Survey Says: Top in Six Segments
2005 Pontiac G6
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.
Overall, I’m fairly pleased with these results, particularly in the case of the oft-maligned G6, which by the way, scored extremely well, especially on the emotional side. As Strategic Vision President, Dr. Darrel Edwards says, “As the number of new vehicles and segments continues to grow, understanding the emotional needs of buyers in each segment will be critical.”
Understanding the emotional needs of buyers is something we’re working really hard to do. Our increased efforts to converse directly with car buyers in forums like this blog are indicative of this. So, like I’ve said over and over in my posts, yes, we’re listening.
As the study also points out, we do have work to do in some areas. The scores of some of our vehicles have suffered as their lifecycles draw to a close. We will be replacing those vehicles this year and next. Stay tuned for more.
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Wow, I knew this study was going to mean another Lutz post, but that was fast! Anyway, we get it – GM makes good cars and people like them. Now, can we have some topics that aren’t about sales or marketing? Lets start talking about the new Tahoe/Suburban/Trucks… anything I should know before I buy an Expedition with a fold flat 3rd row?
GMC Yukon Denalis take over CSI
Are you a GMC Fan? How about a CSI fan? The two make one on Thursday night. Yukon Denalis will take front stage on the season finale of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
Bill Ford is not taking any pay until Ford turns itself around. Nice move. Hey G…
Bob Plays Offense
Here’s Bob Lutz in today’s post, practically crowing about GM’s marks on the Strategic Vision report
Anyone who objectively looks at the cars on the market right now can only be pleased with GM’s new models. Unfortunately this has not translated into sales. According to the numbers the auto industry is on track to Sell 17.1M cars up from 2004 by about 500,000 cars. People are buying cars they just are not buying GM cars as you continue to lose market share. What you need is a someone who can sell cars. The mantra of improving the product and they will buy is not working out. You do not seem to have the expertise in-house (look at the last 2 promotional tie-ins with the G6 and Solstice to see what I mean) so my advise, is find someone who can sell cars, pay him what he wants, and get him working for GM. I do not have any answers but somewhere is a guy who does. You need to find that guy and hire him. Your solutions of the same old ads, rebates, the Hot Button, are not working. Look at your numbers. You can not do the same things and expect different results. You have to do something radical to get the customers attention. Here is a tip how about a 10 year warranty worked for Hyundai. Car history is ripe with stories of marketing guys that have saved companies or boosted sales. Two names that pop up are E.L. Cord and Lee Iaccoca. Both former car salesman who took what they knew about selling cars and applied it to moving the metal. The sales numbers on the Mustang are impressive 40 years later. You need someone like that and he ain’t at the Tubes. You gotta go find him and hire him.
The message from “the market” is that if GM is having trouble making a decent profit, it’s not related to product quality.
I sincerely hope that the board of directors of GM takes heed of the market’s message and focuses far more energy on restructuring the company so that all of these great products can be turned into great profits for shareholders.
Just to reiterate: products are not the problem for GM; as CEO you don’t need to spend even 1% of your time worrying about product quality.
– Jack Krupansky
That’s good, but you need to keep improving.
Offer the Duramax in the H2.
Add a locking front differential to the H2 and H3 Adventure package make it the equivalent to the Jeep Wrangler’s Rubicon package.
These are too cheap improvements that would H2 and H3 better.
IMHO, Quality is a red herring, Its used as an excuse why people buy cars from other countries because GM has allowed the press for decades to low ball American cars and make it look like they had less quality while those writers or magazines take millions of dollars from those nameplates and then say they are not biased.
My 1st car was in mid 1960’s it was a 1952 chevy. I have owned 13 Corvettes, GMC truck and other GM models and quality is not the top issue its the DEALERS !
From the time you walk in to buy from them and then the warranty years of pure lazy, sloppy and “they can care less” warranty work is what drives us away from GM.
This is so bad that I quit going to a dealer even if there is a recall for in the past I have found people eat their lunch in the car, took it for joy rides, even took car home at night and I’d get car back with 70 to 100 miles on it and worse is the problems were not fixed and they made new ones.
No way I’d allow a dealer to get his hands on my Corvette every again and because of that 1999 was the last time I bought a new car from GM.
I can only recall ONCE in all my years of owning GM cars where I had to lemon law a brand new ZR-1 and why ?
Because the dealer got his hands on the car and made minor issues big ones where the cars come out of the dealer far worse then when they came in.
Driving around in some little 4 banger offshore car is not to me owning a soild American car that is not boring and lifeless.
GM needs to get tough and market how their cars are built for how tough we are on cars, we are not on some island cruising at 30 MPH, we put far more miles on our cars with all types of weather and lousy roads.
Another problem is the use of lightweight parts to reduce weights to meet CAFE where the dinky cars do not and those parts look lousy and cannot handle long term weather changes.
Let’s quit claiming the cars are a quality issue when in fact its been a fade for some time that your “IN” if you own a non American car and as it is its aLl the NON American parts GM uses that are failing.
I’ve raced my Corvettes for decades and never once lost an engine even at speeds over 200 MPH for distances of 100 miles, try that with those offshore nameplates.
GM defend the American car and why its different and put some American pride in it.
Congrats…celebrate these victories and build on them. My fellow bloggers can not be more clear about the things that need to be improved: the need for class-leading interiors, styling, engines, dealer experiences, marketing…GM cars should not be the last cars left in the rental car lots — reliable but commodity transportation devices. Exciting cars is the only way to grow and profit, as Nissan has proven.
Great News! Now let’s see how FAST this can be worked into local advertising. You still must do something to get buyers into those showrooms
Good Luck!
NOW Broadcast this study everywhere – make sure noone misses this and the last JD Power study!!!!!
Congratulations again!
We’ll take all wins, small or big. Now, other than this blog, you gotta get the word out. Perhaps include these wins in your tv advertising.
Also, related to advertising & how it affects GM, I was thinking of product placement in TV shows & movies. One of your trackbacks mentions prominent showing of Yukon Denalis on CSI. Very good.
