And Another Survey Says …
2005 Malibu Maxx
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.
It takes a long time to repair a reputation, but when you get solid third-party evaluations like we have this week, it really lends you a big hand.
I’ll spare you the details, which you can find online or in the newspaper, but in short, we swept the top three honors in the quality rating of North American auto assembly plants, scored five segment winners, and took the top three premium mid-size car spots. Also, Buick and Cadillac finished among the top five brands overall.
For the record, those five segment winners are Buick Century (premium mid-size), Buick LeSabre (full-size), Chevrolet Malibu (entry mid-size), Chevrolet Suburban (full-size SUV), and GMC Sierra (heavy duty full-size pick-up). That’s the best GM’s ever done.
As another old saying goes, we’ve only just begun. We know that we won’t have really climbed the mountaintop until we see significant improvement in our long-term durability and reliability. That’s our goal, and we’ll get it done. But the initial quality results, especially on the manufacturing side, signal to me that we’re heading in that direction.
At least it gives me something to crow about.
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It’s good to know my car is the highest quality premium-midsize car
Bob, I think you finally found the answer to GMs woes!
Quality aside, you are absolutely right: an emotionally compelling design does indeed sell a car or truck (mini, mustang, beetle, etc.).
This clearly explains why buyers are turning away from GM in droves.
I was excited to see the Pontiac G6 get favorable mention;it has a beutifull exterior.I hope you make a model with a five (5)speed transmission and your modern 3.6 engine and fix all the small things like:the cheap door handles,steering,etc. This way you could really compete.
“an emotionally compelling design does indeed sell a car or truck”
……
“This clearly explains why buyers are turning away from GM in droves.”
So how do you explain toyota’s success. All their vehicles are about as exciting as a washing machine or fridge.
The secret of Chrysler’s 300C is compelling styling and engineering. The class leading engine in the Hemi commands favorable reviews even when a large share of owners may settle for the older V6s.
Introducing the G6 with an old engine undercut the potential bang it could have earned with a sophisticated and smooth DOHC V6. Introducing the engine late won’t get the same attention as a complete car from day one. I know OHV engines can offer more compact packaging and other advantages, but the general perception is OHV is low tech and rough compared to DOHC.
Cadillac rebuilt the brand starting with the engine — the Northstar — and quality and adding compelling, distinctive styling.
GM will continue to fail at the mass market product level until high content, high quality engines are available in Chevys and Pontiacs.
No Crow On The Menu Tonight
Here’s Bob Lutz, perhaps responding to a good natured jibe from this site, saying
So is quality down because of??? outsourcing? Forcing suppliers to cut costs? Who do you blame now? those lazy american UAW members with their pensions? Come on Bob what gives? GM has been trying to improve quality for the last 25 years. Whats taking so long? Bob,where’s the Gutz? the longer your at GM the more your sounding Nutz.
I’m sick and tired of the mainstream automotive press focusing on GM quality issues, which for all practical purposes aren’t even an issue anymore, while certain quality “leaders” continue to fall down the pecking order or post inconsistent year to year results, without being held accountable by the mainstream press.
GM gained my respect and business in 2002. I’ve been satisfied with my GM product for the past three years and 107,000 miles. (2002 TrailBlazer EXT)
The whims of a few individuals who think everyone would be better off if we all drove bland econoboxes will never change my purchase decision. The new products are downright inspiring, and for the first time since being a child in the 1960’s & 70’s, I find myself drawn to watching what’s new in GM showrooms.
Will the recently announced recall of 880,000 trucks produced by a certain Japanese automaker get the same attention as a similar move by one of their American counterparts?
If an American automaker manufactured a high profile “green friendly” car that received NHTSA registered complaints of stalling at highway speeds, would it be brushed off with a slight mention on the morning news?
The public should ask themselves those questions, and then apply the resulting logic to other reporting in the general media about the state of the automotive industry.
Thanks, Bob, for your continued focus on the product.
Make mine a CTS-V!
That’s great news. However I find it amazing the feedback/ comments are already negative.
I live in the Detroit area and am sick and tired of all the domestic auto bashing, particularly GM. I find it interesting that when the domestics have a recall the media is all over it, but when Toyota or Honda, etc has recall you hear little or nothing.
Toyota Recalling Tacoma
Toyota will recall the U.S.-made Tacoma compact pickup truck, the Sequoia sport-ute and Tundra pickup, and the 4Runner sport-utility vehicle, all the results of a flaw in the vehicles’ suspensions. The total of recalled vehicles will be about 790,000. The defect involves front suspension components that can deteriorate if scratched, according to Reuters.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has not launched a formal investigation yet, but it is compiling complaints from Toyota Prius owners that the cars can stall or shut down while on the road. The agency has logged¬†thirteen reports in which 2004 Priuses have shut down at highway or slower driving speeds; a TCC staffer’s personal car experienced the problem late last year. Toyota tells the Wall Street Journal that the issue affects 2004 and some 2005 models, and can be fixed by a computer-control update. The company says it notified owners of this update in a service bulletin to owners of 23,900 Priuses. No injuries or deaths have been linked to the problem.
This local economy is so dependent on the auto industry. We have the big 3 world headquarters located here, plus numerous tier one and tier two suppliers. Not to mention all the smaller business that prosper from this industry.
I own a 2001 olds Aurora and it’s been a awesome car, and I feel that was just the beginning of GM’s vast improvement is quality. I agree that in the past poor decisions have been made and quality suffered. These quality studies are more proof that quality is no longer an issue. I’m also tired of hearing how GM design is lacking, can anyone honestly look at a Toyota Camry or Avalon and get excited about styling, those cars are the most boring nondescript vehicles I have ever seen. Bob I will be in the market for a new vehicle soon and look forward to the 2006 line up. One request I would like to see more manuals offered. The CTS comes standard with one, but I have found none on the local dealer lots.
Wake up people its time to start some Asian import bashing and support the industry that keeps this area employed.
Bob again this is great news and keep up the effort it will pay off.
Good news, indeed. Not to rain on your parade but most GM cars are boring (e.g. they are transportation devices rather than vehicles you dream of owning). Case in point: I looked a Buick La Crosse today and found it lacking, compared to my dad’s new Accord. The styling and interior were not up to the Honda’s despite a similar price. Better marketing is important, but you need cars and trucks that people to aspire to drive…whether they are sedans, mini-vans, SUVs, or coupes. Nissan, Audi, Subaru, BMW, Honda and Mazda understand this…and execute well. Please us give us cars that inspire us, not make excuses for.
Mr. Lutz,
I want to congratulate you on the recent success of GM products not only with Strategic Visions Quality Survey but also with J.D. Power and Associates Quality report released yesterday and the nomination for the best interior for both the Cadillac STS and the Hummer H3 by Ward’s Auto World magazine.
I have ALWAYS believed GM products were far superior to any car maker in the world. Its reports like these that completely reaffirm my belief in that GM is the best car company in the world.
A counterpoint to quality
Bob Lutz’s most recent post on Fastlane touted GM’s reported quality improvements, but unfortunately from a Saab perspective, recent results in this area have been unacceptably low – or non-existant. The survey that Bob is publicising, by Strategic Vis…
After weeks of GM bashing, I am breathing relief too, that there is hope for this beloved auto giant.
If you would please now improve on some of the things that we request you to look into. Like offering options that other manufacturers are offering.
My Specific request from you Bob a HHR with Navigation.
Its the only thing remaining to Tip the scale in your favour, instead of a Mazda 3 hatch with Navigation
Congratulations!
Still though, it would be nice to see some GM cars that hold up well at 90 thousand miles, rather than at 90 days.
Are you all ever going to address the serious problems facing GM cars, car designs, pricing and dealerships on this blog? That’s what we want to see.
If we wanted press releases, we’d go to http://www.gm.com/company/news_events/press_releases/
Yeah, it’s great your cars hold up for a month or two after they leave the showroom, but what we really want to hear is what you’re doing with pricing cars fairly rather than overpricing them and offering rebates, and improving the dealership experience, so that people will actually want to go into the showroom in the first place. Right now I’m so frustrated by just talking to dealerships via e-mail that it will be a long time until I actually drive to one.
