All of Your Ideas
By Bob Lutz
GM Vice Chairman
Now that the Geneva show is over, I’d like to get back to your comments and ideas (all 300 of them!) on how we can change people’s perceptions about our company, and our new cars and trucks.
Obviously, there are a huge number of comments here, but several common themes emerge:
· Offering extended warranties to emphasize our improved quality
¬∑ Providing a dealership experience more like Saturn’s for our other brands
· Creating advertising that compares our vehicles with our competitors
· Putting employees in our ads
· Courting Gen X and Gen Y buyers
· Using our employees as ambassadors for our cars and trucks.
These are all good ideas. We are already studying several of them. But I was pleased to see that most comments were about our vehicles themselves. This confirms my lifelong conviction that what customers really want are great cars and trucks. You said you want:
· interiors that look and feel great
· distinctive brand identities (no badge engineering)
¬∑ more exciting vehicles like the Corvette, Solstice, HHR and Tahoe, Corvette, and — of course…
· the Camaro concept in production ASAP.
Rest assured, I want all of these things too. We are working every day on them. We have a tough road and tough decisions ahead of us. But I’ll tell you the same thing I tell Rick Wagoner and our Board: I’m confident we’ll make it. Thanks again for your passion. We’ll keep you posted on our plans. In the meantime, please go test drive one of our new vehicles. And while you’re at it, get a friend to drive one, too. This whole “word of mouth” thing ain’t just lip service you know!
It’s great to our (customers) feedback is being listened to!
Here’s another one to add to the list though: PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY IN THE WORLD STOP WITH PONTIAC’S CURRENT NAMING CONVENTION!
G5 and G6 names have as much passion in them as medical terminology. Next thing you know, the Solstice will change to the G2 (Love mine BTW). Then you have the G8 coming out. You’ll be one model away from using a Bingo hall as a Pontiac commercial!
I can just imagine the commercial now… you’ll run through the model line up all flashy like the current G6/Solstice commercial and end with someone 85 year old person on oxygen, smoking a cigarette, and yelling “Bingo!”
Read the new book, “Think”.
Quite honestly, the one issue I have with GM is having to make excuses. Excuses for why my car was in the shop for longer than it needed to be. Excuses for why the quality-control is lacking. Excuses for lower than anticipated resale. Excuses for why I purchased an American vehicle.
If anything GM needs to run a “No Excuses” campaign.
I noticed you mentioned the Corvette twice. You should delete one of the Corvette references and insert AWD GTO.
THAT would shake up the Bimmer fanboys.
concerning the camaro….it apparently is being considered to be built in canada….does gm not understand that americans that buy these types of cars would prefer them to be built in america? i wanted one but will not buy if its made in canada….
I would like to say that i do LOVE the camaro concept, but i would also lkike to know when my firebirld will be back. my father owned a pontiac/buick.GMC dealership that went under.. (go figure) and when the firebird and camaro were discontinued, we were told it was for a total overhaul, which by the looks of it are on their way(just a few years late). i would like to see the firebird back with a vengence, the last model firebird was just amazing, but OVERPRICED!!!! the GTO looks like a mid nintees monte carlo. and now i am hearing that it will also be discontinued??? Americian cars have names, they have soul, they have HERITAGE. rebadging the pontiacs like BMW and mercedees is NOT the way to make people think american, its bad enough that the GTO is aultralian. please for the love of god, and the company, make pontiac what it was intended to be, performance and looks, that people can afford
and also on the busness aspect… make the government start with UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE!!! this will take a HUGE burden off of your company, we as americans want it, you as a company should want it, you payout billions in benifits before you even break even, let alone profit. things can be fixed, and i hope they are good luck lutz
(btw, your design of the viper is still my favorite car ever)
Talkin’ Lutz
Bob Lutz, back from the Geneva car show, responds to the comments on a question he posed to his blog’s readers a few weeks ago. Here’s what he said then: But the deeper issue is this question of our image,
I certainly would like to see GM cut back on their badge engineering, and cut drastically. Is there really a need, for example, to give Pontiac, Chevy, and Buick all nearly identical minivans with identical powertrains?
Perhaps GM could roll out a rule to put no more than two models sold in the same country on the same platform. And add a rule that the different brands need substantial differences in engine tuning or luxury levels so buyers will know there is a real difference.
For example, the next generation Malibu might come with an SS package where the top engine is a pushrod V8, while its Pontiac stablemate would have a V6 for its performance engine – with dual overhead cams and a turbo. (And, of course, both need a stick shift option.)
I know GM may have far fewer models for sale if they stick to a rule like this, but they should still be able to cover all their bases. Dealers may need to take on more model lines to supply their customer’s needs.
Hello Bob, just went and test drove the Mercedes S550 and a BMW 750Li with a friend and neither of us really liked either of them. We loved how they rode and handled but we both found the styling to be far from beautiful, an attribute that a car I’ll be spending a $100,000 on must have. It’s a shame that there was nothing at the Cadillac dealer for me to test drive. With MB and BMW in a stying rut it seems to me like a wonerful time to push the car I know you want as bad as me, a large gorgeous rear wheel Cadillac. I get nervous that there will be so few XLR-V’s sold that everyone will tell you that a $100K premium cadillac isn’t possible when in fact it is more than ever. All you need to do is make it look smart, sleek and modern, more cien and evoq themed than sixteen (which is beautiful but already dated and too imposing) and create an all new platform for it that sets world standards for interior space and ride quality. GM Powertrain is respected around the world and I’m sure what ever they come up with for this car would be fantastic. Include your two-mode hybrid system and active fuel managment that can all be turned on and off by the driver and this car would be a success even here in California. You could even come out with a discontented version for Buick and SAAB a year later with an optional diesel powertrain.
Thanks for all your hard work Bob and I’m confident as well that GM will make it, so confident in fact that I just bought GM stock, at bargain prices too if you ask me.
GM’s new products are awesome but the press loves to hate you, so they won’t give you a break. You need to let people know that buying a Toyota is not really good for the country–their domestic content is about 40% instead of GM’s 80+%. Talk vehicle attributes, quality and price–then show that it’s good for you and your neighbors and the country as a whole to buy GM. There are 80 year old veterans driving Toyotas in our town who think it’s OK to buy them since they’re assembled here. It’s not—tell them it’s not.
Phil Malloy said:
“I would like to say that i do LOVE the camaro concept, but i would also lkike to know when my firebirld will be back.”
Bob Lutz has already said there will be no new Firebird. There will be a new GTO based on the Zeta platform (which is the same platform the new Camaro will be based on).
It is currently anticipated the GTO will begin production late in 2008 as a 2009 model.
Greg
Bob,
I am glad to see you really read all the comments. I was a bit worried it would be all for naught and just more GM lip service.
I think most people (myself included) would buy a GM product first if it were a superior product. We want GM to succeed. We really do! I mean, I’m American first and foremost. It’s really sad to see GM in the state it is in currently. But, on the other hand, we are spending 25 grand (on average) of our own heart earned money on a product that, unlike a house, depreciates the second you sign the title. When you consider the choices people have today, what was once taboo to own a Japanese vehicle if you live in a factory town is now common place. People buy them, not because they are unpatriotic, but simply because of product.
So, I think GM is on it’s way back, but I am still a bit apprehensive about buying one. Prove it to me, Bob. Prove to me you can build a car for 30 grand that has BETTER performance than a BMW, BETTER interior fit and refinement than a Lexus, BETTER reliability than a Toyota Camry, and all American style and grunt under the hood.
In other words, I have confidence that GM can make the best cars in the world if they honestly applied themselves to do so. BETTER than anyone else in the world.
Then I ask you, Mr. Lutz, am I reaching too far?
I already posted my excitement for the Camaro under the main Camaro thread. I think the front and rear should be revised somewhat, perhaps similar to the RS/SS grill we’ve all seen in photoshops. But please count me down as a buyer for a new Camaro. I am already planning to purchase one.
With that said, I agree with the majority of everyone else who says GM needs longer warranties. I think 3 yrs/36,000 miles is not enough for 2006. I believe GM cars and trucks have improved enough for a longer warranty to make sense, and think 5 years/60,000 would be a great start. That is one way GM could improve it’s perception with the public. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve heard will not even go look at a GM car because the warranty isn’t long enough. Hyundai has a long warranty, why can’t GM?
At the end of the day, as long as you build cars that I like (V8, RWD coupes, I.E. Camaro), I will always be a GM customer. But not everyone is as brand loyal as that, and one way to draw more people in is to increase the warranty.
You talk about changing the general public’s perception of GM? To begin with, I’m a loyal GM owner, and am confused by the perception you’ve given to me.
1. More often that not, GM completely ignores Buick when talking about future plans (or in speeches, or press releases, etc.). Why? Buick was one of the cornerstones of GM, and has always been profitable. At one point, you said, “Buick was junior only to Cadillac.”
2. When the “damaged” brands controversy occured, you seemed to realize that GM had harvested Buick (and Pontiac) for all it could, but reinvested little in product. Please right that wrong, don’t starve Buick of product!
3. Buick has better J.D. Power initial quality, dependability, and sales satisfaction ratings than ANY other GM brand. The Lucerne is doing well. The Rendezvous helped to lower Buick’s average owner age. (In other words, when Buick gets a decent or distinctive product, it does sell.) Isn’t that worth building on?
4. GM seems to have money to pour into Saturn and Saab. What happened to the $3 billion promised to Buick in 2004? (Don’t insult me with the LaCrosse and Terraza.)
5. Doesn’t the Buick Enclave look like a hit? Most everyone says yes, so why doesn’t GM move the Enclave up in the release cadence?
6. I appreciate that, while in Geneva, you mentioned a new model, the Statesman, in Buick’s future. But does Buick really need a second, large 4-door? If so, why not use one of Buick’s cherished model names like Invicta, Roadmaster, or Wildcat? In any case, make it bold, not just a Holden Statesman with the Buick tri-shield on it.
You’re well aware of what Buick was – there’s your guide for what it can and should be, only a Buick that’s better than ever, with a deservedly secure place in GM.
put out that saab as unchanged as possible – a saab muscle car ala the maro!
You forgot to mention another common comment here-you need to increase the vehicle content of all your vehicles.
Standard tilt and telescope steering wheel, stability control, ABS, etc etc.
Amen brother. Now Bob we all know these aren’t revelations to you. GM has more than its fair share of bright people. So here’s the $64 issue. Sponsorship and execution of a radical transformational plan to get it done. So, understanding an issue exists is easy enough. It’s really reachind deep down and executing a plan without waivering or without mercy. That is not in GM’s culture nor is it likely within its capability without outside leadership. And I don’t mean firing anyone either. That is, except for Wagoner which the board, bondholders, shareholders or all of the above will do soon enough. You do not have the General in General Motors. Who is going to lead the good fight? Lip service time is past. Bankruptcy is likely inevitable but not the end. The final crisis needed to complete the transformation of GM into a world class fighting machine.
Bob you got a home court disadvantage.
While you were in Europe did you hear the press defame the Porsche Cayenne?
Did you hear names in the press like Porkswagen?
How about the Rolls-Mini-Motor-Works? PorAudiwagon?
Did you hear anything about Daimler killing the Mercedes brand because they were loosing money?
No, I wouldn’t think you would hear any of that nonscence over there.
We got reporters that are framing this months Consumer Reports and putting it on their mantle next to “The Machine that Changed the World”. They clip out bad news on the General and collect them in a scrap book as part of their daily victuals just wishing David Dunbar Buick was born David Dunbar Lexus. They have their alarm clock set on the demise of American industry and at 12 noon they chime that same old mantra and return to bed hearing nothing but what they receive in the press as gospel.
I don’t believe any of the darkness gloom and scuttlebutt. I never drank the sak- look I live by this rule…
“Lies, they have no power so question their authority arresting ruth,
A million lies cannot alter a single truth.” -Hayes
Bob and Rick are busy dreaming of GM’s bright future and if no one stands in their way they have an awesome plan and Bob has a great track record.
And we hope to keep pushing them up not tearing them down with ideas like this…
Bob how about this Buick mission statement?
Buick is literally raising the family sedan segment to offer incomparable comfort, style and class unprecidented in our price range to a level once afforded only to the most exotic European saloons.
Yeah that’s it.
I would really like to see GM succeed. However, all the ideas you posted above won’t turn it wround until you can pick up the annual April Sonsumers Report and find GM vehicles highly rated rather than Honda or Toyota or other Asian brand. When you read the reports GM vehicles aren’t world class. The reports over and over report poor fit and finish, rough engines, mediocre handling when compared to the competition (not true of all GM vehicles but certainly the bread and butter ones. For example, recently I rented a Buick Lacross because I was interested in possibly buying one but while it was comfortable and quiet it scared me with the sloppy way it handled at 70 mph compared with my Honda Accord. I also recently rented a Chevy Impala and it was much better in the handling dept as well as comfortable and quiet so I hope it succeeds. If the Korean cars can get in Consumer report top 10s GM should be able to.
I’d love to see you make cars that are more younger person friendly. And by that I mean allowing owners to change stereo systems easier, having accessories to differentiate their car from others. I think what Scion is doing is great. It’s like the old days when cars had options, not being forced to take on 10 add-ons when all you wanted was 1.
I can tell you personally as a new car buyer in the next 4-6 months that your change to integrating the radio and A/C controls in your vehicles is driving me away. I always change stereos in my car, and I am a Sirius subscriber, who doesn’t want some lame addon unit.
Wanna change GM’s stigma, start by being more customer friendly.
And while your at it stop making “almost” great products. Having recently attended the local auto show the shortcomings of GM vehicles is so apparent. Styling wise they continue to be bland. Your “excitement” division Ponitac has little to be excited for. Their closest thing to excitement is the Solstice which requires a driver under 5′10″ and the hope that person doesn’t want to go to the store or drink a soda while driving the car. The amount of people I saw excited about the car till they had to get in it was startling. Stop cutting corners. The lack of choices for people not able to afford $35K for a car yet wanting something sporty and bigger then a compact is scarce. Not everyone wants an SUV, however some of us would still like to be able to fold down the seats and gets some 2×4″s every once in a while.
As a longtime GM supporter, it’s disheartening to not see anything interesting on the lots that is still affordable.
The only problem I have with commercials comparing a product to its competitors is that the companies doing a really great job never do that. At least for the most part. I think it always looks desperate when it’s done. If your product is good enough, it’s not necessary. Pontiac hasn’t had to compare the Solstice to the Miata now have they?
I think what GM needs are commercials that are really creative. I think the stuff they’ve done with the HUMMER brand is really top notch stuff. The one with the monsters conceiving the HUMMER is brilliant
Hey GM! More commercials like that and a little less of the tired competitor comparisons.
Of course, you still need excellent product to back that up.
I agree with one of the other posters here that an American muscle car loses some appeal if it’s assembled in say, Canada.
This is easy advice to give but hard to achieve: make the products brilliant. Are they good enough? Yes. But so are your competitors. Just like water seeks its own level, the automotive landscape will continue to spread more evenly, leading to an inevitable loss of market share. This, unless you build standout products, through the best network of dealers.
GM’s latest round of products have done a great job of catch up with the imports. The new full-size trucks? Brilliant. The Corvette is a standout. The Solstice is beautiful, but many people still prefer the detail and perceived quality of the Mazda MX-5. Why is that? Because you left the door open, by settling on some of the details that more and more people take notice of. This is no longer acceptable, and I’m surprised (Bob) that you let it happen.
The new reality is, everything from your core, bread and butter family haulers to the most expensive Cadillac have to absolutely *sparkle* with innovation, style, finish, and freshness. Look at the new Honda Civic. Does it have some flaws? Sure. But it does a great job of making a $15-20K car look like a unique object that can be desired on its own merits, even over much more expensive cars. As such, it is now widely acknowleged to be the state of the small car art. Sometimes it’s the little things, like the very simple feature of allowing an SD memory card to be plugged into the dash for MP3 file playback. It’s not rocket science, it just shows that someone had a really good idea, using perfectly ubiquitous technology, and followed through on it. Come from the Honda dealer and look at the Cobalt, a perfectly good entry, but it still gives one the sense that your money in that class doesn’t warrant GM’s best efforts, as if making the Cobalt too nice would pull sales from Malibu and Impala. Wrong strategy!
Every single new entry GM brings to market now should have SOMETHING in it that makes customers think, “I really want that.” Remote start is a great feature, so why aren’t there TV commercials with happy GM drivers getting into their warm car in the snow and driving off, while Camry and Accord buyers are shivering their [bleep]s off?? Why not show an OnStar equipped vehicle off an embankment getting help, while down the same icy road a competitor’s vehicle is leaving a family in jeopardy? Are you afraid to push the envelope? You have some advantages here and now that you’re just p*ssing away.
Next, I love pushrod engines. I am generally in the minority on that issue, and especially where the sometimes insane press is concerned. There’s the old saying, “you can’t fight city hall.” Why do you persist, then? Everything but the small block V8 should go, replaced by state-of-the-art OHC engines, and nothing should have fewer than 5 forward gears. Now! You should also be copying or outright buying Audi’s DSG gearbox technology, it is the best. Copy the best, and innovate from there–this was the Japanese strategy and now Toyota, in market value, could buy GM 10 times over! No exaggeration. It makes me nauseous just thinking about it.
On to hybrids. There is no good reason why you shouldn’t be offering the soon-to-be-released Vue’s innovative, low-cost system, on the Cobalt, HHR, Malibu, and G6 at the same time. The HHR in particular would be a major home run. The Vue is already a damaged nameplate, from a really flawed product when it was introduced (although reasonably improved since.) So why does it get first dibs? The HHR has no such baggage, and would have been a much better choice for this great, GM-only technology. You cannot continue to miss the right opportunities for reasons that probably only make sense inside of GM.
Final point, your political action committee no doubt helped get the current, disastrous administration elected. Now Bush recently told the governor of Michigan, “I can’t save your auto industry.” Yes, “your auto industry,” not ours, not America’s, but yours, as if it’s Michigan’s problem and we’d all be just fine if the free market let Honda and Toyota take over the entire world while GM and Ford go under. Next time you’re sending money to a political campaign, choose more wisely, please? And I do hope you make it until 2008 to do so! Long live GM.
Bob Larson
2004 Corvette
2005 Envoy XUV
Hello again:
I’ve been reading the latest entries in your blog, and I have to admit that I think you guys are finally starting to get it.
IT’S ABOUT TIME, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!
However, I still have a criticism or two, this time concerning Pontiac.
Is it your intention to kill Pontiac a la Oldsmobile? It appears that you have lost sight of Pontiac’s identity.
Why did you badge-engineer the Equinox into the Torrent? Why are you giving your latest cars such inane, uninspired names (G6? Come on)? Why are Pontiacs not competitive in racing (NASCAR, SCCA, NHRA, etc.)? Why have today’s Pontiacs no passion?
I would suggest that you go back to your archives and take a good, hard look at the cars that earned Pontiac the reputation you’re wrecking. Ditch the G6 “name” and replace it with something more evocative, like Catalina, Ventura, or LeMans. Bring back the GTO and Firebird, and soon!
In other words, do not water Pontiac down! Let Pontiac be the “We Build Excitement” company again. If you don’t, you’ll only succeed in ruining the brand, and you will further hinder your ultimate recovery in the eyes of the buying public.
Thanks for listening.
I want to know when GM will release a diesel for small-to-midsize vehicles. When bringing the Opel Astra over for Saturn you could use an Opel diesel. Diesel adds efficiency that at this point can’t be matched with gasoline engines, efficiency that is appreciated in a world were oil prices continue to rise. Also GM should consider increasing the factory warranty on at least some of your vehicles as a marketing bonus.
Speaking from some bitter history (bought 3 Chevys – 2 new, 1 current used certified) – the GM package is made up of dealer sales, dealer service, GM warranty department, and GM customer service. And when the consumer has a problem, all these departments conveniently separate from one another leaving the end user with . . . a full time job trying to get something done. Hint: Don’t certify a car without dealing with known TSB’s affecting the vehicle. Don’t sell extended warranties if the dealer service network is too busy to look at the vehicle when there is a problem.
Bob, While I’m here at the dealership front, your driveway to success if you will, there are several things that need to be adressed:
sorry this one goes off into a bunch of different directions…
I must press Percieved quality, this is a must fix… recently I heard some advertising regaurding “if you havent seen chevy recently, you dont know chevy” while I think this is a good way to flip perception… it may not be enough. GM has enough customers saying “Man I’ll never own another one again!” or… or what I find strange is “I had really bad luck with GMC but I love my chevys” or vis versa.
GM needs to cut down on premiums… vehicles ought to sell for full retail, and full retail only… no $4k premium on solstice, or 25k on Z06… we have a great selection of 2007 tahoes, over 100 to chose from… heck we already even have one thats already been traded in. But bob, if you must know I think the light interior’s on those cars expecially the cloth are too light… they get dirty really fast, even at the dealership. also, i’ve got a few mentions that people prefer the alluminum trim instead of the wood trim for the tahoes… so perhaps you could option it for the LT models.
Also GM must have direction… if it doesnt know where it wants to be, it has no place to go… every brand must have a halo car, you can take Hummer for example, each vehicle is striving to be just like the H1… but in moderation.
But when you look at buicks line up, well (i still think buick needs a better line up but the lucerne is a great looking car) there really isnt a halo car, same with pontiac, the solstice is a very nice car, but you dont want your halo car to be 20k… a good example would be the cadillac sixteen or if they accually made the cien that would be an awesome halo car… because it obviously shows the direction cadillac wants to go…
ohh i could go on forever… but good luck bob… i really hope that we can get improved warrantys more then anything, preception is reality
I think GM’s done a fantastic job of upgrading its truck offerings over the last several years. But with all of the improvements that have been made (both within GM and other manufacturers) I see a big hole in the market I’d love to see GM fill. How about bringing back something like the LUV – perhaps as a small pickup based on the HHR? The LUV was my first car, and I’d love to have a pickup with that kind of attitude again. I like the Colorado, but that class of pickup isn’t all that small anymore. I just want something that’s primarily a city driver with good gas mileage (not just good mileage “for a truck”) that I can occasionally use to cart around a lawnmower or some bookshelves. The LUV was great for that. I’d love to have something like that again.
Capitalize on some of your American history, stop trying to imitate the Japanese. Mine the past for more of your great ideas and bring them forward.
Last summer I interned at a supplier of GM’s. Did you know that some of the people employed there do nothing all day yet make $80,000+ per year? That’s right, suppliers feel they need 45+ year old white males to court buyers and senior SQEs of a similar demographic at GM. Any engineer who happens to be 20-30 years old, or who was born in another country, or who is of the female gender must have such a “manager” to interact with the customer at GM, even though the engineer is fully qualified to handle both jobs.
This dysfunctional corporate culture must be changed! From just one small supplier, at least $160,000 of your money is going to waste every year.
As far as product, rumors that some in GM’s leadership think that Saab and Hummer should be spun off are disturbing. How can they see a need to sell a distinctive Euro brand or a heavy-hitting off-road division when GMC is a shameless badgineering clone? If any of your brands must go, let the axe meet the brand with no unique product and a contrived origin conceived to appease Pontiac/Buick/Olds dealerships.
You’re right, Mr. Lutz: build distinctive, attractive, innovative, reliable product, and THEY WILL COME!