Perhaps a new Smoky and the Bandit, but with a GTO or the Solstice? Maybe small budget films made by independents, like BMW did, and show them as movie previews/commercials. More about it here:
http://www.windowsitpro.com/Article/ArticleID/27284/27284.html
Some ideas: A James Bond-ish character in a Solstice, a scooby-doo mystery team in an HHR, a detective chasing suspects in a GTO. Just throwing out ideas.
Anyway, good for you (and us consumers)!
The car isn’t the problem.
Bob Lutz is pleased that GM performed well in the 2005 Total Quality Study undertaken by Strategic Vision of San Diego:”Several new GM products took top honors in their segments. Pontiac’s G6 medium sedan won out over Toyota and Honda…
A lot of people are citing dealerships for GM’s problems. I’ve heard my fair share of horror stories outside this blog! I buy into a lot of it, I’ve even left and gone to another dealer over the way a cashier has treated me. But I had a thought. Aren’t a lot of dealers multi-line: meaning they sell foreign brands as well as US brands? The same dealer principle owns both dealerships, many times with stores across town from one another. So what gives in that situation? Do the dealers train the GM sales people to be one way and the foreign car sales people to be another? My guess is no, but I wanted to throw this out as food for thought. Certainly, a bad experience does not help the situation. But I can’t help but think that either the GM dealerships are not as bad as everyone acts, or Foreign dealerships are not as good, but people are willing to accept their shortcomings due to perception.
Great, GM’s biggest problem is the public’s perception of LONG-TERM reliability, and now it’s crowing about how well its cars rank at 3 months.
How dumb do you think we are Bob? Seriously, do you really think that that study’s going to change anyone’s mind? Anyone capable of reading and using the internet?
Come on! If you want to change perceptions, don’t root around until you can find some largely unheard of survey that ranks your cars ahead of others at the 90 day mark. (Heck, I bet there’s quite an entrepreneur opportunity in providing those “surveys” to domestic markets.)
Instead, start offering 6 year warranties with your cars, and make dealerships stand behind them, and then see how perceptions change.
Ok,
I’ve complained enough on here. If GM management doesn’t understand how big their problems are from the feedback they read on here, we are looking at a certain bankruptcy.
That said, we are in the here and now. You NEED a big impact marketing plan now. And it doesn’t necessarily mean alot of money but I can assure you that your current ad campaigns are awful. Listen, I’m not stating that I have the answer but I believe there is a better way to reach nontraditional consumers than the lifeless program of today. While I am critical of your sense of urgency, lack of technology leadership and styling, GM has alot going for it. ALOT. You need a “Lee Iacocca” ad campaign and it has to be undertaken by a credible, blunt but polished company executive. GM has the potential to gain significant mind share by circumventing the traditional press and ad outlets with a direct message to consumers. Using traditional marketing is passe when you are on death row. One thing is certain, the average American would much rather buy a GM product than an import. There is a general uneasiness about internationalization of jobs, earnings, etc, that has the potential to drive brand loyalty of American products. POTENTIAL not guarantee.
You have lost two generations with your past mistakes. They don’t even consider GM in many situations. You cannot get a message to them with your current ad campaign. You need a consistent message and that message should be hammered home consistly using a credible corporate executive. Whether it be radio, television and web media (television is your high impact audience where the consumer can connect and visualize your message) a direct message has the potential to do more for your bottom line than it ever has before.
Main Themes:
1) Quality leadership in product, manufacturing and customer service. (The lagging factor is #3 so fix it dynamically as you deliver it)
2) Leadership in alternative fuel and environmental issues. Again, you have successes that no one knows about. And where you don’t define concrete initiatives with REAL products to follow. That may be taboo in your thinking but with the consumer it builds trust. The environment has become a big issue with all of us and we all know alternative fuels and economy are major themes that won’t change regardless of where oil is. (The Prius was a cult hit before oil hit $50)
3) Give consumers a challenge. Bob has done it on this site but a few hundred people post on here repeatedly. Iacocca did it on TV. “If you can find a better car, buy it.” And set up some type of feedback mechanism so if someone takes you up on your offer and is disappointed that they can provide that feedback to GM NOT the dealer. That way, you have an opportunity to excel with the answer. Winning is most important. Most people expect some type of issue with a major service or goods purchase. The opportunity to overachieve expectations is delivered in how you handle that issue.
4) Tell clients you want to EARN their business and you are confident that given a chance, you will. Back it up with an iron clad guarantee of some sorts. It doesn’t necessarily have to drain your pockets.
etc, etc, etc.
Lutz would be the perfect pitch man. You want a subtle pitch person and executive with credibility. He could actually state something along the lines of being instrumental in the Chrysler turn around thus building credibility. You could weave in his military service. “Hi, I’m Bob Lutz, Vice-Chairman of GM. I’m here to talk to you about….xyz. I’ve had many challenges in my life. I led the turnaround at Chrysler twenty years ago, I was a fighter pilot for America and now I’m faced with the challenge of returning GM to the world class leadership mantle. And I’m here to tell you that while we will never be satisfied and strive for continual improvement, that mantle leadership transformation is here and now………..GM’s leadership in fuel cell, environmental, quality, blah blah”
Take an idea or concept like this and develop it. USE IT or something similarly creative. You have a perfect opportunity to strike back. Be relevant. Be creative. Be bold. And most importantly, appeal to that inner pride of being an American. Of American craftsmanship. Of loyalty in a time when so many fear internationalism (without stating it of course). Get humping!
Again: GM quality is not the issue. In last Sundays paper I read an article on how cars reflect our personality. That people buy cars that make them feel empowewred. Having everything inside the GM lineup resembling a rental fleet does little to empower the emotions. With the sole excpetion of the Corvette and Cadillac the GM lineup is bloated and boring. The 2004 / 2005 GTO is the posterchild for just how out of touch GM is with their customers. Scrap GMs “one size fits all” lineup, eliminate Australian cross-breeding with the American counterparts and I might just stop in a dealership again someday instead of just driving by it.
I’m getting a little tired of all the harping about dealerships that is going on in the blog. Yes, there are dealers who are bad or difficult to deal with but, frankly, they are in the minority these days.
My dealer is fantastic to deal with. Yes, there are a couple of salesmen there who invoke the stereotypical “salesman” image, however all I had to do was work with the sales manager (a woman) at the dealership and I had absolutely no problems and no pressures.
