By Lori Queen
GM Vehicle Line Executive - Small Cars
First, let me just say wow! I can feel the excitement and pent-up demand for the Solstice. Second, let me give you my heartfelt thanks for your candor. Your reservations about whether we’ll come through for all of you — and for GM — clearly came across as well as your strong hope that we’ll exceed everyone’s expectations. I’m confident we will — or least I’ll go down trying!
By Lori Queen
GM Vehicle Line Executive - Small Cars
Let me start by translating for you what my title means: I run the team that is responsible for the Solstice program. I work for Bob Lutz . . . and the buck does indeed stop here!
The reason for my post is to answer a few questions, namely, are we listening? Of course we are . . . I know I am.
By Bob Lutz
GM Vice Chairman
More good news to report today… and I report it at the risk of again being accused of “crowing.” But, as the saying goes, better to crow than to eat crow. (And if that’s not a saying, it is now.)
On the heels of Monday’s Strategic Vision and its 2005 Total Quality Study (see my May 16 post – “Survey Says: Top in Six Segments”), GM scored similar honors in J.D. Power’s annual Initial Quality Survey (IQS), which found significant quality improvements among several of our products and plants.
Our performance in these two surveys – one based on appeal and emotion, the other on quality and defects – validates, I think, the progress we’ve been making. I’ve always said that it’s an emotionally compelling design that sells a car or a truck. But if you have a reputation for sub-par quality, you could have the vehicular equivalent of the Mona Lisa and buyers will turn away in droves.
By Bob Lutz
GM Vice Chairman
“Several new GM products took top honors in their segments. Pontiac’s G6 medium sedan won out over Toyota and Honda entries, as did the Buick Rainier medium sport utility vehicle (SUV).”
Now that is music to my ears, and it wasn’t written by a journalist or some furtive GM blogger. No, that is a direct quote from news released today by Strategic Vision of San Diego and is in reference to their 2005 Total Quality Study. Strategic Vision is an up and coming force in this industry because they offer a unique perspective and a different voice; they don’t look exclusively at problems. They look at total quality and the total ownership experience by issuing owners a comprehensive 8-page survey after three months of ownership.
This year, GM had the top rated vehicle in six of the 20 categories, more than any other manufacturer. The 2005 G6, Corvette, Rainier, Escalade, H2, and Sierra 2500/3500 all topped their respective categories.
By Bob Lutz
GM Vice Chairman
Things have been pretty busy, as you can imagine, but I wanted to take a few minutes to post something because it’s been awhile, and I’d like to address a couple of things that we read time and again in your comments.
The first is your comments themselves…yes, we read them, every one of them. It’s not feasible to address them all, of course, but we try to gather up and get to as many as possible, as quickly as possible. And yes, I know that some bloggers do so more quickly than others…we’re all doing what we can.
The second and more important issue I’ve seen asked repeatedly is, “What is GM’s strategy for fixing its issues?”
By Cynthia Price
GM Center of Expertise
Women’s Market Initiative
I’ve been noticing that guys make most of the comments in this blog. But I’d like to address the women out there.
It seems there is a lot of interest out on the web regarding women and GM. Some of the questions we’ve heard: Does GM have women designing products? Does GM know that women make a large percentage of buying decisions? Does GM train dealers on how to best serve women?
I’m here to tell you that the answer to all of these is an emphatic “Yes.” GM wants more women as customers, employees and dealers. And frankly, in today’s environment, any company that doesn’t strive to meet the needs of women is crazy!
By Mark LaNeve
Vice President
GM North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing
There’s no denying that we’re going through some tough times right now. It seems like every day I read or hear news stories that focus on the negative. I won’t say that it’s all undeserved. However, every once in a while there’s a good news story that I wish would get a little more attention.
A case in point is a recent press release that was put out by the Power Information Network, which is a part of J.D. Power and Associates. PIN’s research shows that five new GM vehicles, STS, G6, LaCrosse, Cobalt and Corvette, have made great strides compared to their predecessors in important measurements related to retail sales - specifically, a reduction in the use and amount of customer rebates, an increase in actual retail transaction prices and a decline in the number of days it takes for a dealer to sell the vehicle.
Podcast host Deb Ochs talks to Johnny O’Connell, a factory driver in
General Motors’ Corvette Racing program. O’Connell drives the Corvette C6.R racecar and has been doing development test driving for the upcoming 505-horsepower Corvette Z06, the fastest car ever offered by Chevrolet and GM. The 2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 was developed alongside the C6.R race car.
O’Connell was critical in helping Team Corvette achieve its first overall victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona and first Le Mans class victory in 2001. He is recognized as one of North America’s best racing drivers. Hear O’Connell’s thoughts on racing and his experience behind the wheel of the 2006 Corvette Z06.