Oh yeah, and build the Saab Aero X (with the wraparound windscreen intact). This is one of the best-looking concepts I’ve seen, ever! The Camaro will catch the [semi-]retro crowd’s attention, but the Aero X will keep people tuned in for the future.
Hi Bob,
How about running a special unlimited or double GM card earnings redemptions where customers can usa all their GM card earnings on the purchase/lease of a GM vehicle. If this is not feasible, how about buy/lease two GM cars and the second vehicle is eligible for unlimited GM card earnings redemption. Speaking of GM card, why can’t we use it on Saturn products. I will be real ticked if the Saturn Aura comes out and I can’t redeem my GM card earnings on it.
How about regional commercials or print ads showing off where models are made and thanking customers for supporting the plant through sales and allowing the employees to have one of the most rewarding jobs there is. And also how GM supports that local community…yadayadayada…
I’m also a fan of the warranties. If GM matched Hyundai and Kia’s warranties, they would grab massive market share for a few hundred dollars, help customers to retain equity in their vehicles and greatly improve customer-dealer relations, strengthening owner loyalty.
New Saab concept looks like a real winner; full speed ahead with Camaro, Enclave and H4.
GM needs sharper designs and better quality. My saturn 05 qc looks great, but the roof rattles like a 1980’s car. Spend $5 more per car to make the quality better and give the passion back to drivers. HUMMER could also use an h4 or h5 built using the small truck platform. Things just need to change a little bit. I like GM, I also like the jeep brand, get hummer into a clasic design and I will never by a chrysler again.
GM makes great products, but I think there is still a long road ahead for GM before it can compete with Toyota. I want GM to succeed and make great cars, while The Camaro looks good, what is GM going to do about the Chevy Malibu and Impala? I mean how is Chevy going to compete against those with sporty looks of a Nissan Maximum or a rock hard dependablity of a Toyota Camery, so my question is this. what is GM going to do to reduce the 18 problems per car reach to Toyota 12 defects per car? And what is GM going to do about the plain style of Chevy to compete against Nissan’s sporty looks?
Please, please, look at THE DEALERSHIP EXPERIENCE, first, Bob!
The best cars in the world will NEVER overcome the mostly clueless dealer network you have out there.
Start by ‘upgrading’ the people skills, sales skills, and relationship-building strategies of everyone in every dealership, from the person who sweeps up at night all the way to the top (owner).
Everyone working in a GM dealership should know and believe in the company mission: ‘Building lifetime automotive relationships with clients’, not ‘Closing one-time sales with dumb suckers’.
Empower your dealers, service managers, and sales managers to DO THE RIGHT THING for every GM customer, EVERY TIME.
Gosh, it could even become a ‘motivational marketing mantra’.
I can’t tell you how many tales I’ve read recently on my favorite GM car forum of customers who were treated badly by dealerships on what should have been valid warranty repairs.
What do you gain if you save GM $250.00 by not honoring a warranty and then lose a GM customer for life???
Treat people right, and you won’t NEED to remake every model and every GM brand to GET AND KEEP customers coming back to GM dealers and showrooms!
I have been saying this for years. I recently purchased a VW Golf, mainly for safety. But, because it was “Sharp” in the looks department. Before that, I had a Scion xB. Now THAT was a car. Cars are supposed to DRAW you in. They are supposed to be FUN. You are supposed to LOVE them. Think “18 yr old buying a his first car in 1966 and its a Mustang”.
Where are those cars with US brands on them? The HHR?? THATS supposed to be “HOT?”. MAYBE if it wasn’t a ripoff of the PT Cruiser (Which apparently appealed more to Grandma than Gen X,Y, or Z).
Ok, The Solstice, The Sky, great….. but can your average college kid afford one? NO.
Toyota got it right with Scion. Mitsubishi is doing pretty well with their “entry level” cars. VW of course has that niche locked down. And we get from the US makers? “The AVEO” and the “Focus”. Comon, you couldn’t have bent the metal on the Aveo to make it look a lot more like a MINI COOPER and lot less like my Toaster. Take a LONG hard look at Scion. They offer great basic features. The ones everyone wants are built in.
GM could do this, but BETTER. Look at Toyota overall? BORING. Cars that put the Z in snooze. But, yet, they are stomping you.
Get in some HOT new designers. Get rid of BORING cars like “The Malibu 5″ did ANYONE buy that crap?
Take some risks on the low end. Historically they ALL Lose money. But, look at the Neon. It may be LOATHED as an old ugly peice of crap now. But, when it first came out it actually MADE A PROFIT, because it was fun, it was sexy and it was CHEAP. Where is the entry level american car thats fun now? The Cobalt?? UH, NO, its just the same old boring cavalier, just updated to look even MORE like a Honda CIvic (another boring car company).
You design some great concepts. Why not take the “style” straight to the showroom. You can’t out “Honda” Honda. You can’t do what they are doing better. But what America USED to be able to do was put some HOT metal on the streets. Keep a basic frame/chasis. Make 4 different versions of the car. Where is the american version of the Opel Astra??? Look at companies like SMART (cause they are gonna do just what I am saying, and blow you guys away).
Comon GM, Think CORVAIR! (Sure it was kind of a failure, but it sure was FUN!!). We used to drool over cars from the US, now we only buy them if we can’t afford the Japanese version.
Americans wanna feel COOL driving their cars. They want EYE Catching designs. You are trying to “out bland” Toyota and Honda. How about you try to OUT STYLE Them. Look at Chrysler!!!! They get it!! Why don’t you?
And the new Camaro? In my opinion its just a knock off of the Mustang (with some line stolen from the Dodge Charger concept).
Ford HAS that nich covered. Why not invent a WHOLE NEW style, look, design esthetic?
You been playing “Me too” for too long.
SHOCK US!!! PLEASE!!!
New Gto? Great. So when Can I expect a New aztek? Obviously you don’t want Pontiac to have profitable cars. As long as there is no Firebird Trans Am you will not have Me as a customer. I don’t want a Camaro, or a Overgrown Cavalier.
No Firebird= Me buying a Mustang. Good job guys. Should have killed POntiac before you turned it into the “Minivan, Aztek, BMW fighter, Oprah Division”
You are letting us Loyal Pontiac Fans down bob and guess what we don’t only buy 1 vehicle we buy trucks and Daily drivers too. Way to let down a fanbase. F*** your camaro. P.S. Sky should have went to Pontiac you idiots.
How about a series of ads that acknowledge your past blunders and product shortcomings? Admit to people that GM cars in the recent past were not all they should have been, but that’s being corrected bit by bit everyday.
“For those who swore to never buy a GM vehicle again, give us another look. You may just like what you find.”
“Last summer I interned at a supplier of GM’s. Did you know that some of the people employed there do nothing all day yet make $80,000+ per year? That’s right, suppliers feel they need 45+ year old white males to court buyers and senior SQEs of a similar demographic at GM. Any engineer who happens to be 20-30 years old, or who was born in another country, or who is of the female gender must have such a “manager” to interact with the customer at GM, even though the engineer is fully qualified to handle both jobs.”
I work for a supplier to GM (and pretty much every other car company) and let me state for the record that the above is unadulterated bunk.
We, as the North American suppliers to GM and the rest of the Big 2.5, have almost universally taken it square on the chin in this downturn.
The North American Supply Base is in the middle of absolutely ferocious competition, even more intense than GM sees – note the number of bankruptcies (Dana, Tower, Oxford, Delphi, etc…) – and at the end of the day many of these suppliers went bankrupt in their attempt to cut to the bone to support GM, Ford and Chrysler.
We know that a large part of our future is GM, and we’ve done everything possible to contribute – from horrific monetary givebacks forced on us by Purchasing, to not getting compensated for material price increases that are completely out of our control (steel), to cutting and cutting and cutting manpower.
We’ve done our part. With no quarantees whatsoever. The idea of using the Japanese model of supplier relations is so far removed from GM’s psyche as to be incomprehensible to the company.
We’re there Bob, we’re committed, and we’ve bled real blood for GM.
At the end of the day I understand competition, I don’t really expect anything in return, and don’t need “Atta-boys”, but to have the supply base bad-mouthed in this way by an INTERN just goes beyond the pale.
Sell (mostly) European cars, and American trucks.
I like small cars, which used to be called “econoboxes” by the automotive press. They are the last bastion of peppy, quick, spry “sports” sedans and coupes (and the occasional hatchback).
But Ford and Chevy keep shooting themselves in the foot. Ford invested a ton of money in the Focus, designed to really win in the highly competitive European market, then stripped out the fun when they brought it here – no “European” handling.
GM has the whole Opel line, with fine platforms jointly developed with Saab etc. – but when you bring over the Epsilon, you screw up the suspension – make it “soft” for American tastes. Hey, it doesn’t have to be Eibach’d etc., but what’s wrong with good handling on the Malibu?
The Cobalt could be better. Apparently the twist beam rear suspension isn’t the end of the world; VW got by with the same set up for years.
But why not surprise the single moms and teenage boys with a Cobalt that makes them say “wow” – that corners flat and precise.
Ditto on the Impala. I MIGHT buy one next year, but three years in a row of test drives turned me off due to the sloppy, wallowy handing. Only the advanced technology in this year’s 3.5 and 3.9 engines keeps bringing me back to take another look.
Remember what happened to VW when they tried to design Rabbits to American tastes. They lost their core audience, which was looking for European handling.
PacerX is right on the mark. When suppliers like Delhi, Tower, Dana etc. go bankrupt, GM still gets the product and it’s the Tier 2’s or Tier 3’s that don’t get paid. The upstream suppliers are the ones who fund the bankrupt supplier, and sometimes go out of business themselves. And GM’s attitude from all this? “Too bad – what’s your cost reduction?”
Bob, you know that GM is in a death spiral and it won’t end anytime soon. Not until you change the way you conduct your business. You’re killing your supply base and putting American’s out of work, yet it’s still not good enough. Since you’re looking to source so many parts from China, I suggest you start looking for customers there as well to buy your cheap cars. At least Toyota is consciously looking to increase the US content in their plants. At the rate it’s going, “buy American” will mean “buy Toyota”. And GM will be past tense….
Just make us a big rear wheel drive, independant suspension, 5.0L+, Buick sedan for 40K+/-. Also make sure the new Burb has a big block and/or diesel option.
Bob,
I agree with your “word of mouth” comment most of all. Enthusiasm for GM products starts with us, and if we, the fans, can’t make our enthusiasm infectious, then who can?
- Ming
Ohh BOB… can I suggest one thing, I was reading really quickly on here that one gentleman said to improve dealership experience.
Well this reminded me of something, while our dealership is #30 in the USA for Chevy volume, and like #5 for CSI scores… I personally think it would be a good idea to have a moral booster from the executives of the company. Personally I’d like to meet many of you, Rick, Mark La’Nave, Bob… But many of our employees here aren’t so in touch with the company (as I am), and sometimes it seems the executives of this company aren’t too in touch with its dealers. Just a thought bob… if corporate would reach out every once in a blue moon and tell its larger dealers they are doing a good job… it would be nice to meet some of you guys! And to let the employees of the dealership know that every day you are working as hard as you can to keep their living stable…
Hi Bob,
My local Pontiac-Buick dealer always made me very happy. I have great service from the parts department (the parts manager even got me used parts at Carlisle!), the bodyshop and their mechanics do their best with my old Buicks. The department that didn’t make me happy so far is the sales department. Not because of the attitude of the employees but because of the products they offer. Current Buicks do not have the characteristics that the Buicks I like so much have and their resale value is not the greatest… So I continue to drive my older ones that make me happy and don’t depreciate.
My Riviera Gran Sport at the GM dealer’s body shop: http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/4152/photokodak8657no.jpg
How about this idea?
http://tapscottbehindthewheel.blogspot.com/2006/03/green-car-update-virginia-dealer.html
Create an afforadable lightweight hatchback and coupe from the rear-wheel drive kappa platform with european styling similar to the Opel GT (Saturn Sky) and GM will become gods.
Yes the move toyota has made to bring smaller cars into the US market, the mini and the VW gti proves there is a market for affordable hatchbacks. Even mercedes Benz has an affordable rear-wheel drive hatchback.
Think about it.
Been writing to you even before you strated the blog. Have owned over 35 vehicles. My father worked at GM as a welder. I think GM is a great company.BUT… as with everybody else here, I also think your company needs a fix. Cobalt vs Astra. Astra would be an instant hit, same with the vectra. Use the same suppliers because the crap you have been buying from your subs is atrocious. Beyond pathetic. Look at the interior of the Astra and the Cobalt. Which would you buy?
Engines… Why isn’t GM the number one engine designer in the world? There is no answer that you can provide that is logical. Your company should own the design/performance/
quality/durability/comfortand mileage race in every category. If that is not your goal, go make kerosene heaters, because GM will be bought by Toyota, which wouldn’t be bad if you played your cards right.
Good news is Saturn is going to lead the way. Bad news is Jan is still there, more good news is she will be marginalized. For you Camaro lovers, get real. The number of Camaros sold will be miniscule tot he number of Astras and other small confortable cars. If you want a Camaro, buy a vette.
Get rid of Pontiac, Buick, redo the Impala, bring the Astra, retune and fix the quirky corners of the Malibu,
allow the Pontiac and Buick Dealers become GM authorized repair facilties and certified used car dealerships,fire Waggoner get going.
jan
“Courting Gen X and Gen Y buyers”
On this topic one of the most important type of cars to X and Y buyers is the sport compact. Weather or not they buy a compact car from GM can depend on how good the sport version is even if there not buying the sport version. And there is a big problem with the drivetrain of all of GM’s sport compacts.
Sport compacts like the Honda Civic Si, Nissan Sentra SE-R SPEC-V and upcoming Caliber SRT-4 and Mazdaspeed Mazda 3 all come standard with a limited slip differential. Wall the supercharged Cobalt SS comes standard with an open diff. The ION Redline comes standard with and open diff. And an LSD isn’t even an option on the naturally aspirating version of the Cobalt SS.
You need to treat GM’s sport compact buyers with the same level of respect as Corvette buyers. You wouldn’t try to sell Corvettes with an open diff and you shouldn’t be trying to sell Cobalt SS’s with an open diff. I know there is some bean counter at GM that thinks sport compact buyers are dumb and they will buy Cobalt SS and ION Redlines weather or not they have an LSD and it’s this type of bean counter BS that has put GM in the position they are in today.
A limited slip differential needs to be a standard feature on of GM’s sport compacts. Making an LSD standard on all GM sport compacts is something important that GM can do right now. And make shore to advertise that you’ve done it.
Bob,
I beat you to the mail box this time.
Sent my comments out around 8am the same day by snail mail before this blog was released; however, those comments are coincidentally relevant to this blog.
You should get those comments by week’s end.
I am sure you and the group will find them “enlightening”.
I actually picked up another “not so subtle” slam dunk idea in these blogs that you and the group will get some feedback on soon.
Just remember my words…….TurnAround. TurnAround.
I’ll be back!
Ethel O
Hopefully somewhat on-topic. The E85 might be great PR for GM. I know people who thought they have to buy a VW to be able to do E85. But look at this article:
http://nikkeibp.jp/wcs/leaf/CID/onair/nbe/features/423970
GM better get moving on having more vehicles E85 ready from the factory (which I believe I heard the new SUV’s are). People like me will want an E85 sedan – you don’t want to let Toyota/Honda/Nissan beat you to E85 sedans when the market is shifting back that way!
Bob, all your remarks about comments from here are appreciated. I hope you and the GM crew will continue its mission of vehicle improvements, and, for real, offer an improved GM “owner experience”.
It’s also appreciate you/GM redesigns many of your Euro imports for american roads and climates without “dumbing them down”. Take the Epsilon body Malibu; Unlike the Saab/Opel Euro source, GM gave the Malibu a longer-travel, retuned suspension to better handle our “road-challanged” environment. But the Malibu still retains the aluminum suspension pieces and structural rigidity that was in the Euro versions!
GM also offers some choices for those who want the “Euro” flavor in a GM vehicle. Do Euros offer “USA-izing” choices so their imports better handle potholes in Philly, rough slabs in California, etc.? Not really.
That could be another unique marketing point for GM.
You give 6 bullet points (probably from a meeting with mainly marketing exects)
· Offering extended warranties to emphasize our improved quality
¬∑ Providing a dealership experience more like Saturn’s for our other brands
· Creating advertising that compares our vehicles with our competitors
· Putting employees in our ads
· Courting Gen X and Gen Y buyers
· Using our employees as ambassadors for our cars and trucks.
However, It’s really only 3 points (The last 4 are the same):
The bullet points should be:
· Better warrenties
· Better dealership experiences
· Better marketing (The last 4 are all markeing in some way)
What I find funny, is that the you (or the people in the meeting that came up with these points) spend so much effort on marketing (4 of the 6 points). That’s the easiest to throw money at, and yet it’s the last thing that will actually make your product more desirable for the consumer.
The most important thing would be to offer better warrenties (of course this will only work once we’re sure you won’t be going bankrupt). Once I (or any consumer) sees that you’re offering 10Yr/100K or similar warrenties, they’ll think “Hey, GM believes in their cars, I’ll give it a try” or something like that. This is the hardest for you to implement because you’ll need to build cars that *actually* last. I know it can be done, and as a ton of other’s on this forum have said, you need to let engineers engineer without interference from the accountants.
The next step would be to improve the dealership experience. I won’t reiterate what others have said, but anyone who’s dealt with a GM dealership for sales *OR SERVICE* knows the pain.
Once these two hard steps have been accomplished, then it may be worth the money to market the cars better. This is the first time I’ve posted on fastlane (but I read a lot), the reason I wanted to write is that I can see a big mistake getting ready to happen. Since the marking is so heavily represented on your list, I get the feeling (maybe i’m wrong) that marketing is going to be the first plan of attack. If you spend all your time (and money) telling people GM cars are better without actually making them better, people won’t believe you when you to get around to making them better. I know you have all these consultants and whatnot telling you to make sure you keep your brand identity and keep advertising so that people stay aware and all the stuff that marketdriods say, but that’s hasn’t been working.
Please, put your effort into making good (or even great) cars that can be bought through a pleasent dealer experience (and are later serviced with no hassles). If you can do this, you won’t need to market your cars – people will come to you!
The amount of research & development, manufacturing and marketing dollars that are spent to build undifferentiated products for brands that compete against each other in the marketplace must be staggering.
GM should redirect its energies toward making ONE best-of-class vehicle in each class. We don’t need a Solstice AND a Sky. We don’t need a Tahoe AND a Yukon. We don’t need a G6 and a Malibu and a 9-3. Make ONE of each kind of vehicle and make it the best it can possibly be. Eliminate the redundancy and waste. That’s the only way you’ll compete with the Civics, Corollas, Camrys and Accords. Take them on, one on one. Full frontal assault.
Get rid of the brands. All of them. With the exception of Cadillac, which is the only one that really means anything any more.
Make *GM* the brand people should be proud to own.
I worked for GM as a pilot from 1948 till I retired as Chief Pilot for GMATS in 1977. During that time I flew all the VP’s including Harley Earl, et al.
What is wrong with GM now? I think you need a new Harley Earl to liven up the looks of your products, I have had 33 Cadillacs over the years and have currently sold a lot of cars through the GMS program, but I may have made a mistake in staying loyal to GM. I also have more stock than most of the Directors and have lost most of my nest egg because of my loyalty. What can you do to get the workers in the plants to have a little loyalty and purchase the products they build. nuff said!!!
Doug Knapp
Some of the things I don’t understand are why the worker who is laid off is paid 95% for a year and up till last year made no contribution to their health funds.
How about actually building some exciting cars for Pontiac? Ironically, Cadillac has laid out the blueprint for how to do it…dedicate one plant to production of the division’s vehicles and base as many of them as possible on a single flexible architecture.
Begin with the premise that all Pontiac vehicles will be RWD, with nary a minivan or SUV in sight. For discussion’s sake, the platform of choice will be zeta. Pontiac has some of the greatest vehicle names in history…ditch the alphanumerics and revive the names.
Start with a pair of sedans (Grand Prix and Bonneville, perhaps?) the former sized between the current G6 and Grand Prix, the latter sized between the GP and Bonneville. Next, build parallel-sized sport wagons (think Magnum, but perhaps taller and more aggressive) called Torrent and Tempest. Then add two coupes, the Firebird and GTO, with the former having a convertible version and the latter a convertible hardtop version. Finally, a Solstice coupe and convertible top it all off.
Produce no base versions of any Pontiacs (no steel wheels or low rent interiors. Chevrolet exists to serve the entry level buyer) and make manual transmissions available across the board. As for powertrains, start with the 4.2 L-6 (add VVT to the intake side), progress to the 5.3 V-8 and then to the 6.0 V-8 in GXP versions (except of course for the Solstice).
Because virtually every Pontiac dealer also carries Buick and GMC, the lack of trucks, luxury vehicles or snow-friendly vehicles is offset by these other divisions.
Viola. An entire division based on a single platform and two engine families, plus the Solstice. Such a plan would cement the performance image of Pontiac and differentiate it from it’s fellow brands. I currently own a GTO (and have owned no less than 5 Firebirds), and this is the future of Pontiac that I want.
Obviously some of the comments being made here are useless and it’s a shame that people are wasting your time (and mine) with far fetched ideas that have little chance of being implemented.
My suggestion is to extend the warranties of the brands by one year, launch an AGRESSIVE incentive program directed at current import owners ONLY. You need to try something dramatic that gets in the face of import owners and tells then you are confident in your products. It could be a special warranty offer or a large cash incentive if they trade in their import vehicle. Also, speed up the use of 6 speed transmissions so that the press can stop having a field day with your 4 speeds.
I do not have a problem with the styling of most GM models and I think overall GM is doing a better job than Toyota, Honda, Nissan or Ford when it comes to styling and I believe that vehicles like the Enclave, Escalade and Aura prove that you are getting better. Killing Pontiac and Buick would be stupid and I’m sure you already know that. If Olds had stayed around they would have had the best non- Caddy products within GM by now. Make all future Pontiacs what Olds vehicles would’ve been if they were still around. I understand Saturn is kind of doing that already but there is no reason that Pontiacs couldnt aim for the same type of customers but offer higher performance. It would be wise to give Saturn a flagship vehicle to compete with the TL and Maxima. I think a $30K Saturn would sell if it offers a lot of equipment and 270+ hp.
Bob, congratulations on stealing the show with Saab. Brings back some of the fun quirkiness of lore. I also think you guys are doing a good job of promoting FlexFuel- great, realistic alternative- just get us some stations! Now, about other stuff, whatever happened to “if everyone else is doing it, don’t!” (Camaro, Saab SUV). I realize there are markets, but please don’t sell your soul on these. Also, it seems like you have your best talents shifting around the design studios- first Cadillac comes out looking good, then reverts back to a design clearly used in another brand (new Escalade). Apparently, the designer moved to Buick and designed the Enclave. Point is, it’s ok if some parts are the same- just don’t shout it out to us! I know you can do this (you personally did this at Chrysler) so please stop holding back.
You’ve already done one thing that a lot of management needs to do.
You read this blog and let people talk to you.
After reading the scathing report by Edmunds.com on the recently redesigned Colorado and Canyon pickup trucks, does GM have any plans to redesign those trucks?