The service department is also great. I simply took the time to introduce myself to the service manager when I bought my car and laid out my expectations of the kind of service I expected. He appreciated my candidness and has done his best to see that my expectations have been fulfilled.
BTW, I saw the first commercial for the new G6 coupe today. It looks so much better than the sedan does. I’m anxious to see the convertible version early next year.
I can’t agree more strongly with Rovner. I own a few GM cars and am planning to buy a new car in the next year, and the only thing that will keep me from buying GM will be my feelings about GM dealerships and not anything about GM products. I wish someone at GM would listen to those of us who dislike their dealerships.
Bob,
After my day I think I was just as excited to hear this good news about the G6 as you were. Having just returned from my local auto mall in search of a replacement for my 2003 Mercedes E500 I became truly aware of just how lacking GM vehicles are.
I really, really wanted my next car to be an STS, a car that would surely be a rare sight here in the bay area of California. The CTS and CTS-V have become apart of the auto scene here and for good reason…they’re beautiful, bold, and distinctly American and it was seeing these cars that convinced me to visit my Cadillac Dealer today to check out the STS. After about fifteen seconds with a fully optioned STS4 I knew it wasn’t even close and it only got worse as I continued my inspection. The car is just bland. The styling stirred absolutely no emotion in me like the CTS and the interior was extremely boring and dated looking, the materials were barely adequate, the trunk was unusually small for this size car and just shutting it made me cringe…so plasticy and dinky feeling, and the list could go on. Hate to say it but I didn’t even drive it, it could have rode like a Maybach and handled like my F40 and I still wouldn’t have bought it.
Having recently read an arcticle on you in CAR magazine I came to realize we have a similar taste in great cars, I own a Ferrari 288 GTO, F40, 512TR, 246 GTS, and a Dino 196S. No ex-fighter jets but you can see how I can relate with you and your passion for such engineering masterpieces. Because of this article and the great news about the G6 and the upcoming Solstice I have concluded that the STS must have been left in someone elses hands. I really can’t see you ever recomending this car to someone like you or I, perhaps if it were a Chevrolet and about half the price maybe. So here I am with my ninth Mercedes in a row (2006 Mercedes CLS500) and all I can think about is how badly I wanted a Cadillac. I wanted a smarter, quieter, sexier CTS with a REAL luxury car interior and exclusive Cadillac converniences that made me grin, doors that slide forward and aft, automatic heating/cooling seats that communicate with the windows and outside tempature or how about four wheel steering?…Why not get Delphi and Cadillac together and dazzle us with such things. Once combined with CTS like styling and improved interiors Cadillac would with out a doubt be a worldwide luxury leader again and worth a hundred times the investment.
Despite my dissapointment in the STS I am happy to hear about the results of this new survey because it is a very significant achievement, I still havn’t lost faith and from now until the day I buy my first Cadillac my fingers will be crossed. I know you know what quality is and you’ve proven it with the G6 but now I ask you to show me and my many friends who also are in search of a luxury alternative that you know how to do it on a scale never seen before…anywhere.
We’ll be waiting but please hurry up, car shopping shouldn’t take me less than an hour.
Sincerely, Tom Eidsmore
Glad to see the GM cars and trucks at the top of the class. The problem really is perception vs. reality. Were GM cars lackcluster in the early 90s, you bet. Are they today? Only the oldest models on life support. GM needs to do something in its mainstream brands to show the buying public that GM is 1) high-tech 2) environmentally aware 3) aspirational. I’ve heard rumors that GM has new alternator technology that can shut down the motor at a stop and then use electric power to move the car off the line like a mini-hybrid, make it standard on all of your cars and trucks, tout the fuel efficiency gains and technology (something that all consumers care about) in your ads and justify the cost as scrubbing your corporate imagine. Imagine all of the newspaper articles that sing the praises of GM raising their CAFE numbers to the highest in the industry, or at least by significant percentage points. Then point out how the economy benefits from that much less foreign oil, it would be glorious.
I want to pick up on the dealership item. Here in TO the dealers are rather hit and miss. My Saturn/Saab dealer was great, as was the Cadillac dealer next door to it, but a downtown dealership was only ok (in a world where Toyota/Lexus, Benz and BMW dealers are great). Some work needs to be done here on both the sales people and the dealerships themselves (Toyota is making all of its dealers update their facilities right now).
Still, I think quality is a hudge factor and was surprised to see the G6 do so well because it’s a new car. Lets hope this trend continues because I think quality is a primary means of selling cars long term (through word of mouth).
I think more folks should follow in my footsteps…How about we go find all these classic (collector) auto’s that are plant holders in somebodies back yard and restore them…that way we don’t have to deal with a dealership anymore, we don’t have to drive cars with lousy interiors or bland styling, and all the work will be done by one person and one person only…THE OWNER. This way we trust the mechanics, any work done is to our own standards pertaining to quality and stability, and we can drive a “REAL” “SS” and keep the “F-body” alive. If you think about it, there are way too many auto’s out there today.
Quality in design means attention to detail. GM is still lacking in this department.
You must stop trying to cut costs at the main points of the consumer’s sensory interaction with the car.
You must make your cars visually interesting; right now they are bland and boring to look at inside and out. There is often no depth to the designs, no detail that invites you to look closer. Give them a unique character.
You must not benchmark the cars you are designing today against what the competition has available now. This results in cars that would have been competitive if they had been out 4 years ago.
I’m a GM employee who agrees fully with Barry’s idea about GM doing a better job pitching what we have going for us, and being more direct with the consumer about what we have to offer that others don’t. I also think Bob would be a great choice as a spokesman, too.
Finally, I wanted to comment about the dealers as well. My wife and I have had some negative experiences at a dealer that would have resulted in our going elsewhere if we weren’t a GM family. We now work with another dealer that’s a bit further away, but we are completely happy with them.
We also wrote a complaint letter about the first dealer, and listed the several instances of substantial cost overruns and additional damages done to vehicles while in their care, because negative feedback seems to be the only way to get things changed. However, I really don’t know how much leverage GM has with dealers, since these dealers are all independently owned and protected by franchise laws. Unfortunately the dealers are “like a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re going to get”.