Talk about what steps you plan to take to address the things people on this blog want to see in GM cars (more RWD, more manual transmissions, more road feel, better power steering, better interior materials, 6 year warranties, etc., etc.)
We want to hear what Bob Lutz & crew really think about GM cars, and what you’re doing to make them better, and what we can do to help.
The real question I’d love to hear Bob Lutz answer is:
If you had to buy a new car for yourself costing less than $30k and drive it on a daily basis, and you could choose a currently available 2005/2006 model GM vehicle (except the currently unavailable Solstice, or any of the SUVs, Trucks, or Vans), or you could choose a currently available sub-$30k 2005/2006 model car (no SUVs, Trucks, or Vans) from any other manufacturer, would you really choose to spend your own money on, and happily and regularly drive, a new GM car instead of the alternatives?
If so, which one and why? (no fair going for the unsold 2004 GTOs with the factory rebates that get them under $30k)
If not, when’s the Solstice going to be ready, and what other cool cars are going to be following it?
We want candor here! Save the press releases for the press release webpage. Tell us what really gets BOB LUTZ, and not GM’s PR staff, excited about working for GM.
“a whole family of angry kitchen appliances: demented toasters, furious bread machines and vengeful trash compactors.” – Bob Lutz
http://www.us-appliance.com/amref.html
http://www.saturn.com/saturn/index.jsp?nav=1&flashOK=yes
You sure weren’t kidding Bob, even though you weren’t referring to Saturn at the time. Yikes!
If you’re not going to make the cars better, how about at least updating that website? Just make the front page a movie billboard style with a picture of a bright red or dark blue Saturn Sky and the message “Coming Soon To A Dealer Near You.”
Dear Mr Lutz,
It’s time that GM take care of that issues and recover a good brand image. Here in Europe the American cars have a bad reputation about reliability and also quality in general, for example the interiors.
It is quite interesting to see in the last JDPower study that the European and American cars improved a lot and fight face to face for the first positions with the japanese cars that in the lasts years it seems they loosed some of the customer satisfaction.
But I am very disapointed with Saab, a company well known for his reliability, quality and strong durability. The 9-5 and Saab in general during the last years was on the first positions and the 9-5 won on his category in the JDPower in 2001 if I remember well, but the last 2-3 years it is quite disapointing the results of Saab, and also in some other studies as the TUV or some mags that Saab always demonstrated a very good quality.
I am very afraid if the sinergies could affect to that and if we will arrive to the grade with Saab to be a “badge engineering”. Saab is becoming the GM expertise in Turbo, infotaiment, safety and so other features, but if they are taking care of that to give more chance to other companies of GM as Opel to concentrate his efforts in the development of new models, Saab what will develop??
It is quite disapointing that an Opel Astra with 120hp diesel has the same brake discs and calipers as an 9-5 Aero, or the 93ss and 9-5 to see some details that you can find in the Opel or other GM models and are cheapily made.
Nowadays it is quite important to make the sinergies and be collaborative, to be more efficient with the resources and share technology and knowledge and to take advantage of the expertise of someone to concentrate the efforts in some other areas, but this thinks are for make a good basis and every brand could make more efforts to make a different car, with a better percieved value for the costumer. It is time to decide where you can arrive and where is the limit of the sinergies to avoid the badge engineering and to take and advantage of that sinergies to make a more differentiation between the brands and avoid that the Automovil become a commodity and the excessive power of the purchase department and to be more collaborative with design and other deparments and the suppliers to have the best quality at the best price.
I hope that this moment of transition for Saab and GM in the next 4-5 years that Saab are going to launch some new models, as the next 9-5, 9-2, 9-7x, 9-6x a crossover, the next 9-3 and so we will se the Saab it must be, and also the GM, with the chance of Cadillac in Europe, new markets as China and so…
greetings
Surveys Say One Thing…..
On the GM Fastlane Blog, Lutz and company continue to pat themselves on the back for being on top of not one, but two quality surveys. First of all, I want to congratulate GM for this accomplishment. However, I have…
Dear GM–
Very good recent survey results. I am happy for you all who were involved in this marked victory. Don’t let it be a short time affair. Already the Ford folks are vowing to tilt the table their way.
I visited my local Cadillac dealer for some service last week. I’m one of those elderly guys who is sold on Cadillac and my dealer. Parked there was one of the new Buicks. It really looked a bit lost in the sea of CTS demos but I did get a chance to take a close look.
I’m certain that it doesn’t have any more “ZING” than the old Century that did so well in recent surveys. Please don’t miss any more opportunities to produce a truely dynamite car. I need a new “second car” and its a toss between a new Honda 4 cyl or grab an new “old” Century. I shouldn’t be in such a situation. Nor should you.
Much has changed in the history of the automobile. And although they have suffered a major shifted, two things that have always remained are competition and enthusiasm.
Before the import invasion, corporate competition was primarily between GM, Ford and Chrysler. There was also fierce competition between the brands within the corporations.
When it came to corporate bragging rights there was no love lost between the brands.
During that same era, there were no JD Power surveys, no Consumers Reports and marketing was an unknown term. Cars were developed by product loving enthusiast for an auto loving public. This enthusiastic competition created most of the classic vehicles in the history of the automobile.
Today the design and development competition between corporate brands is gone. The enthusiasts are on the outside looking in as uninspired designers work on multi brand platforms that fit within dictated cost structure all based on a marketing analysis. The finished vehicles fate is determined by surveys, critics and consumer publications.
We humans have a knack for over complicating things.
I dunno bob, I think some of the GM execs should head off to Australia and learn some lessons from Holden. The G6 is sooo close, but but but, I can’t shake off that old hard shiny plasticky image out of my head when I look at the steering wheel. It’s just being a previous owner of a Grand Am that literally seemed to fall apart at the most inconvenient times, it is so hard to live with some product that heralds some of the old quality issues even if its just a design. Image is everything. After the GA I really thought about just sticking with Chrysler. I’m now learning that Chrysler makes junk too as my wife’s Sebring LXi is falling apart at every chance it gets, but at least its falling apart in style the GA could never approach. I still own a Ford Mustang and its a piece of junk too, matter of fact, I can’t even drive it. And I used to own a Fiero, biggest nightmare ever. Glad its a gonner. So here I have been an owner of 3 domestic autos and each one seemed great in design, style, etc. but fell apart in less than 5 years to the point of uselessness.
I am so glad that GM decided to make the GTO in Australia and not in North America, it would have completely bombed out for quality issues. My opinion is American can no longer make quality products and it might be in GM’s best interest to either import a few Aussies from Holden to GMNA or just shut down GMNA altogether. I hate sounding like a jerk, but that’s the truth in how I see it. I’m filling out my JD Powers survey I received in the mail and the ‘05 GTO is getting high marks across the board. WTG Holden!!!!
Thank you for the coverage of surveys that demonstrate the quality of GM products, but this only further emphasizes that the problems with GM as a profitable business are far deeper than product quality.
Please do a survey of GM bondholders (who bought the bonds when issued) and tell us how they feel about the current quality/value of those bonds.
Let’s hear some news on the restructuring front. What’s the game plan for turning GM into a lean and mean business that stockholders (and bondholders) can be proud of.
Quality products are in fact a *requirement*, but they are not sufficient.
– Jack Krupansky
“An emotionally compelling design…” Maybe you’re finally getting it Bob. Now practice what you preach. Toyota doesn’t have very many exciting designs but they don’t accentuate that by having a bloated inventory. Plus they don’t cross-breed with other foreign manufacturers. Combine that with a boring design: Can you GTO? BTW: I don’t believe for 1 minute that Australia builds a better car. Since when have Australians been known for building quality vehicles? NOT! We all know this was done for economics and to get this car to the market in the shortest amount of time.
I leased a 2004 Grand Prix. The initial quality was perfect. Zero defects. A year later and 16K miles still no problems. This is a first for me with a GM product. Good Work. (and yes, I did get to fill out a JD Powers initial quality survey)
Don’t delay the rear wheel drive Grand Prix to long. You are missing out on a lot of sales!