The Hispanic population is the second largest in the U.S. And they buy Japanese! Try and offer tuner cars from the factory. Take GM cars to the streets and show this group of people your cars. I don’t even know if they’re aware of GM. They just jump over American and go right to foreign (namely Japanese).
Here’s an idea of how to change GM’s image overnight, Mr. Lutz. Others have suggested it as well and its a great idea: GM converts one of the gas pumps at every major Chevy dealer in the country (I assume most if not all dealerships have a gas pump or two) into an E-85 pump on GM’s dime.
When GM’s customers tell their friends “I’m going down to the Chevy dealer to fill up my Impala” (or other E-85 capable vehicle), they’ll look at them funny at first and then you’ll have piqued their interest. E-85 word of mouth, right there, associated with GM and Chevy.
And without giving ToyoHondaSsan time to edge in on it first and get hailed by the media as our Green saviors again while overlooking and forgetting the groundwork GM has laid (think of the lost impact of the EV-1).
Please, please consider this, Mr. Lutz. I live NW of Houston, and there is NOWHERE for me to get E-85. I would get the no-cost option on a 2006 Impala anyway, but its not enough to offer the option if there are no places to get Ethanol.
Why not fuel this E-85 movement and be known as the leaders while Toyota and Honda stare stunned on the sidelines? Our President is opening the door, and all GM needs to do is take the steps to walk through it.
Make E-85 more than an image campaign of the month and a CAFE points thing. Make it a reality.
Make history.
- Ming
Hey Bob,
GM should make all of it’s vehicles capable of running on E85 fuel.
Yes, I know there aren’t enough gas stations that provide E85, but so what? Let the marketplace take care of that. It doesn’t seem hard to imagine companies wanting to provide E85 if GM, a car company with 25% of the market, suddenly decided to make all of it’s vehicles capable of running on the fuel. It would be a market with virtually no competition at the moment.
Maybe GM and Costco can team up and GM can pay Costco to install E85 pumps at some of there locations?
I’m excited about the direction GM appears to be moving in. Keep up the good work. And please give the Cobalt sedan a new rear end.
I’ve always been of the opinion that Saturn is a sort of b****rd brand that happened thanks to Roger Smith’s wasteful ‘makeover’ of GM. If there’s a brand that needs direction, its Saturn and the way to go is right up against Toyota’s Scion.
Since the majority of your consumers seem to want to “Be American Buy American”, and yet drive the kind of cars that have a ‘European feel’, it should be pretty elementary for you to conclude that you give just that to them.
Case in point – the Camaro. I hear it’s being developed in Australia and may be built in Canada – where’s either the ‘American’ or ‘European’ quotients in that?
Your new strategy of making Chevy the basic brand all over the world is paying off rich dividends at least in India and Europe – that’s the way to go then. Give people what they want. People in Asia want ‘all things American’ and Chevy symbolises just that. Forget that the cars may be rebadged Daewoos – atleast they’re good. So if people in America want diesels and European feel, then you got to get Saab and Opel into American showrooms alongside Saturns – so you simultaneously push ‘no haggle pricing’ along with superior product.
And for heaven’s sake – GM needs an Aurora back, even if it now needs to be under the Buick brand. I know how you feel about the Oldsmobile brand, but as you’ve stated before, the decision to kill it was takn before you got there. So go ahead build a decent Aurora then.
V@z!R…..
c.wyatt: please don’t be so ignorant towards the Camaro possibly being built (if ever) in canada, the the previous camaros were built in Canada aswell and if it is built in Canada it will be built at the top ranked plant in the Americas what more could you ask for? I certainly doubt the dodge fans will be running away because the challenger won’t be built in the States.
Mr Lutz~ It is good to see GM starting to take the word of its critics to heart with the likes of the Camaro concept and GTO program back on track. In the view of many of us “Baby Boomers” out here, we want the kind of cars we couldn’t afford, or couldn’t afford the insurance on when we were teenagers. In other words, smaller inexpensive sporty cars with BIG engines. With today’s technology it would be nice to be able to get a “true” (vs EPA) gas mileage in the 25-30 mpg hiway too! GM has always been able to meet a challenge, show us you haven’t forgotten that!
Bob,
I frequent the pages of http://www.GMInideNews.com on a daily basis. For an idea of how I feel, check out http://www.GMInsideNews.com, for an unabridged discussion on all things GM, and ALL things automotive.
I’ll just leave with this one comment: “subtle Heritage, subtle Heritage, subtle Heritage”.
Nomad, yes, or at least elements of it. SS concept, yes, or at least elements of it (except maybe massage that rear end a little).
Like Chip Foose is able to “evoke emotion from curves” as quoted from ‘Overhaulin”.
The Solstice, SSR, HHR, Sky and G6 are ALL geared with the “sexiness factor”.
I think you guys are figuring out, that we don’t want ‘focus group’ Camry and Accord wannabes. That ‘egg shell’ shape has got to go.
You’re all right, man. You got some guts, some passion. I like that. That’s how I am.
Man, I wish I could design cars. For now I’ll have to stick with my “preservation” projects like my ‘72 C-10 Custom Deluxe and ‘79 K5. I gotta work on my neighboor down the street with this ‘72 Chevelle, just aching to be restored. It’s his grandma’s or something. Jackpot!
Rob
Turn lefter,er
No Camaro, americans do’nt deserve one. Austrailians buy V8 rear drive in a high enough percentage to justify them. Insted reinvent affordable american muscle, LS2 power for Colorado and Canyon with 6sp and TrailblazerSS 4link rear. Or maybe Kappa based Chevy Nomad with 260+ direct injected turbo horses, but get ready to do 3 shifts at the delaware plant because the Chevy Nomad is the second coming of not only the 1954 showcar, and 1955 through 1957 production models; but the Camaro and BMW 2002 as well. It’s a trifecta and would appeal to yong people as an only car, unlike Camaro,Solstice,Sky,SSR,XLR,Corvette. Also a kappa based Opel Ascona, Saturn VEGA (show some pride in GM’s past why do’nt you), 4 door coupe could make driving fun againe. If demand for a second Kappa plant justifys(brownfield US or Cannadian only please)you can add Chevy Chevette and Buick Skylark. Oh yeah and one more imposible task, the top of the line Colorado or Kappa super car must be under 25 grand with tax tags and union labor. WE NEED NATIONAL HEALTH CARE
And if William Clay Ford runs for president in 08 on the democratic ticket…………Vote for him da**it.
This is in response to those of you who are trying to make GM’s problems a U.S. vs. Japan thing:
Many of GM’s current problems were caused by the “Buying American” mentality. Think of the millions of of Delta 88, Cavalier, Park Avenue, and Bonneville buyers in the 80’s and 90’s… We bought those cars partly out of “duty” – it certainly wasn’t the quality – and look what it got us… GM complacency and more mediocre cars. Tough love from us here in the Fastlane forum and the rest of America is the only way GM will get out of this mess. It’s working. GM’s making the best cars that I can ever remember now, but it’s only because of the competition and people NOT buying GM cars out of duty any more.
No more free pass for GM, means GM having to make good cars, means GM will eventually turn around the business or fail trying.
It’s 2006 folks, wake-up and do not buy “American” if it doesn’t make sense for you and your family. Auto manufacturing jobs will be lost whether you buy GM, Toyota, or Hyundai. I can’t save them and neither can you. A final thought:
“Technology, not necessarily outsourcing, is displacing American workers…Even China is losing manufacturing jobs because the number of people required to make goods is decreasing as a result of technologies that make factories more efficient” – Frank Reich Former U.S. Secretary of Labor
Bob
A few years ago you had a 16 cylinder Cadillac show car. That car could do for Cadillac what the Viper did for Dodge. A low volume supercar could change Cadillacs perception and image by the public. Buick should get arts and science styling to associate it with Cadillac. Cadillac should slowly move upscale to more
v-8s and be more of a status car. There are a lot of well off people in the U.S. but most dont consider Cadillac.
They buy BMW, Mercedes, Lexus and Infinity. Buick should fill the gap of near luxury quality vehicles associated with Cadillac.
For the last week we have had to endure endless yammering by the mdia about Consumer Reports and how they picked all Japanese vehicles as best in class. Consumer reports has an anti-American bias and will never choose American cars. The way to counteract this is to build high quality cars that are charismatic. Cars that the tbuyer falls so much in love with that he forgets about consumer reports.
For my part I cannot understand why the American automakers allowed all their coups to atrophy and disappear. The coup is the most seductive bodystyle next to the converible. A coupe is a personal car while a sedan is a people hauler. The coupe is the most likely to be a seductive impulse buy.
Surely there must be some way to make it cost effective to build some coupes based on existing sedans. I am not suggesting spending a lot of money on seperate models but for example why cant Cadillac
build a 2dr sts and call it an Eldorado? Why didnt Cadillac build a 2dr cts? Coupes have a sexier perception and could help change the image of some brands. I have somewhere the old production figures of American cars and I am sure that in the 1970s Cadillac always sold more coupes that sedans. How expensive is it to make a 2dr off a 4dr model? Cadillac and Buick dont even have coupes and I have yet to see a ad for the Pontiac G6 coupe. Its as if the automakers dont even want to make coupes. What about a Grand Prix coupe. The Monte Carlo has become stale and allowed to atrophy just like the Thunderbird in the 1990s.
I realize that nowadays coupes are low volume but part of the reason for that is that the automakers allowed these brands to atrophy by investing little money into them. Coupes are always more glamorous than sedans and I am sure that the great looking coupes of the past had a halo effect upon other models. Most cars I see on the road have only one passenger. It is rare to see a car with four people in it. I dont think coupes declined because of practicality, I think the SUV boom of the 90s combined with
a lack of updating caused coupes to fade from the public conciousness. Surely there must be a cost effective way to bring coupes back now that SUVs have peaked. I think cars like the cts, sts and Grand Prix could have coupe versions assuming it wouldnt be too expensive to build them.
Finally regarding the perception of GM. It seems to me that GM took the biggest hit in perception in the late 1980s when it switched all its larger cars to front wheel drive. Look up GMs market share for the early 80s and then see what happened in the late 1980s.
Look at the combined sales
figures for the Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, Cutlass, and Regal from 1978-1986 and then see what happened to the successors in the 1987-1994 period. In the late 1980s Cadillac, Buick and Oldsmobile handed over the luxury and near luxury market to competitors on a silver platter. Look back to GMs lineup during its glory days in the mid 1960s. All rear wheel drive and every model offered a coupe and many also offered a wagon and convertible. GM needs to get the public excited about charismatic exciting cars. Part of this formula is coupes. Look at the excitement over the Camaro.
GM needs to create simalir excitement over a whole range of Pontiacs, Buicks and Cadillacs. Both coupes and sedans. If Buick shares more platforms with Cadillac and adopts arts and science styling cues I do not think it will cannibalise Cadillac as long as Cadillac makes the status cars it used to. When someone buys a luxury car like a BMW they are making a statement about their status. This used to be Cadillacs arena but it gave it away on a silver platter. In the early 1980s GM should have taken a Mercedes and said this is waht Cadillac is going to be, except it will be better looking. In short GM lost its way in the 1980s because of CAFE. It was so concerned with higher gas mileage that it castrated all its cars. The result was that the consumer loyal to American brands rejected cars and switched to rear wheel drive v-8 trucks. If GM wants to at least partially recapture its glory days and possibly its market share and profitability it must build high quality reasonably fuel efficient high profit margin seductive and charismatic cars based on the model linups that worked before GM threw everthing out the window to meet CAFE.
I agree with the posts about the Pontiac alphanumeric system. With a few exceptions, alphanumerics are becoming a huge, confusing trend in automotive naming that requires no more marketing skill than that which is required to look up what’s already been copyrighted.
However, I wholeheartedly disagree with those who think that GM should stop spinning cars off the same platform. With flexible production systems in place these days, the only thing GM cars need is meaningful and confident differentiation between platform mates. GM needs to decide what it wants Pontiac, Buick, and Saturn to be and go unabashedly in those directions.
I don’t think it’s wise to repeat the mistakes made with Oldsmobile when it comes to the Saturn product line. Buick and Pontiac don’t need more competition. And it’s hard to change public perception about a lower-priced brand. Launching it in a higher eschelon of the market and expecting volume is going to be tough. Look at VW if you want a frame of reference, or American Motors in the ’60s.
Saturn should be a hip, young, cool American youth-oriented brand. While Pontiac should be good enough to turn an average motorist into an enthusiast. And Buick needs to have the confidence to be something more than sedate. The brand needs bold, confident, beautiful styling and powerful engines to match. Buick needs to be the attainable status symbol. Not the compromise brand for heptagenarians that gets squished between Cadillac and Chevrolet/Pontiac.
And when it comes to Pontiac, the brand needs meaningful performance and execution upgrades from its Chevrolet stablemates. Rebadging an Equinox and putting higher spring rates isn’t gonig to cut it, especially when that vehicle makes only 185 horsepower out of a cost-cutting-is-Job-1 Chinese-built 3.4L “cam-in-block” V6 that was behind the times in the ‘97 Venture and is now simply silly when the 3.5L is more economical and more powerful. I mean, I’m sure there’s a business case for the 3.4 to some extent. But when it’s standard in both the Apple Pie Equinox and the “Action” oriented Torrent, the promise to deliver meaningful differentiation between the brands rings a little hollow. I understand that the Torrent is probably something of a stopgap measure to fill the void left by the unloved Aztek. I hope the G5 and the next Grand Prix have truly worthwhile attributes that clearly differentiate them from their platform mates.
And then there’s Buick. The brand that’s supposed to drip prestige, class, beauty, and power in its presence. And the LaCrosse is still a rental queen with 197 horsepower and a standard cloth interior. It’s a marked improvement over the Century/Regal, but those cars ran twice as long as they should have with NO updates whatsoever. If that was the standard, it wasn’t very high And having a nearly full-size car with a 240hp engine being optional in this day and age at close to $30k is not doing the Buick name proud. The Enclave looks to, though. Just give us that V8 option you’re working on, and soon after its debut, not when demand begins to slacken.
Refresh rates need to improve, too. If Hyundai can continuously improve each product in their expanding portfolio throughout each model’s life cycle, GM can, too, and can do it better. It’s GM! You guys used to redesign or re-skin your whole portfolio every 2-3 years with notable facelifts and updates in between. A balance between that system and the present one would be perfect.
By the way, the GTO, Impala, Monte Carlo, Statesman announcement indicates exciting things in store. It’s a shame that Holden will be doing the major work on these vehicles, however. I would think that only GMNA could provide a proper Buick flagship worthy of its lineage. Same goes for the next GTO. But we’ll have to see.
Mr. Lutz, I appreciate what you’re doing with GM. What you’ve done already brings hope to a formerly bleak situation. But more needs to be done. Lots more. Especially with Pontiac and Buick. Don’t give up. I’m sure it isn’t easy. I’m rooting for you. You don’t want to lose this 23 year-old.
Thanks for listening to us Bob, Keep up the good work!
To improve people’s perception on GM; GM needs to be bold and industry leading. There are several examples where this has not been the case. Until this happens I think it might be tough to change people’s minds.
Quality: People do not automatically assume quality has improved simply by advertising or a few people saying so. To show that GM stands behind their products they need to change the warranty. If Hyundai and Kia can offer 10/100,000 warranties, why can’t GM? A warranty speaks volumes when trying to say that you have a quality product.
Design: GM needs to be bold and industry leading with its design. As long as GM continues to produce ugly and boring vehicles, people will shy away. Mazda and Nissan have done an excellent job of making their vehicles look exciting. However, GM continues to pump out ugly vehicles like the Malibu, Aztek, and most recently the Uplander/Relay. Cadillac is a good example of being bold and industry leading; each division should get the same treatment as Cadillac and each should have their own identity and purpose.
Vehicles: GM is the largest auto maker in the world, but still is late to the party on seizing opportunities. For example, GM was one of the last auto makers to offer “quad cabs” and diesel engines. GM is going to miss the muscle car revival because they won’t have a product available until the craze is almost over or gas prices make it unattainable.
I have been a loyal GM owner all my life and I want to see GM succeed, but the competition is getting tougher and tougher. If GM wants to stay in the auto business, it cannot remain business as usual — things need to change!
Bob, I appreciate you giving us the opportunity to speak and more importantly that you are willing to listen. Thanks!
Mr.Lutz, go bankrupt, clean house, stop paying workers for no work, run it like a business. Until you do that it will be the same old thing, lousy product because you won’t have the money to do a proper job. I also know you don’t read these posts, you have designated reader to give you a summary.
Bob
I have noticed refererance to a possible future Buick called the Statesman. This is a terrible name. It sounds very old. The Statesman name was used by Nash in the late 40s and early 50s. The name conjures up images of an old
Diplomat. Diplomat was antother ill concieved name once used on a Dodge which exemplified everything wrong with the U.S car undustry. GM has so many great names in its portfolio. Electra, sounds like electricity, Riviera, the French Rivieria
should be reserved for coupes only, Wildcat an exciting beast. Statesman……sounds like an old peoples car. If you need some names for future Buicks how about Allegro…means very fast or Legato….means very smooth.
Bob if you were still at Chrysler would you call the Charger a Diplomat or a Magnum a Dynasty?
From Detroit News today:
>>The past six months — the Delphi and Dana bankruptcies, restructurings at GM and Ford — illustrate a painful truth of today’s auto industry:
What’s broken isn’t the car and truck business, because Asian rivals like Toyota and Honda are making huge profits here. What’s broken, irrevocably, is the Made-in-Detroit model that public equity and debt markets increasingly consider irredeemable.
….. The financial troubles of suppliers can be visited upon customers like GM and Ford, imperiling turnaround strategies that depend partly on price reductions from suppliers. >>
Further proof that GM is leading the way in killing the auto industry in Detroit.
What GM has been doing for the past 10 years is not working – so why stop now – right?
Time to step it up Bob and show some guts. Completely overhaul the company. Reorganize engineers into cross-functioning teams, not cost reduction Bo-zo’s. Promote individual freedom and creativity, and attack the bureaucracy.
Sound familiar? – maybe it’s time to re-read your book!
Bob, I think GM could improve their television advertising by simplifying it. Every ad should focus on the vehicle and feature panoramic views, close ups of the interiors, and highlights of the cars features, not cheesy plotlines or special video effects. (eg the “fishtailing” car hauling trailer full of Chevys, the Cadilacs-as-rockets, or the uber-arsty Hummer ads.)
All the high-tech video production and editing only makes it harder for potential customers to get a decent look at the vehicle, so by and large, its counter-productive.
The cars and trucks should be the stars in all the commercials. The cheesy gimmicks belong in beer ads.
If you don’t trust your products enough to offer 10yr/100,000 mile warranties, why should your customers trust your products? Guess what – they don’t. And your ex-customers are now driving Kia’s and Hyundai’s while you bury your head in the sand and cry foul.
The Koreans and Japanese are getting fat eating your lunch. You guys in Detroit seem content on trying to survive on their scraps and reveling in the good ol’ days….
You want market share back? Build a no-excuses car – and leave the GM Purchasing nay-sayers at home. Just try one, something you haven’t done for about 37 years. What do you have to lose -your company?
Bob
Thank you for listening.
Bob, some options for GM’s future that must be thought:
1) Expand the sporty options in Pontiac (remember, the excitment division). You have the Solstice and above, the only other RWD car is the GTO. Isn’t it time to make a new Firebird that, instead of a rebadged Camaro, would be an independent car, maybe riding on a stretched Kappa platform, using the 3.9 V6 and the 5.3 V8? Hey, Mallett Cars proved that is possible to put a LS2 into a Solstice (http://www.mallettcars.com/solstice-conversion.htm) and their car is only a bit heavier than the 4-banger factory Solstice. Making a Firebird this way would even mean to style it differently than the Camaro. Use the second-gen style as reference, so you would call people to know it. If in other times people buy Firebird because of the Pontiac engine in the bay, now you have to show a difference between it and the Camaro.
If not a Kappa platform, why don’t develop one smaller than Zeta, as shown in the Torana TT 36 concept? Maybe something like this would even allow other countries to do cars for their markets. In my country (Brazil), a Beta chassis (as I read in some rumors) would be a perfect fit for the ressurrection of Opala nameplate, filling the slot of size and price between our Vectra and the Aussie Omega (which will grow when released in its VE Commodore form). As I said other times, the same Beta platform could be stretched a bit to create a Buick below the Lacrosse and away from all retired’s ride fame of this brand (maybe being an excellent house to bring back the Gran Sport legend…). Wouldn’t it be nice?
- A Pontiac Firebird (not a rebadeged Camaro) between the Solstice and the GTO
- A Buick sedan below the LaCrosse, aiming younger audience (maybe with Gran Sport trim in a coupe version)
- A new Chevrolet Opala for us Brazilians and CKD exported to other places (GM do Brasil is the biggest CKD exporter of the group).
- A real world version of the Holden Torana TT 36 (hey Bob, it’s a waste not develop this nice concept. GM doesn’t have in the world any RWD platform by the size of a 3-Series)
- Maybe the next-gen Cadillac BLS (as the first one uses Epsilon, it’s not a problem doing the next on a basis shared with non-luxury divisions, since you use only the DOHC units in its bay)
2) If you want to turn Pontiac into the exciting division, change all of their products to RWD (AWD optional). If Chrysler can make the affordable LX cars, why can’t GM?
3) Bring back the station wagons, not only there, but in other markets. Here in Brazil we had the Caravan (derived from the Opala), Suprema (from the Omega A), Maraj√≥ (from Chevette), Ipanema (from Kadett E) and the last one, the Corsa Wagon (from the Corsa B). Caravan did well in its career from 1975 to 1992 (my father is a former owner of a 1982 unit, which we had for 13 years, serving very well. We still miss that nice vehicle today). The others that I mentioned didn’t do so well. Suprema, as the natural successor of Caravan, didn’t do so well because of the posture of the dealers, that practally pushed Blazers for everyone who was looking for a Suprema. Maraj√≥ didn’t do well because it simply desappear when put side by side to the first-gen VW Parati (in U.S known as Fox Wagon) and Fiat Elba (the SW version of the Uno, known in Europe as Duna Weekend). The Ipanema was too bland and it wasn’t well explored. The Corsa Wagon was bland too and had less trunk than the second-gen Parati and Elba’s successor Palio Weekend. Know, we only have minivans from GM (Meriva and Zafira). Are they good rides? Yes, but when fully loaded, you can’t take the same amount of luggage that you can in a wagon. You also have to deal with huge blind spots in the front, due to the placement of the A-columns and a higher center of gravity (minivans shake more when you pass in bumps, also because of their higher H-point). SWs are also cheaper than minivans. Why did Toyota bring the Fielder instead of the Corolla Verso? Well, because not everyone wants minivans. And they’re doing well, having only the Fiat Marea Weekend as competitor (but soon Renault will make here the Megane SW…). Even in the small wagons you have space for a GM’s try, since you have good product. Why Peugeot sells the 206 SW, which carries less luggage than the Corsa Wagon, but is a lot better designed? Why VW still sells the Parati (which pays very high insurance rates) and will soon bring the Spacefox (SW version of the Fox)? Why Fiat is still in the SW market, even now when they entered the minivan niche with the Idea, without phasing out the Palio Weekend? Stop, look and listen to the market. If here in Brazil we sell all this variety of wagons, why can’t GM make a comeback? You have always sell wagons in Europe and Australia, but let other markets without them. Well, the motive isn’t because public don’t want them, but because GM didn’t do a good job.