Congratulations on the TQI study. Now get the word out about this study and the JD Power one. I currently own a Cadillac CTS which I love!
As for dealerships, while I won’t dispute that some GM dealers are terrible, many mainline import dealers aren’t any better. While shopping for an SUV for my wife, I went to both import (Honda, Toyota and Nissan) as well as Domestics (Ford, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Saturn and Chrysler). Saturn was by far the best, Chrysler was next, Cadillac was inconsistent, and the rest were terrible. Honda and Toyota dealers have an unbelievable amount of arrogance here in the Northeast. They know that if you don’t buy their car, someone else will. My experience with Honda was the worst I’ve had in over 17 years of car shopping and I’ll never go back no matter how great their cars become. Toyota wasn’t much better. Instead of selling me on their car, the salesperson kept telling my how bad the domestic products that I was considering were. I ended up buying the Pacifica because it offered the best value for the money and the best salespeople. Please fix the interior of the Trailblazer so that next time I’m in the market I’ll have a mid-size GM SUV worth considering.
A couple suggestions:
Build on the great audio input feature in upcoming product with a tie-in promotion for portable XM radios. Better- revamp the radios to store & play MP3s as well (an Ipod killer). Great tie-in, great revenue stream.
Secondly, can’t we do something more to tie in OnStar features/benefits with the cell phones everyone is carrying around these days? Why can’t I get my OnStar Directions and Connections features even when I’m away from my vehicle?
I think there are two different kinds of quality. A defective part would be an example of one, while uncomfortable seats would be another.
I have a 2004 Grand Cherokee, it has never been in the shop for a repair, I’ve never had a problem with the vehicle. However, the seats are uncomfortable, my floor mat is worn out and needs to be replcaed after only one winter, while the suspension makes some interesting noises and the accelaration and mileage are below par by today’s standards.
If they did not come out with the new SRT version I would not be interested in buying another one and would be looking at replacing it with an import.
So is it of good quality or poor quality?
It is nice to hear some praise for GM products for once. And its mostly well deserved. Of course it would be nicer if the majority of the general public would hear this kind of news too. Unfortunately I do see a bit of bias in the press. I hear little about something like this or the fact that Prius’ are shutting down at highway speeds. But GM’s bad first quarter are all over the news.
Nice work!
Honestly, the Rainier’s score surprised me. The interior seems to be very cheap-looking to me. But, surprise of surprises, it made it! It’s good to see a Buick do so well.
I’ve been over the 2006 GM fleet manual, and I’m glad to see the changes, though minor, to the vehicles in the Buick line: Rainier gets more chrome, Rendezvous gets the 3.5 and a monochrome appearance standard, the Terraza gets the 3.9 as an option, and the LaCrosse gets curtain airbags standard.
It’s all a good start, Bob, but the Buick line needs more than just high quality ratings and chrome to regain relevance. Keep it going.
The GM dilemma is not the products, which are built as well if not better in some cases then the competition and have a great safety record to boot, it’s the business strategy. As a programmer who has worked in the auto industry due to the patriotic movement of outsourcing, it burns me up to see an American icon being touted on Wall Street as the next junk stock on the market.
The main problem is this: They train for certifications for mgmt and sales staff, like others so they can get an extra bonus; if they endure the low pay and stay in one place till bonus day. The problem is that they have no clue what goes on in the trenches. The claim is that 20% of the people who walk into a showroom buy a car in the next week or so, and another 20% within the next three months. The problem is there is no systemized follow up process. Most sales staff have to share a dumb terminal computer that has access to only Reynolds and Reynolds, no printing, no contact management program, etc…
They need to setup a system and give a bonuses to the staff to use it, which if they’re making more sales that should be good enough but sales people are not always so easily motivated unless they can make $$$ with the least amount of resistance. I personally sold 7 of 12 leftovers with $800 commisions, due to being technical abilities. Note I had Internet leads which helped, but Internet Sales is touted as a Pain just about everywhere you go, because anonymous shoppers can waste your time. With all the emails that they aquire from GM and others there is usually one correspondence – like your best price is when you sit infront of me and my manager, is what 98% of the customers that bought from me said. Even though I gave a detailed smartbuy/purchase spreadsheet of exact breakdown and ran the risk of them walking down the street to their local dealer it did’nt matter. Most people want to do business with no games. If GM would hire me, I could show them how to increase their bottom line by about 6-10% if not more. Think how much time, paper, and energy has to be wasted without a calculator that we take for granted. Multiple that by a staff of 350,000. I asked for a list at the autoshow of leads of interested GM buyers because I know that these people for most part will only be contacted once if at all.
Yes I agree, the Dealer needs to educated. Dealer tend to overcharge or charge somethings that should not be charged.
That happened to me. My climate dial in my Century broke. I bring my car in for the oil change and ask them to replace the climate dial as well. They end up charging me 30 dollar just to change the climate dial. (12 dollar for the part, 0.15 hrs for getting the part from the part department and 0.15 hrs to plug it in.) I have no problem with the cost of the part. But charge me for walking to get the part and 0.15 hrs to plug it in. When it talk only a second to replaced. My car is in for oil change anyway, while they wait for the oil being drained from the engine, they could go to get the part. This is the over charge of the Dealership that build a bad relationship with the customer and kills GM.
You said “Now that is music to my ears, and it wasn’t written by a journalist or some furtive GM blogger.”
Lutz, I will say this to you. Pay attention to your critics. Its a wise thing to do.
Avoid corporate Radios across brands. They make your car interiors look cheap. Please offer navigation option in your cars. I keep repeating this. The only thing that will make me not buy GM now is lack of this option.
Although I never got the above survey with either of my new GM cars, I agree that GM cars are designed and built better! We know. It’s true!
Now, please, can we have just one blog topic that discusses what GM is doing about the __REST__ of the car ownership picture?
Mr. Lutz, I have reading the replies here for the past couple of days and decided that I should make a few comments.
1) I agree with the idea of a new ad campaign inwhich YOU are the spokesman. Get the word out about your new products, and the direction the company is headed.
2) In this ad you should make the announcement that GM is putting their money where their mouth is; 6 year bumper to bumper warranty.