This Blog is not intended for issues other than buying and selling cars and trucks, so says Bob. However, the very reason this Blog was created was to connect with consumer, in order to develop better product, in order to sell more cars, in order go into balck, in order make money, in order continue to be one of icons of the American Economy.. So it is all about Economy isn’t it?
For those who demand ten year warranty. When was the last time you got one for you washing machine, kitchen appliances, consumer electronics (at best 1 year, most 90 days).
Dont you see the 10 year warranty is yet another marketting gimmic. have you read the fine print? those companies offering it will back off of it, when they drive certain other companies out of business with it.
Wake up America
Automobile Manufacutring is one of the last Manufacturing storng holds to be lost to companies overseas.
Granted the American companies should stirve to improve and not become fat and happy the minute they go into black and make lots of money.
American Government should protect whats good for its economy.
American consumer should protect whats good for America. Think about it… the Big 3 go under, US economy goes under, all you people who are making lots of money in other fields WILL GO UNDER, as the value of your land, homes and other investments go to south.
Here is the deal…
American auto companies must get better, will get better, no excuses. They have the knowledge, the people, the systems. Just do it…
American Government will help support keep Auto jobs (and other jobs) in US. None of this Bush speeches on workers to be retrained for more high tech jobs. For Mr Bush’s information Engineering jobs at BS and MS level are going to China and India. In the medical field some Xray images are read by Indian Doctors to cut cost…
American consumer: quit knit picking on american auto manufacutrers.. Their design and quality is much better, and will get better. Support whats good for American economy. If you want the same America for you children as you enjoyed!
Do you all want China’s economy to overtake that of US. They are already teaching chinese langauage at some schools in New York…
Wake up America… We have lost so much industry to overseas.. whats next?
60 million american workforce can not all work on space shuttles and missles… Is that whar Mr. Bush meant when he said “workers to be retrained for more high tech jobs” ? I wonder!
So, in the areas that GM one, where was Toyota? Where is the Camry? THAT is the question.
Regarding Jack Krupansky’s comment, I am a GM bondholder, and I am very happy with the quality of my bonds. What’s not to like about high-yield bonds?!
I have a suggestion for an exciting concept car for Buick. Make a modern car look as much as possible like a 1957 Buick Special 4 door and see how the auto show crowd reacts to it.
Bob-
I applaud all that you are trying to do for GM.
But 2 of these vehicles are soon to be or are out of production.
As far as “emotional styling” goes, I just got my 3rd current generation Impala LS with the Sport Apprearnce package.
Love the car.
This is my 16th GM car, and I am only 43.
Talk about “emotion”—I showed my wife the pix of the 2006 Impala on the Web.
She said “Ewwwww”. And “Where are the Chevy tailights like on your car”?
I said that somebody at GM feels that that is no longer necesary.
She said that it was a pity because the back of my car looks like a “Chevy”, but the 2006 looks like “everything else”.
I said that GM should embrace certain styling traits from the past, but a lot of GM people don’t feel the same way.
I then showed her the 2006 Lucerne.
I said that GM is killing the Le Sabre (we drove one recently–she was familiar with it) and replacing it with this car.
She said “what a shame….it’s (the LUCERNE) ugly”.
Bob- please continue trying to make nicer looking cars, but please, if you need someone in a “focus group”, I would love to do it.
Best regards,
JIM
Pennsylvania
Hello Bob
I am delighted to contact you having been a student of your career via your book GUTS and the Lee Iacocca book of the Chrysler Story.
As an owner of European GM Cars for ten years and based in the UK.I have also driven various GM vehicles in the US over a ten year period.
I have followed recent GM history on a number of US web sites. Living in the UK with all our major car manufacturing owned by Ford,Honda, Toyota,GM, Nissan,and Peugeot it is sad to see GM having problems.
Todays recalls by Toyota of 880,000 vehicles surely proves that even the mighty Toyota are not foolproof.Your recent success in Quality ratings and customer poles are pleasing.
I have to say however, apart from your fuel cell work you seem only to react to your fellow car makers and not lead.The Cobalt styling appears similar to the previous European Astra, the new Astra in Europe has received a universal welcome for its design, why was the Cobalt not based on this model? Surely you could have saved design time and gained leadership at the same time.GM do not seem to have tried to produce a car aimed at knocking the Camry, and the Accord off the top spots, and the new Nissan saloon Altima is now in the 3rd spot. Does the platform sharing across the various GM marques result in the total platform sales exceeding the Japanese cars? Does the need to create a saloon for each of your companies result in higher costs than the competition? Incidently your US public will be amazed to know Toyota withdrew the Camry from Europe because the model did not sell.It is important for your US customers to get behind you and lift your market share and sales I wish you all success.
And oh.. by the way…
I agree with those who cited dealer problems… Specially after the sales. That must be fixed..
My wife hates the dealers. She goes in with a service appointment, and waits for 2 hours for an oil change. and the icing on the cake is that the service reps were rude to her because she refused a tire rotation!!!
HELLO.. any oil shop can do it in under 20 minutes without appointment..
And where do you come up with $160.00 fee to replace a turn signal lamp?
Wake up America..
You know I should change my name to Wake Up America (WUA)
Hey thats like UAW…
“Plus they don’t cross-breed with other foreign manufacturers. Combine that with a boring design: Can you GTO? BTW: I don’t believe for 1 minute that Australia builds a better car. Since when have Australians been known for building quality vehicles? NOT! We all know this was done for economics and to get this car to the market in the shortest amount of time.”
The truth is all I know. I own an ‘05 GTO it is a fine vehicle. I have not experienced any other Aussie built car so I can’t vouch for their quality. Given that I have experienced the poor quality of GM twice (1 Grand Mam, and 1 Fiero), and both were pieces of junk. I had to have the GA taken to the auto graveyard. I could not sell it and never would knowing the poor condition it was in. It was dangerous.
The Fiero suffered the same fate. The tranny problems in the Fiero costs me a pretty penny. My ex was surprised to see that I even thought of Pontiac when she had seen my new car. I retorted back it ain’t really a Pontiac. It is an import built with a higher degree of quality and it shows. I personally think this car is world class. Its not boy racer and its not a some throwback to be what it can never be, an original. I firmly believe the original GTO is nothing that can be outdone even if the new GTO was all retro’d out. Just as the Mach 1 Mustang for 1970 IMO cannot be outdone by the new Mustang GT. Back to the quality issue. To be quite honest with you I have never known very many domestics to be known for their quality either. That’s why foreign car markets ate us up alive and continue to do so today even if its a bland econobox such as a reliable Toyota. I have many friends that own a Toyota and they literally run ‘em into the ground after 200,000 plus miles with only routine maint, no extensive or major repairs.
I want GM to succeed but it needs to get its head out the proverbial hole and take a look at what the other guy is doing and do it better.
As far as the get to market fast. Sure, it was. It was the blunder from down under that gave us thunder. I did not like the ‘04 at first due to its price and lack of performance that a Mach 1 is equal to and a SVT Cobra could wipe it out. I stopped looking at cars for a while so I didn’t get brainwashed by all the magazine articles in between time stating what a loser the GTO is. I waited and found the GTO already had some power increase. At first I remembered it was bumped a few from its orig. number and thought “not a big deal”. When I found 400 burbling ponies under the hood, I was nearly sold. I test drove it, compared it and felt it was the best car for the money. 400 HP and all the amenities the GTO has to offer at $33K is a performance bargain steal. So all the money I saved in terms of not having to hop up my Mustang GT to add the equal amount of power to my GTO could be spent elsewhere on cosmetics or just on some other things. The car is hot and needs no modifications but the urge is always there and the ram air inlet is the simplest one next to K&N or some chip reprogramming. I would say the GTO is a lot of vehicle and quality for the price. I know, I own one.
