GM/Saab fold, because
a sportscar is in my future. Despite how wonderful a car my 2004 9-3 Aero is, and despite how much I enjoy it, I really want a hardtop sportscar (congratulations on the Solstice launch by the way).
Best regards,
David Bishop,Raleigh NC
It is time to address the “elephant in the room”.
Given the massive costs GM shoulders for healthcare for both active and retired employees, and the fact that your foreign competition does not bear this burden that you are forced to, isn’t it time that GM pursues a real, final solution to what is truly making it uncompetitive?
Your new products are nice enough, but all things being equal, dropping the widely reported additional $ 1,500 per vehicle “healthcare surcharge” would certainly allow for greater sales and profits, no?
The only lasting solution to this issue is some form of government-paid universal healthcare, which will shift the ever-increasing burden of healthcare off of GM, which would allow you regain marketshare and profitability, forgetting for the moment the added financial stability and extended lifespan it could potentially provide to the consumers of your products.
The current admininstration’s reluctance to seriously address the failings of our nations’ health care system is in part aided by the silence of industry in this matter. Perhaps the suffering of the “poor” is not a compelling arguement within these circles, but certainly saving what once was the world’s largest, most powerful (and profitable) corporation must carry some weight.
Every industrialized nation has universal healthcare and their automakers are reaping the benefits while GM flounders, crippled by our current system.
GM needs to get out in front on this issue, in the current political climate GM is probably one of very few entities that can make the arguement for universal healthcare without credibly being dismissed as “liberal”.
GM has the resources to be heard on this issue and can make a case based on dollars and cents rather than on compassion for our fellow Americans which seems to be in short supply nowadays.
I am a patriotic, capitalist American, a GM shareholder and an owner of five GM vehicles currently. I desperately want to see GM restored to it’s rightful place as the world’s pre-eminent manufacturer of automobiles. Without easing of the healthcare burden currently pulling down on the company, the future of GM is bleak, “gotta-have-it” products notwithstanding.
Never has there been a better illustration of “What’s good for GM is good for America”.
“Never has there been a better illustration of “What’s good for GM is good for America”
I would have to agree. As an employee, stockholder and just general lover of GM. I have to say I am worried about what the media is saying. The healthcare issue is hurting us badly. I was reading somthing about one of the oriental car companies and thier cost per vehicle health care was $300 or so. This issue along with the UAW is hurting GM too. I used to be a union person when I was younger as my parents were too but the older I get and my business degree have made me think otherwise.
There is no need for a union today. Why doesn’t Toyota have one? Because they treat thier employee’s decently enough where it is not needed. In the modern day of age this is the way business works. Large companies have enough ethics now that unions almost have no neccesity to be around. They have become the bloated beaurocratic cash cow monopolies that they once fought to protect.
How is it that we have to pay the factory employee 95% of thier salary if the plant closes or is idle. That is just not a good business decision on our part. I know if I get laid off that isn’t going to happen with me. Sorry for rambling on, guess I am just worried about my company and GM’s status as an American Icon.
Clarence.
Hello Mr. Lutz,
I have gotten a lot of attention from my designs, especially the GTO concept I did back in 2002. Have you seen them floating around on the internet? If you haven’t you can look at the GTO and all the rest of my concepts at http://www.GodsilDesign.com What do you think of them? Thank you for your time and I am happy to see that you have given this outlet to the public.
I want to buy American! But you aren’t making it easy. If I purchase an American car it will last ten to twelve years and look like its been through a war zone. If I buy a Toyota or Honda after fifteen years it will probably still be going strong and look in good shape. IT’S ABOUT QUALITY!!! Build a car with quality better than Toyota and I’ll line up to buy it.
Bring back the Camaro. Their are so many people who want to see the camaro come back. Their are so many people who would buy them. Please bring it back.
Hi, I think it’s a good idea to have this blog working. I personally admit I’m a big fan of some of the GM cars, specially the Opel brand. I actually have an Opel Corsa and except for a small trouble with the gearbox once, it hasn’t given me problem for nearly five years. However, I think GM has the ability to produce hybrid and even full solar/electric/hydrogen motors. It would lift up its image as a environment keeper company and even its profits; because up to the piont, most of the companies have boicotted their own non-polluting car programs, including GM. Remenber the EV-1 from General Motors? Well, the company destroyed most of its fleet after just selling a few, despite many ecologist groups offering to buy them.
Come on GM, the real future could be on those kind of motors, I have always stated my favorite cars are the non-polluting ones, who needs the power (although it’s temptating) of a 500 horsepower engine and more than 4000 displacement inside the city traffic? I guess it’s not logic.
Bring back the Firebirds and Camaros soon! If you guys are still making Mustangs, you can go back making Firebirds and Camaros!
Mr Lutz – hats of to you and your team for having the courage to write and to continue to write FastLane Blog; all the while being true to the ‘blog mantra’ – honesty, transparency, passion, authenticity.
FastLane and Bob Lutz have become role models for corporate blogs and c-level bloggers.
What do you think GM’s three largest problems in marketing are right now?
Im the grandson of a historic GM designer exec John G wood . Im ashamed of the lack of imagination GM has. A company with the resouces of GM should be leading the front wave of whats needed . Give us great prodects – performance – — fuel economy . Why are people lining up to buy the prius – ??? why is it GM doesnt have one hybrid offering in the market place – ??? not a single performance car that a young person can afford – — think about it why did we all buy muscle cars – ?? they were cheap – fast and fun – - why did we all buy vw’s ?? they were cheep and fun -
Bob-
My father just bought one of the 1st 1,000 Solstices… I would like to see if we could arrange to have you sign a part for him… I want to try to do it on the sly as a surprise… like maybe “steal” a sun visor or something and get it to you?
