And Now for Something Completely Different...

I found it this morning, and the site looks fantastic. I'm going out on a limb here, but is this the replacement for GM Insiders?

What a blast. This is going to be fun!

Absolutely beautiful piece of design work. On top of that, the way in which the topics and blogs are displayed is really well-done.

As I've mentioned a few times, I feel GM has one of the best corporate web sites out there and truly understands the importance of growing an online audience. They say that the internet is now the 5th most common form of 'entertainment'. By embracing that potential, you're on the right track.

Now back to my own design work. Thanks for the inspiration!

So now where do I go to tell you to build the Velite???

Dear GM

I was in total shock when I read about the cancellation of the ultra engine program. The way forward is not to run scared every time some one throws a challenge your way. To be truly succesful is to accept those challenges and prove the naysayers wrong. Give the people what they want. Give them thier high tech high performance V8 Engines and rear wheel drive Impalas and thier ultra luxury Cadallics.Give them their six speed automatics across the boards and however many speeds it take to meet and beat the compertition.Give them all of this and still meet and beat the mandated gas milage. You don't hear the compertition cancelling big V8'S OR ultra luxury vehicles.By cancelling these programs or threating to cancell them you are telling us that you are not willing or you are not able to compete with the rest of the industry. Eighter way it doe's not speak well for your future. You have tons of talented people working for you. Let them loose and let them meet and beat the challenges thrown to them. Be it getting the best real world gas milage in the industry across the board the best stopping,the best handling,the best,rideing,the best interior,the best looking exterior,the best built,the best warrenty. In other words whatever the compertition can do you can and must do better.By whining and saying you can't do this and you can't that and dropping programs and plans left and right. You are conceding to the compertition. You have done this too many times before. That is why you are in the position you are in, Trying to catch up and struggling to stay afloate instead of being the dominating force in the auto industry that you should be. When you change that can't do attitude to a can do attitude then you will make a beliver outof me and everyone else who doubted you. Check out what the compertition is doing to meet these goals. Then go out and prove to the world that not only that you can do what they do but that you can do it better.

Christopher Barger said: "And Now for Something Completely Different...

Mr Barger,

How about something really different?

It would be a tremendous step in customer relations if you were to make that information available to us. It would be beneficial to have a hotline to call with maintenance and operations questions (as most computer companies do), as well as being able to easily contact the zone managers when we have a dispute with our local dealership's service department.

Best regards,

Gary Dikkers

Great! I have always appreciated the channels of communication GM offers its customers and concerned consumers. This is another great step. Thank you!

The words are heart-warming and almost brought tears to my eyes. GM is finally listening. You are finally listening to us and what we have to say about what we want and don't want. I not only think that you are heading the right direction, but you are going to succeed in this highly competitive industry. Keep up the good work GM! BTW, please change the interior of the Camaro.

Its very encouraging to see a company as vast as GM, devoting so much time, and energy on its fans/critics. Hopefully (with a little help from us) GM will continue to dominate domestically, as well as overseas, for the next 100 years. On a side note, I think your right Nate.

LOL i just posted yesterday that you should use V6 engines for the Camaro, and i read it today on worldcarfans.com that you discontinued the new V8. It's an excellent decision. V6 with direct injection and twin turbochargers can boost both horsepower and fuel efficiency while reducing engine weight by 200 pounds. The Cadillac 304 hp DI V6 would be perfect if it offers cylinder deactivation because it will boost fuel efficiency further.
Next step would be to team up with Daimler, BMW, Porsche-VW to use more aluminium in cars.
Aluminium can reduce car weight up to 45 percent. Each 10% reduction in vehicle weight results in 6% reduction in fuel use.

Read it again Ghent. It's the next gen northstar program thats getting the axe. The LS series is still going to be produced, including the camaros v8.

Yeah Chris, and hey while your at it how about giving us Bob Lutz home phone number! Jeeezzzzzz, Gary I think there are men in white lab coats looking for you.

Mr. Dikkers --

Something tells me you don't own a GM vehicle yourself, which makes me wonder how you obtained such precise readings on actual vs. claimed Malibu fuel mileage -- ostensible, that is.

Maybe a friend of yours (who obviously doesn't value your opinion on cars) bought a Malibu and experienced this mileage on a trip.

Or maybe you just made it up.