This is good news, and as a Buick fan I’m particularly pleased. But it’s no surprise to see the Century & LeSabre in there. They are names traditionally associated with the very highest quality the U.S. industry can boast. However…as I understand it, these names are being phased out. I don’t see the sense in this. IMHO, GM needs more brand equity, better quality perception, and clearer divisional identification, not less. It will be a generation–if they’re both lucky and good–before the LaCrosse and Lucerne names can make a contribution in these areas.
So, 2 of the cars GM no longer makes or is renaming, thereby killing whatever good press you got, were listed.
The Buick Century-Dead
The Buick LeSabre-name changed.
The same thing happened with the Buick regal.
It is stupid to keep changing names!
And the initial quality report is fine, but you are missing the big picture.
According to many people I know who have owned GM products, their vehicles started falling apart right after the 3 year warranty ended! Almost as if they were designed to only last 3 years.
This is one of the reasons why GM is in trouble, design is the other.
In all the cases they liked the vehicles but wouldn’t buy another GM product because they weren’t built to outlast the warranty like a Honda or Toyota are.
The only way to counteract poor experiences with your products is a :
TEN YEAR WARRANTY.
Get it? I didn’t think so.
Shephen wrote: I have a suggestion for an exciting concept car for Buick. Make a modern car look as much as possible like a 1957 Buick Special 4 door and see how the auto show crowd reacts to it.
==============================
Stephen, where were you in 1957? Ed Ragsdale (then GM of Buick) was looking for you!
1957 was an awful year for Buick and the harbinger of more bad years to come. Plymouth had styling that left the press wags fawming that suddenly it was 1960. They looked at the split rear windows on the ‘57 Buick and opined that it was suddenly 1949. Quality problems on the ’55’s and ’56’s weren’t helping matters
Things got so bad that they were shutting off the air conditioners in Buick’s administration building to save money and there was talk of shutting Buick down. But, Buick had a friend in GM’s President, Harlow Curtice and the lights stayed on.
Sounds a little like today, doesn’t it. Chrysler on a roll and GM stumbling. Chrysler usually can’t follow through with suitable replacements and nagging quality glitches turn current owners off. We will see how this plays out.
Regarding Buicks, the best car I ever owned was a 1972 Buick Electra 225 that I bought as a kid off an older couple for $800. Though they couldn’t be much different in many ways, the inherent quality of that Buick reminds me of my Hondas. The smoothness of the controls. The little touches like a light on the dash to indicate the cruise control is on. The recirculating feature on the HVAC… Maybe the slogan now should be, “when better Buicks are built, Honda will build them”
It is nice to get some good news about GM products. But the news I read in a Detroit newspaper that gave me some hope in GM was that they are going to cut down on the number of models offered. Chevrolet at one end, Cadillac at the other with Pontiac, Saturn and Buick filling in between with fewer models. Just remember boys, no more than 2 of anything. I just might buy some GM stock.
I appreciate this blog very much. I’m very much a Saab guy who has appreciated the quality improvements GM has brought to the brand. My 2000 9-5 Aero is the best Saab I’ve ever owned.
While it’s good to know that GM as a whole is getting noticed for improved quality and customer satisfaction, it requires some targeted marketing to have that info rub off on the brands under the GM umbrella.
For example, most people are flabbergasted when I tell them that the Saab 9-5 has made Consumer Reports’ list of recommended used cars for the last several years, because of its improved reliability.
The other thing that mystifies me about GM is the ability to make crappy variations of excellent cars – diluting the perceived excellence of the original. For example, I’ve rented TrailBlazers in the last couple of years, and I like the model. But two months ago I rented a TrailBlazer EXT – which can only be described as like driving a tub of butter (albeit with an excellent engine). Did no one figure out that adding length and weight would change the driving dynamics of the vehicle? Shouldn’t the goal be to define the “TrailBlazer” experience and make it uniform across all variations?
The reviews of the LaCrosse I’ve read also make this point – dividing the line into “soft, traditional” base cars and making “good handling” available only in the top of the line is a mistake. If a “soft, traditional” car has to be offered, make it a separate model.
GM has enough brand confusion issues to deal with, without digging itself a bigger hole with **model** confusion issues. What you don’t want is one group of people driving a base LaCrosse and giving up because it’s too soft and traditional to compete with the Japanese, who drown out the opinions of those who drove the better version of the car.
Seriously, couldn’t we have found out about this on the Fastlane Blog?
The whole advantage of a corporate BLOG is the ability to be PROACTIVE about corporate communication strategy. Now you all have to react instead. (Unless of course you figured all of us GM fans with too much time on our hands would find out elsewhere anyway)
http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0505/19/A01-187008.htm
“GM shifts strategy for brands – Pontiac, Buick and GMC will be sold at single dealerships to create options… Only two of General Motors Corp.’s eight brands — Chevrolet and Cadillac — will remain full-line marques while the others will offer more limited product lines…”
Bottom line for me: I will not buy a car without good steering feel, and GM’s whole line is numb and dissatisfying. I hope your glad your saving $5 part costs on those numb steering pumps. Goodbye.
Totally agree with John above – I read about the new brand stategy in three other places already without even looking for it. What’s the point of this blog anyway? Any new surveys to tell us about today?
Steve made an excellent point about dropping the LeSabre and Century. The average Buick buyer is 62 years old, probably somewhat resistant to change. Chances are when it is time to trade in the Lesabre it would be for another Lesabre. The customer wont have an idea what a Lucerne is, nor care to find out. GM could alienate many Buick owners this way. Leave the naming decisions to your marketing people, that is what you are paying them to do!!!
One of GM’s problems today is not embracing its great heritage. It is quite silly to say that these 2 cars made the quality list, but guess what we wont be building them anymore. Successful brands should be coveted, not buried. All the ad money wasted promoting new names could instead be used to bring out even more new product.
I am a firm believer in the quality of GM products. What the company needs to do is start an ad campaign to let others know about their success on surveys like these.
A reply to Doug,
All of the GM cars I have had in the past 10 years have has a “cruise” telltale light in the gauge cluster. and all HVAC’s on all cars have a recirc feature. On some cars it is called “Max A/C”. Honda didn’t invent this stuff…..
To Bob,
I just read in the paper today that the next big option on mainstream vehicles will be navigation systems. This technology is not just for the rich anymore. Please do what you have to and make this available on all of your models ASAP and beat everyone to the punch. Add it to your “only GM can” advertising. Do it now!!
Nice again to hear about the improved survey results, and that GM cars are being better assembled! The recent improvements certainly explain the difference between rattly ‘03 ION lemons I owned .vs. the better made ‘04 Maxx.
As for long term reliability and better service, would be nice to hear something about that.
Or is styling and initial quality all that matters for a car anymore?
Hello Mr. Lutz,
Congrats on some (finally) exciting models in the pipeline.
And on that note, my rant:
I am sure you have studied Focus Group results until your eye were popping out of your head but the men and women in the every-day world have a simple strategy for you:
Chevy: full line, primary/mainstream brand
Caddy: High end head to head against BMW, Mercedes, Lincoln, Lexus…
NOTE: this means that you don’t forget your Midwestern grandpas and grandmas…but you MUST compete with the Beemers and the luxo-japan cars as well; lots of caution (read: compete with the 3 series but DON’T create another Cimmeron). See Pontiac for more on the Caddy lineup.
GMC: TRUCKS….TRUCKS…and, did I say TRUCKS? get it out of the SUV market, unless you are going to get Chevy or Cad out (and you are planning for Jimmy to fill the low or high end SUV niche accordingly).
Hummer: this is interesting, you should keep Hummer and FOCUS it on niche offroaders (read: go head to head against the likes of Rover and Mercedes G-Wagon)
Pontiac: This is a GREAT brand…USE IT! QUIT with the “okay but nothing that will outperform the Corvette” ATTITUDE. The Tin Indian, the Poncho…has had amazing staying power in its niche…ever since ole’ John D. and Pete E. put a tiger in the tank! Focus this brand on PERFORMANCE. (insert supercars, M3 & M5 killers here).