4) Invest in more modern powerplants and replace the old ones. As I said before, here in Brazil, the Family I and II engines are the gas-guzzlers of their classes. They’re nice, but the competition has better options, more economical and powerful. DOHC 16 valves, now only in Vectra Elite bay, but its 2.4 engine has less specific power output than the 2.0 8v of the Elegance trim (also used by Astra and Zafira). Why don’t make the Ecotecs here. If other brands can make very modern powerplants here (Renault and PSA, for example), why can’t GM? You would even unify the engine lineup, cutting the world redundance and having very competitive options (why the Corsa C is a so slow-selling vehicle, even using only flex-fuel engines?).
5) In US and everywhere, invest in the dealers. A lot of people is going away not because of the cars, but of the way they’re recepted in the dealers.
6) Make the same about warranties. If you trust your cars, make in my country at least 2 years for a humble Celta and 3 for Astra and upper rides.
7) You can share platforms, engines and transmissions, but isn’t time to allow a little more independence between the divisions? Look at what Renault and Nissan are doing now. Look at what Peugeot and citro√´n do for almost 3 decades. If so close in purposal brands live together and successful in a same group making theoretically redundant product, there must be something that they do that GM is missing…
Hey, you faced other challenging moments in the history of the firm. Where is Harley Earl’s spirit? Will you need another Zora Duntov to tell what to do? I guess no, but one of the functions of history is learning with the past to make a better future.
Bob, Some things should be so easy and inexpensive to fix. I would love to buy a Buick LaCrosse. Can’t you freshen it up so it doesn’t look like yesterday’s news. It would just take a fresh grill or different headlights.
if GM goes so does the American economy it would be a domino effect. I love your cars and trucks. If I was able to I would buy one now. I recently had a 1992 s-10 blazer with over 200k on it but sadly it was stolen. No complants here! Tell the country to buy AMERICAN! Quit sending your hard earned dollars to JAPAN!!!
First things first, get Camaro to market ASAP!!!
This car needs to be “FastTracked.” GM seems to have a difficult time getting product to market quickly.
That being said I would also like to see advertising that reflects that GM is an American Company. Let the masses know that buying a domestic does support the American economy and American jobs. Directly target Toyota and Honda!!!
Bob-
First-you and Jay(h**l bring Rick too) go to Scandinavia and get some of that “Cadillac-weenie” washed off. Then call me to arrange a test-drive of a three-year old obselete GM concept car. Finally, ya gotta do something with the bloated dealer network. I saw a map of GM dealers in the Chicago 15 county area the other day…83 Chevy, 44 Buick, 40 Pontiac, 39 GMC…geez! In the immortal words of RodneyD…why do tigers eat their young?
Dear Mr. Lutz,
I am so glad you’re turning the ship around and I honestly believe you havn’t hit the “Bankruptcy ‘Berg” just yet. 8 billion dollars in one year is catastrophic though. Hopefully, Congress will get off their butts and you help out with your healthcare issue.
Anyway, I agree that Pontiac’s alphanumeric names are terrible. Solstice, Grand Prix, Bonneville, GTO, and Torrent are memorable, even if the actual car it’s attached to isn’t. Pontiac’s Solstice is HOT, the GTO is much better since the facelift, and the Torrent is decent looking, compared to its’ Chevy sibling.
Pontiac should really revive it’s 60’s performance car vibe, add-in its’ 80’s “..We Build EX-CITE-MENT…PON-TI-AC!” slogan, and create a constant TV Ad campaign that shows Pontiac’s performance cars in action with a humorous edge to them. The late 90’s Trans Am commercials were exactly this, but were very short lived.
Mr. John DeLorean,(Yes, that one!), and his team of Pontiac rebels created the GTO by breaking the rules: Put the “Big” Poncho 389ci into the “small” Tempest A-body for the 1964 model year. The Pontiac Division Team made it work, not GM’s. It started the Muscle Car era. It had forward thinking engineers, racing inspired performance, and bread and butter pricing. Delorean’s personal luxury coupe concept….”the 1968 Grand Prix”, was another hit and started another huge trend in automobile development. It was THE car to own until 1978. Throughout the 80’s, it was slowly stripped of all luxury, performance, and masculinity. In 1988, it became a cookiecutter V6 front-wheel-driver for the masses. Today, it has some life to it, but by no means is it a leader in its class, nor does it even rank amongst any similar sized luxury performance coupes, and sadly doubles as a four door, too. It’s readily found as a bottom tier, mid-sized rental. That won’t sell Pontiac as a performance car to anybody.
My Point: If you want Pontiac to do well, SELL the GTO and Solstice, don’t just put out press releases of them. TV AD Campaigns work! Race GTO body-shells in NASCAR and advertise them as the only real V8, stick-shifted performance car in the field. Race them at Pike’s Peak as a “fun” Media Stunt, and for Pete’s Sake, create a $25,000, stripped down GTO, Don’t force people to buy options they don’t want, or Allow your dealer’s to gouge us if we try to order one instead of buying their “Showroom Model”.
Bob, first let me introduce myself as someone who is familiar with you and Detroit Autombiles, having been born and raised there and knowing abouit you from a video I had about quality in auto industry (Chrysler) in the mid 90’s for a QI class I taught.
I’m going to be direct and tell you what you don’t what to hear. First, between my wife and I we’ve purchased more new GM vehicles that anyone on earth. I don’t even want to know what we spent over the years.
Unfortunately, we gave that up two years ago and went over to chrysler. I looked at my wife at the time and said ‘GM is is deep trouble’. She looked at me quizically and I then explained that whenever a company loses a faithful,loyal customers like us, theres a reason for it and GM better figure it out.
Its not so much that because I was leaving but that if I figured it out and was disatified it wouldn’t take long for my younger fellow boomers to get it as well.
Heres the bad news. Saturday we looked at one of your GM vehicles thinking of coming back. We did our research on line and I decided the Saturn VUE may be the car for us: lots of power, size, style, towing and the price was right.
The Honda CRV, Rav 4, Hundai Tuscon didn’t come close to the Saturn Vue. I was ready to buy. All I wanted was fair trade in value for my suv and we were driving home in a new car.
The trade in I received was an auction price. It was beyond insulting and to make it worse the sales person said there was no market for suv’s even though I was there to buy another suv I pointed out.
GM not only lost a sale but the delema is there is ten’s of thousands of us potential buyers who are going to be shocked at the reality that there trade in is worth zip, and they can’t buy new.
I can’t fathom how GM can survive this. GM needs buyers. Buyers like me can’t buy do to the deal and thus its checkmate time. GM can’t afford checkmate time with the pension situation and union issues.
I hope things work out but I beleive one of the big three are going dowm and I think its GM. Its size alone doesn’t allow for a fast enough change in operation. Things just happen to slow for GM to react.
If I’m wrong car sale go throgh the roof this spring saving the company. If I’m right they don’t and GM ship starts to sink further.
I think that the cheapness thing needs to go away. Why are there three assist grips on your trucks and SUV’s – what ever happened to the drivers assist grip? Don’t give me the cost cutting excuse that “they can use the steering wheel” – I think we all know that these modern steering wheels don’t lock. Also – this is unacceptable for those drivers who require that little bit of mobility assistance. I know of people who passed on the Chevrolet Trailblazer simply because the drivers assist grip isn’t there (and it WAS on the 2003 Trailblazer). These cheap details are what people notice believe it or not.
Hey Bob – gimme a call when your first RWD, V8 Impala comes of the line. I’ll happily buy it from you. To be honest, my ‘89 Caprice is getting a little long in the tooth and I can’t wait much longer – so please – hurry.
Hi Bob–
I have to say that I agree with others comments when they say that Pontiac needs to stop the “G#” naming convention. Why did GM kill off a great name with high brand loyalty like the Grand Am? I’m also not a fan of the Cadillac “I’m a luxury make too” naming system…I can’t wait to see how GM phases out the Escalade name (a great one, by the way)…good luck with that.
However, for someone like myself (a 22-year old college student), I still don’t think that GM offers anything that’s especially exciting to me, except for the Solstice: the G6 is slow and too jelly bean looking, the Cobalt looks like its rear end was borrowed from the G6, I won’t even talk about Buick–I don’t have blue hair yet, and all Chevrolets have a front end only mom could love.
In my opinion, the Solstice is the first car since Oldsmobile’s original Aurora that has a total purity of exterior styling–although the interior is a disappointment. I currently have a 1995 Aurora and still get many compliments from my friends on it today. The car really has a cult following among younger college students 11 years after its introduction–perhaps you should look into why.
This year’s Detroit (NAIAS)auto show was really a disappointment for me, not only at the GM exhibit, but nearly everywhere else–almost every vehicle looks the same today. All have round, integrated headlights, huge wheels, a long wheelbase with a long hood/short deck profile, smooth curves, and the general silhouette of a bath tub with nothing distinguishing about them. Why can’t designers come up with truly new styling? In my opinion, nearly all your top designers come from 2 schools within the country, so it’s hard to get any variety when everyone has been trained by the same professors.
The new Camaro looked OK to me. The side view is awesome; the back view quite nice, but the front is ugly (a la Chevy Nomad concept a few years back). Why must you put a squashed plastic grille on a car that otherwise has great proportions? Why didn’t anyone look at the 1982 Camaro/Firebird platform as inspiration for the vehicle? I think this would have been a much better starting point than the somewhat ill-proportioned first generation.
In any case, best of luck. I’d really like to see you help GM turn the corner! Tell Buick to stop making cars with quietness as their only key attribute, and bring back a bold Riviera in the 1964 vein (but no plastic grille, please).
Hello Mr Lutz.
The reaction on the Aero-X has been extremely well as you of all people know. According to http://www.trollhattansaab.net ther is a “dealer in the US who mentions that he’s already received three calls from people wanting to know when they might be able to get an Aero-X.
Please build the carbut with normal doors and sell them for 80000 dollars to the rich and famous. Give one to Tiger Woods to promote it.
When the car reaches the US autoshows I believe you will get a tremendous reaction to the car and a lot of peaople wanting to buy it. Journalists all over the world have been writing the same thing.
Please Mr Lutz and all the other executives at GM. Give Mr Jan-√Öke Jonsson the “go ahead”. Saab need this car. They need it to give the company even more attention and boost sales.
The world is watching- And wanting.
SY/ Tom Ryner
H.L. Mencken said a lot of pretty smart things in his day, but he said some dumb things too, and one of the dumbest was his statement that “No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.”
Now, you’d be surprised how many people think the average American is an idiot. This ranges from my blue-state friends that view the red states as bastions of inbred ignorance, to the psychologist Richard Lynn, who makes the claim that the IQ of the average American is 98, to well, unfortunately, a lot of major American companies.
Here’s the deal. All of those people are wrong. Americans are pretty darn smart. Think of all the cool stuff you have and enjoy, and then think about where it was invented. Sure, the Japanese can make unbelievable improvements to products, and the Germans can make products unbelievably complicated, but when it comes to sheer Yankee ingenuity, well, you pretty much need Yankees.
I mean, think of the stuff we enjoy and use each day that was invented in America: the hot rod, the musclecar, the telephone, the lightbulb, the computer, mass production, rock and roll, corn-flakes, bourbon, movies with sound, the car radio, the internet, the helicopter, contact lenses, etc. etc. etc.
And that’s only some of the stuff we’ve invented, the list of stuff we’ve made bigger, better, faster, and cheaper is almost endless.
And yet, people continue to agree with Mencken’s statement.
But here’s the deal. People really HAVE gone broke understimating the intelligence of the American people, and GM seems like it’s about to follow those people down that ignoble path.
If GM wants to survive and thrive and prosper the way many of us hope it will, it’s got to assume that it’s customers are reasonably intelligent. 1. Because it’s true, and 2., because it will keep them from being stupid themselves. The average new car costs about twenty grand, and the average new car buyer didn’t get to be able to spend that kind of dinero by being an idiot.
How do we know GM has underestimated the intelligence of the American people?
Well, let’s look at the evidence:
How many GM cars show up on the Consumer Reports list of the 10 best new cars? Oh, that’s right, none. There aren’t even any American cars on the list, although 5 of them are Hondas, and all of those Hondas are made in North America, 4 of them in the United States.
How many GM vehicles show up on the list of Consumer Reports Good Bets? Well, out of the 50+ cars on the list, there are 3, compared with 14 for Honda/Acura, 21 for Toyota/Lexus, etc., etc.
How many GM vehicles show up on the Consumer Reports Bad Bets list? 17 out of 34. That’s HALF THE LIST if you’re keeping score at home.
Of course, if we listen to the hardcore GM fans, we hear that Consumer Reports is biased, so let’s look at some of the other sources to see if we can find a benchmark there:
How about Car and Driver? Well, let’s look at the caranddriver.com comparison tests – “Rebellious Boxers”(HHR took 3rd place out of 4 vehicles), “$35,000 Sports Sedans” (Cadillact CTS and Saab 9-3 in 6th and 8th place, respectively, out of 8 vehicles), “Every Day Heroes” (Pontiac G6 GTP, 5th place, out of 5 vehicles), “Do-It-All Pickups” (Chevy Colorado LS, 5th place out of 5 vehicles).
In “Bahn Burners, Episode 39″ the Cadillac STS-V took 2nd place out of 3 vehicles, beating the Mercedes CLS55 AMG, and, luckily, GM’s Halo Vehicle, the Corvette Z06 did beat theDodge Viper (Motor City Bullies). Unfortunately, GM’s other Halo Vehicle, the brand-new Pontiac Solstice, took second place to the redesigned Mazda MX-5.
What can we learn from Car and Driver? If your GM vehicle is less than $50 grand, it’s not going to be the benchmark. In fact, you’ll be lucky if your car even makes it into the middle of the pack, as last place is a good possibility.
Well, some claim Car and Driver is biased as well (not me!), so let’s look at Edmunds.com.
Edmunds.com claimed that the new Pontiac Solstice was the Most Significant Vehicle of the Year, but despite it’s significance, it took second place to the Mazda MX-5 when they went head to head in the road test. The only other car on the Edmunds.com Editor’s Most Wanted list, was, surprise, surprise, the Chevrolet Corvette.
But let’s take a look at the other Edmunds.com comparisons: “2005 Midsize Truck Comparison Test” (Chevy Colorado placed 4th out of 5 vehicles), “2005 Economy Sedan Comparison Test” (Chevrolet Cobalt placed 6th out of 7 vehicles), “2005 Full Size Sedan Comparison Test (Buick La Crosse placed 4th out of 4 vehicles).
So, Edmunds.com thinks the Pontiac Solstice is significant but not as good as the MX-5, and loves the Corvette, but other than that, GM isn’t setting any benchmarks at Edmunds.
Well, that’s not good, and it’s not a conspiracy by automotive journalists! GM just doesn’t think enough of the car buying public to offer them benchmark vehicles.
And we haven’t even gotten to the legendarily awful dealer experience, where despite one’s education, experience, in-depth knowledge of the GM lineup and GM history, one will still be expected to go through the same sleazy sales tactics, haggle through the absurd dealer markups, and generally be made miserable in the process.
And then, should you actually buy the car, god only knows what fresh h**l awaits you should something go wrong, and what worse h**ls will appear after the warranty wears out.
To his credit, Robert Lutz mentions that they’re “working on” some of these problems.
But then he encourages us to go test drive one of the vehicles and spread the word through “word of mouth.”
GM’S NOT AT THAT POINT YET BOB! The word of mouth right now is that GM is improving, but unless you’ve got the cash to buy a Vette and are small enough to fit in one, or you just love the styling of the Solstice and don’t have any use for a trunk, you’ll be better off doing your homework and buying a better car from another manufacturer.
HEY GM! WE’RE NOT STUPID! Make a car that people who are smart but not rich can feel good about buying, and we’ll be more than happy to tell the world about it.
But if you’re not going to do that, you can’t blame us for not getting excited about a lineup of vehicles that are mediocre at best.
Make benchmark vehicles, not excuses, and you’ll sell plenty of cars. That would be the smart thing to do.
Continue to underestimate the intelligence of the American people, and contrary to H.L. Mencken, you will indeed go broke.
(Here endeth the rant, edit as you see fit, the whole thing’s available at http://www.gmcandobetter.blogspot.com)
Following up on my recently posted comment regarding the Aero-X.
I mentioned 80000 dollar as a pricetag. Make that 120000 dollars, keep the canopy adn everything. Let Magna-Steyr in Graz produce it in 999 units. The would sell and you would make a profite. Not only in short term but in long term. With the extremely cool entry into the car every star in music and film would want to be caught on picture with it. And they have money senor.
SY/Tom Ryner
Bob glad to see your responce!!Extending the Warrenties,Better dealership experience for customers will go along way to helping GM.May I add that as far as dealership experience goes develop a system of “CHECKS AND BALANCES.”Higher a firm or do it yourself but get them to investigate how dealers are treating there customers find problem dealers and deal with them.Develop a System that rewards dealers who have good to great customer service might also help.Also make commercials showing sales and mechanics saying were MAKING YOU NO1 AT GM and back it up with warrenties,a Saturn like atmosphere for all your dealers.Also if a customer has a problem with a car courtesy rides in ALL YOUR DEALERS.If a customer has many problems with a automobile they own “A PROBLEM CHILD” maybe giving him or her a replacement would also be a great thing.Well good luck and happy motoring!!
Well Bob, I see a lot of FireBird Trans AM requests. I don’t see the harm in making a Trans AM. No one wants your GTO either. I knew from the second I saw it, it wasn’t going to work. Please don’t discontinue it completely though. I want my chance at owning a new GTO but I want that same muscle car formula put into it. I still think it would be neat to bring a SKYLARK GS or GSX into the picture. I do understand that cars like the GTO are not like trans am car like the mustang and camaro so designing from scratch is difficult. I’d like to say the comments on the artical are very good. I’d listen to em Bob they know what the want. And again I’d look into getting another Firebird out there.
Mr. Lutz: As usual you have picked up on the important issues and will implement effective solutions to them. The most critical ones would be the following:
Market to the 40 and over crowd.
I totally agree with you as far as courting Gen X and Gen Y buyers as they are your future customer base, but do not forget the ones most able to buy. Baby boomers from 40 to 60 represent the largest AND most affluent buyers in the auto market, buyers who will be active car buyers for the next 20-30 years. These are the consumers who can and will purchase the 30K – 50K vehicles – the profit makers. I’m not sure why most marketing types think that once a buyer reaches 40 they only want boring cars.
This demographic grew up in the most interesting era of the automobile, an era when styling changed EVERY YEAR, not every 4 or even 10 years. These buyers grew up during the muscle car era (early 50’s thru 1972) and any vehicle that TRULY REPRESENTS these cars will be a “MUST HAVE” vehicle. It was an era when Grandparents, parents and teenage buyers could all find something they wanted (and afford) in all GM dealers (except for Cadillac).
If GM marketing people are paying attention they will tell you that young buyers love the old muscle cars almost as much as the over 40 crowd. Classic styling never becomes passé; or sub 6 second 0-60 times and the ability to smoke the tires at will. How many teenagers did you hear at the Detroit and LA shows say they wanted a Camaro? A lot I bet.
A 55-57 Bel Air retro-modern styled Coupe, Sedan, Convertible, Nomad and Sedan Delivery based on the next Trailblazer chassis would give Chevrolet another desirable large RWD/AWD sedan and would sell between 90,000 to 150,000 units annually.
A new Astro Van would also be spun off this chassis; there is a market for 50,000 to 80,000.
The Trailblazer and Envoy should be able to sustain 250,000 units.
Mid-size truck Chevrolet Cheyenne and GMC Sanoma models will add another 150,000.
Finally a Taxi version with styling similar to the old Checker could be offered.
A truck chassis for this car makes sense since the original model was a similar body on frame design and it maximizes utilization of one architecture. The Bel Air would benefit from a higher “H” point and give drivers better forward visibility and easier ingress/egress. With large comfortable seats and good rear leg room the new Bel Air would be a desirable car for a broad market. It would give a buyer the room and comfort they love in SUV’s in a more maneuverable and economical package. The Nomad and Sedan Delivery models would provide 5 – 8 passenger capacity with classic styling.
A brief review:
Bel Air Coupe
Bel Air Sedan
Bel Air Convertible
Nomad
Sedan Delivery
150,000
Astro Van
50,000
Trailblazer
Envoy
250,000
Chevrolet Cheyenne
GMC Sanoma
150,000
Total from architecture: 600,000 to 650,000 sales annually.
This would give Chevrolet another “MUST HAVE” product to go with the new Camaro and Caprice/Impala.
Each division to introduce 3 “MUST HAVE” models.
Introduce a production version of the Holden Efijy Concept car as a Buick. I proposed this in a previous post, and every person I have shown the concept pictures to think it looks like a Buick.
This car would forever change Buick’s image as this car would be the “real deal” with the Corvette driveline and fantastic styling. It appeals to a consumer base that “must have it” AND can afford it and would give GM three (3) desirable models off of an existing (Corvette) platform.
Three suggestions for each division (cars only – trucks on another post).
Buick
Velite – Like the Concept Car
Efijy – Like the Concept Car
Gran Sport – 1970 Buick GSX style version of new Camaro
Chevrolet
Bel Air
Nomad
Camaro
Pontiac
Solstice
Grand Am (BMW 3-Series sedan from Solstice)
GTO (or Firebird)
Cadillac
CTS-V
Sixteen
STS
Saturn
Astra
Aura
Sky
SAAB
Aero X (make that 4 Corvette variations)
9-5 (BMW 5-Series Sedan from Camaro)
9-3 (Audi A6 AWD)
Extended Warranties.
This will definitely get buyers attention and build consumer confidence in your products. Any major warranty costs that maybe incurred would be over three years from now. With GM’s excellent short and long term quality, it should be a minimal cost. Don’t forget that good selling vehicles require less marketing and incentive costs and this can substantially offset additional warranty costs. The increased market share will also generate offsetting revenue.
You talked of better dealer relations; this is a golden opportunity for the dealer to improve their image with customers. A well managed dealer should be able to increase maintenance service revenue from buyers who are not afraid to bring their car back to be original selling dealer.
These are some suggestions with some repeated from some of my previous posts. As always keep up the good work and thanks for the Camaro, Statesman, Astra and Impala/Caprice news.
RWD, 4 cyl, small sedan and coupe. Be the first, not the last.
Why is Saturn moving more upscale? Saturn seems like the perfect brand to target youth and first time buyers (eg. Scion) The Saturn purchasing experience is supposed to be very positive which could leave a good impression of GM for the next 6 purchases the individual will make over their lifetime. Also, please search the Automotive News database within the last year for an article that recounted the misteps made with the Saturn brand that resulted in “Tinkerbell’s death”. I personally don’t think it’s too late to revive Saturn’s “Tinkerbell” image, but moving upscale is going to confuse the public. While I’m at it, Pontiac as the performance division has always made sense to me. Nice job on the Solstice by the way. The problem is that if Pontiac is going to be the performance division, maybe GM needs to consider moving the Corvette over to Pontiac. Chevy should continue to be the workhorse brand, and I don’t think I will ever figure out where Buick fits. Cadillac has re-merged as a solid luxury brand. As a consumer I get Toyota’s line up…Scion=youth/entry buyer, Toyota=workhorse, and Lexus=luxury. GM can do the same with Saturn, Chevy, and Cadillac. Pontiac as the performance division would see some nice volume and the remaining brands are niche vehicles as far as I’m concerned. Before I flame out, extending the warranties is the best way to regain trust with the buying public. Look whay Hyundai and Kia did within 5-10 years by slapping those long warranties on their vehicles. My 1999 Grand Prix 140,000 miles and is still going strong.
