Summer Reading, FastLane-Style
While GM is on its annual summer break, here are a couple of recent pieces worth reading:
Bob Lutz discusses blogging in Information Week’s piece, This Month In Optimize: Nothing To Fear From Executive Blogging.
Q&A with Bob:
LutzSpeak: GM’s Vice Chairman Bob Lutz talks to AutoWeek
Michelle Krebs writing about the recent Design Dome program for Edmunds:
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http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/09/business/09lutz.html
Not to mention the recent article in the NY Times, which was pretty interesting, and not just because yours truly got the last word.
Summer Reading Saab Style
Fastlane is taking a summer break, but there’s no rest for the wicked here at Trollhattan (plus, it’s winter here in Oz). I hope the whole of GM ain’t having too big a break. There’s competitors to catch. Why did…
I liked the LutzSpeak article but underneath it was a very interesting one on the real draw of the employee pricing program.
http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=102752
I’ve read on many websites recently that the GM dealers (other than saturn) are the hardest and most annoying to work with. Hopefully this program takes note of that and sets in.
1. Launched the most successful sales drive in the history of the autombile industry increasing sales 41%.
2. Increased market share in June to the highest level since 1986. 33% WOW!!!
3. Swept the North and South American plant quality awards. Beating such stalwarts as Mercedes and Toyota and your cross-town rival.
4. Taking nearly half the categories in JD Power awards for initial quality. Took more categories than ever in the long term quality segment.
5. Became the number 1 automaker in China last month. The world’s third but soon second largest car market.
6. Increasing market share in Europe also with launch of Chevy brand and strength from Opel/Vauxhall.
7. Seeing sales surge in every corner of the globe with launch of Chevy brand worldwide like a 30% increase in Russia.
8. The most exciting vehicles in the industry on the launch pad, the HHR, Solstice and H3 along with the sleeper hit Saab 9-7X.
9. Tantalizing peaks at a wonderful future of design excellence with reporters raving about the new Malibu, Malibu? and CTS.
10. The biggest one day jump in your stock price in over 40 years because one of the smartest investors in the world sees things as I do. Stock continuing its upward trend proving every analyst bar one on Wall Street wrong and making the short sellers pay.
After watching GM all my 33 years (34 on July 17th) I never been more optomistic and excited.
YEAH!!! YOU DESERVE A BREAK.
Good news indeed.
Now with all these new customers who bought your cars and trucks lately, may I suggest the service departments all over the States not to screw things up for GM!
The ownership experience is extremely important. You want your new customers become a repeat customers, right? Better yet, you want them to talk their friends into buying a GM products, right?
Just a heads-up
http://money.cnn.com/2005/07/14/Autos/carreviews/summer_convertibles/index.htm?cnn=yes
Review of current convertibles.
How come the Mazda MX-5, which isn’t available yet, was mentioned in the article and pictures, etc., but the Solstice, which also isn’t available, was just given a brief mention as a forthcoming vehicle?
Come on!
GM’s advice to would-be corporate bloggers
To any senior executive on the fence about starting a corporate blog, Bob Lutz, the Vice Chairman of General Motors, has one word of advice: Jump. Writing in Information Week, Lutz says a blog provides no better opportunity to engage
Sounds like GM has the new product that will really make a difference in its future success! Kudos to Bob Lutz for waking the General up!
Now I wish Mark LaNeve would wake up, smell the coffee, and realize haggle-as-usual dealer business practices will only undermine that success. Good GM product will not always overcome a bad GM dealer experience.
Executive Blogging Gaining Acceptance
This week InformationWeek published an article by GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz titled: Nothing to Fear From Executive Blogging.
“To blog or not to blog? For a lot of senior executives these days, that is the question. The answer, simply enough, is…
I read the Auto Week article and this worries me:
“Lutz, who was recently asked by GM to focus exclusively on global product development,”
Wall I don’t agree whit everything Bob Lutz has done as vice-chairman of GM north America product development, don’t think there is anyone at GM that can do that job better then him and I want him in charge of building GM’s American cars.
According to other reports: Rick Wagoner is going to take over north America product development.
Rick Wagoner is responsible for the SSR which is selling worse then it did last year.
Bob Lutz is responsible for the GTO which is selling better then it did last year.
Replacing Lutz with Wagoner is a bad idea.
Has anyone at GM thought about taking the Camaro and making it a world fighter, like going up against the Mitsu EVO, Sube WRX or even the Nissan Skyline GTR? Give the Camaro name a racing history and go after the best. It’s time to create a sports car that people across the world would want, not just North America. Isn’t GM tired of following Ford on the Pony car idea anyway? It’s time to change the game and move forward.
Funny,
I’ve had a few posts filtered. No profanity, no off topic, simply honest feedback.
The General does seem to be gaining momentum so the effort is starting to pay off. Good on ya!