3) STOP the inflated pricing. Saturn like pricing on ALL makes. You can provide needed incentives through GMAC financing rates when needed.
4) PLEASE go all out on your interiors. You all have come a lomg way; however, the CPA’s are still screwing around with the details! For instance, on the new Caddys why are there cheap looking plastic in several “out of the way” spots? The consumer today looks at every corner! For instance, the minute you open up the door you see cheap plastic on the sill. How much money would it take to have a nice chrome door sill with either the Caddy name or crest? And the rear of the center counsel of the SRX and STS; terrible! I tried to get my friend to test drive one but he saw these items and decided to get a MB! These things do influence people. Lastly,
5) Rear wheel drive or all wheel drive ASAP. I will be in the market in about 24 months. Please have some exciting rear drivers at that time.
I know how important GM is to our country’s economic health. I worry about the currency manipulation that China is clearly using to destroy the competition- they are not our friends. Best of luck Mr. Lutz. God Speed.
Hey GM,
This is a blog read by people who love GM and want to see it succeed and make cars that we can enjoy for years to come.
What questions do you have for us, the devoted peanut gallery?
What’s a current issue facing GM that you’d like our input on?
Don’t get me wrong, we’ll be happy to keep providing input as the mood strikes us, but it might be more productive for us, and more useful for you, to give us a chance to provide feedback in areas where you’d actually use it.
Be specific! We’re armchair geniuses. We know everything! Help us put our spare time to the forces of good.
A trouble free first 3 months of ownership should be a given with todays manufacturing processes and quality conrol systems.
I care about when after the warranty is up, I’m still making payments, and repairs equal to or exceeding my payments start popping up.
Let me know the 5 year/75,000 mi quality numbers and then you will impress me.
I agree with John above; if GM is interested in feedback through this blog, ask away.
But first I have one question…I just read that the 2006 MX-5 Miata officially started production May 17. What’s the status of production for GM’s killer competition?
Hey I am a CPA and I don’t like those cost cutting tactics, too;) I remember I sat in a CTS-V performance sedan and saw those aweful plasticky sun visors, I was like OMG, Hyndai has better sun visors than this $50,000 CTS-V.
This is beyond bean counting. Someones should lose their jobs for that.
If you want to cut corner(save money) whatever you want to call it, don’t do it to a place right above the driver’s face. Is that such a difficult concept? Don’t do that to any place your customers may be able to see it. Come on we are not talking about putting a V12 engine in your cars and trucks, just some minor details of trims and pieces, don’t cut corners there.
Please!
With all due respect to GM’s high scores, I would be interested in a survey about peoples’ perceptions of car companies other than the one they own. What do Honda owners think of GM, and vice versa. If GM is really interested in conquest sales – and there’s no other way out of the forest – then that would be a revealing study. (Don’t get me wrong – I’m a loyal GM owner – 2003 CTS.) But most people tend to justify their decision by liking the car they bought – what they say about others would be more valuable.
Good afternoon, guys!
I’m not going to start offering business strategy advice, though there are some things I’d love to see change from a supplier standpoint.
Mr. Lutz, your job sounds incredibly exciting yet strenuous – I’d love to spend a day in your shoes, just to get a better understanding of what goes on behind the curtain.
I really think this blog and several recent developments at GM are bringing us a long way towards financial recovery and a positive change in reputation. So a definite thumbs up and loads of kudos for these changes. This blog is a great way to see what the general public feels and thinks about the company and product lines, and it’s an amazingly accurate cross-section of theories and thoughts. However, one group of people who are being ignored to a degree are our dealership employees. They are truly on the front lines, battling for us on a daily basis, which is awesome. I work for the Dealer Business Center (on, of course, the supplier level), and we get a lot of feedback as far as improvements and suggestions go, but we have no tried and true way to relay this information back to you guys at the top.
Our dealers have some awesome ideas for improvements. Is there a way to reach out to them on an individual basis?
Other than that, I love this company! I think I’m GM loyal for life!
-=andy=-
P.S. Come on people, stop hating on the Aveo. It’s a great little car.
Mr Lutz,
This is good news, glad to hear it.
I just went to lunch with my boss in his new 2005 Envoy SLT. It has a very nice interior and a nice ride. It also has a navigation system that is very cool, and the touch screen display shows all the XM radio info when not using the nav. This should be an option on EVERY car and truck you make. I want it on my new HHR !!!!
I agree with other posters that your advertising needs alot of help.
I’m one of those guys that will argue till I lose my voice that a GM product is the best out there. I enjoy talking my friends into looking at your products before considering any others. And get way to excited when I can talk others out of buying asian vehicles.
But lets get down to it..uhhh..yeah quality great – unfortunately the only ones listening to this are those of use that will buy a GM without thought and continue to read this stuff cause we can’t wait for that turn around day. Get bold and put this information and everything else great about GM on your commercials!
Here’s my problem I can give you a quick line of toyota/ honda buyers that will take a look at your new product but its nowhere to be found. When are you going to get a vehicle to market on time?? If it isnt going to make it on time, why tell us it is? You just made yourself look like a failer.. just gave people more reasons to turn to another dealership, who wants to wait?? Solstice for instance.. I’m in line, will be on that waiting list for 4 years if i have to – but not so with the audience that you are hoping to achieve. Many people that own asian vehicles want this car, the G6, the Cobalt SS, etc., but you are going to force them to turn their back cause you can’t get it to market when you promised – over 4k (give or take only est.) on a waiting list for the solstice and growing.. how many do you think will be on that list when this car finally starts showing up at the end of the year??? You better beat the miata to the first being delivered… Thats all i have for now.
Bob Lutz, Rick Wagoner
This is super news.
Tops in the most appealing vehicles which we already knew. And you will continue to shine in this category no doubt.
Tops in quality for vehicles in 5 categories.
Tops in brand quality taking two of the top five.
Tops in plant quality sweeping the top three spots for North America.
And the best interior awards for the STS and H3. Well deserved surly. Both are absolutely stunning.
CONGRATULATIONS.
Just when you wanted to increase add spending!!!
NOW YOU’VE GOT SOMETHING TO BRAG ABOUT. AND BRAG YOU BETTER THAT IS YOUR JOB!!!