Best Regards,

Brent Skinner

GM has a place to email about your Corvette or SLR. http://www.bowlinggreenassemblyplant.com/

Frank said: "Jeeezzzzzz, Gary I think there are men in white lab coats looking for you."

Frank,

Men in white lab coats, eh? :-) (In some circles those would be fightin' words. As they used to say in those old cowboy movies, I hope you were smiling when you wrote that.)

Of course, it would be silly for them to publish Mr Lutz's telephone number, but you really see no value in GM starting a 24/7 call center that those who buy GM cars can call with their questions about vehicle operations and maintenance? (I'm still looking for an answer to why a brand new 2008 Chevrolet gets only 22.7 mpg at highway speeds when it's EPA highway rating is 29 mpg. Does the engine need tweaking? Does the computer need to be reprogrammed? Or do I need to drive at 15 mph less than the speed limit to achieve the rating the EPA gave it? Will GM issue a replacement car that will perform to specs? If GM had a hotline, I'd call and ask them.)

A bold stroke enhancing customer's relations

I contend that establishing such a customer service center would be a stroke of customer relations genius that would profoundly demonstrate GM's commitment to customer service and backing up the quality of their vehicles not just with public relations platitudes, but with action -- real experts that GM customers can reach for straight answers to their maintenance and operations questions.

The Butterball hotline model

Almost every cook in the country has at one time or other called the Butterball turkey hotline. Roasting turkeys is actually pretty easy, but what a brilliant stroke of customer relations the Butterball people made when they established that hotline. Butterball Hotline
Every cook knows that if they are in trouble on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, they can pick up the phone, call that hotline and turn out a perfect turkey the next day. Why can't GM learn from the Butterball model?

Contact with zone managers

The same would be true if GM made it easy to contact their zone managers. Haven't you ever wished you could pick up the phone and call the zone manager's office when your local dealer's service department starts giving you the runaround?

GM needs to continue reaching out to potential customers, and making it easy for them to decide to buy a GM cars. A 24/7 service center hotline certainly wouldn't be the sole decisive factor in convincing someone to buy a GM car, but it would be a refreshing breath of fresh air showing GM's continuing commitment to customer satisfaction.

Warm regards,

Gary Dikkers

I have a great idea for GMnext, Chris. You can open a section for the current GM car and truck owners to submit their applications to join focus groups that will determine the next Malibu or Silverado. The study groups can determine the look, interior, transmission, drivetrain, price range etc. of the next Malibu. You really should get your customers involved in your product planning which will determine the potential market and the desirability of the next car and truck that you are gonna make. You could whether the next Malibu is RWD, what options will it have, what kind of active/passive features, whether it will have cylinder deactivation etc.

There's also a study by B&D Forecast that sees Opel 2008 unit sales in Germany declining by 15,000, mainly due to the company's aged Astra model as well as the competition through the new Fiesta of Ford Motor Co and Volkswagen AG's new Golf model. You should update the Astra to a two-tone interior for both Opel and Saturn version.

I also saw a concept picture of Opel Omega which GM cancelled in 2003 and i have to say, it is fantastic! It looks just like an S Class, a RWD luxury, executive-class sedan.
It's perfect for Saturn because Saturn may need to get upscale to lift its image, and broaden its appeal. It's disadvantageous to stay being a niche forever.

Its hard to get over the fact that GM missed a huge opportunity to do good by dropping the Saturn's EV1. Had they the foresight, I'm sure 1 out of 3 city workers would be driving an EV1.

If GM brings back the EV1, I'd be hooked for life.

No stick shift option for the G8?

That's something that needs to be completely different.

You can't build a performance sedan to compete with BMW and then force enthusiasts to use a slushbox.

I mean seriously, who is it in GM's design/product planning department that hates GM so much?

There's enough problems GM faces from outside forces, the self-defeat is not helping.