The G6 coupe is stunning. When I saw a truckload of them I was amazed that they were GM cars, not imports. I think it will be GM’s first big hit with the tuner crowd, but remember, tuner’s loathe the official factory add-on “tuner-edition” option packages, so don’t load up the dealer lots with models loaded to the gills. Keep plenty of stripped models around and the kids will buy them up and customize them.
And another thing. I read today that GM is working on technology that will make it harder to skip over GM adds on Tivo. My word, you can’t be serious! This type of thing will only enrage the Tivo crowd and the bad publicity will do way more harm than good for marketing efforts. Thats like slapping someone before you give them your business card.
what about this big release of info ont the solstice that was suppose to be today
http://www.tctimes.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14615828&BRD=2524&PAG=461&dept_id=494488&rfi=8
please read this i found it the other day its from may but FINALY SOMEONE AGREES WITH ME!!
Ha barry i agree ive been filtered too!!
GM should have sports cars like the SS Concept of 04 at the Detroit auto show. a Rwd coupe with a small block V8.
also GM should borrow a AWD chasis for there “Network” Subaru and make it have a super or turbo charged 3.8 V6. then the General would just sit back and watch profits come in!
Go Pontiac and Chevy way to take 1st in racing!
Craig
Completely off topic but I figured it would get more attention here than e-mailing you through the Pontiac website. I really, really think you are missing the boat by not offering the Solstice in the same yellow that is available on the Corvette. It just seems like it would suit the car perfectly and would reinforce the performance heritage with the Vette. After all the commotion dies down, it is the color I would love to have parked in my garage next to my black STS. Just a thought…
Bad news, I went to http://www.world.honda.com. Honda has further improved its I-4 hybrid engine by adding using a three stages VTEC fuction to it. The new engine is more compact and more effient. Honda even put drive by wire system in it reduce pumping loss and improve power and effiency.So what is GM’s answer to Honda’s highly fuel effient hybrid engines?
So the good people at GM are on summer break. That’s nice. Everyone deserves a break sometime. You guys definitely deserve one, with all the hard work you’ve done to completely destroy your own company.
Okay, I apologize for the sarcasm, but not the sentiment behind it. There is absolutely NO reason why GM should be in the sorry shape its in today. Can’t you guys do ANYTHING right anymore?
I think the time has come for a new top-to-bottom management team at GM. A team with real vision and the guts to persue it. A team that will not let great brands like Pontiac and Buick wither like a cornfield in a drought. A team that will sweat blood to produce exciting, high quality, reliable vehicles at competitive prices that people want to buy. A team that will refuse any salary bonus if the company’s performance is poor.
I really hate to say it, but if the current management of the company can’t do any better than this, then maybe a change is needed.
I’ve said it before, and it bears repeating: GM has entirely too much going for it to go under in a morass of incompetence and mismanagement. Come on, guys. Get it together already! Please!
1.2 BILLION loss and you people are on break?!
I know we aren’t a manufacturing nation anymore, but anybody with any experience working in a plant would know that two-week vacations this time of year are the norm, even for Honda.
A lot of discussion on this board has focussed on the impending demise of Buick and Pontiac. I agree with the people who feel that pairing Buick with Pontiac will hasten Buick’s demise. But one thing most people are missing on this board is that MOST Buick dealers have already been paired with Pontiac and GMC, at least in this area anyway.
Could THIS be the reason why Buick and Pontiac have fallen so far? I don’t think the Buick shopper and the Pontiac shopper are the same person. I also think there’s something to be said to tailoring your salespeople and the shopping environment to the customer you are trying to attract.
One change I would make is that since GMC attracts such an affluent clientele, I would pair Buick and GMC together; and make Pontiac and Hummer the remaining pair.
Finally, I ran across a column discussing the death of Oldsmobile at
http://www.joesherlock.com/nwsltr19.html
Basically, the gist of the article said that in the old days, before Olds lost its way, “Olds was the ‘executive innovator.’ Oldsmobiles always had the latest bells and whistles and were owned by engineering managers and other prosperous individualists. Doctors drove Buicks; tech people drove Oldsmobiles.” Today this person drives Audis and Acuras.
In fashion terms, I guess Olds could be considered the “fashion forward” brand. Does GM have a “fashion forward” brand anymore?
How come GM’ lowest quality car is Made by TOYOTA…. the VIBE.
PEOPLE, NEVER LISTEN TO THE FOREIGN IS GOOD MEDIA.
It makes me sick!
Is it me or does it seem that this blog always talks about PONTIAC when Chevy was probably the first to start the General…..
If you think GM is saving money in 2 week shut down because they don’t have to pay any one overtime. only Maintainance to get the buildings in tip top shape!
(But that’s my 2 cents)
Craig
“Without a vision the people perish.”
Lincoln/Mercury is not a vision, unless you want a dummy division with no soul and a luxury brand that lost its way.
Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep is not a vision unless you want their 12% market share.