IF EVERYBODY IN AMERICA DOES NOT KNOW THIS BY THE END OF THE YEAR THEN IT MEANS NOTHING.
Today the latest JD Power survey revealed that GM and Toyota topped the list over other competitors. This is great news again. Congrats to GM. Now my three cents of advice, some of which I had said before:
1) The longer Warranty is a great idea. 5/50 or 7/70 would do alot for perception
2) The G6 doesnt need a GXP. It needs an STE version in which it could really take on the Acura TSX and Audi A4. Put in a nav system, more inviting interior, 18 inch snowflake-like wheels, cool euro-fog lamps, and people will dig it
3) Also an Audi A3 fighter, based on the Cobalt platform? Call it LeMans.
Good luck guys! Dont stop Belivin!
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…
Great news, but still room for improvement. Great style (SSR, 300C) and selection of materials will further improve “perception”.
Bob,
GM has worked hard to get to this position and well deserves this moment in the sun. Both you and GM should pause for a brief second to puff your collective chests out. Well done. That said there is much to be done and very little time in which to do it. As you should observe from Thomas Eidmore’s post above there are people who are ready, willing and able to give your products a chance but you have to deliver something compelling.
On the G6, yes, sales are good and quality is there. The 4-cylinder and coupe models arriving now will also do well. But the car is behind its competition in a number of areas. First, a navigation system should be available on the up-level version much as it is available on the top trim level of the Honda Accord. Get with it as noted by a poster above who indicated that they will not buy a car without one. Quite frankly neither would I and if you look at the growth in deployment of these systems an increasing number of people agree. Second, ABS, curtain airbags and traction control should be standard across the line and try to keep the necessary cost increase minimal. Let the reviewers note that the competition charges significantly more for these upscale features. Safety always sells and you can never go wrong with putting a safety feature in a car. Customers will pay for them and the competition will look bad for making them optional. Stop using fake wood trim in the G6. Either use less wood trim but make it real or don’t offer any at all. Again, you cannot afford the criticism at this point. There is no cost savings with the fake stuff. Reviewers see right through it then set the negative tone which consumers tune into. Then that’s all they remember and you have to rebate the car to move it. The details add up to the whole and people note this stuff. Finally, if possible, include a slightly longer warranty than your competitors. Negative perception will begin to eat them. Look what a longer warranty did for Hyundai. If quality is as being reported then you should be able to add an extra year and 10,000 miles over the competition with no great risk of loss.
By the way, if you are thinking of putting drum brakes in the 4-cylinder G6, DON’T. That technology should not be in any GM car. The negative reviews and resultant sales decline will easily eat through any projected cost savings. If you think customers neither know nor care, rest assured that you are incorrect. Same goes for live axles. NEVER put out a vehicle with that technology. It is not worth the poisonous negative review. I GUARANTEE you that the first time the Cobalt is put in a comparison test with the Civic et al the Cobalt will be marked down for using a live axle. Customers will avoid the habitual second and third place finishers. Just watch.
Cadillac: The cars are getting there but the advertising, except for the V-series commercials, is by and large, awful. It’s the ancient theme music. What century is it from? Have a look at the latest series of arresting Lexus commercials. I would never own a Lexus but I must say their commercials are the best executed of any automobile manufacturer I have ever seen. Listen to the quality of the voiceover, the way the scenes are lit and filmed and the music used. Note that they don’t even need to mention any competition to justify thinking of their featured car. What is their secret? Does their ad agency only exist on Zeta Reticuli? D**n. What is wrong with Cadillac?!
The GTO: Stay with it. Upgrade the body and keep refining the nice interior. Even the Corvette was not a success out of the box. It evolved into one over time and in fact most recently with the advent of the 1997 C5. When you redesign the GTOs body avoid scoops and spoilers to tart it up. Think refined almost European sophistication. A good candidate for the redesign is John Cafaro who styled the C5 Corvette.
Some points on the HHR: After a brief quick start this vehicle WILL fail. I am surprised by your insistence that it will be a huge hit. Retro has no legs. The Beetle, PT Cruiser and Thunderbird should have made this painfully clear. To have a successful vehicle line you need to build it dynastically (see Corvette) not as complete reinventions or “segment busters” from time to time. The latter approach is costly and fails to build loyal customer bases around established vehicle lines. As money becomes increasingly tight for GM I am astonished that this requires reiteration.
The H3: This vehicle should NEVER come to market with a 5-cylinder. Neither should have the Colorado/Canyon twins. I don’t know what it takes for the world’s automakers to get it through their thick skulls that 5-cylinders are reviled in the U.S. market. Honestly, what does it take to get this? I was inspired to write this entire piece when not five minutes ago I had a conversation with a very wealthy gentleman who was excited by the look of the Hummer H3 and was eagerly looking forward to test driving one. Or at least he was until he gathered that it would only come with a 5-cylinder. He’s going to go look at a 6-cylinder Toyota truck now. I gather that the decision to produce the H3 with a 5-cylinder came after the 5-cylinder Colorado/Canyon failed to sell enough vehicles (a mystery impenetrable only to GM) and so the H3 was drafted to help make up the production line shortfall. Put another way, the H3 has effectively been consigned to the same fate that has befallen the Colorado/Canyon twins. Great job GM.
It reminds me of the simply stupid decision to shortchange the feature content of all of GM’s minivans in the laughably desperate hope that their inadequacies would somehow be overlooked against their far superior competition. It is simply incredible to me that the GM minivans were knowingly released with engine outputs and transmission ratios that lagged their competition and seat folding features that were second-rate relative to their competition. That this was done to save money begs the question of how much of that savings will be obviated by forced rebating and what is the exact cost to GM of now having a solidly entrenched and well-deserved reputation for being second rate in that sector? To think that these mediocre minivans were then distributed to not one but FOUR GM divisions is beyond words. Jesus.
Maybe GM deserves to be in bankruptcy court after all.
I just wanted to laugh at “Bwright” for contradicting himself. Petty, I know, but I read the comments on my down time…and we all need to take a moment to honor those who make them laugh.
This is in response to LaNeve’s new brand strategy.
The plan was to invest in Chevy and Cadillac first to halt market share slide and improve profitability and perception.