I know you have to tread lightly to avoid crossing into Caddy territory but…well, maybe you should leave the performance oriented Beemers to the Poncho lineup instead of the Caddys? Close familial ties to the 3/5 series competitors should exist (poncho–caddy) allowing Customers to comfortably cross over but leave the high end competition to Caddy: such as 7 series, 400 series Lexus, the big Mercedes, Lincoln…AND don’t forget Rolls and Maybach…why not?
Saturn: you guys blew it when you started sticking your fingers into their game plan…that said, as you have already removed their autonomy…use the Saturn brand for all the Alternatives and Eclectics out there…big little, short tall…hydrogen and hybrid; all avant guard vehicles should be in this brand…if they fly, roll them to the other brands accordingly (like hybrid tech for example). This brand gives you a great vehicle (pun intended) to float the bleeding edge out to the public and see what catches fire. production should be fairly low and flexible manufacturing/production techniques and technologies should be used by these guys…so that they can turn and burn into the next alternative production project.
Buick…I am sad to say there is no room for Buick in Clay’s grand schema. You should sell off Buick and Olds rights to start up companies that want to go their own way with the brands…keep a sizable chunk of the voting stock, options, and first refusal rights…just in case the new owners hit one outta the ball park. Look at this as a cheap exit from the dead and dying brands; if they fail, no skin off of your backs…
Saab…uh, well how about taking a lesson from the Subaru playbook and go AWD with the full lineup? Target that crowd…we are getting tired of having only one full line AWD player out there in the small/med car segment.
Just some advise from an outsider that sees the writing on the wall…with a rising Europe and (with its rising cohort) China trying to sink the ole’ US of A more than a few notches.
Oh…and one last thing: get into F1 and rally racing, they are great leading edge development organizations!
Good luck and feel free to catch up with me to have a coffee or a single malt (or a good porto and a cigar).
Liberty & Regards,
Clay
Lake Tahoe Nevada
—
“If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest for freedom, go home and leave us in peace. We seek not your council nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.” –Samuel Adams
—
That is some great news for GM and with the realingment of the brands (less models) there might be a bright furture for GM sooner than most my think.
Reporting from Flint, MI
Well hey everyone. Hi from my hotel room in Flint Michigan. I’m currently out on my “tour” of the Midwest, which I like to call “Zanestock ‘05″
On my 12 hour drive from New Hampshire yesterday, i got to catch the full 4 hour ìOpie & Anthonyî sho…
The electric steering is needed for GMs CAFE as it helps fuel milage over the standard power steering setup on these smaller less HP engines
I have the Malibu with the electric steering and the 200 HP pushrod V6. The car that JD Power named best in its class, even though it is just about universally panned by car critics.
I have no issues with the “feel” or “feedback” from the steering wheel. Honestly, I think 2/3 of the people who gripe about the steering feel wouldn’t have even noticed the difference unless they had first read about it in a car magazine. And the steering wheel itself provides good visibility to the gauges beneath it. But I do enjoy the rants from the drama queens out there who claim they refuse to buy the car because the steering wheel is just so ..ugly.. Puh-Leaze.
As for the engine, I’m OK with the low-tech pushrod design. My thirst for neck-snapping acceleration was quenched long ago by paying for high-risk car insurance, a dozen speeding tickets, and getting my license suspended by age 25. (Curse you, ‘78 Firebird!) With the Malibu LS I can merge on highways with ease and still get 29 mpg average. So mark me down in the satisfied column.
Bravo GM!!! Keep up the good work, that’s the only way back,quality. I have had my GMC Sierra for one year now and it’s a great truck. No problems, not one. Keep the good news coming.
“So, in the areas that GM one, where was Toyota? Where is the Camry? THAT is the question.
Posted by: NextGenAuto at May 19, 2005 04:01 PM”
Next Gen:
Here’s the answer to your question:
http://www.jdpower.com/news/releases/iqs2005069.asp
Can’t say as I recall any comment on the Camry…At least not in the top three models per segment.
Hhmmm. Wonder why?
Mr Lutz
GM should have a marketing campaign that reminds consumers that their loyalty to foreign brands is likely to result in a lower dollar a lower standard of living and Asian control of the U.S. economy. Its time for Americans to become nationalistic
CCRyder wrote:
A reply to Doug,
All of the GM cars I have had in the past 10 years have has a “cruise” telltale light in the gauge cluster. and all HVAC’s on all cars have a recirc feature. On some cars it is called “Max A/C”. Honda didn’t invent this stuff….
==============================
CCRyder, I wasn’t implying that they did. Reading my comment again, I can see where a person could easily get that idea.
What I was trying to get across was more the “execution” of features. It’s a hard concept to explain. I don’t seem to be alone in this. I was reading a “Motor Trend” test from 1962. They compared Cadillac, Lincoln and Imperial. This was when GM was really on their game. The author tried to explain his feelings. He allowed as how the Cadillac didn’t have anything the others didn’t, it was just that everything seemed to come together and work better in the Cadillac.
To digress… The rage right now on both tuner and production cars is “white” taillamps. Cadillac introduced those in 1962 and they were more trick than anything anyone has put out today. If GM could only get its “mojo” back…
One thing that hasn’t come up a whole lot (at least as far as I’ve read) is the problems that pension and healthcare costs are causing for GM. Because there are so many employees, the exploding cost of healthcare is exponentially more damaging for GM than it is for smaller companies. I agree that GM still has work to do in designing cars that draw in new markets (and new loyalties) and the like. But I also know this… every aspect of business contributes to the bottom line, and healthcare has been a lot nastier than most things of late. Perhaps GM could find some good ways to invest in the healthcare community, and see the benefits in lower healthcare costs.
Doug wrote: Stephen, where were you in 1957? Ed Ragsdale (then GM of Buick) was looking for you! 1957 was an awful year for Buick and the harbinger of more bad years to come.
**************
Buick sales were down in 1957 since it lacked the fins everyone was looking for at the time, but still it finished in fourth place in sales at 405,086 units sold.
In the fifties, a Buick was one of the few material possessions for which there was no completely acceptable substitute.
The ‘57 Buick Caballero, a 4-door wagon with hardtop styling, is worth a fortune today in like new condition.
What harm could there be in using a CTS platform to build a show car similar to the ‘57 Buick Specials and Centurys, and see how the public reacts?
Baby boomers love the fifties cars and they have money to spend. Just look what they bid for fifties cars on ebay.
I am not a big fan of bashing American autos. In fact they’re all I drive.
But the Initial Quality Survey by J.D. proves nothing. What about a Long Term Survey. (Say six to eight years).
After having said that, I do believe that GM has cars second to none, and it is perception that is ruling the auto industry.
The electric steering saved less than 1 MPG. Its not needed, all its used for is to save money on building the car.
The electric steering sucks-get rid of it.
I also agree with other poster who mentioned the Impala’s taillights. Keep them round-don’t make the Impala look like every other car out there.
And there had better still be Impala logos on the sides and back of the car!
A commentor above was revealing the correct fact that Japanese auto recalls are barely discussed in the media whereas a recall from GM is headline news. It seems as though anti-American sentiment (by the media) throughout the auto industry is the norm and it is not only ignorance, but I think sheer sabotage.
Who owns these papers, periodicals, t.v. news stations, etc. that continue to throw out the perception Japanese is better?
My dad just got rid of a 1990 Buick LeSabre with 131,000 miles on it, many of which were cold start (short trip) miles.
It’s goes without saying I drive GM cars and proudly. I am not only happy with the current car I own, an Impala LS, but know a fellow American shall not suffer, because I blithely look over an American car as junk and go right to the Japanese dealer.
The United States of America used to mean just that; now it means ME!
FIX THE DEALERSHIPS
When a person buys $15000-20000 it is lot of money for that person because for the low income families it is a bigger burden than a person who buys a Cadilac. Give him the best experience. The dealers should treat them with a unique experience. I would like to suggest the following for Chevy/Pontiac dealers:
1. No pressure salesmanship.
2. Explain the features take time to show the car and not rush thru it. Remember you are trying to get repeat ownership as well as getting the relatives and friends of that prospective buyer.