No your vision should not mimick them or you will become like them.
We talk about Buick and Pontiac because they need the most attention.
How do you think Wal-Mart manages its 4,000 stores? They don’t. They only manage the bad ones. They find the exceptions, those that are doing bad or those that overachieve to see what their doing right. And you always fix the bottom.
Sell a luxury brand Buick with a blue collar brand is instant death. You might as well put Buick’s name on a tombstone and place it six feet under Pontiac/GMC.
Pontiac is dessert and Buick is a great steak, but don’t serve my vanilla ice cream on top of my sizzling hot steak.
Sloan had a vision that brought GM to #1 and the only change today is the addition of trucks. So merge car and truck brands they compliment each other. It is simply this…
-5 stata- in todays terms it must includes trucks.
Chevy/Chevy Trucks
Pontiac/GMC
Saturn
Buick/Hummer
Cadillac/Escalade
Why change the paradigm? Why reinvent the wheel? Why complicate the marketing with cross strata confusion? Why take away divisions? If GM could support 5 car brands in 1931 I am sure they can support them now with 16 million vehicles selling in the U.S. alone. I don’t understand. Neither will the consumer.
But just mention Buick in the same sentence as Hummer and they seem to get instant credibility. Hummer is everything Buick should be. That is Buick’s vision and destiny.
Beautiful, luxury dealerships appealing to the white collar elite with high over-the-top substancial luxury vehicles. Buick adds to Hummer its great tradition of quality and Buick gets a direction and vision.
Buick is the Hummer of the car world. Like Hummer, it is high, a la the H3 and the Buick 8 of ols tapping its great heritage. It is romance and passion in the form of steel. Two great names in American luxury representing the American dream as its passengers finally look down at those Mercedes drivers for a change.
“Oh, you got that steak at the ice cream parlor didn’t you?”
There is great vision in the Velite and Centieme design but you need a better vision in your marketing!!!
This is what an overpaid analyst will never tell you. They will tear you down with no vision. I got a vision and it’s a lot like Sloans.
GM’s internal data show that the Yukon buyer is more affluent than the Escalade buyer. That’s why GMC pairs better with Buick because so many high income buy GMC’s. I think Hummer pairs better with Pontiac because both are supposed to have an edge to them. Buick/Hummer or Buick/GMC, both the same to me.
I’ve also seen GM dealers pairing Buick and Saab before. This seems like a more natural fit than Buick and Pontiac.
Buick is dying right before our very eyes BECAUSE 2/3 of the dealers are already paired with Pontiac. At the very least, the cobo dealers should be FORCED to have separate showrooms with dedicated Buick-only salespeople.
I am at three posts here but this is new.
What did I see across the street from a Chevy/Pontiac/Buick/Something else I can’t remember dealership? A Toyota dealership with about a thousand Hummers on the lot.
Toyota/Hummer?????
Look I don’t have to say anything else about the matter. But if GM doesn’t do it someone else will and apparently Toyota will. I thought for a moment they made a similar vehicle.
Well they don’t display the Hummer name so that just makes it look like there trucks belong to Toyota.
Its okay to combine dealerships but this is getting out of hand. You cant shop three and four brands on these small lots while Toyota has this big spread.
And if its done all the time you get a host and a parasite like Lincoln/Mercury.
Come on GM. Get some vision in your marketing.
May God help the Neapolitan.
And there should be more flavors than Neapolitan.
In 1993 I singed up for a GM Mastercard. My wife asked me why, when I did not want to buy anything you offered. My response was, “I believe in five or six years GM will be making great cars.”
Well, here is my record of earnings on that GM Card:
Earnings Statement as of: 07/08/2005
Previous Earnings: $3,798.00
Earnings Received This Period: $0.00 (I’m maxed out for the year)
New Earnings Total: $3,798.00
Anniversary Date: 09/09/1993
Redemption Activity:
Last Redeemed Amount: $0.00
Lifetime Earnings Redeemed: $0.00
I had hope when I saw the Buick concept car….only to read in an automobile magazine that the concept was killed! Thisa is a sad, sad story. My late mother bought only GM cars. She finally drove a 1985 Ford Thunderbird which I gave her when she was 84. An uncle (Ben Borella) was General Assistant Tressurer of GM when he died – in the GM office building, 1775 Broadway, in 1936). Cadillac has gotten better, but you’re still trying to compare it to BMW to show it’s just as (or almost as) good. You will have reached your mark when BMW, Mercedes and Lexus comapre their cars to Cadillac and try to make us believe they’re just as good.
Too bad. I would have bought one of those Buicks.
The Aurora was a great car, but you ruined it with the 2001 model. All it needed was upgraded safety features – side & side curtain airbags, stability control, etc and a bit more trunk room. with an AWD option. That was a great paltform.
Am I mistaken, or is stabilitrack an OPTION on the Caddie? ALL that stuff should be standard! Otherwise you cheapen the brand.