GMC, Buick and Pontiac would then be revived. Now you just threw away the plan and believe they can not be revived. Well you are wrong.
Save Buick by either yoking them with Hummer or moving their headquarters to China. But yoking Buick with Pontiac/GMC makes no sense whatsoever.
Trust me you will never keep 25% market share by killing models or brands or yoking them in this crazy fashion.
Do yourself a favor. If you get rid of the Rainier make sure this time you have a Cadillac midsize SUV replacement ready so you don’t loose buyers.
Market share suicide when you killed the Sunfire. You sent those buyers on a B-line directly for the Scion tc and the Hyundai Tiberon. You lost the young buyers and Pontiac is no better for it.
GM can only be what you believe. If you believe for something small that is what you will get.
Your answer to Scion has to be in one of your car lines and I can’t find it. Save the Sunfire and make a small Pontiac box to compete with Scion and attract younger buyers with Pontiac.
While shifting strategy with your makes and models you can not afford to loose a single sale so every car that is cancelled has to have an alternative first or like in Oldsmobiles case you will loose 80% of those customers AGAIN.
If Buick is indeed going to make 4 great cars instead of 10 mediaocre ones then those vehicles will be good enouph to be sold at Hummer dealers. Buick can be called “The car you want to get into when you come back on the road.”
Pontiac/GMC dealers
Buick/Hummer dealers
That’s what I think.
Great News indeed and probably expected by some hardcore GM watchers.
Now get onto the road and drum it into every American – it’s not just about Being American , Buying American. It’s now about buying the best. Seize the moment !! Brag about this not on the blog, but in every newspaper and radio station and local TV channel.
Another thing – make it look fashionable to be seen in GM vehicles – that means image improvement through advertising and earning your environmental kudos. You just got an excuse to dump the rebates – and it’s through your own efforts, so use it to the fullest.
All the best and Keep Going !
Vazir Fatehi
Bombay.
Great news on both survey results – congratulations to all the GM folks who helped make this happen!
On the dealer issue – Last fall I spent a Saturday morning at the local BMW dealership on a test-drive event that allowed visitors to take a sample of every car in their lineup for a drive on local streets and highways. Complete freedom to get a good feel for the product. I left impressed, and very interested in becoming a customer. Stopped by the Pontiac dealer to decide if the GTO was a viable alternative. Dealer told me the cars were too valuable to let potential customers test drive unless they had a check in hand. He implied that this was a corporate mandate.
I think that the dealer’s policy has since changed, but the experience certainly chilled my interest in remaining a GM customer. I’d much rather deal with an organization that treats me with respect than one that treats me with suspicion.
And just for the record, the Pontiac dealer’s refusal to allow a test drive wasn’t a buyer screening issue – I’m a gray-haired cash buyer.
I think it makes more sense to pait Buick with Cadillac.
Cadillac for the more edgy RWD performance vehicles and Buick for the more refined Lexus-like vehicles.
But the interiors of both brands need a lot of improvements.
CCT,
I was also refused a test drive at a Chevy dealer because the roads were wet! I asked the salesman if it would never rain again if I bought the car (as I walked out the door).
Not all GM dealers are bad, but the ones that are sure do leave a bad taste in your mouth….
Yes many, many GM dealers (Chevy, Pontiac, Buick, and Cadillac) are not very friendly and in fact can be arrogant. I wonder if GM could somehow work on this. It drives away many sales. I am not talking about the initial walk-in, but the dealing too. And some of the service garages are deploreable.
I (after many new GM’s) found a very good Chevy dealer.
why does GM keep its blog seperate from the corporate website and does not even show a link on the site about the fast lane blog?
Most everyone writing on this GM Fastlane Blog cares about GM. Think about the tens of millions of American consumers out there, that do not. They aren’t concerned about GM’s cars. They just buy Japanese.
GM’s goal should not be to out do it’s past, nor catch up with the Japanese. It should out do the Japanese!
GM has a cadre of engineers equal or better than any automotive company in the world. They should be given carte blanche on everything from the exterior design to the interior design. If it isn’t right, have them go back to the drawing board.
Management should start worrying about those designs the engineers make and the number one priority should be the manufacturing of these designs. If there are flaws, the manufacturing sector would naturally go back to engineering.
Management must put the accounting numbers on the backburners and the percent of marketshare GM has at the forefront.
I’ve read that divisions should be scrapped or combined. Forget it. If GM makes the best cars, all divisions shall flourish.
Could you imagine if GM actually started eating into Toyota and Honda sales?
I’m a sales consultant at a Pontiac dealership and was eagerly anticipating the GP GXP (I own a ‘99 GTP). I also own three 70’s vintage Pontiacs, so I’m keenly aware of the sensation of driving a torquey V8 powered PMD automobile. Amazing how accustomed we’ve all become to the feel & sound of the transverse V6 GM’mers of the past 20 years. Firing up our Dak Cherry GP GXP about brought tears to my eyes. The exhaust note is PERFECT – enough roar & burble to let you know it’s there, but unobtrusive enough to live with on a daily basis. I also think the RT65E transmission works better with the V8 as opposed to the punchy supercharged 3.8 – I enjoyed the TapShift more on the GXP than I have on the GTP’s. I was also curious to see how “transparent” the DOD was – I did feel a vibration at steady speeds under 50, but noticed nothing unusual while cruising at 70 on the interstate.
I still hold on to hope that a rear-drive platform is somewhere in the Grand Prix’s future (still mourning the loss of Zeta). PLEASE DO NOT rebadge Grand Prix as a “G8″. I hate imports for the very reason that I can’t remember their alphanumeric designations – hell, I struggle to remember Cadillac’s these days. Bonneville lasted 45 years, Grand Prix has been around 42 – that kind of longevity is unheard of in the automobile industry (Ford F series excepted). Anybody remember Pontiac’s attempt to be more “European” (1000, J2000, 6000, et al…?) I’ll let you slide on G6, and maybe even G4 (sounds better than J2000 did), but keep building Grand Prixs with enough stones to dust off Mustang GT’s – we’ll keep selling them!!!!!
Most everyone writing on this GM Fastlane Blog cares about GM. Think about the tens of millions of American consumers out there, that do not. They aren’t concerned about GM’s cars. They just buy Japanese.