Bob -
Focus on the GM leadership culture. What are the leadership cultural norms that put GM its’ current dilemma? I am confident that there were voices in Detroit that warned of a coming storm – what behavior caused them to be ignored? Thousands of decisions are made at all management levels each day that effect the long term success of GM. These decisions are made within the bounds of what each manager understands to be accepted within the GM culture. Are the GM expectations clearly stated and adhered to? Do the top leaders in Detroit rigorously abide by the expectations and are the leaders role models? Unless the culture is changed the cycle of boom and bust will be repeated.
I wish you and your GM team the best of futures. One request – don’t tamper with the Saturn business and customer model. I currently own a Vue and can honestly say that this is the first time that I willingly take my car to the dealer for service rather than avoiding them. It is also the first time I have owned an American car since 1982.
P.S. The Saturn Sky is a home run – kudos to the designers.
GM needs to make good 4cyl engines to fit into a midsize sedan engine bay. From renting a Malibu Classic, the 2.2 EcoTec ain’t gonna cut it.
I know a few years ago I would have never thought of owning a car w. a less than a V-6, but the Toyota’s 2FE-AZ changed that. Its much more fun than the 3.1L from the ‘91 Grand Prix I had some years back. The 2FE-AZ accelerates smooth, and doesn’t sound harsh and hitting its limit when pushed, unlike the 3.1L or 2.2 EcoTec. Similar could be said for Honda’s 2.4.
Granted a good 4-cyl won’t be tops for the drag strip, but will have better balance between performance and econony. Make a good 4-banger to put in your midsize sedan such that 75%+ are sold with the base engine. Couple it with a 5 speed auto with manual shift gate and you’ll be set.
–When selling cars with engine options, the base engine should be more than plenty, and the optional for the performance enthusiasts. It should not be that the larger engines are selected b/c the base isn’t adequate.
While you’re on it, improve your existing EcoTec. A Cobalt in the compact-sedan and Aveo in the sub-compact with HWY 34 MPG is not cool when the Corollas and Civics are significantly better. It hurts more since larger Camrys/Accords/Sonatas get 34 MPG.
Last note. Since you wanted to cater to Gen Y (that includes me), you can excite me with a compact sports coupe much like the tC did with your new awesomely-made 4-cyl engine so that when I get moved into a lower car insurance bracket I’ll consider it.
I am always amazed at the knowledge & passion of the participants on this blog. I don’t think other automakers are doing a blog like this-right on! keep reading it up there in the RenCen, Mr.Lutz. You seem to be listening & moving GM to understand what buyers want. GM has many loyal owners & people who support it as an American institution. How about an owner referral program that would give owners incentives (perhaps service credit, incentives on next purchase or a small cash “spiff” while giving new buyers an additional incentive, perhaps $250-500, on top of their best deal. I feel this type of promotion would cost less than $750 per sale and would create conquest sales while building owner loyalty. Creating a “GM family” atmosphere where everybody wins with fun incentives will increase dealership sales and service traffic. I think this could help reinvent GM as the most customer responsive carmaker, as Mr. Lutz seems to be striving for. By creating a self sustaining “warm fuzzy” that stimulates dealership traffic, I feel GM can increase market share and boost profits, while generating a whole lot of love for the company.
One more thing- Do whatever it takes to restore the “soul” to the products, like GM had “back in the day”. Use the old names & bring back the style- aerodynamics & overhangs be damned. It seems like every GM car when I was growing up was the coolest in its class, except the Chevette(lol) Immerse your designers & engineers in GM style & spirit of the golden age & apply it today. Make cars people love and that make them feel special, at any price range and take care of people after the sale. People will choose what they love over what they are told to buy. For example, make the next Malibu the modern decendent of the 64-72 Chevelle. Everybody loves old GM cars, i’ve learned that driving my 73 Buick convertible around town, I think it would be great to make dazzling styling a priority in side & out. Let the imports be appliances, be the company that makes cool cars and takes care of customers. People will stick with you if your cars feel good and the dealers care! They’ll probably still be able to use Consumer Reports to pick out a toaster! and purchase some cheap “Car and Driver” logo car cover to keep their baby clean if they wish. Good Luck and godspeed GM! any feedback welcomed from anyone! billv73@yahoo.com
Ok, do you REALLY think GM will fool anyone with this whole “Live Green Go Yellow” campaign? Did you watch the West Wing episodes about Ethanol? It’s a failure. Ethanol takes as much oil to produce as it yields in fuel. i.e. “Gallon for gallon”. Not really what one would call “The fuel of the future”. I will be impressed when I can by a Pontiac Wave (hydrogen vehicle). Otherwise, PLEASE stop pretending you have a viable solution in Ethanol. We all know you don’t.
I think it’s interresting to learn that some people are concerned about the Camaro possibly being built in Canada as the previous one was. If I understand well, that mean that when I was considering buying a “Domestic Brand Car”, I was actually looking at a foreign car. Then I guess I will not bother anymore because here in Canada, there is no such thing as “domestic” cars, America being a foreign place just like Japan or Korea…
quick thoughts -
-you need to pick an idea and stick with it. attention to GM and now you want attention to the brands (which one???)
-”no more rebadging” this was someone’s words at GM … though i just heard something about the pontiac G5 (Pursuit) coming over to us. Please… say it ain’t so!!!
-warrantys are def. a huge thing! should have thought about lowering your vehicles by a small fraction less and then adding a 10year to each car. I hear too many times of people that wont buy gm because of damage done years ago that they can not get over. Reviews and ratings wont change this. I got it! make it a month special … noooo joking NO MORE SPECIALS – we already see the damage that did!
-and last for today (cause i could go all week) Hold out on going under longer than Ford! just think one of the two of you will more than likely fall so most the sells will goto the other! Ha! yeah we can all dream.
Lutz you are doing an excellent job – im a proud owner of a pontiac solstice (waited 10 months to get one) thats what you want people to say about all your vehicles. and your beginning to make it happen!!! by the way how much longer until Wagner is gone?
“concerning the camaro….it apparently is being considered to be built in canada….does gm not understand that americans that buy these types of cars would prefer them to be built in america? i wanted one but will not buy if its made in canada….”
I’m going to have to disagree with you here. The Oshawa plants have been putting out high-quality cars for quite some time now. If I’m not mistaken, the entire W-body fleet is built up there; and the W-body has to have been one of the single best platforms GM has had in quite some time. Canadians can build cars just as well as the Americans or the Japanese. I have faith in the CAW that if they are to get the Camaro/Zeta contract, we will see another line of exquisitely built vehicles. Remember, the Camaro was built in Canada for a number of years.
I’m extremely proud of my Canadian-built Impala, and will be more than happy to buy a Canadian-built Camaro SS.
I am glad to see tha GM does not plan on going down without a fight. But, what has been already emphasized in comments before is to truly recognize each brand’s identity, and then build on those strengths to revitalize each brand. Example: Pontiac is the performance brand. Then Pontiac should have performance variants of every size of GM vehicle. I don’t think Pontiac needs THE Corvette or even A Corvette. The Solstice GXP will do just fine, as long as we get a Firebird to go with our GTO! Don’t distribute cars among brands strictly on size, Pontiac should have all sizes of cars in the mix, other than Aveo-sized econoboxes (unless they are performance econoracers to compete with the MiniCooper) And why not give teh US market the slick Canadian Pontiac version of teh Cobalt SS, amortizing the tooling costs of teh frontend over several thousand more units to actually recover the costs.
Canada doesn’t have a native auto industry, theres nothing wrong with Canada building some of GM’s cars.
In fact, I was happy to hear that Oshawa isn’t closing because their plant is high quality, which means the workers are high quality too.
Can we say the same thing about the plant that makes the Cobalt, which was rated one of the worst cars in reliability in its class?
In fact, I think plant closings should be based partly on the reliability of the autos made there.
As a former GM employee, all I can say is focus on the long term. Too much is done to save a dollar now but spend five dollars later. The negative practices from the past include focussing too much on market share and not profitability, being conservative with new technologies until the competitors come out with them, skimping on richer materials because you can’t make a business case for it, sharing too much between divisions that’s visible, (like the new radios), understanding that just because a certain segment is hot right now, it doesn’t mean that it will always be hot, (so as the largest automotive company you should have a fully diversified portfolio of products to be ready for when trends change), not listening to your younger employees who have good ideas and are the future market. It seems as though executives there never retire and don’t make any room for younger employees to get promoted and inject new thinking into the corporate culture, especially with the shrinking organization. This leads to demoralized employees and a talent drain. I took a buyout and left the company as a result.
At least the new products look pretty good, especially the Saturns. As a Saab fan, let’s get a bit more character into the products. I already like their ride & handling, performance, efficiency, and safety.
About the Buick “Statesman” (I don’t think that this name is being considered, it was just used to designate a Buick based on the Holden Statesman. Right?) I hope it won’t be based on the actual chinese Royaum.
The grille and headlights on this GS model look OK and the chrome louvers on the front fenders remind me those of the 1964-70 Wildcat (which is great) but the rest of the car isn’t very distinctive.
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/9830/220hc1.jpg
http://www.autoreview.ru/new_site/year2005/n09/news/800/04.jpg
I often hear comments from younger people about the fact that my old Buicks are 4 door hardtops. People seem to find it more facsinating than triple door seals and Quiet Tuning (myself included!). Since Buick was the first manufacturer to offer hardtops, it would make sense to give it the first 4 door hardtop produced in this millenium (I don’t think that Nissan makes them anymore).
The roofline, beltline and teillights on the current Royaum aren’t looking too good.
Bob,
If you want more ideas about what Buick cars should be, I have tons of them! Just email me!
No EXCUSES, BOB
I’ve just read that you’re working on a ‘faithful recreation of the 1967 Impala.’
Do you know, I was actually excited to read this?
I made a point to drive the current Impala, both the 3.9 and the SS, and found them to be amazing… I left wondering if they felt amazing because they *were* or because they were such an improvement, I was amazed.
If this is true, and you’re working on a big, bold, curvy, V-8 RWD Impala, then I will be standing there waiting for them to unload from the transport at my local dealership with my checkbook.
I have owned half a dozen Impalas from the ’60’s and loved them. I currently own 3 Buick GS’s, and love ‘em.
Sense a pattern?
While driving my ‘67 GS around last year, I was thinking, what a car this would be with modern suspension, brakes, airbags, engine, 6-speed automatic…
So now I see you’ve got the V-8’s. You’ve got the 5 and 6(!) speed automatics. You’ve got the brakes. The chassis is coming. Safety systems are second nature.
Play your cards right, and you may have me as a customer. A loyal one. And I really don’t think I’ll be alone.
p.s. How about a red interior, please? Check out the early ’60’s Impalas. Even turquoise. Some chrome trim.
Three words: four door hardtop.
Thanks Bob, keep it coming!
Mr. Lutz,
Your summary of the common themes is very good.
Advertising that shows GM as a high tech company would be insightful to those who don’t know GM yet. GM loyalists already see GM as high tech and an engineering leader. Those who have the perception gap perceive the opposite.
Part of the perception gap is that many Gen Y buyers don’t really know GM.They don’t know GM has advanced facilities, they see only the foreign competition bragging about themselves. Moreover, many literally don’t understand that Pontiac is made by the same company as GMC. You can’t assume they do anymore. One thing the media made sure that they all knew GM stopped production of the Camaro! They all know the name Hummer and may not know GM makes it, and they’ve all heard of Cadillac. (Some actually think GM is the other company that makes appliances). Many in the Gen Y group aren’t sure about which GM brands are for them. Cadillac and Hummer may be the best way to reach out to them with entry level models since these brands carry image and quality perceptions that meet the expectations of their reference groups. They were unduly influenced by their parents choice to buy a Japanese branded import from your foreign competition. Hummer and Cadillac should add entry level models since they probably carry more suburban appeal than the GMC nameplate, although the Envoy enjoys a high reputation. The success of the Chrysler 300 shows that a successful sedan can make a brand come alive. The success of the Escalade, the CTS, and STS has propelled Cadillac’s success.
Gen Y can be reached through lifestyle, fashion, sports, school, and so on. Many are less informed about cars and just look to adults who may have a foreign brand for advice. GM needs to overcome it. One way GM succeeds is through styling, another is through quality. Another could be dealerships proximate to the low market share neighborhoods and in visible areas near upscale malls.
People are noticing the Buick Lucerne and the great advertising. “Beyond Precision” is brilliant advertising for Buick. Buick is on the right track. Pontiac needs a flag ship like Buick to lead the charge. The new Impala tops Honda and Toyota. Its not enough to have better products, GM has to tell people in more effective ways.
I have a far fetched Idea for Cadillac, is there any possible way GM could work a deal with VW to sell the Phaeton in America as a Cadillac? That car is way too good of a car to not be sold here. The problem with it was a lack of a luxury name, and Cadillac has a luxury name but no large luxury car. Give them a truck to turn into a VW in return.
One key task if you want to get my business is to offer more manual transmissions. I think manuals should be offered at least every trim on every car of Chevrolet, Saturn, and Pontiac. I’d like to go GM with my next purchase, but there are precious few things I’d sacrifice my transmission for.
I do have to echo the previous statements when I say that cars should have names, as well as the suggestion that moving Saturn upscale is the wrong way to go.
The front end of the Impala needs a slight redesign to make it more distinctive. I think the grill work should be redone to look more like the Cobalt’s front end. It doesn’t seem like it would be that hard to do by the looks of it.
Raise your warranties, Bob
General motors has a big problem. it does not sell the cars people want to buy.it won’t sell the fuel cell car, even though you been riding around in them for several years,,teasing the public.You won’t make a car that uses biodeisel fuesl. Kids in a pennsylvania high school made biodesils cars as a school experiment…it was a very sharp looking ,,,sporty looking car.People are angry at general motors because it keeps us hostage to oil and gas…..There is no competition in the auto industry,,,,,and general motors monopoly has brought americans….hostages to high gas prices…Heck the model t…could be run off alcohol….
Mr.Lutz, I read the comments you made from Geneva. You already know what needs to be done.Stop offering inferior products to the North American market.
Even Toyota has figured this out.In Europe, the Camry’s success was always limited due to excessive size (which put into competition with the Opel/Vauxhall Omega and Ford Scorpio) and low-build quality when compared to the European-developed Carina E and Avensis. The Camry will no longer be available in Europe from 2006.
I own 2 Ford products (Focus) one in North America and one in Europe. It is a disgrace what Ford North America offers in comparison to my Eurobuilt auto.
In real estate the three words are location, location, location. In this market right now there are only three words that can make any IMMEDIATE positive effects on GM sales–warrantee, warrantee, warrantee. The 10/10,000 magic will do more than any product modification can possibly do. I know that the corporate “parts bin” is full of low quality junk, but is retaining and reinstalling this stock in new models worth the life of the company? Reliability and satisfaction can be improved if the “small stuff” continues to work. It may be a wake-up call to your management people that, even to your Cadillac customers, the $500.00 to $1,000.00 to fix an “accessory” a month after the warrantee runs out is no longer small stuff. Someone has to pay for low quality sometime. It’s time to pay the piper for all the savings the company has made and the damage those savings have done to the company.
10-year 10,000-mile freedom from small stuff failures will bring customers flocking into showrooms without changing any product. But GM will have to pay back in service and parts the money “saved” in the past.
GM cars are good, run good, look good, Please fix the parts!
1 Chevy, 3 Buicks, and 3 Cadillacs
Bob
Bob-
There are many people who would love to buy an American product–the problem even with GM cars is that so many parts are from other countries. Give the US suppliers all of the parts contracts and make every single part of the GM cars to be made in the USA and watch sales soar. Think about it–people who are supplying GM will more than likely buy GM, people who work in the assembly plants will continue to buy GM–as will all of their families and friends. On the other side of the coin, if 30000 lose their jobs, along with many in the parts supply business, they will have a terrible taste in their mouths for GM and will buy anything but GM–including their friends and families as well. The bottom line-GM–100% American Made! (It might be costly at first, but will pay off as more and more people join the backlash against Chinese and Japanese junk)
“give the passion back to drivers. HUMMER could also use an h4 or h5 built using the small truck platform.”
This is exactly right. Give us an H4 designed to compete directly against the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. Base it on a shortened GMC Canyon/Chevy Colorado platform. Make it bare bones, muscular and utilitarian. Make sure it can beat the Wrangler off-road.
It will be a sales homerun.
Bruce Sherman
Oakland, Oregon
GM doesn’t strive to build the best vehicles, sad but true. Your new trucks are showing that you can be world class if you want to, but sadly so often it isnt the case.
The malibu could have been a homerun except for the original front end, pathetic electric steering, and poor interior. You fixed the front end, what about the other two?
The Cobalt is not world class. Its OK, however its unreliable. So why is the person repsonsible for this vehicle still working for GM? Why is the plant responsible for building an unreliable car still being used?
You need to beat the other companies, not come close.
Your warranties also reflect the lack of confidence you have in your products, and also reinforces ours.
“How low can we go in quality, but still keep our customers?” This question is ridiculous. One or one company always strives for the best.
In this world now of excessive trade (mostly in the U.S. – to the detrement of the U.S.) the highest quality must be strived for. Too much technology and ideas have been let out of the bag by I think our greedy CEO’s and Manager’s at the cost of America’s well being. The bottom line is all that matters. And of course, foreign countries are only too happy to take these ideas, make products from them at a lower cost, and export them right back to America.
And of course some countries make better products than we do, but that’s no reason to let your industry (ies) go down the drain. Yes, I think that tariffs (the % would have to be calculated to be effective) are definitely a short term solution. This would give time to the “unhealthy” industries in America to boost quality and also regain customers.
It’s treachery to let the U.S. go down in blazing flames, just for the sake of globalization!
Bob,
New topic here… Fuel… About a year and a half ago I was watching a program on PBS hosted by John Clese, Loving Monty Python and being a car guy in the car industry, I took note…At the time I was actually working in a service department for Toyota… And of course the Prius was HUGE for us… the topic of the show was alternative fuels. Of course Hybrids played a large part in the show… but the one that intrigued me most was a ford focus…. It was a standard production Focus… they had changed the fuel tank, the seals in the engine, and a few other componets, they said all total it was probably 2k to 3k more to produce the car… it ran off of HYDROGEN…. had about the same acceleration as the normal model, got about the same economy, but the only by-product was WATER. I know what you will say… there is NO INFRASTRUCTURE to sell hydrogen to the public…. I say BS… If a major automaker say GM came out and said “ALL OF OUR CARS PRODUCED FOR MODEL YEAR 2009 WILL RUN ON HYDROGEN” EVERY gas station out there would install at LEAST ONE Hydrogen pump… We would be considered an environmental leader… People would flock to the cars… A car or truck that doesn’t pollute? people would line up to buy one… and if you could get the Government to get on the bandwagon and say subsidize part of it… we wouldn’t be able to beat the customers off with a stick…. We have the technology…. but we need someone to STEP UP and create the need for the infrastructure…. the oil companies WILL NOT BE LEFT BEHIND…. THEY WILL REACT AND INSTALL HYDROGEN PUMPS…. they won’t let 25% of their market share dissappear… And all it takes is a couple MINOR modifications to do this…. in fact you could sell retro-fit kits so people with older model vehicles could come into the dealership and have their present cars and trucks converted to hydrogen… E85 is a good start…. but let’s face it… you can produce a car with few modifications that burns pure hydrogen, and the only exhaust is pure water… whice of course contains Hydrogen, it evaporates into the air and we can harvest the Hydrogen again… no drilling, little refinement… and clean air… its a win-win-win… it cleans up the air we breathe.. it gives the company a HUGE reputation boost as environmental friendly…. and it will sell cars… and CHANGE the WORLD… I know it is a big goal…. but shouldn’t we aspire to change the world…. you have the power in your hands… don’t let the opportunity pass you by…. Granted Toyota is one of your world partners… but they have become an environmental leader…. Even Ford has surpassed us as far as Hybrids go…. Again we are coming late to the party… Let’s leave the other companies in our dust… Set a date… a deadline when GM will no longer produce gasoline burning engines and will only sell Hydrogen vehicles…. the oil companies will respond…the public will respond… and your profits will soar…. I know what you are thinking… what if the oil companies/gas stations don’t respond…. again.. they will not be willing to lose 25% of their customers… they will install hydrogen pumps… heck maybe make a deal with the government… instead of spending billions of dollars each day in the middle east trying to secure more oil… take some of that money and invest it in making sure every gas station int he country has at least one hydrogen pump…. one other advantage to being the first to market with an all hydrogen model line up… you get to decide the fuel filler standard… from what I have seen it’s fairly similar to a propane valve… pretty simle stuff… the tech exsists… put it to use… set the date… make it sooner rather than later… because as soon as you announce it someone else will try to beat you to market…. I don’t want to see that happen…. be the leader you once were… take us boldly into the hydrogen future of vehicles…. you don’t even have to redesign the engine like you are trying to do with fuel cells…. just change some gaskets and the fuel delivery system… have the dealers offer retro fit kits…. we will still need oil to lubricate the engine… but we won’t be blowing all the crap into the air we currently are… a cleaner greener future… and even better for the economy and enviroment than E85…. So take the world by storm… tell everyone that GM will be the leader in Hydrogen fueled vehicles and that all out cars will be running on Hydrogen only by 2008…. Put the oil cartels on notice that they better provide their stations with the equipment because the cars and trucks are coming…. and they better be prepared!
Have a good day and I look forward to driving a hydrogen powered car…
Bob,
I was at one of the largest GM dealers in my area on Friday Feb. 24, 2006 and visited the new car showroom.
I looked and sat in the Cadillac STS, Buick Lucerne and other models, however I must have been invisible as none of the staff greeted me or approached me to offer any assistance.
Meanwhile, the service department in same dealership has consistently provided excellent service for my current GM vehicle (volunteering to provide a free loaner car when there was absolutely no obligation for them to do so, etc.). It seems that at least this dealer is more interested in servicing vehicles than selling them!
I have almost every incentive available to buy a new GM product. It seems every three months GM or the local dealership mails me a $1,000 certificate towards my next purchase,I have accumulated a large discount on my GM Visa card, I qualify for the recent graduate rebate and my current GM vehicle has provided 150,000+ miles of excellent service but test driving one of the new GM models may be more difficult than you think.
“1 Chevy, 3 Buicks, and 3 Cadillacs
Bob”
If you bought them used, they don’t count.
Bob
I wonder if there is a way to get buyers of Japanese and Korean cars to feel guilty? I wonder if there is a way to attach a stigma to buyers of these cars? We live in a time of bad ports deals and the selling off of America. American manufacturing is always retreating and losing market share. Some people wonder if we are in the process of becoming a third world country. What about a series of ads that talk about our trade defecits and how ultimately the value of the dollar as well as our living standard will someday be severely impacted. Such ads should especially be run in California. I think Americans car psychology as well as the psychology of perceptions and buying decisions needs to change.