3. Show comparison. Its available on the net. The prspective buyer should not leave the dealership.
4. Return Phone calls!!
5. At least 2 phone calls after the purchase. First phone calll within a week while the buyer is still enjoying the car. Second phone call should be within 3-6months. At that time invite the owner to the dealership for oilchange/car wash/coffee-donuts. Dont send a postcard. Personal phone call will go a longway.
6. Servicinng experience at the dealers is terrible. They do not listen to the customer complaints. Fix the car first time. The people who recieve the car are not experienced. They usually note down the complaint but dont listen or ask proper questions. That means the car does not get fixed first time! Also explain what was fixed. Why it happened and what can be done in future to avoid. Usually the servicing people hand the key and the bill and say your car is fixed. They have no clue on what was done to the car. Please take good care of my car and take time to explain me what happened even if it is under warranty!
Dealing with Chevy and Pontac dealers has been a nightmare.
We go there once in 5/6 years.
one bad experience and I am never coming back.
The perfect marriage of brands.
Pontiac/GMC
“From professional grade to professional play.”
After work you want to play and this is the perfect marriage of going from extreme work to extreme play and this outlet represents those who want to work hard and play hard.
Buick/Hummer
“From the uncivilized terrain of off road driving to an absolute escape from it.”
This dealer would represents a perfect combination of luxury presence, stance, greatness, height and power. Their strong, powerful stance represent their greatness and stand above the rest.
Buick is Big, Bold and Beautiful
Hummer is High, Headstrong and Handsome.
The Hummer H3 is like the Buick 8 for its high narrow windows and it represents everything Buick once was and should be. To recapture that stance, boldness and greatness it once had then Buick will be what it should be.
“Buick is the Hummer of the car world.”
I agree with the negative comments about lifeless GM steering feel. Such lack of feedback is annoying in a simple truck or family sedan, and it is totally shameful to allow this cut-rate engineering in a “performance car.” I’m not surprise many people don’t know any better; it has also been my experience that many people are totally unaware about what good steering feel is. For the rest of us who really appreciate fine machines and their nuances… the machine that feels good gets my cash, and I’m not going to settle for less.
Steve G wrote..
The electric steering sucks-get rid of it.
My advice differs. I would rather see GM continue refining the feel and performance of electric steering until they are ready to get rid of the steering wheel altogether and offer a joystick controlled car. Throttle, braking, steering, could all be incorporated into the joystick. It would save weight, cost and complexity in the vehicle and enhance collision safety.
The Nintendo generation is ready for it. Be bold and be the first to bring joystick controls to cars. And while you’re designing a car for the tech savvy youths, incorporate OnStar into a wireless GPS phone, put a flashdrive input jack on the front of the radios, Make the XM receiver portable, and put 5 point belts in the car.
You can’t regain the lead by playing catch up. You need to play leapfrog!
The Bonneville is such a good car, it is a shame GM is going to stop production.
I think that this car should have the front and rear fascias changed, and send it to the Chevy division as a full size car. Call it the Caprice. Just don’t put a forty thousand dollar price tag on it. Keep it around thirty three. This way Impala buyers have a choice. Large midsize or full size. The Bonneville is quite a spectacular car, and it would be a shame to see it go.
Chevy dealers also have much more traffic, and this way the “Bonneville” would have the exposure it needs and exclusivity (top of the line) from all other Chevy’s. Like the Caprice of old except a modern version.
Another subject: Do head to head comparo’s on television and in print ads, with your cars versus the competition. GM’s QUALITY IS THERE. SHOW IT!!!! Change perception.
In “Automobile Magazine” there was a comparison between the Cadillac CTS-V and a BMW, and another car. The CTS-V won on every point except the interior! And I think this magazine is BIASED (toward foreign)!
Give the next Impala squared off features. The C-Pillar, the trunk, don’t touch the front end, it is very handsome.
I walk through dealerships and think to myself that today’s cars do not have the distintion of the cars of old. There is no personality.
One exception is the Chryler 300C! This car is absolutely gorgeous with amenities to back up the beauty. If you can try and hire that Chief Designer
)
Pontiac/GMC
“Professional grade, professional play.”
Buick/Hummer
“The perfect escape on the road and the perfect escape from it.”
Now that’s a better marriage. Two lines of distinct well defined car and truck lines. One for the blue collar professional and one for the white collar elite.
I just don’t think Buick/Pontiac/GMC dealers make a good pair, Buick is a luxury brand.
May God Save the Neapolitan and all its flavors.
Seve G 1 mpg is a big saving in the CAFE because chevy had changed the rear gear ratio,went to electric cooling fans and a declutching altenator to SAVE .7 mpg on their trucks. The CAFE is a big problem for GM because of the number of large cars and trucks they sell.
Styling problems. That is part of what GM has. I can’t stand the term European Styling. This is the greatest country in the world and the US has built some of the nicest looking cars. My wife and I own a 1965 Chevelle SS. The styling is not only terrific but you get goosebumps just going for a ride in it. That is part of what is missing. The newer cars all look like each other and the manufactures seem more interested in power windows and door locks than building a good looking, fun, affordable car. Of course I’m one of those nuts who believes that we could use a nice full size rear wheel drive family sedan without all the bells and whistles and gimmicky stuff. But thats another topic for another time. Thanks for lending us your ear.
Then they shouldn’t sell so many truck-based SUV’s. I don’t think ruining the way a car steers is a good reason to save less than 1MPG.
Notice how the Malibu SS doesn’t use electric steering? Because someone who wants performance would never accept numb steering.
Guess what-neither would I in a regular sedan. Why should I when there are so many other choices out there?
If the electric steering isnt ready for primetime and it obviously isn’t, then don’t use it yet! For crying out loud, Lutz, you’re supposed to be a car guy, don’t you even test the cars that you produce!?
Doug,
Sorry I misunderstood what you were trying to say. I agree with you in that the GM of old (50’s 60’s) was second to none when it came to styling and execution. I think it will return under Bob Lutz.
Steve G,
Please read this review of the Cobalt, especially the part about the electric steering.
http://www.freep.com/money/autoreviews/phelan31e_20050331.htm
My S2000 has electric steering and it feels very connected and responsive. If you do it right. Electric steering can be very rewarding!
Upper managment has know loyalty, its not the car name that isnt selling, its the design. You killed of oldsmobile, do you think that everyone who bought oldsmobiles switched to another gm product. You killed the camaro and firebird now the bonneville and I hear the lesabre is going to. You have to admit the new gto was not done right, you just hoped by takeing a holden and putting gto badging it would sell. I have never been I ford man but look at the new mustang that car is awesome, its so retro and the price is right to. The t-bird was awesome to but to pricey, they would have sold more than they could have built if it would have been more affordable. I know you have heard it before but the aztec and rendezous are ugly, there only selling because of cheap leases. The new vans(venture,montana,etc) with the pointy nose are ugly didnt you learn from the old lumina and silhouette pre 1997 they looked like door stops, dodge is going to continue to rule in this segment. The ssr was A good idea but you have to make it afordable, who is going to but an ssr when there not much cheaper than a vette, there is know comparison. I like the cobalt lets get on the marketing. I like the g6 it is alot better than the old grnd am. In the last ten years GM has concentrated to much on trucks (most profit) and left the cars hanging, and now your behind again. Believe me I want you (GM) to come out ahead because I am a delphi worker. And I car lover I still have the first car my dad bought me a 1971 442. Good luck, sorry about mispelled words and grammar. cant type at all.
Steve G GM make more profit on a $40K+ SUV then the total selling price of a Cobalt so they need to sell more SUVs to make a profit. They can not survive on selling compacts at the cost of not selling trucks and SUVs.
I don’t get it.
Just read a review of the new Silverado SS. Nice truck, but priced at $36K??? The Toyota equivalent, the Tacoma X-Runner, is $24K. Thats 2/3 the price. These are both niche vehicles with bold designs and excellent performance–in other words: the same target market! Except the Chevy will be sold at a 50% cost premium over its competitor.