GM’s goal should not be to out do it’s past, nor catch up with the Japanese. It should out do the Japanese!
GM has a cadre of engineers equal or better than any automotive company in the world. They should be given carte blanche on everything from the exterior design to the interior design. If it isn’t right, have them go back to the drawing board.
Management should start worrying about those designs the engineers make and the number one priority should be the manufacturing of these designs. If there are flaws, manufacturing would naturally go back to engineering.
Management must put accounting numbers on the backburner and the percent of marketshare GM has at the forefront.
I’ve read that divisions should be scrapped or combined. Forget it. If GM makes the best cars, all divisions shall flourish.
Could you imagine if GM actually started eating into Toyota and Honda sales?
Hey Bob, care to explain Strategic Visions’ survey methodology? What is this “Tree of ValueCentered Knowledge” methodology that they use?
Equally important, do you see a conflict of interest in the fact that GM is a major Strategic Vision client? Or the fact that 18 out of the 20 winners are Strategic Vision clients?
A decision is only as good as the information its based on, Bob. If you think that kicking a** in this unreliable survey means anything significant about your business, and act accordingly, you are sadly mistaken.
Carnival of Cars
I would never have thought of doing a Carnival of Cars, but I can see it being of great interest to many people, whether from a consumer, design, or business aspect. My father owned a body shop for decades, and seeing this made me imagine the juxtap…
It does not matter if an automobile manufacturer makes the best cars in the world, if there is massive competition in the marketplace (like the U.S.) then it is likely that this manufacturer will not garner a huge share of the pie. Anyway with all the makes and models, consumers are at a feast and can pick and choose as they wish. And I think I can say with some certainty, that brand loyalty is a thing of the past.
GM…you have done nothing for years, if not decades, to build your passenger car line. If you think a flashy blitzkrieg of PR can make up for this neglect, the you better hope oil prices go down.
GM is a textbook case study of how NOT to run a car company.
I have a few thoughts on GM’s latest moves and strategies – starting with allowing the public in on the employee benefit portion of purchasing a vehicle. Does GM think their employees are happy about seeing another one of their few perks go to the wayside? I understand that employee purchases account for close to 28% of new vehicle sales.
Another issue is the terrible drop in value of a GM vehicle the minute it is purchased. I used to buy two new GM vehicles a year, usually getting a trade in value that I could handle. Now the (Tahoes especially) lose $7000 – $8000 in 6 months in trade value. Too big of a hit for me or many other folks to swallow, in spite of the dealers putting them on the lot for almost the same price as a new one. That means many new vehicles will remain unsold until the year end tent sales bail them out, and customers keep getting closer to wanting manufacturer vehicles (like Toyota) that maintain a fair trade in value. How does GM plan on keeping loyal customers when every time they want to trade in they lose more than they can stand?
I wish I could understand why it is that GM refuses to think farther into the future than the next couple of years. Try looking fifty to a hundred years.. Do you see yourself there selling cars or is there a headstone in the future with the note on it: Here lies GM the car company that could but didn’t.”
I have worked on many kinds of different types of cars and the : Wonder cars from Japan, or Europe” were just as bad or worse than many American cars that I worked on. I worked on a VW Rabbit that had between 1-2″ of brush on sealer coating the bottom of it. I also worked an an old VW Bug that was the same way.”
I have peeled paint off of the hood of a BMW 323 without anything but a razor blade, to the tune of 18×12 patches. Quality that I have seen on Amarican cars, and specificly GM cars are better than this.
Also if a dealer can cut 8-12000 dollars off a car to sell it at the end or even middle of a car year then you are charging to bloody much.
I have harped on this in several posts on these diiferent blogs. If you make them actually affordable would you not sell alot more?
Kia and Hundyi have got that down pat. Why don’t you????
CUSTOMER SURVEY OPINION
attempting to understand your potential business customers better.
HELP YOU FRESHEN YOUR APPROCH TO SERVE YOUR CUSTOMER BETTER
BY TAKING A QUARTERLY CUSTOMER SURVEY.
This is only a SUGGESTIONS for you to try.
US AUTO MAKERS SHOULD BE keen to know CUSTOMERS opinion about
Amber light is more visible than red light to most people.
Most A·mer·i·can cars do not have amber lights in the back,but the europens and the Japanese auto makers do.
It’s cheap to make all or most of your cars this way,like the 60’s and the 70’s..
If you dout me,try putting on display the same car (two) one with red and the other with amber tail lights and get the customers opinion on looks.( ATTRACTION)
Amber (yellow) flashing and/or rotating lights on tow trucks, snow
plows, and highway department vehicles are *not* “emergency” lights — they
are *warning* lights. Recent law enforcement studies have showed that
drivers “impaired” by alcohol and/or drugs are actually attracted *to*
flashing red lights like those on many police/fire/ambulance vehicles (and
flashing red taillights or “4-way flashers”) — while amber “warning”
lights effectively warn those “impaired” drivers away. As a result, many
police cars and ambulances in our area now have at least one amber
“warning” light somewhere on the back of the vehicle (and I often see
yellow “lightstick” arrow bars in use, as well). Similar “warning lights”
are now readily available for the general public to use to mark a
*stationary* vehicle in a hazard situation, such as when changing a tire on
the side of a busy road, and I believe it is entirely appropriate for news
photographers to effectively mark their *stationary* vehicles as hazards
when they must park in less-than-ideal locations.
The chevy camaro and Pontiac firebird the same basic au·to·mo·bile.(Pontiac solstice/Saturn sky is the same car..customer have no option of a 6 cylinder only what you throw at us.
You had two nice modles that you dis·con·tin·ued,they were the Pontiac fiero and mercury Capri.
What would they look like now if you had inproved on them?
out·sourc·ing ,lay-offs, Foreign countrys like china workers will not solve this problem.
I worked for Toyota for one year(contract in Information Technology department as a computer tech. And a car lover.) I saw how they copied the Chevrolet astro van and made a Toyota-scion.
The question is, will anyone in Detroit listen or smart enough to see what the people who are buying,but not usa product.(made in Canada or mexico did’nt help.
It dos’nt take a rocket scientist to figure this out,only common sense.