In regards to cars, what about making a car out of the SSR. I read that the factory that makes them will close at the end of the run. What about giving it a back seat a longer rear roof and a trunk.?
You already have the truck and the platform. Maybe a limited production, high profit margin coupe based on the front half of the SSR would sell better than the pick-up truck. Since the truck already exists it seems to me that the amount of work and development cost wouldnt be that great. Just give it a car body. In regards to Pontiac I would suggest giving future Pontiacs a Soltice face in order to leverage the halo effect of that car. Buick should get Arts and Science styling related to Cadillac. In regards to Cadillac, what about giving future Cadillacs a rear end simalir to the 69 Eldorado. I think that car has a nice rear trunk and I always liked the blade tail lights. Other ideas could be to give the car small tail fins, perhaps a modern version of the mid 50s tailights. GM should leveradge its great heritage.
Hooray! I am not the only person who is mortified about Pontiac giving up traditional (read: REAL) car names in favor of meaningless, focus-group-derived, throwaway alpha/numeric designations.
Pontiac Motor Division has THE most glorious heritage within GM – to give up time-honored nameplates like “Grand Prix” (44 years)and “Bonneville” (48 years, RIP) is crazy. Both of these cars have survived many bodystyle configurations and drivetrain layouts (Compare ‘86 to ‘87 on the aforementioned models), but the names STAYED – and sales came back.
I could care less about products from Acura, Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti and now Cadillac because I can’t rmember whether I’m looking at the new “3.5ABC”, the “XYZ4.2i Type R”, or that hot, new “F-Class 5.5 Speq Z Rally”. People don’t buy names, people buy cars. If the concern is attracting the non-English speaking customer, I assure you that if the car is good, the name will become known in ANY language…
Mr. Lutz has stated in his blog that people simply want GM to build good cars & trucks. I think GM is doing that well and geting better. Now, Mr. Lutz, PLEASE attach solid names to each of those good, solid base vehicles and reserve the alphanumeric stuff for packages and models (i.e. : Corvette Z06, Lucerne CXS and Grand Prix GXP). I currently own a Trans Am WS6 (mine forever) and a Grand Prix GTP (104,000 miles). I would love to trade up into a 300-HP RWD or AWD performance sedan next year, unless my Pontiac salesperson shows me the 2007 G8 GXP. Please give him the opportunity to let me test drive the 2007 Grand Prix…
A quote posted earlier reads:
“I wonder if there is a way to get buyers of Japanese and Korean cars to feel guilty? I wonder if there is a way to attach a stigma to buyers of these cars?”
Personally, I feel there already is a stigma to that. If you live in America, Buy American! People lose their lives to protect us and our Country. We can respect them by buying American.
Plus, I’ll argue that my 1999 LeSabre at 104,000 miles has been and is nearly as reliable as a Lexus.
Bob,
About the extended warranties. If you are going to do this, you need to make it clean and simple, easy for people to understand. Make it “UNlimited warranties for 6 years or 60,000 miles for all 2007 and later cars/trucks.” Plain and simple policy with simple advertising.
Leave it at that and don’t have the commercial end with a lot of small tiny words with the fine print on what the warranty WON’T cover or the radio add end with the announcer talking 200 words per minute with all the legal exceptions.
That type of ad is confusing and creates an impression that it really isn’t an “UNlimited” warranty. In other words, you have this great new policy and great new marketing but people end up thinking, “it’s not REALLY a good warranty because they’ll screw me in the fine print.”
Just a thought. I think it’s a great idea but has to be executed perfectly.
Dear Morrow, and Mr. Lutz,
3 used Cads. 1 NEW chevy 3 NEW Buicks. The chevy and the Buicks were the newest. The used Cads were the wonderful cars of my youth. My ‘53 Cadillac model 62 sky blue sedan was the sweetest piece of heaven ever put on 4 wheels. My daughter drives a Buick. My son has 2 Pontiacs. All purchased new. We are a GM family. Be nice. I’m sure Mr. Lutz wants to know what real GM customers really think about his real cars and how we really want him and his company to win, really. Let’s have positive input.
Once more with feeling–warrantee, warrantee, warrantee. The only IMMEDIATE fix is for GM to prove that they trust their cars as much as they want customers to trust their cars. To the non-GM buyer a KIA is better than a GM product–just look at the warrantee. GM can’t wait for another design cycle or another 2-year introducton lag. The additional year for the Buick “bumper to bumper” warrantee doesn’t do it. Is it better than a KIA or isn’t it? If it is “Stand up and take it like a man.” If it will cost more to keep new GM cars in full working order for a competitive warrantee period than to make huge manufacturing and design changes, GM is in real trouble. GM cars are basically very good. Even gas mileage is better than some people think. Come on guys, GM nees a fix and it needs it quick. Be positive. I hope the Mr. Lutz can dig through their internal red tape and vice presidents and get people into the show rooms and save MY car company!
Bob
What do customers want?
-Stylish cars
-Relevant and modern designs
-Uniqueness
-Performance
-Look
False
True satisfaction for customer is
- Be proud of your savvy purchase
- Being recognized socially as an intelligent customers
- Purchasing a reliable product
- Finally, get a reale value that is driven up by the desire of the majority of consumers to acquire this particular brand.
The trend actually is for Consumer Reports to punish US manufacturers by their stern and demeanig comments. Nothing can be done to augment their ratings toward GM. Nothing. Even the reliable cars , as an ex Grand Prix get comments like mediocre car from CR.
Consumer Reports is the main reason explaining the decline of US auto industry. Their database uses only their own subscribers.
Step 1: Get all GM Ford employees a subscription, so the US owners will be heard. Thie will correct the heavy disproportion of Asian/US owners in their statistical studies.
Step 2: Don’t hide this fact from the media. Advertise it. This will shed some light on this 30 year old statistical irregularity.
Step 3: On conquest customers, offer guarantied resale value; for ex if you trade an Accord for a G6, promise the customer that he will get the same % residual at the end of hi ownership.
Step 4: Offer extended warranty to conquest customers (under the radar) for peace of mind.
Step 5: Offer technical support and level 1 customer service by knowledgeable tech staff, not customer service “1-800″ lines. Don’t let the customers down and give them a run-around treatment if any problem occurs.
The post by “B47 Stratojet” couldn’t be more on-the-mark.
Most consumers simply want an honest car at an honest price. When you buy a Toyota or a Honda, you feel safe knowing that you a bought a vehicle with:
1. Honest price
2. Honest reliability
3. Honest resale value
I keep seeing commerical after commercial that tries to elicit an emotional “must buy” response.
Phewey!
Show me a 2006 Impala along-side its JDPower report. Convince me that its an honest car, and that I won’t be disappointed with the purchase.
Honest.
Bob,
Here’s an interesting and fun promotion. Ever heard of goecache? It’s kind of a GPS scavenger hunt. People hide items and post the GPS coordinates and hints to goecache.com.
Each day OnStar would post the GPS coordinates of vehicles around the country on dealer lots. When a seeker finds the vehicle they get to press the blue button to see if they have won a new car or truck. It may not generate as much foot traffic as the last blue button promotion, but it may produce a lot more hits on your web site.
Regarding “Snakebte65″ and his wish for hydrogen fuel:
Yes, an engine can be cheaply and easily modified to burn hydrogen as fuel. (By the way fuel cell cars do NOT burn hydrogen, they convert it through a chemical reaction to produce electricity – much more efficient than the burning process) But hydrogen is not a liquid. You can’t just install a new pump at the gas station to deliver it.
Hydrogen is a gas, the lightest, and thinnest, element that there is. To store it in a usable quantity it has to be tremendously compressed, on the order of thousands of PSI. The hydrogen tank is the most expensive (and largest) component to a hydrogen fuel conversion. Your average gas station isn’t big enough for the size tank it would need. And while gasoline is also flammable, imagine it in a HUGE underground tank, under huge pressure. Now imagine this Hindenburg being buried behind YOUR house. (And the Hindenburg wasn’t under pressure either)
It is also very hard to “harvest” the hydrogen from water. Water is a very stable material. It takes a lot of energy to crack the hydrogen from it, and you don’t get that much energy back when you “burn” it.
And GM can’t just build hydrogen cars and say, “Go ahead build some hydrogen stations now.” Who would buy a car that you can’t get any fuel for? And what oil (or any other type of) company is going to spend billions of dollars to set up hydrogen production, storing, shipping, and selling facilities if there are no vehicles out there that need it? GM has sold millions of vehicles which can burn E85 ethanol. Because, until more stations are available to sell it, these vehicles can still run, as before, on plain old gasoline.
In the long run, yeah, we will probably get hydrogen power. But no, it ain’t easy.
Here’s another idea. I live in an area where there is a good amount of attention to alternative fuels. Biodiesel has gotten a good following, and plenty seem to want E85 also, but it isn’t yet available here. Still, GM needs more models that can run on it, an Aveo, Cobalt or midsize car would be a great option. I like the thought of a Cobalt SS supercharged running on E85, then there would be no doubt I’d be buying one!
I saw the new Camaro at the auto show and it almost made me cry for GM. By the time it hits on the market, the fad will have passed. The Mustang and forthcoming Challenger beat you to market big-time. Add that to the list of gee-that-would-have-been-nice-if-built-three-years-before cars like the Tahoe, G6, HHR, and Cobalt.
This late-to-market follow-the-crowd stuff is getting tiresome, GM.
After recently speaking with two of your concept car engineers about the proposed all-wheel drive Deville at a hotel lounge in California I thought of an interesting concept in terms of all-wheel drive for perfomance cars.
the concept is a selectable system that would include settings such as a 50/ 50, 70/ 30, 30/ 70 or possibly a variable function within these settings that would move the amount of power through the three settings for example 70/ 30 from the start,
50/ 50 under forward execration and 30/ 70 around curves to give a more familiar feel to drivers accustomed to rear wheel drive.
The products of yours that come to mind are the Pontiac Solstse, GTO, Z06 Corvette, Camero, or possibly a special edition Cadilliac. Or bring back the firebrid with this type of system!
I thought the Solstse would be a car for such a system too,
to make it more competitive in it’s market, and to allow for better traction in curves and under exceleration.
If any consideration in taken on this idea a response would be appreciated, and any further involvement would be welcome.
3/16/06
12:08am
Eiynck Thomas, R.
Dear Mr. Lutz,
If you are going to promote Pontiac’s performance capability to younger buyers the products must meet customer expectations. You cannot put inferior powertrains and poor handling chassis systems in those vehicles. Here are a few simple suggestions that should help you out.
1.Put the Honda sourced V6 engine in the Torrent, not the Saturn Vue. Saturn drivers are not seeking or expecting high performance. Pontiac drivers are. If you can’t do this offer it as an option on the high end GTP version.
2.The wheelbase on the Torrent is too long to be sporty and agile. Shorten the wheelbase to Vue proportions. This should not require much investment given you already have the platform in production.
3.The G6 V6 needs a smooth, high revving DOHC V6 or I6, not a pushrod engine. The same goes for the Grand Prix. Develop a 3.0 liter version that is then bored out to 3.5 liters for larger vehicles. This is the Nissan and Honda approach and it works well in their vehicles. While GM may believe that the customer cannot tell the difference they can, especially in the sporty car segment of the market. These motors need to sound as good as they perform. Consider the Saab 2.8 LV6 or Opel 3.0L V6 as a starting point
4.The chassis tuning in the G6 GTP is bouncy and not high-speed stable. I drove this car at 90 + mph in Southern California as a rental and was not impressed by the shock tuning. Even my 1999 Maxima is more high speed stable and it uses a twist beam rear suspension. Use the Saab tunings on the sport models.
5.The Cobalt based entry level sedan does not meet performance expectations. Rebrand an Opel Astra for this role next time. Import from Europe to minimize capital investment.
-Paul
Burke,
I’m going to assume you mean warranty. And, by the way, Kia’s 10-year warranty isn’t bumper to bumper.
Bob, please bring the next GTO to market as soon as possible, I know there are alot of people who want a Camaro, but when production of the current GTO ends Pontiac will not have a true performance car in it’s lineup (Chevy has the Corvette)Pontiac needs the GTO more than Chevy needs the Camaro at the moment and I think that should be the priority. Unlike some of the people who commented before me I don’t care where it’s built as long as it shows up in the Pontiac showrooms as soon as possible! I also hope that the next GTO has more standard horsepower than the top performance Camaro (i.e. the SS). I would like to see the next GTO out-performing every other performance car from GM except the Corvette.
P.S. I know that Pontiac will have the Solstice when GTO production ends, I have never been much on little two-seater sports cars with a 4-cylinder engine as a performance car. Now if you could sqeeze the LS2 into it from the factory that would be different.
I would like to address the folks here who seem to think we should buy GM simply to “buy American”. It’s no secret a large percentage of GM engines and transmissions are currently built in Mexico.
But I digress. I live in Cleveland, Ohio. GM has a major stamping plant about 10 minutes from my house. And Ford has an engine manufacturing plant about 10 blocks down from the GM plant. The Cobalt (and the former Cavalier/Sunfire/Sunbird treo) are produced about an hour south of where I live (Lordstown). I would not cry if every single one of those plants closed completely leaving every person unemployed. Why? Because one of the most renowned cars in the world is produced in another Ohio city (Honda Accord, Marysville, OH).
If Honda could build a vehicle so superior to any GM or Ford (the Acura TL is produced there as well, with the Civic made near by) with the same raised in Ohio midwest USA labor force that produces junk out of Lordstown, that says more about the company than the people.
Folks, it’s not the issue of whether to buy an American marque to keep American jobs. The issue is more about the atmosphere and culture differences between manufacturers. And the differences show in the final product. If GM were to adopt the same (or better) culture for all of their plants as does exist with Honda, I trully believe GM cars could be as good if not far superior.
But the burocracy, fat union contracts, poor relations with suppliers, and indifferent attitude with quality control leads employees down a different path. My friend’s sister works at the Marysville plant. Do you know that employee opinion actually counts? And they don’t even have a union! Go figure! If any employee (from line to manager to engineer) has an idea that could make the product better, improve production, or any other improvment, their opinion is well documented and take up the chain of command. The said employee will then hear about what actually happened to their idea, and if it doesn’t work, they will get an explanation why.
I could go on forever. My point is GM needs to revamp more than just the way they go about designing a car. They must start from scratch at the assembly lines as well. That means reteaching, retooling, and revamping everything. Not the least of which, dismantling the unions and getting rid of health care benefits. It’s time GM went to a 3rd party health care provider. It’s time they swtiched from a pension based retirement fund to independent retirement investments (ie 401k). And when it comes to breaking the unions, da**it GM grow some focats, look the union in the eye, and tell them they can strike all they want – you’ll replace them with non-union employees. Let ‘em take you to court. Let ‘em threaten a fight with the scabs. This is 2006, not 1926. Jimmy Hoffa is pushing up the weeds in the end zone at Giants Stadium.
Get rid of the unions and take back control of the company!
Hi Bob,
I had the honor of spending 20 minutes with John “Kip” Wasenko, Director of Design, Special Vehicles, GM when he was in Denver giving a talk to the Art Directors Club of Denver last April 12 at Rickenbaugh Cadillac.
What Kip has done for Cadillac has been awe-inspiring. The new STS, CTS, XLR, DTS, the V Series and the SUV’s are out of this world in both styling and performance. And new younger customers are buying them. I look around the service department at Rickenbaugh and over the last three years I have seen the age of Cadillac owners plummet (its no longer the walker and oxygen crowd that it used to be).
After talking with Kip I came away with the feeling that he is passionate, articulate and brilliant designer. He took a moribund division and made it into one of the fastest growing and most profitable brands GM has. He worked a miracle at Cadillac. Figure out a way to clone Kip and let him rework the products for your other divisions like he has done with Cadillac and watch the sales and profits climb.
And while you are cloning things you should clone Rickenbaugh Cadillac. I have been buying cars for 30 years and there isn’t a better dealer anywhere. Everyone from the sales people to the service techs are world class. Rickenbaugh is one of the finest dealer you have.
And my 2002 DTS with its GMPP Corsa exhaust is a blast to drive.
The brands need to be focused even at the retail level. If you want different customers coming into a Chevy and Pontiac dealer, they need to look different. Here are my thoughts:
Cadillac – Tiffany’s look. Already like this at my local dealer, so check this one off your list.
Pontiac/Buick/GMC – The Pontiac area should look and feel like a performance tuner’s shop. Cement floors, exposed ceilings, and a GMPP venue that offers dealer installed mods for the Pontiacs would be nice. The GMC area could have a construction area look, and Buick can go with Caddy’s style.
Saab/Hummer/Saturn – These dealers should all have a Euro flare. I think it’s important for Hummer to have this because it’s in danger of being labled the “ugly American” of car companies. A garish dealer would promote this image.
Chevy- Standard fare super dealer.
On a completely unrelated note, some better trannies would be nice. It’s particularly hard to pass off the Pontiac’s as driver’s cars with wimpy 4-speed slush boxes.
I believe GM should get rid of its union.wile non union companies like toyota do not have a union, they are succeeding and making profits.I believe that the united auto union is costing GM too much money and making it harder for GM to compete agents companies like toyota.
GM could quite possible fix its own issues (overhead, car quality, car design, effective marketing, etc.) and still fail.
Why? As a consumer I don’t think of GM the company or any of its brands, I think “American made.” Not only are you fighting to regain your own footing but because GM is is just one room in the American-made house, you are going to be dealing with that perception too. Be sure that your marketing distinguishes GM from the other US car companies some how.
Lots of good ideas here. It all comes back to Product. GM, to succeed, needs to make THE BEST PRODUCT IN ALL CATEGORIES.
The how is the hard part. I like Joe’s idea above of the the plant level culture shift, and think this could occur through the organizaiton. The dealer above who wants more management attention – great idea too. People on the ground, whether manufacturing or selling, need management contact and input. They need a sense of corporate importance. Works for many very profitable US companies.
The executives at GM need to open their doors to potential customers, employees and dealers to prepare for the massive change that is needed to right the ship. This will be very hard to do, but it can be done. It must be done. Demand excelence from everybody, starting with yourself Bob. And make the best cars in the world.
Good luck.
I have been, and still am, a Buick owner. All have been the LeSabre or Park Avenue models. The new Lucerne has certainly been improved in the Beauty category, now making the rear similar to an older model Toyota Avalon and the side profile similar to a Dodge Intrepid. But, I do admit the design is an impressive improvement over the Ford Taurus “jellybean” shape of the 2000-2005 LeSabre/Park Avenue body, which in my opinion was kept around for two years too long.
The efficiency efficiency of the LeSabre/Park Avenue models has remained unchanged from 1986 to 2005. It would have been a marketing coup to introduce a Lucerne model with significantly better mileage ratings, but sadly the ratings of the V-6 equipped models has declined, and if I were to consider the Lucerne CXS model, the V-8 ratings are even poorer. While the GM “fleet mileage average” might have increased, there was a total failure in the Buick Lucerne models to participate in this increase. The incentive to have the V-8 does not make any sense considering that the highway speed limit is the same for all cars regardless of engine size. Since the average speed of the increasingly congested freeways is declining and gas prices are rising, traveling in an increasingly economical manner is what the Lucerne has totally failed to offer.
The Lacrosse and Lucerne Buick models, as well as the current line of GM made cars, have failed to make my list of cars to replace my 2003 LeSabre due to their fuel inefficiency. If GM was able to offer either of these Buick models with “Flexfuel” or “Hybrid” or “Diesel” technology, and significantly improved MPG ratings (40MPG), you would have my attention and purchase. Until GM can make that happen, the huge dealer inventory selection and price incentives that are currently offered have no effect on getting me in the showroom.
Bob Lutz is the coolest!
I love GM!
Brand new, I’ve bought a 2006 Saab 9-7x 5.3, a 2006 Malibu LT, two 2005 Cobalt LS’s and a 2004 Escalade ESV (since traded). I unfortunately also own a 2005 Lexus LS430 (nice car, but I’d rather have bought American).
I work with a staff of 20-somethings and they all LOVE the new Impala, the G6, the new Buicks and all Cadillacs. GM is going in the right direction.
Building American cars doesn’t mean anything. Building GREAT American cars means alot.
P.S. Marketing tip: Every time I get a mailer from GM (GM Card Top-Off, Owner Loyalty Rebate), I go out and buy a new car (4 in last 12 months). Please mention that to Cadillac for me.
In rebuttal of CaptainDan’s rebuttal of my earlier comments… You make some good points however.. 1. I know that Hydrogen is a gas and not a liquid, so is natural gas and there are CNG (compressed natural gas) vehicles already on the road in fleets. 2. The worlds first Hydrogen fuelling station is already opened. Shell Built a hydrogen station in Iceland. So at least one of the major oil companies already knows how to do it. I’m sure if a major automaker like GM came out and said we’re doing it more stations would be built. 3. Yes harvesting the Hydrogen out of water may be diffacult, the point I was making was that the tailpipe emmissions from a hydrogen powered vehicle is water which consists of Hydrogen and oxygen, therefore we wouldn’t need to worry about running out of Hydrogen it kind of recycles itself. Of course it would not be a direct process of taking the hydrogen back out of the water that was emitted out of the tailpipe. The water will evaporate back into the air, and I’ll be honest I do not know the process for harvesting hydrogen, But it is obvious that people know how to do it. and finally 4. You mention the Hindenberg, yes this is the example people always point to when trying to argue the case aginst hydrogen. Well did you know that Lives of people were actually SAVED because the Hindenberg was filled with hydrogen? Watch the video footage of the accident again sometime. The fire goes UP because Hydrogen is lighter that air the fire burns straight up instead of all over the place. The show I saw also demonstrated this they showed 2 vehicles. One was a standard gasoline vehicle the other was a Hydrogen vehicle. Both vehicles had ruptured fuel tanks and a spark… what happened? The gasoline vehicle was completly engulfed in flames because the gasoline leaked all over the ground then ignited. The hydrogen vehicle however burned straight up through the trunk of the vehicle. There was a single flame shooting straight up once the gas was exhausted so was the flame… maybe a little residual burning of the carpet in the trunk compartment.. but you would be able to get out of the vehicle… If I were in an accident where there was a fuel leak I would MUCH rather be in a hydrogen vehicle than a gasoline vehicle. If you’re knocked out for a couple minutes while the fuel is leaking then get out of the car and there is a spark there is a large fire…. not so much with the hydrogen vehicle…. you also mentioned the huge underground tanks at gas stations… and what about a leak…. here in my home town there is a gas station that had it’s underground tank leaking fuel for god knows how long…. the contamination has spread.. so much that the ball field at the school across a 5 lane road from the station smells like gasoline… the gound is soaked with gasoline… and that type of clean up is costly…. now think about it…. a underground hydrogen tank springs a underground leak…. you get more hydrogen in the soil…. not really a big deal because it mixes with the other elements in the soil and becomes other things…. if it does spring a leak into the air and got ignited it would be like a blow torch…. just burning straight up… again watch the Hindenburg video sometime… once the hydrogen burned off the fire was out… yes it was a tragedy and people died… but people were saved… that accident is the only reason hydrogen tech has taked so long to develop…. In short Hydrogen is much safer than gasoline… if you don’t believe me do some reasearch….
If you’re serious about dong away with “badge engineering,” I have a few more suggestions to shake things up a bit:
For starters, have each division focus on what they do best: have Cadillac and Buick produce the large luxury sedans, give Pontiac the GTO, have Chevy focus on economy cars and minivans, and leave the trucks- all the trucks- to GMC.