I'm very excited that GM is offering this site. I hope though that GM can more interactively associate with people leaving feedback. From things like discussions with actual engineers, and way of submitting customer ideas (with maybe even the possiblity of compensations) to getting feedback when ideas are implemented that work. It is my opinion that the future of cars (especially at GM) is dependant on just this sort of discussion. I think GM needs to work on better advertising, better marketing, and better customer feedback. Also they need to educate customers better on the reality of new or promised technology. Additionally send some engineers (and talent scouts) out to listen and find things that work and don't work. As an example I was a car show over Thanksgiving (2007) and saw the new CTS. It was pretty nice. But the GM reps there had no clue about the cars really. Half of them were paid models and spokespeople for some marketing company. There was not any great way for GM to get feedback on the cars directly. Additionally when asked questions few answers were to be found beyond what the web page offers. To me thats a critical thing in selling the public on a new product. For that matter if it isn't being done I would think a training seminar on the new cars would greatly help sales. The sales people selling them should know the car inside and out, technically and non technically to the point that they sound like car aficionados. Additionally when good comments are posted, why not follow up on them. Every blogger posts their e-mail address. Why not drop an e-mal and say "GM read your comment about ____ and would like to find out a bit more about what was said and why"

I would be willing to bet that most people out there would love to hear from GM and would be more then happy to provide more feedback. For instance, I would hope GM gets and takes feedback on the interior of the new CTS. Its quite awesome but still needs some refinement. There is no reason this can't be done for 2009. Or how about if customers want to request features on cars. I hope GM catches the drift of what I'm saying.

The blog sites are exciting and the new site even more exciting. The next step in exciting is to more directly interact with your bloggers, who seem to care enough about GM to put their time into writing. Once again keep up the great work!!

I would also like to add to my last post that there is no reason that GM can't bring unfinished vehicles to autoshows and test drive events. I would love to see GM bring new cars with a few of the engineers to get potential customer feedback and criticism before they are released. As I mentioned before I think GM has a lot to gain by doing this.

I read in the paper that Rick Waggoner is going to speak about the driverless car of the future today. I used to think that the people who ran the big three were smart enough to realize the mistakes they were making and would ultimately rectify the problems. I have now come to realize that this is an optimistic assumption. The car that drives itself will ultimately become a disaster for Detroit. The driverles car is going to destroy the love affair that many people have with their cars. When one can no longer drive their own car the relationship with the car will change. The car will become a transportation appliance. A refigerator on wheels. Why would I pay more money to buy a Camaro or an upcoming CTS coupe if I loose the driving relationship with that vehicle. Why would I get excited about a car if I am going to take a nap or read the paper while I travel. Eventually the government will decide that it is unsafe for individuals to pilot their own vehicle
People will stop caring about their cars. When this happens sales will drop. If GM pushes hard for the driverless car they are ultimately cutting their own throat. It is the shortsighted policy of people who dont really like cars. GM needs to be run by people who like cars. People like Bob Lutz who appreciate performance and styling and who understand the love affair one can have with a car.

One suggestion to add to all the others. Create a secure customer website where we, teh customers, can track special ordered vehicles from allocation to delivery - without having to hound teh dealer each week for info that they may not have downloaded. You want us to sign up anyway for a my-gm account anyway, let us get started te day we order. Of course with no orders being taken (only tagging of HAL's determined production scheme)for the G8 it would be excluded.

I found it this morning, and the site looks fantastic. I'm going out on a limb here, but is this the replacement for GM Insiders? - HotCarNut

I was invited to GM Insiders, and they even gave me a nice stainless steel travel mug, but I haven't heard anything since. So I'm guessing that this might be a replacement for that.

GMnext is about having a global conversation and we’re interested in hearing from all of you – from die-hard gearheads to casual car consumers, from supporters to critics. - Christopher Barger

I think it's great that GM isn't censoring the posts on GM Next or on the blogs, like some of the people here think you should do. These blogs have made me, for the first time, consider buying a GM car. I wouldn't be asking for a 40 mpg car from GM if I wasn't considering them.

So, GM bloggers, keep up the good work. And if the engineers need someone to test a two-mode diesel hybrid Astra, I'm your man.

It was a sad day when the car you bought from the American dealer down the road, was completely foreign.

It's sadder when the car you buy from the American manufacturer of cars, is completely foreign.

I'd just like to add a HUGE congratulations to GM for putting out the 550hp CTS-V.

It's been over 60 years since we've stuck it to the Germans like that. Way to go!

I would like to propose that GM conduct a study of rear seat belt use. I recently sat in a new Malibu right rear seat and was hardly able to buckle the seat belt. I also have had this problem in most of our vehicles. I am only 5'7 in 165 Lbs so my size is not the issue. This is a safety issue and does need to be addressed. I have suggested this to Troy Clark on his blog but have not received any reply.