Sorry, GM, you still have a lot of work to do.
GM really needs a new dealership design standard for Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealerships. Every new P-B-G triple I’ve seen is — in essence — really just a Pontiac shop with a couple extra brands added to the sign. They’ve got the tacky red neon inside and out — a look definitely not befitting the upscale image Buick is trying to foster. Frankly, the look is a bit dated anyway, and probably inappropriate for Pontiac too.
My point is, the look of the showrooms implies that Buick (and GMC, for that matter) is an afterthought, even in brand new facilities. This definitely needs to change.
GM needs a look that works for all three brands or should have its dealerships create separate sections of the showroom for each brand.
Jim if you are referring to my post GM makes at least $12K profits,before the rebates started,on each $40K+ SUV they sell. A cobalt can sell for $12K so the profit on it can not be very much compared to the profit on a large SUV. The reason GM imports their small cars is because they can not build them at a profit here in the USA
For every review I can find (and its difficult) praising the electric steering are 4 panning it. All it takes is one bad review to turn off a customer.
>Steve G GM make more profit on a $40K+ SUV then the total selling price of a Cobalt so they need to sell more SUVs to make a profit. They can not survive on selling compacts at the cost of not selling trucks and SUVs.
Dear Mr. Lutz,
I have been an advocate of the American automobile since the inception of foreign vs. American.
Lately I have heard disturbing news concerning the American auto industry. It seems that although the engineers design the automobile the right way, it does not come out as they designed.
What I am writing about is the manufacturing aspect. From the Manufacturing Managers to the Process Engineers right to the Lineman the engineers design specs are not adhered to. The tolerances engineered are not a priority.
I am not blaming anyone in the manufacturing plant for this, for they are just following instructions from higher up. I think upper management has a different goal in mind and does not pay attention as closely as possible to the manufacturing of their product.
Of course upper management has many other concerns like shareholders, and other outside pressures, but without the guts of the company one has nothing. Marketshare is what is necessary and it needs be that if the higher management isn’t giving enough creedance to manufacturing plants and delegating extreme importance to this, than there eventually won’t be much of any company to run. Stockholders will flee.
GM does not have to give up market share. It is low enough. Time for General Motors to step up to the plate and play ball.
Steve G turning a profit on a low priced car is tough for GM because every one that goes out the door had $1500 in UAW cost added to it which honda and toyota does not have. As you can tell i am a GM fan,10 new corvettes and 30+ new chevys since 1953. Present rides 05 C-6 corvette,04 Impala and a 88 silverado with 120,000+ miles. I guess you must have owned quite a few diffent cars in your lifetime judging from your comments.
>Steve G GM make more profit on a $40K+ SUV then the total selling price of a Cobalt so they need to sell more SUVs to make a profit. They can not survive on selling compacts at the cost of not selling trucks and SUVs. Steve G
I agree with Steve G’s comment. For too long American car companies have been literally given up on the small car market. Instead of getting down to the root of the cost problem, they pretty much gave up and hand the small cars market to the imports. You know when people start buying Civic, Corolla….all these imports, they’ve got a taste of the high quality and low cost cars. Later on, they will buy Accord and Camry….then Acura TL, Lexus IS300….etc…then Acura MDX and Lexus Landcruiser…..etc.
Do you see it? You don’t give up this entry level market segment to anyone, period! It may not make a lot of money, but you will lose the whole generation of car buyers if you give this up.
Ford has Focus and now GM has cobalt(thank God). GM, keep this coming, the Cobalt is a nice little car(although the hideous four-spoke steering wheel will still “force” me to buy a Honda or a Toyota). At least GM seems to come to its senses and attempt to recapture all the lost ground.
Good luck!
Hello Mr. Lutz,
I think that if you want to start selling more Saturns you have got to change the logo. When I see that logo I think cheap crappy car. Im sure im not the only one who feels that way. The main thing is to get rid of the red backround. In my opinion it should just be a simple fully chromed planet or whatever you want to use and thats it, no red backround!
GM quaility is just fine I drive a 1992 Chevy Berretta with 150,000 hard miles on it.
Still runs and shifts great!
Thomas, honda and toyota do not make their big profits from their small cars they make it like GM from the big high dollar cars they sell. Why do you think they are trying to get into the large truck business,because that is where the profits are.
Mr. Lutz,
Congratulations on the survey results. It’s clear that GM can improve quality when sufficient focus and resources are intelligently applied.
The challenge for GM is how it develops products that are compelling and excite current, past and future customers. While I certainly wish GM future success if the recent cycle of new products are any indicator, growing market share will be problematic.
With the possible exception of Cadillac, GM’s new products seem IMHO to be designed by a committee. To me, the exteriors lack coherence and the interiors are very busy. They lack an overall theme. I suspect this is an organizational issue rather than a lack of talented designers. Too many layers of management approval, too many conflicting goals for the design team, too many manufacturing facility utilization design compromises, too much reuse of antiquated parts. Too much compromise!
Unfortunately, with GM’s Asian completion on a three year or less redesign cycle and their current targeting of the truck and SVU segment the need for GM to react quickly with great products is acute.
Best wishes for future success.
Nice blog.
I don’t really care what these surveys say and only current GM supporters will be influenced by them.
While I might still be a fringe perspective, quality fuel efficiency is my most important criteria when judging a vehicle (I don’t mean an econo-box).
If GM had a vehicle to compete with the Prius you’d have your biggest advocate. And it isn’t just me. Survey after survey has shown that the far majority of Toyota customers are interested in purchasing a hybrid. This is a bigger issue than just the perception of quality and reliability.
Many GM supporters claim buying American cars is economically important for America. I agree, but America’s dependency on foreign oil is equally as important – the greatest threat to America’s National Security according to growing numbers of CIA and NSA officials and ex-Directors.
An American-made hybrid car to rival the Prius, a freedom fighter, is where I want to invest my money. The H2 will never be a freedom fighter, even if it makes GM a stronger company.
Until then GM is just talking and survey after survey won’t change my opinion about that.
If GM can only profit from large trucks and SUVs then they are dead.
If GM can’t make money on smaller cars because of the UAW, then import cars from South Korea and tell, the UAW that they either come to the bargaining table now or there won’t be a new contract in 2 years.
Then, GM can move all manufacturing to Tenessee, Alabama, or wherever and tell the Unions to go screw themselves.
Congratulations on the great result and i can report to the American public that GME is making the same progress in Europe with Opel as this link show http://media.gm.com:8221/servlet/GatewayServlet?target=http://image.emerald.gm.com/gmnews/viewmonthlyreleasedetail.do?domain=82&docid=13722
The Germans have recognized that Opels Quality has shifted and Opel increases there marketshare. As for the other european brand, Saab, it was a realy poor result in JD Power and I really hope that the forthcoming productportfolio with the facelifted 9-5 , 9-7X and 9-3 SportWagon does well in the autumn. The Saab 9-3 with the 2,8 liter V6 with turbo (250 hp)has been tested here in Sweden by the swedish motorjournalists and they love this new engine in the 9-3 combined with the 6-gear automatic.
General Motors FastLane Blog – Reviews and Links to FastLane discussions
This is a call to Stelios, Branson or any other pioneer marketeer to respond to this call and get your blogs on! Here follows a brief summary of what Bob Lutz is doing over the water.
Motorman, you missed my point. Good for Toyota and Honda for trying to break into the truck market. What I was saying is despite of the low profitablity in the small car segment, GM and Ford should not “give up” on it, since the success in this segment can forge brand loyalty among younger customers who will eventually buy bigger and more expensive cars and trucks.
The automotive industry is too competitive to give up anything!
Motorman-
So was it big cars and trucks that made Honda successful? And was it big cars and trucks that pushed GM and Ford into junk bond status?
I saw a post somewhere in this blog that poor communication between the service rep and the mechanic is one of the primary problems with service. My expericence has been that this doesn’t just apply to GM, so it would seem that we have a “niche” that GM could fill and make a lot of people happy.