Consolidate all GM dealers, have all of them carry all of the GM brands (which should all have their own identity), so we don’t see a Buick dealer next to or just down the street from a Chevy dealer. Have them all adopt the Saturn sales/service model.
Bring back “Body by Fisher” and install NorthStar engines in every brand- NorthStar should be a separate division by now, anyway.
Try reviving some historic GM names; I suggest beginning with LaSalle as an “entry level” Cadillac or Buick luxury sedan model (seems to me as good a name as “Lucerne,” and already identified as a GM brand).
I’m glad you paid attention to the many remarks about improving warranties, but you need to get past thinking about them as “extended” warranties- the 10-year, 100,000 mile, bumper-to-bumper warranty has to become the STANDARD GM warranty (with even better warranties on the “upscale” brands like Cadillac and Buick); an “extended” warranty should apply past the 100,000 mile mark.
Any GM warranty should be honored by any GM dealer; some dealers are better at service than others, warranty coverage could be one way of weeding out the bad ones. One of the new cars I’ve owned (non-GM, sorry about that- but not much) had a warranty provision that meant that as long as I was within 50 miles, I had to have the warranty work done at the dealership where I bought the car- as it happens, that dealer had the poorest service department I’ve ever seen; needless to say, I haven’t been back there since trading in that turkey.
Even with a stronger warranty you’d still be playing “catch-up,” as some Asian brands offer free maintenence, such as oil and filter changes, for 100,000 miles (figure that’s about 136 quarts of oil and 34 oil filters per vehicle, assuming oil changes every 3,000 miles).
This needn’t be so expensive, some oil brands offer limited powertrain warranties if you use their oil exclusively, but of course the decision about which brand of oil to use could be made at the dealership level. My point is, part of the warranty costs could be covered by oil companies.
I’m, glad that there is strong focus on warranty in the latest posts. So much has been written about product which is at best a mid-term or long-term answer to the GM problem but the company can’t wait for product. The engineers and designers, I’m sure, under Mr. Lutz, are working as hard and fast as they can under the blanket of middle management, suppliers, unions, and tradition but now the bean counters have an opportunity to save rather than hinder the product by figuring out how the company can afford to replace the bad parts until the good stuff hits the market and the present models are a substantial part of the used market. Then the more reliable new product will support the relale values of the used product. Don’t forget, Toyota can offer a short warranty because they don’t have to prove anything–GM does. The used car market counts because it defines resale value!
Bob
Bob,
Here is one for you regarding owner loyalty coupons. I remeber getting one in 1998, 8 years after I bought my Suburban. But I have not seen one since. After a certain point are folks who keep your cars a long time not considers loyal customers? How does that plan work. I still own the 90 Suburban I bought new and drive it every day.
Dave
Here is my list Bob:
1. New GTO
2. New GTO
3. New GTO
4. New GTO
5. New GTO
6. New GTO
7. New GTO
8. New GTO
9. New GTO
10. All of the ideas you summarized.
Dear Mr. Lutz,
An idea:
Create a reality show that allows teams to build the next sports, sedan, hybrid cars, etc.. The beauty of this would be that us Americans give feedback to these teams and help shape the future automobiles.. You would have buy-in!!
In other words, think of a way you can use your company’s innovation coupled with smart teams that can breed excitement (maybe a little conflict!) with what the American people want, mix them up and see what develops!! The key would be how you pick the teams.. allow America to help choose these people, again more buy-in.
Just a crazy idea.
Thanks, Ali
I haven’t been reading the blog that long (or at all really), but has GM considered creating a website where designers could upload mock-ups and designs for GM cars and then let people vote on them? I’m thinking of something like Flickr where you could tag and blog it. You could use this for not only polling for what are wanted design, but also in the future for special order, custom made, and small batch cars. Just imagine 1000 copies of a designer car rolling off the press with cats who voted for the design to go into production bidding on each one. While it’s not entirely possible right now, the fab shops reviewed in Wired already do similar things letting people make 3d objects and printing them direct over the net at their fab shops. While I know it’s probably a bit far fetched to expect robots now to be dedicated to fabricating designs submitted by the internet, it seems like GM could prosper by letting users dream the dreams for them.
anyway, glad to see your blogging and that GM is adopting a more open corporate environment. Hope you make it and that sales pick up.
Bob Lutz,
It is refreshing to know that the c-level staff at GM is actually listening to what consumers have to say.
Further suggestions would be to visit the forums for each car, corvette, colbalt, camero, etc and read what the owners have to say. There you would find the best possible first hand expereince and thoughts of owners and others intrested in the product.
Post Said. Do not mess up the upcomming Camero, you have something great and GM cannot afford to mess this one up.
Bob,Bob,Bob,
Weren’t you suppose to be the guardian angel that would make sure GM cars have more pizzaz. The Impala has to be one of your most important product, specially at a time when you are trying to prove GM isn’t only about SUVs. It’s your best selling sedan and from what I hear, not a bad car either. So how could you approve such a bland fascia. It’s practically as bad as the first Saturn L. I can’t believe with all the talent in the house that you could not come up with something more distinctive.
Cheers
Muscle car mania! – use the Baldwin-Motion that won GM’s Best Design Award at SEMA 2005 for its Camaro (retro) as the basis for a new firebird – add a chevelle with that unique c-pillar and nose from the late 60s, add the concept camaro exaclty as you showed it and add the saab aero x concept that everybody loved in geneva – that would give you 4 killer musclecars that deliver a unique driving experience-
Dear Mr. Lutz,
First, let me say I am impressed with the fact that you maintain this blog and an effort to stay connected with the average “Joe.” It is an important principle – too often ignored – that any group where top management is unapproachable loses the unpinning support of its lower tiers.
Second, I am the proud owner of a 2005 PBM M6 GTO which I purchased from a wonderful dealership (Hardin Pontiac – Ahaheim, CA) on my birthday last year. This is my third GTO (owned a 1966 convertible and a 1967 hardtop previously) and likely will not be my last.
I do have a few suggestions, some with the GTO program, others with GM in general. Having worked in mid and upper management for numerous small companies over the past 20 years, I feel I can bring some “meat to the table”, as it were.
1. Obviously the Monaro-based GTO was a test phase for the car and US markets. The basic flaw in targeting the “Gen-X” and “Gen-Y” public with this $30K-plus version is that car and insurance payments in this league are typically beyond the income brackets of teens and 20-somethings. It is easier for them to purchase a less-expensive Asian import, and add performance modifications paycheck-to-paycheck. The majority of performance enthusiasts – precisely who the GTO appeals to – will add after-market touches. With this in mind, the GTO platform is simply aiming too high for that market segment. I mention this because the styling choice for the 2004-2006 GTO reflects an interest in that specific market, versus the retro-Boomer market toward which the Mustang, Thunderbird and Challenger aim.
Conclusion: You need two different performance platforms. A light, relatively inexpensive performance car for the Gen-X/Y market which invites modification and is accessible to their budget. And a more retro-reborn model that appeals to the Boomer market, with its “off-the-showroom-floor” performance beef, techno-gadgetry, and luxury refinements. I would NOT recommend these as two versions of one vehicle model, as the styling interests of both markets are disreleated… i.e. you can’t be all things to all people. Groom the product toward a market, and create a new product for the other market.
2. My biggest single complaint with the ‘04-’06 GTO is the paint. And if you visit the various online forums, you’ll see this is a common complaint. The paint on these cars can be scratched with a fingernail – no exaggeration. It is pitifully bad for a $30K vehicle and in this I think Holden should be held accountable. I can’t imagine they passed this water-color off on GM North America in proto-type approval stages.
3. GM should pioneer an electric-drive vehicle powered by a constant-velocity IC engine. Electric motors at the rear wheels, small internal combustion gas engine. Amazing off-the-line torque. Quiet, fuel-efficient, long engine-life and elimination of most of the powertrain. Also enhanced braking and handling characteristics… all these available from that techno platform. I’m stunned no major mfr has ever taken this route. It is a wide-open door for GM, and would benefit from the “green” positioning, as well. You should jump on that.
4. Rotary valve train. So much of an IC’s power is tied up in compressing valve springs. A rotary valve train would consume very little power, increase efficiency, lower production and maintenance costs, etc.
5. Strategically, there is a changing of the guard in your marketplace. As more and more Boomers retire out of the car-buying market, they’ll be replaced by the ’70s-’80s crowd. Most of those people aren’t familiar with the various old branding of GM’s companies (i.e. Cadillac = class, Chevy = affordable, Pontiac = performance, etc.) This gives you an opportunity, while reorganizing GMs production and brand line-up, to re-position and consolidate the GM divisions. Bring each of the divisions more into focus on specific sub-markets for that up-and-coming broader buying class. A perfect example is the Pontiac Vibe. What is this doing in the performance brand? It loses focus there. Maybe it sells OK, but would be syngergystically enhanced by its placement next to GM vehicles targeting the same consumer. Put it over in GM with the pickups. Take the Chevy truck out of Chevy, and move it into GM. That’s your “cargo” brand, your “work” brand. And Saturn’s Sky? What is that doing in the “Wal-Mart” brand? Sure, it is selling a bit, but is not enhanced by that branding. Upgrade the Solstice to include at least a V-6 option and make a true performance roadster out of it, in alignment with Pontiac’s performance positioning. The Corvette is it’s own beast. It stays Chevy because to mess with that is to kill it – be like making Harleys in Japan. But, there is a lot of opportunity here to focus these brands in. I’d dump Buick and move its key lines into the Chevy brand, or add them to the lower echelon of the Cadillac brand. Focus and packaging are critical in all marketing, as you know.
Well, that’s enough for now. Maybe I’ll post more later. Would love to hear YOUR feedback, sir.
I’ll echo one comment then go on-please give us a High mileage diesel option akin to the VW Golf, and maybe an option for mid-range diesels in the small pickup catagory. I want a diesel but don’t want to buy the Hummer A1. Bring into the US some of the exciting concepts being built ‘overseas.’ I refer to the Brazilan built Chevrolet Tornado, a small 2 seat, pickup. Saw one with mexican plates in Omaha, NE and just love it! The perfect size for my urban needs and mated to the right motor, (think ecotec or 2litre diesel) it would be a great daily commuter. Right now driving an ‘05 Buick Minivan, a 97 Saturn (144k miles) and looking for a replacement. I like the HHR, and it is much better interior than the PT cruiser, but I want 30+ MPG and will wait for it.
I second Jeff’s request. A high mileage diesel option for the Colorado, Cobalt, or even the HHR would be a great idea! (Aveo wouldn’t help, everybody knows it’s not a GM product)
Even if you didn’t sell many of these vehicles, they are a marketing bonanza! Just being able to advertise an extremely high mileage vehicle(maybe even best in class?) would be a great boost for Chevy’s (and GM’s) image.
Although I’ve already posted my opinion, I just wanted to say thanks for giving us the opportunity to give feedback. It goes a long way in making the consumer feel our opinions are heard…especially those of us that are diehard fans who live, eat, and breathe GM and as long as there is product, wouldn’t buy another brand.
Passion Bob.
Look at a malibu, great car quality wise, but reliability and quality do not create passion. Even the new Camry looks 10 times better.
Why can’t all GM cars look cool?
Seriously. Is it a corporate rule that the the cars look as boring as possible?
Each and every car should ignite some passion in people. Even the mom who is not a car person can appreciate a nice looking car. My wife who thinks small cars are stupid, loves the way a 911 looks.
Why can’t you guys just make really nice looking cars. You are capable. Look at the camaro concept and the Solstice. Other than that, there’s not much to speak of. But you have the talent at GM, why not put it to use?
Your company has been a sore spot on car design for years. Now you are makig the quality, so why can’t you make the cars look good too?
I understand that there is a large financial investment in redesigns, but if you can develop the Solstice for 200m, then you should be able to re-design a current car for much less.
And yes, when everyone is looking for RWD or AWD, and you are pushing FWD, it’s like you are pushing steak at a vegan.
Okay, forget about extending warranties your just adding to your cost woes, and taking profit away from your dealers. As for a Firebird, unlikely..we all know Bob shouts his mouth off a little much, and Pontiac Has there GTO aswell as the Solstice. So let us have our Toy’s w/o getting your Pontiac panties in a bunch. Closely watch the new VW commercials and see how well they identify w/ their consumer, Marketing is the answer. I strongly believe we have the best dollar for dollar cars and trucks on the market especially for 2006. You can rebuild on Marketing, Get away from value we’ve been beating that drum way too long. Build a new image, surely your six figure Marketing Managers can stir up something fresh. Things are gloomy change them!
How about a real chevy police car again, v-8 suicide doors and rear wheel drive….lets see some Chevy ambulances on the road also.
Lets put Ford and Chrysler back to where they belong
First and foremost GM cannot be all things to all people and the insanity needs to stop! I have been in Chevrolet Sales for 8 years and the configurations of vehicles available are so confusing and unlimited. The trim levels and options available need to be streamlined. The savings in manufacturing costs would be massive. Plus the big payoff would be salespeople could actually learn the content of the product. Example: the new Tahoe is an excelellent vehicle and should be configured as an LS, LT, and LTZ with few optional packages but we have thrown in LT1, LT2, LT3 and way too many options on each package. Salepeople have to constantly look up package content. Toyota, Honda, etc. have no problem selling vehicles this way and we would not either. I am very impressed and encouraged by the leaps in quality from GM on each new vehicle that is introduced but the package content needs to be simplified. Quality would go up even higher with less configurations.
When was the last time GM had a focus group with salespeople? The factory gives us no more respect than the public does. We are on the frontline everyday and the information we could provide would go a long way if someone would ask.
Thanks for all you do.
Bob, as a former Chrysler loyalist who followed you to GM, I’ll give my two cents worth.
All of your big home runs have combined unmatched utility with unmatched style at a popular price. Delivering a package that delivers all three is a sure hit.
Take for example the SSR. Even though it was developed before your time, I think it lacked the price and utility factors. The styling is stunning. But the two seater curse and the price stopped it from reaching full potential.
I’ve seen concept drawings of the Chevy SS sport sedan. It’s my personal thought that a 4 door car such as that designed to look like a coupe would be a sure winner. Providing the utility of a sedan to buyers who want the design of a coupe surely couldn’t hurt. And it would most likely be yet another home run for you.
Granted, I was waiting to buy the production version of the 1999 Charger R/T concept. I’d like nothing more than for GM to hit that market with a car such as the Chevy SS.
I bought a new 2002 Chevy Trailblazer, the first GM product in our family since the 1960’s, 130K miles ago. My next vehicle will most certainly come from GM!
It is difficult to see a venerable American institution like GM experience the difficulties that have been so publicly paraded in the press recently. American car companies clearly need to change the business model and figure out how the Japanese and Koreans have made so much progress.
You have asked for opinions via this blog regarding styling, quality, and value, and you have received opinions about labor contracts, management styles, and a multitude of other things. I would suggest there is a cost-cutting opportunity to be evaluated in one of the deep recesses of the company.
GM is selling engines into the industrial market (think Mercruiser, JLG, and many other large OEMs) from the Toluca, Mexico plant at below market pricing. (Market pricing is defined as the average of what Ford, Hyundai, Mazda, and other smaller engine manufacturers, can sell their similar products.)
Does it make sense to sell engines at 20% below your competitors when you are closing engine plants in other areas? Are you properly accounting for all of your costs? Why move engine production to Mexico, eliminating American jobs, and then sell the engines without maximizing profit?
As someone who works within the industrial engine business, but more importantly as a GM stockholder, this may be some low-hanging fruit to help stop short-term bleeding.
Bob,
I missed a chance to post on your original column so herewith are my thoughts from your original question on how to resonate with customers. Note, this is from someone who has singlehandedly pursuaded almost a dozen people to choose GM products at retail over their comparable Asian offerings on the merits of the product, nothing more.
OK,the necessary strategy is multifaceted and will require 10 components:
1. Winning buff book comparisons is mission critical. You telling the public how great you are will never work. The public needs to hear that from a source they perceive as objective and that is the buff books that reach millions of enthusiasts. These enthusiasts in turn influence friends and colleagues who know them as “car guys”. It is easy for these “car guys” to recommend perennial winners like the Corvette (MT Car of the year, Car and Driver Ten Best, Automobile Magazine Car of the Year etc.) it is monumentally difficult to recommend the last place finishers (virtually everything else GM makes). Comparison tests are GM’s opportunity to say look what the experts think of us relative to the competition. The cars submitted should be the best ones off the line. Under no circumstances should a car be sent from one magazine to the next unless it has been professionally detailed and its tires and brakes are brand new. The car should also spend two prior full days being carefully driven by a GM representative to make sure there are no audible or visible defects that will be picked apart in a review. Anything found, no matter how minor, must be addressed before the car is delivered or a new one should be found. The test car is your nationwide resume to the consumer and should be treated accordingly. Just as important is how your intermediaries with the buff books treat the writers. If they feel good about GM they are more inclined to look favorably on your car.
2. In the same vein as the above you should benchmark your absolute best competition closely and aim to have your competing models released exactly one year after theirs. For the former, benchmarking the best, an example of how GM gets it right is the Vette. The Corvette is a fantastic car because it benchmarks Porsche and Ferrari and takes the fight to them even on the Nurburgring. As a result the Z06 in particular is world class and all reviews have noted same. The Z06 has yet to lose to a competitor. Contrast this with Car and Driver’s recent review of the Cadillac STS-V against the new M5 and Mercedes CLS 55. The 0-150 mph gap in particular was especially telling about how GM seems to develop products in a vacuum. The STS-V was dead last in every performance category sometimes by embarrassing margins. No modern Corvette would have been released so woefully outgunned by its competitor. The reason for releasing your model a year after the competition is that you can see what they have done and then steal their thunder by one-upping them in standard features and/or available content/performance. It is not about being first to market it is about being the best on the market (see Lexus).
3. Lastly as related to point one (see how important that point is) you need to get the product fundamentals right. Do not build another car – not a single one – with drum brakes, a live axle, a 5-cylinder engine or fake wood. Not ever again. Never. Make curtain airbags standard on every vehicle you sell from the Aveo on up. Safety always sells here and whatever you think you save by taking those features off is easily overwhelmed by the squandered opportunity when you lose sales because of the absence of the feature relative to the competition. The H3 would have garnered Motor Trend truck of the Year were it not for the silly 5-cylinder engine which predictably stalled sales of the Colorado and Canyon. The Cobalt SS cannot seriously mean to compete with Asian imports with its live rear axle. Don’t bother telling me that those Asian competitors have live axles because, newsflash, YOU ARE NOT BEING JUDGED BY THE SAME STANDARDS THAT APPLY TO THE ASIAN IMPORTS. Same goes for the Aveo and HHR. Drum brakes? I don’t even know where to start there. If that has to be explained then perhaps all is truly lost for GM.
4. As painful as this is to contemplate you need to pare down your brand portfolio to sharpen your focus. Toyota, clearly the most successful automaker at present, is tightly focused on three clearly defined brands. GM has TEN (Saab, Saturn, GMC Truck, Hummer, Buick, Pontiac, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Opel and Holden). Ever hear the saying jack of all trades, master of none? Exit Saab. They build Swedish Buicks. Buick already makes perfectly good Buicks. Kill Saturn. They build small cars. GM already can and does sell small cars through their Chevrolet and Pontiac divisions. Finally, roll Hummer into GMC Truck and call it the GMC Hummer. You’re just going to have to eat some of the costs of having all those Hummer dealerships redone. Note though that it would make Jerry York’s idiotic scheme to dump Hummer that much more difficult to achieve. Oh, and get out of Isuzu. I find it difficult to believe that that required saying.
5. Make Buick your AWD division, Pontiac your sporty and affordable RWD division, Chevrolet your FWD division (with the obvious exceptions of the Vette and Camaro) and Cadillac’s mission is obvious.
6. You need a small 6-cylinder for the Cobalt SS, HHR and the H3. This 6-cylinder can be a pushrod but should generate between 200 and 260 naturally aspirated horsepower and should be as smooth if not smoother than anything Honda makes.
7. One small note on the 2007 Cadillac Escalade; For those of us who are not looking to be the King of Bling (and yes, I know “Bling” is generally overused but it is appropriate here) do you think it would be remotely possible to make a matte finish grill, wheels and trim so that we did not feel like we were a traveling Vegas show when on our way to our Wall Street offices? Just a thought if/when you decide to build an Escalade with options intended to be inclusive to the desires of adults who may be doctors, lawyers and investment professionals with a desire for a full-size luxury SUV without the over-the-top chrome flash apparently needed by the entertainers who apparently dictated the Slade’s design. I have owned two new Corvettes (1999 and 2005) and politely declined the shiny wheel options. Since I have no choice on the Escalade you can find me and several of my friends, who refused point blank to buy an Escalade after they saw and heard that they had no choice on the shiny chrome slathered seemingly everywhere, down at your local Range Rover dealer where chrome is, thankfully, in short supply.
8. Let’s talk about some specific products you should have. See how Mitsubishi and Subaru have captured the aspiration of a young generation with their Evolution and Impreza WRX respectively? Is there a reason why you cannot build an AWD version of the Pontiac Vibe and take it rally racing to first build street credibility and then a street version to take sales and perception away from those Asian automakers in that sector? Any reason at all? When the Camaro is designed, make certain it has an independent suspension which will be more sophisticated than the Mustang to which it will inevitably be compared. Keep the Camaro’s dimensions trimmer than that of the Mustang. This will greatly aid its maneuverability in those inevitable magazine tests. Bring back the Buick Grand National but do not go retro and please use AWD.
9. Once a month, take out full page newspaper and magazine ads designed to educate the American consumer about how international trade policies are routinely abused by your competitors to the detriment of the U.S. automakers. You are well aware of trade policies which restrict overseas sales of American cars and the rampant currency manipulation which gives your competitors a leg up here. BUT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE LARGELY UNAWARE OF WHAT YOU KNOW. So tell them. No emotion. Just simple facts explained in layman’s terms and backed up by convincing empirical data. This is to be done routinely until everyone has the facts and a tipping point is reached where lights are shone on your competitors who have been hiding in the darkness of mass ignorance. See how Tom Stephens just had to take Lexus to task for bending the truth on hybrids? The reason Toyota is so comfortable lying in such a barefaced fashion is that they know the major non-car media which often reports on such things is inclined to believe them because both they and the public are often ill-informed of the facts. Tom’s points should have been in your monthly full page nationwide updates. It should then be repeated, along with other valid points like Lori Queen’s on Consumer Reports, until the public begins to distrust anything Toyota/Lexus and some of the careless media says.
10. In the same vein as the above, take out full page ads which talk about GM’s longstanding but relatively unknown commitment to the environment via all the practical things it has done and the company’s stance on gas-guzzler taxes for its cars. Which reminds me; ever hear the saying keep your friends close and your enemies closer? Donate a portion of every Hummer sold to a GM-sponsored project for saving endangered Elephants and Rhinos in Africa. Use Hummers as part of the project and enlist a high-profile environmental group to participate in the project with the clear understanding that they will have to appear in a Hummer commercial which talks about how GM and the Hummer made a difference in that cause. Let the rest of the Greenies chew on how on earth they will mount a frontal assault on that conundrum.