Get job on the Solstice and keep up the innovation!!!
The Chevy Volt has my attention. Here are some things that would make it more interesting: Include an inverter so that in an emergency the car can run my house, as a portable genset.
The IC could start to boost the battery when the charge gets low, as now.
Does the car have Onstar? Why not enable it to SMS me when the battery is fully charged from house current, or when it’s done running its IC to self-charge, or when the fuel is low? Or enable remote start and full vehicle monitoring via SMS.
When my son is driving I could locate the car, check its speed, etc.
This is a spectacular idea, a car that potentially everyone would want, like an iPod. By the way, since Ford is partnering with Microsoft, why not partner with Apple for in-car entertainment and control systems? You’d get a better user interface than BMW.
I want fuel economy. I bought a 2007 Chev Classic PU with the 4.3 v-6 utility, as I’d had a 1993 same deal that was fantastic. The 1993 advertised 21mpg and consistently got low 20’s to mid 20’s. The 2007 advertized on the window sticker 23 mpg and after 8000 miles I’ve yet to see 20 mpg. GM is de-engineering their previously exeptional pickups, and lying on the mileage.
I like the concept of the Volt, and would of bought one when they are available, but with this pickup spoiling my attitude about GM, It’s unlikely. cliff
Mr. Lutz;
recent commentary in the press criticized GM for the unveiling of the Chevrolet VOLT. I wrote a comment to The Detroit News (23 March 2007) to take issue with them. For what it may be worth, here is the text:
Those who criticize GM for showcasing the VOLT should study their history. They should also recognize the power of market demand. GM has shown a viable product development idea to hundreds, even thousands of smart, forward-thinking engineers, designers and investors, all considering technological solutions for the concept. Let the power of innovative thinking determine whether the battery technology required for the VOLT is feasible. Let’s stop killing ideas in the media.
I believe that GM should keep promoting new and progressive technologies. By doing so, they will continue to challenge inventors, scientists, engineers and others with an interest in our transportation and energy future to keep searching for solutions, rather than believing that their inventions have no practical applications. The true potential of innovation resides in our collective commitment to changing the status quo, not adhering to it.
One idea that comes to mind is a global challenge by GM, accompanied by a 100-million dollar prize, to develop the battery technology needed to make the VOLT viable. Another is to convince the Nobel Foundation to recognize significant achievements in transportation technology that have a positive effect on economic and environmental conditions not just in the USA, but worldwide.
Shame on the nay-sayers. They’re trying to prove how smart they are, while ignoring the power of inventive and optimistic thinking. A superficial review of recent technological upheavals (most of which were rejected by “experts” before they entered our day-to-day lives) proves that the human mind, when challenged by common desires to improve our existence, will prevail.
Mr. Lutz;
recent commentary in the press criticized GM for the unveiling of the Chevrolet VOLT. I wrote a comment to The Detroit News (23 March 2007) to take issue with them. For what it may be worth, here is the text:
Those who criticize GM for showcasing the VOLT should study their history. They should also recognize the power of market demand. GM has shown a viable product development idea to hundreds, even thousands of smart, forward-thinking engineers, designers and investors, all considering technological solutions for the concept. Let the power of innovative thinking determine whether the battery technology required for the VOLT is feasible. Let’s stop killing ideas in the media.
I believe that GM should keep promoting new and progressive technologies. By doing so, they will continue to challenge inventors, scientists, engineers and others with an interest in our transportation and energy future to keep searching for solutions, rather than believing that their inventions have no practical applications. The true potential of innovation resides in our collective commitment to changing the status quo, not adhering to it.
One idea that comes to mind is a global challenge by GM, accompanied by a 100-million dollar prize, to develop the battery technology needed to make the VOLT viable. Another is to convince the Nobel Foundation to recognize significant achievements in transportation technology that have a positive effect on economic and environmental conditions not just in the USA, but worldwide.
Shame on the nay-sayers. They’re trying to prove how smart they are, while ignoring the power of inventive and optimistic thinking. A superficial review of recent technological upheavals (most of which were rejected by “experts” before they entered our day-to-day lives) proves that the human mind, when challenged by common desires to improve our existence, will prevail.
Hey Mr. Lutz, don’t apologize for the man-made “global warming is a crock” comment. I’ve been in the environmental business for 18 years and it IS a crock. We couldn’t start or stop global warming short of initiating an all out nuclear exchange with Russia, and even then I’m not too sure.
Im an old SAAB buyer starting with 99 turbo. I think most of the new design on the new saabs has been a success . However some are a big mistakes like the “dave edna” lights on the 9-5 and the Cadillacs speed instruments that has a very bad design. Please be innovative but dont go back to old centric gages with to much clutter, the next will probably be adding decimals to the speed figures , so please keep it simple and functional using good design and not design for its own purpose.
Dear Mr. Lutz
As a member of a family with a total of 132 years at GM, I obvisously want to see GM regain its number one status in quality, reliability, ingenuity, styling and sales. However, one thing that I have heard about the Chey Volt is that it will not go further than 300 miles without plugging in over night. Is this true or can you just gas it up and keep going with the engine continuously charging the batteries which run the electric drive motors. Too many comments on TV say who needs a car that quits after 300 miles. Please clarify this for the average person.
Thanks