Perhaps we could hire three or four mechanics to replace the three or four clerks filling out repair authorizations. Then we simply rotate our mechanics through the customer service department routinely and get a little expertise on both ends of the customer experience.
Maybe we should have the computer print out two pages — one page filled in by the service rep and the other written by the customer desribing the problem.
It used to be that in a small shop I could ask to speak to whomever was going to work on the car and get agreement on my problem, but that is not realistic today in a scheduled, time critical environment. But the diagnostics in today’s shop easily make up for the lost communication if there is even minimal correct communication.
Which brings us to the management philosophy behind service. There is a truism in management, “you get the performance you measure”. If I measure how fast a mechanic does his or her work, I get speed; if I measure how often the service-rep/mechanic team satisfies the customer on the first visit, I get service.
soultex why do you think the japanese companies have lexus and accura because there is where the BIG profits come from,not $12K economy cars. who do you see in the “tunner cars” not american kids because the american kids go for “muscle cars” and that is where GM has let them down,no muscle cars under $30K. the new small GM pickup trucks should have V-8s as a option so the young american buyer can play with them just like the buyers of the corvettes. no one out there is making performance parts for the I-5 engine. when you get into 2 and 4 cam engines it costs a lot more money to buy 2 or 4 cams than it cost to buy 1 cam. this why the ford cammer are not popular with the “hot rod” crowd because the GM LS engines are much less expensive to modify.
Bob,
Don’t kill Buick or give it fewer cars. The Buick dealers are the only dealers in GM who can sell good cars in volume. Chevrolet? They can’t and will never be able to sell cars (now a truck division) Pontiac, just another Chevy.
Buick? Century, LeSabre, Park Avenue carried the corporation in the early 90’s until GM choked Buick off. Now they say its damaged. GM brought Buick to its knees, and now Cadillac biased top sales management will finish the job. Cadillac if it gets hot, might sell 250,000 cars. Buick with old inventory can do 300,000. With four good cars, LaCrosse, Lucerne, Rendezvous and a four door entry level luxury sedan, plus the Velite convertible as the halo, Buick comes back strong and does 400,000 to 450,000. The dealer network is alive and kicking, unless GM chokes it off.
Fantastic news that GM took the Gold, Silver and Bronze in the mid size luxury car category in the latest JD Power Quality Survey. You have every right to crow about this … All GM product – Impala, Grand Prix, Buick LaCrosse all were better than Camry and the Accord!!!
Yet, it is unbelievable to note that not a single TV ad yet from GM talking about this … I thought you said we are going to move fast … 10 days not long enough? This is as fast as you can go? Not proud of this accomplishment?
People …If you own any of these, feel proud to be driving the best.. If you drive something else, time to test drive one of these …
I read that one of the posters said he thought that GM designs are boring; well he may have a point. What the up and coming competitors do so well is that they never let a model get stale. For example, Honda restyled its minivan enough to trick the public into thinking it was a brand new vehicle, but instead it is just an update.
It appears that success is garnered to the companies that do not let their products go stale. Many of GM’s vehicles are stale, I am not going to list them, but you know the one’s that I am talking about. I think it is great to speed up the delivery of the new SUV’s and pickups, because they are getting a bit stale. I can remember about 4 years ago the Trailblazer started to be seen running around town, my point is that a sheet metal and interior improvement/redesign should be showing up now, not another 13 to 15 months from now. And hopefully that approach will go into the Malibu, so in year 5 a refresh looking vehicle keeps the customer excited.
Hi Bob!
I must say I’m happy with GM’s stated plan to eliminate brand overlap.
That said…please make sure it *actually happens.* One thing about the 50s that you can’t disagree with is that each brand had a personality, which was a nice selling point for those cars then (and now, as I tend to drool over the land cruisers and muscle cars ever weekend on Woodward). Overlap is part of what destroyed that.
Good luck. I can’t say I’m entirely happy with all of GM’s decisions, but I think y’all are on the right track, and will keep pulling for you. That said…gee, the new ‘Stang is looking awfully sharp. With my Monte Carlo lease up in a year and a half, and the new Monte being flat-out hideous…
Continually hyping surveys like the ones for JD Power only emphasizes how out of touch GM is with today’s consumers. We all know what JD Power is: a marketing organization that sells its results to manufacturers for advertising purposes. The results are as worthless as the paper they’re printed one. Besides, consumers don’t care about “Initial Quality,” they expect a new vehicle to be flawless. (Initial quality is like saying the first bite of filet mignon was fabulous even though the rest was like shoe leather.) Long-term quality is what really matters and GM’s brands rarely top those surveys. I haven’t rented a GM vehicle in years that wasn’t losing knobs from the radio or rattling itself to death with 10,000 miles on the odometer.
Greg .. Your bias is very obvious .. seems like you are the one who is really out of touch.
JD Power is widely recognized as a legitimate scientific survey. All of the auto companies incl. GM take their data very seriously especially verbatims from customers… this results in several improvements every year.
“Initial Quality” is very important for a lot of reasons to manufacturers eg. first impressions from customers, infant mortality of parts etc. Also, equally important is for eg. Consumers Reports which measures longer term ownership issues. I know GM takes those seriously as well and have internal surveys that mirror these.
I have driven several GM and non-GM cars as rentals over the past 3 years and for business as well … I do not share your experience at all.
GM has really begun to turn the corner on quality. Now, the GM is making strides, I think I am beginning to hear from the naysayers that things like JD Power don’t matter. But I can assure you they do matter to the manufacturers and I know it does matter very much to GM.
I have owned Park Avenues for quite a few years and love the car but GM is shooting itself in the foot in NE Ohio…..dealers have bad reps and you have closed several limiting choice…I may not get another Park in a few years because the dealer thinks you are the customer and not me….Hello….better tell them the car owner is the customer…and NOT GM…or you will find that you will in fact have fewer customers….
Also, I have heard that GM is killing th PARK Avenue….are your managers NUTZ ? …it is the best car on the road according to the National Highway Safty Board in terms of Stolen autos, Injuries and Collission repairs and you are doing away with it???It is no wonder the foreign companies are cleaning GM’s clock….perhaps you need fewer MBAs and more SMART people….
Thanks for listening…
Paul
Mr. Lutz,
I have owned only GM cars for the last 35 years and will be buying again in the near future.I want to buy a G6 GT coupe. I saw that the GTP has hydraulic steering and I would like to get it in the GT coupe. Why can’t this be an option? With the same suspension as the GTP I would like to have the same feeling with the better gas mileage.
Does anyone know if the 1990 Buick Lesabre custom sedan 4-door came with premium or alloy wheels from the factory?
GM has won 19 or more awards from JD Power and Associates. You can’t tell me GM does not build quality. GM performed well in a number of plant and model rankings, outperforming competitors such as Honda Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., Hyundai Motor Co., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG by a variety of measures. Oshawa #2 (Ontario – Car) was the highest ranked plant in a quality survey. Dan Winegarden quoted GM engines as being low tech, but he failed to mention that GM creates a V6 engine that generates almost the same power ratings as a small block V8. He forgot to mention that the LS7 engine that generated 500+ horsepower and still allows you to skip a federal gas guzzler tax. Let’s not forget the Allison transmissions that are typically found in Abrams tanks, but are available in GM vehicles.
Pontiac G6: Winner, Strategic Vision’s 2005 Total Quality Award
Looking for a reason that my son’s late 1990’s gmc 2 wheel drive ext cab pick up is eating up power steering pumps. 2 in the past year. Can any one help?
Oh My Stars is all i have to say about the electric steering, i own a 05 Malibu and the steering in this car has been a nightmare. I have brought the car in repeatedly for the same issue with the steering, it clunks something feirce. They have replace the steering column, the steering rack and “tightened the carriage” only to have the clunk reappear a few weeks later every time. Does GM have any ideas or solutions for this problem or do they intend to just ignore it until our warrantys are run out? I have 9000 miles left out of a 36000 mile warranty and the steering still clunks, im beginining to think i am going to keep paying for the next 5 years on a car that is going to cause me lots of greif…..Is anyone else experiencing this problem or is this a isolated issue?