Bob, All of my adult life, I have purchased American made automobiles and wish to do so going forward. I would also like to say that I wish GM all the best in trying to survive the future. However, over the past 4 years, GM has made it very difficult to be loyal. GM lost me, when they put the black boxes in their vehicles. However, I did purchase a new 2003 Malibu and it turned out to be a piece of junk. I had to replace many parts on it long before I expected to and it started to cost me even before warranty ran out. I traded the car in after owning it 15 months much to my dismay, got nothing for trade in. I am currently driving a company issued 2005 Impala and like that car. The only concern with that car, that I have is the brake response (especially when cold); which I have been assured by two different service centers are well within manufacturer’s standards. But Chevy messed the Impala up rather quickly with the 2006 Impala. I recently rented a 2006 Impala for a week and was very disappointed in the stiffness of the gas pedal, the steering reaction; not to mention the blah interior and very disappointing dash board arrangement. Also on the exterior, there is not much difference in exterior appearance of the 2006 Malibu and Impala. Keeping in mind, I associate the Malibu to junk. Because of GM’s continued effort to screw up a good car like the 2005 Impala or the old Lumina which was also a solid car I am now a Chrysler enthusiast. One thing you can rest assured on, I will never go back to Ford…
Bob,
I worked at the GM Tech Center as an engineer for ~7 years. I had a great experience, worked with smart people, and got to work on some very cool technologies (XM Radio for one).
I now live/work in New Mexico. One thing that hit me right away when I moved out here is that people out here have a completely different perspective on cars than “we” do back in Detroit. I think people out here are an excellent barometer for what is going to be a hit in mainstream America. People in New Mexico are very picky when they go out to buy a car. And because the used car market does well out here, thanks to the Southwest being out of the rust belt of the US, new cars have to have that extra edge to win over people’s precious dollars.
I would suggest the marketing big-wigs working in the RenCen and designer hot shots working at the Studio take some trips out to this part of the country, and truly try to understand what people want or don’t want in their next vehicle. This market out here is great – it’s very diverse, and surprisingly there are a lot of car buffs out here (thanks to the year round dry and mild/warm climate). To boot, there is some stable financial growth out here –> should see a gradual increase in new car sales and associated buzz about good and bad products.
I’m convinced if you can make people out here consider stretching their finances a bit to pick up some new wheels, you’ll probably have a national winner. People in Detroit working in the auto industry have been living in a pipe dream – the engineers, marketers, designers, managers have no real sense of what goes on in the rest of the US with respect to making new or used vehicle purchasing decisions.
By the way, a lot of people out here were talking about the Camaro concept – if you can make it look like what was shown at the Detroit show, I think you will get some renewed interest in GM as a whole. Maybe then people will really look forward to that future release, even if they can’t afford the Camaro today.
Drop the GTO and any vehicle reminiscent of it – nobody really gives a rip about it thanks to its being based on the lame styling of the Monaro (sorry, I know that was your baby, and yes it has kick butt performance).
Mr Lutz,
I just saw the Lacrosse pictures on the GM-China website. It is a great looking car and needs to be in the USA – ASAP. It would cure your dumpy image problem for the Lacrosse in a heartbeat.
Please don’t let any marketing guy make the decision to use the new body only on the higher priced models in an effort to get people to move up. For every one that you get to move up, you will lose 10 to the new Camary. I’ll buy a CXL in the new body style the day it hits the street.
Bob:
So much of GM’s future lies upon it’s successes in the past. Hundreds of thousands of baby boomers are now spending $30k plus on restored GM “everyday cars” like El Caminos, SS396’s, Eldorados, Riv’s, and the like.
GM now has the technology and (hopefully) fortitude to make the CARS American men really want:
RWD V8 powered vehicles that have the performance capabilities of yesterdays vehicles with the efficiency of today’s technology (displacement on demand, E85 compatibility, Eaton electronic locking diffs). Another reader mentioned a V8 RWD Buick for around $40k, the Lucerne’s a nice place to start. Lenghthen the hood, and lift up but shorten the A-B-C pillars for a more aggressive stance. A DOD Northstar or 5.3 along with trac control and/or the Eaton rear end, a COUPE option, and people will stand in line at the BOP dealerships. You’ve already got the components, do your magic and make it happen!
Hey there. Why is it so hard to find a 9-2X in Seattle? I really like the look of it, and despite the fact that it may have a short life would like to understand why its so hard to find one as none of your dealers have them in stock….Lastly, are you commited to this vechicle?
Bob, all of the things you itemized on are great. Here is another opinion:
“interiors that look and feel great”
Leave the expensive gee-gaws for the Cadillac and maybe Buick line. No computerized heater controls or heated wiper fluid. Basic switches, controls that are quality, cheap, and functional. Get rid of the rattle-traps! A 2002 GTP sounds like you’re shaking a lunchbox full of Tupperware and utensils! (Plus the now-famous cracked GM leather) Quality not quantity with the interior!
-”distinctive brand identities (no badge engineering)”
If product lines must be reduced, go back to assigning one marque to one or two car lines/platforms with the appropriate trim for the marque and model. Special/Skylark/GS; Lesabre/Wildcat
- more exciting vehicles like the Corvette, Solstice, HHR and Tahoe, Corvette,…
Can you guys contract the Chrysler design studio? You must have accountants hiring the design people! Make them read car magazines and write book-reports on classic cars and hot rod designs.
Easy and cheap performance upgrades. (like turning up the boost!) A standard or optional bullet-proof driveline for performance upgrades. (power-train warranties will be less too!)
Open code on the ECM. Lots of good reasons not to wait for the aftermarket to reverse-engineer it.
Sorry, but the 03-04 Mustang Cobra was the 55 Chevy of the last decade. It hauls *ss with low-buck upgrades, despite the faults of the platform. It could have been even cheaper and more sturdy with a live axle. It’s everything the GTO isn’t, but it isn’t a style-guide by any means.
You have everything in your parts-bins for the power-train except the turbo V-8 (or at least 3800!). Had the Monaro/GTO been cheaper, and more easily (cheaply) upgradeable in power, it would still have sold with the milk-toast styling. Many people think the Monaro looked better than the GTO!
Keep the 3800! The mechanics love it, the public knows it, and you can get more power out of it with a few better parts if you want to (plus it’s paid for several times over).
Read Zora Duntov’s famous memo and update its intent. Americans love bolt-ons; with today’s technology it is the only way we can “bond” with our new cars.
Hi Bob,
Thanks for your comments on our comments. I’d like to take a moment here to… Comment on them:
First, lets take a look at the first turnaround at Chrysler: Coming out of the 70’s and into the 80’s Chrysler had a reputation for making really bad cars and trucks. Then the turnaround, largely credited to Lee Iacocca (though I’m sure it was more people than him that got it done) happened. Chrysler scaled down it’s product line. Began offering 7 year 70,000 mile warranties, and began making the cars that they sold on the same platform look and drive differently that each other. A Turbo Daytona for example looked and drove nothing like the LeBaron coupe that it shared it’s platform with. Why can’t GM use this same type of creativity to make a Grand prix look and drive like a performance car, while leaving the Impala better suited to the A to B buyers? I think that there is still enough imagination and innovation left at GM to make this work. SAAB is a wonderful source of engineering ideas that GM should draw on. Allowing them to make their own cars and use whatever parts they like or source new parts if GM doesn’t currently hae them, will leave SAAB as the black sheep company within GM. SAAB has always pushed the envelope with that can be done with a car. That should be preserved, not diluted with truck based SUV’s forced on them. Was GM afraid that SAAB might have used a Saturn VUE platform, stuck their own turbo V6 in it and made a Small SUV that embarassed the old GMC Typhoon? GM should be proud of advances like that, and encourage them from Pontiac and Saab.
I just have a quick comment on the upcoming Solstice GXP.
The Solstice is such a beautiful piece of art. I know adding a turbo required some facelifting of vehicle, but what’s with all the honeycomb grill. Especially around the foglight area. It really cheapens the look of the car. You don’t have to get rid of the inlets, I’m sure they are functional. But the honey comb grill around the foglights, would be best left off. The more inconspicuous you make the added inlet, and less noticeable it is the better. It will keep maintaining the look everyone has fallen in love with on the base model Solstice.
I know I know off topic.
Angus,
The 2006 model year inventory of the Saab 9-2X has just begun arriving in dealerships. This week, there are only three 9-2Xs in the State of Washington, one of them at Carter Saab in Seattle,
http://www2.saabusa.com/dealers/home/default.asp?dealerID=2028“>http://www2.saabusa.com/dealers/home/default.asp?dealerID=2028“>http://www2.saabusa.com/dealers/home/default.asp?dealerID=2028“>http://www2.saabusa.com/dealers/home/default.asp?dealerID=2028“>http://www2.saabusa.com/dealers/home/default.asp?dealerID=2028 and the
others in Fife and Spokane. As always, however, if a customer wants a particular model, trim or package, a dealer can always order the car and trim level. And, yes, we are committed to the car, and we’re pretty sure you’ll like it, too.
Jean Liu-Barnocki
Saab 9-2X and 9-3 Marketing Manager
Unfortunatly all American autos look like Toyotas as you see them coming towards you I see an Oriental face grinning at me with thoes Oriental headlights and grinning grills in the 50s you could spot a Chevy a mile away from a Ford or Toyota not today!
What happened to those sleek racy lines that made a car look like it was moving altho it was parked?
Look at your Cadillac with those boxy out of shape lines that look like an after tought my wife owns a 1996 sedan deville and it looks racy, the only problem with it you put cheap plastic parts that have deteriorated, but the price didn’t!
Are your stylists on drugs or have their brains become mush with no imagination?
Ford Motor Company has finnaly got the message with their new Mustang and Thunderbird that I plan to purchase.
GM wake up we old timers also use cars!
Dear Mr. Lutz:
I am in the market for a new car – as I am every few years.
GM is not on my list – and has not been for a long, long time.
Why?
Start with quality and durability. The car I’ve owned that I was most excited about buying was a 1985 Buick Park Avenue – which I ordered the moment I saw it. The car had a number of design flaws ranging from the infamous 440-T4 Metric transaxle to power window problems – and I experienced every one. Initial build quality was another issue – the “punch list” on the car was five pages long and took the dealership a week to get done.
The car’s replacement was a Honda. NO design prolems. Absolutely NO punch list items – on a newly designed vehicle produced in a start-up plant.
I’d love to consider GM again – but as long as I see GM products tagged with “much worse than average” quality and durability on a consistent basis every April in Consumer Reports, I can’t justify it.
Toyota and Honda’s quality superiority is no accident. It happens because quality is driven from the top down in their organizations – and because they use Policy Deployment throughout their organization to insure that it happens.
By and large, Toyota doesn’t build “dazzling” vehicles – they don’t seel the sizzle. Honda’s a little more of an enthusiast’s product but still not generally “dazzling”. They sell cars – and lots of them -because they address the basic reasons people buy them – reliability, durability, life-cycle cost.
GM needs to get past its internal bickering and start driving quality processes – yes, from the top down.
I see a lot of commercials for our products that talk about “Employee/Retiree” Discounts. As a GM employee I know I can get these discounts, but take a minute and think…What kind of message are we sending to our prospective customers who are not employee/retiree’s?
Americans like to think they got the best deal when they buy a product, especially cars. Is showing a better deal for employee/retiree’s on commercials that prospective customers can’t get,sending them elsewhere?
178 Suggestions and not one about your manufacturing – where Toyota is beating you in hours per car and defects per car! I just read a book called “Rebirth of American Industry” by some manufacturing guys that should be required reading for GM management. Stop worrying about Wall Street so much and start worrying about factories and customers.
In response to David Yarbrough’s above comments:
David, that Buick you speak of was 20 years ago. Things have changed for the better. Considerably so. Buick now wins quality awards from JD Power for Initial, and long term quality. Beating out such notables as mercedes-Benz, and your beloved Honda.
Also, please review Consumer Reports auto testing policy. After you do so, you will find that you really cannot put much stock in anything they write in their auto buyers guide. When you see a GM car listed worse than average, take a look at the last time they tested a model with that name (if they’ve even tested it). Their guesses are based on test results sometimes dating back a decade or more (as was the case with the last Camaro).
For the record, GM cars do have lower maintenence costs overall, as well as much better reliability than many of the “Usual suspects”. Case in point: I work with a couple of guys, and we each bought new cars back in 2004. One bought a Toyota Corolla, one bought a Civic, and I bought a Saturn ION. To date, the toyota has had three recalls or mandatory service items, the Honda has had four. The Saturn has had only one. now tell me, based on real world data, who’se car is more reliable?
Mr. Lutz
I saw the 60 minutes piece on GM and the Detroit auto show. You showed Cadillacs under blew tarps that I suspect are 2007 models. With the cost of gas going out of sight, are the Cadillac engines being tuned for 87 Octane? I believe this would be another selling feature. The price of 91 octane along with 24 or 27 MPG is not attractive.
Mr. Botchis,
Being able to use 87 octane isn’t much of a selling feature. ALL GM cars, and Fords, and Toyotas, and Hondas etc, etc, etc run on 87 octane. Cars, like the Corvette and others, which are tuned to accept premium fuels, just make more power, and get better gas mileage on premium than on regular, but they can still run on octanes as low as 87 with no ill effects.
Hey Mr Lutz,
I don’t feel like your car ads insert enought of pop culture in order to attract the Gen Y’s which are going to be a big market. Check Hollywood out. Jessica Simpson has brought back the Dodge Challenger.
Also, have you noticed the huge used market right now of vintage cars. I am thinking Pimp my Ride on MTV is driving a lot of this. Why not have cool ads, which show the transformation of the Impala from the 60s to the 00s…Baby boomers will relate with sentiment and would maybe buy an impala..
FYI…The design of the Malibu and Impala need some work…
G6 convertible is a great looking car. If it beats the vw eos to the lot I might get one. comparibly equipped the price is about the same so why would I take a GM over VW. Resale value? performance?Interior quality? I have owned a silverado, blazer,& coupe deville and grew up with a buick estates wagon and grand prix..but I want the most for my money, forget brand loyalty. Why would I buy a G6 when I can get more for a buck with a VW hard top convertible with sunroof. Plus the ford focus looks nice, I hope its not priced too much less…
All of this opinion of what is right and wrong for GM is fine but I have a simple formula for GM to increase sales and share. Here it is. Design a new Impala with eyepopping looks, quality and RWD. Engines ..3.9L standard…..5.3L Option and 6.0 for the SS. Advertise like crazy with good ads.
Next Gen Malibu…..make it hot looking with features and quality above everything in it’s class.
And help Pontiac out with an all new Grand Prix that is beautiful, unique and no rental car versions. I mean make it hot Hot HOT ! and performance to grab attention. Forget the GTO.
Bob,
GM is in trouble as you do not want to sell cars but trucks..watch out the “foriegner’s” are coming in and you will not be able to stop them.
We need GM not the government to take the lead on fuel eceonomy on trucks and bumber heights and rate them on the same basis as a car. Have you ever been hit by a SUV who’s bumber is 6 inches higher then the average car height, right from the GM factory….safety, fuel mileage with performance sells at what the average american can afford not a person who has no idea what things costs..get the hint.
If anything GM needs to run a “No Excuses” campaign.
-make the government start with UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE!!!
-Toyota is not really good for the country–their domestic content is about 40% instead of GM’s 80+%.
-80 year old veterans driving Toyotas in our town who think it’s OK to buy them since they’re assembled here.
-spending 25 grand (on average) of our own heart earned money on a product that, unlike a house, depreciates
-Bob you got a home court disadvantage.
-David Dunbar Buick was born David Dunbar Lexus.
-Mr.Lutz, go bankrupt, clean house, stop paying workers for no work, I also know you don’t read these posts,
-I’ve been reading the latest entries in your blog, and I have to admit that I think you guys are finally starting to get it.
-I see a big hole in the market I’d love to see GM fill.
-Did you know that some of the people employed there do nothing all day yet make $80,000+ per year?
-GM needs sharper designs and better quality.
-Comon GM, Think CORVAIR!
-How about a series of ads that acknowledge your past blunders and product shortcomings?
-many of these suppliers went bankrupt in their attempt to cut to the bone to support GM, Ford and Chrysler.
-it’s 2006 folks, wake-up and do not buy “American” if it doesn’t make sense for you and your family.
-Reorganize engineers into cross-functioning teams
-Now, you’d be surprised how many people think the average American is an idiot.
-work a deal with VW to sell the Phaeton in America as a Cadillac?
-problem even with GM cars is that so many parts are from other countries. Give the US suppliers all of the parts contracts and make every single part of the GM cars to be made in the USA and watch sales soar.
-GM doesn’t strive to build the best vehicles
-It’s treachery to let the U.S. go down in blazing flames, just for the sake of globalization!
-I wonder if there is a way to get buyers of Japanese and Korean cars to feel guilty?
-My friend’s sister works at the Marysville plant. Do you know that employee opinion actually counts?
-I believe GM should get rid of its union
-Unfortunatly all American autos look like Toyotas
—-Dear Mr. Lutz,
–as a GM employee, I can see how reading all of these blogs can be very interesting and educational. The blogs sure read differently when they are abbreviated and placed next to each other don’t they? I had to leave out a lot of interesting statements in order to make this (my) blog short enough. I can speak for everyone here at LGR in that we are all very busy and have no extra time. We are all working very hard and trying to make the best cars. Thanks. C.Brockhaus LGR electrician.
I really like the Chevy HHR, both exterior and interior, but I do not like the colour or lack of choice for the interior. If there is only 1 colour to be had it should not be Industrial Gray or Beige. This looks cheap, cheap, cheap and will not cut it. Toyota may be able to get away with it but they are riding on their favourable reputation which GM can’t.
Surely a charcoal gray or black interior can’t cost much more expensive from your interior supplier.
Toyota has launched a new LS at NYIAS and GM seems it has no answer to it.
GM announced it would offer hydrogen powered vehicles by 2010. What if a hydrogen powered Sixteen would be offered to market. The design is allready in place and was well received. The car is big, so the hydrogen powerplant doesn’t have to be packed so carefully as for a mid-sized car like Opel Zafira. Luxury buyers would also pay premium for a hight-tech gadget. These buyers won’t be so affected also by a lack of refueling stations since probably they will be pleased only to make a few spins with it.
The impact on GM’s image would also be huge.
Also, what if events like ‘March Madness’ would offer not cash incentives but warranty incentives.
For a month offer 2,3 more yrs of warranty coverage for all the cars. Sales should increase significantly for that month. After the offer ends, increase warranties on selected models by 1 yr to keep the momentum. This should help increase the resale value of all the models in range for a long term. In contrast with cash incentives wich decrease the reasale value, this kind of incentives would increase it, while helping sell cars. This will help shake the ‘lower quality’ image that some GM brands still carry.
I sure hope Pontiac’s advertising department gets a clue. I thought the silly names and black on black commercials (If they can’t see it they’ll want it?) were the pinnacle of futility, until I heard a radio spot today that chimed “Pontiac- fuel for the soul”. Leave it to the wizards at Pontiac to move away from “we build excitement” to something invoking a concern over fuel when gas is 3plus dollars a gallon and Pontica is nowhere near the leaders in the realm. Did Pontiac’s PR people come from Oldsmobile? Buick folks my feel more secure watching their brethren race headlong into oblivion.
I am seeing all these adds about E85 and GM vehicles which I think is a great option to pure gasoline. It provides a great benefit to try to reduce the dependence on foreign oil, although does come with the drawback of energy content. Why doesn’t GM offer a portion of the discounts to the buyer in form of a gas card that can only be used on E85? This way people will be inclined to try it, learn where to find it, and (even if slightly) reduce the amount of oil used.
I think you really have something with the new line of cars. I also do understand the concept of keeping them in the back until you push out the old models. However, I am dying to buy a new Tahoe and your hloding out on those of us who are just dying for your rebates. I ahve had three Pathfinders, an Armada, and my first car wass a Chevy II. I will gladly jump back in the seat of a Tahoe if this waiting game would hurry up and be over. This is your time to shine and the more you wait, the lower that market share goes. There’s a reason why 06 sales dropped so drastically, why would you puch all efforts and incentives on those when you have your saving grace sitting there. Thanks and I will be a GM owner, just want it to be sooner.
I own six GM vehicles from a ‘97 Malibu to ‘95 Impala SS and everything in between. I have been a loyal customer, but am having difficulty considering another GM product. Issues such as the 3.4L gasket leak are frustrating and drive customers away. Every vehicle I own has had seal or gasket problems early in it’s life. These type of quality problems should not occur…period. GM must require its suppliers/vendors to provide quality.
The Camaro concept was disappointing. I am much more excited by the Challenger.
Dear Mr. Lutz,
If I could ask for one thing for GM, it would be for someone at the top to take an active listening approach to your employees.
Give me the diagonal slice any day!!!
Get out there in the plants and find out what these men and women think.
I know there have to be many more like my husband who works 16 hours a day for GM…ones who believe in what they do and the company they do it for.
You may not be able to give them a raise but you could give them a voice.
And for goodness sakes, spend equal time on career planning for your younger employees as you do on retirement planning for the older ones.
If GM is to be here 20 years from now, who will be minding the store??????????
Mr. Lutz,
I am a 48-year old family man, married, two pre-teen daughters, and a loyal GM man. Although I have to tell you, sometimes it’s hard to remain loyal.
I agree with “R.Heimbach” above, with the eight GM vehicles from ‘97-’05. How could GM continue to use those notorious intake manifold gaskets until the 2004 model year? Even the corner-store mechanic for years has known how problematic they are. That type of thing is known by everybody who knows anything about cars, but GM kept on using it and ignoring the facts about it. People have a long memory about that type of thing.
I have an ‘05 Uplander. Looks great, drives pretty nice (except we hate the wobbly Goodyear Integrity tires). My pet peeve: Brake rotors that warp within the first year of ownership. Nobody but my GM dealer touches the lug nuts on my vehicles. They assure me they use a torque stick and torque all wheels evenly to 100 ft. lbs. I still get warped rotors. And this is with a lot of highway miles and a definite attitude against riding the brakes. I’ve had ‘06 Malibu rental cars recently with under 15K miles that have done it too. That’s a real GM quality-perception issue when you drive a car and it does that most-annoying brake-pulsation thing.
Thanks for listening, though.
Respectfully,
Bill Pressler
Nice work with the Cadillic car lines and the Corvette. To bad I cannot afford them.
Why not offer the same longer warrenties on the Chevy/Pontiac lines? My last 5 Chevys started falling apart at the 5 year mark. Thankfully I bought the extended warrenty.
Why are most of your vehicles made in Canada or Mexico?
Why not offer the Duramax in the new Tahoe?
How about a small Isuzu diesel in the Colorado?
After being a long term GM buyer for the last 25 years my last 2 new vehicles (2003 & 2005) have been Hondas, made right here in the USA.
Mr. Lutz,
For the record, I am generally very happy with my 06 Impala SS. Two exceptions; fuel economy is nowhere near the advertised 28mpg (20 is realistic, when “babying” it). I recognize GM is not the only culprit in the mpg stretching stories. Surprisingly, the biggest irritation I have is that I can not get Sirius satellite radio integrated into my vehicle. I actually prefer Sirius so much that if this is not resolved soon, I will not buy another GM product…I wouldn’t even mind PAYING to get an integrated solution!