On Q

You're not kidding. I was absolutely floored when I sat inside the new '08 Malibu. It was the first of all these new vehicles that I decided to stop and sit in. Boy, was I impressed!!!

The great thing about it, ironically enough - is that GM can't go backwards. You can't just 'stop' making quality vehicles, because you guys are still in the process of winning market share away from the Import companies, and because now; everybody knows that you can do it. Stopping would merit more bad press in a year than all the poor articles in the 80's and 90's combined.

So I and many others can expect even more wonderful vehicles coming out of GM in the future. It really makes me smile to think about it. I used to be Loyal to the company simply because I wouldn't buy an import. Now I can continue keeping that loyalty to GM, except it won't be out of spite, but pride. Thank you for giving me that.

Finally, the shameless comment: I can't wait for the Camaro!!! This quality you speak of, and the combined performance in ALL models boggles the mind. Talk about best in class - but it's more like best in the world. You guys hit a bases-loaded home run with that vehicle! Thanks for bringing it back!

Jamie Hresko: "Every day during this time, we used OnStar to do an on-board diagnostic test, which is similar to a daily check-up, to make sure that when customers get behind the wheel of the Malibu, they are completely satisfied with quality of this car."

Mr Hresko,

That's nice, but does On-Star detect rattles?

On my GMC truck, the single most annoying thing is a rattle inside a body panel. Perhaps the dealer could find it, but the labor needed to tear it apart would be exorbitant, and I have no confidence they could put it back together correctly.

Quality of engineering design and construction is obviously important as you state, but GM should also put as much effort into improving the quality of maintenance your dealer network provides.

A poor dealer experience can leave a bad taste in the mouth of the owner of even the most well-designed and constructed car.

Regards,

Gary Dikkers

It's a tough job.
I'm a lifelong GM cutomer and Fan,
so take me for an example. When I purchaced my home seven years ago I planned on buying a compact truck for commuting and home maintanance. In my mind the GMC Sonoma was an exellent choice with it's torquey efficient OHV four cylinder. By the time I was ready to buy my first, truck and new vehical,a 2007 GMC Canyon, GM had; allong with Dodge Toyota, et;all supersized it's compacts, and spent millions on an OHC engine line that looks good on paper, but looses driveability and ecconomy to the OHV's of old.
So dissapointed was I that I bought a second Vehical just to enjoy driving to work.
That second vehical an 05 Cadillac CTS with over 60 thousand miles on the clock, I bought it used from a rental agency, Scrached paint, and riped;cigarette burned interior I paid practicaly wolesale, not to mention that the style just changed.
Got to tell you, It's the most satified I've been with an automobile in my life. The 3.6 StCatherines V6 is phenominal 21mpg on my 5mile commute through trafic. Tourque,Power,Ecconomy, oh yes, and I forgot I hav'nt been able to corner like this since my 1988 Camaro.
If my Cadillac is any idication of how New GM cars hold up under abuse than my truck aught to last an eternety.
But annyhow back to my point, sometimes you get things fantasticaly right, and sometimes dissapointingly wrong, chalk it up to human inperfection and chance I guess, but It's you Job and you could'nt be called a professional unless you at least attempted to formulate a way to get it right all the time.
I think the answer is personal sacrafice.
This is what I mean.
Say you are desighning a car and you'r job is to stamp out unibody pallels. The engineering team says special steels and deep draw forming can save say 350lbs of of the car, but these mesures cost like $1000.00 per unit not including amortizeing the more expensive tooling; with me so far. Ok so as a manufacturing engineer you can stand to save $1000.00 per unit and look like a hero and get a rase, or you can stand with your friends in unitbody desighn and fight for somthing that will get you yelled at by the accountants, but may impress Motor Trend,the car buyer and the EPA, two years from now, after you've been demoted for waisting money.
Lutz won't be around for ever, GM needs to codify a culture of selfless teamwork, colective goal orientation. I'ts easier for T and H because they are less culturaly deverce, and T and H allso have their government's support.
I think GM can meet the challange though, and cultural divercity has proven a big plus in Lantan America and China, places were T and H have trouble getting traction.
Good luck
Me my Cars and my GM stock are on your side.
Ps
I am willing to sacrafice stock value for GM's survival and prosperity as a Manufacturer.

Jason

I have a 2008 GMC Acadia and am amazed at the quality out of the factory. However, as great as the quality from the factory has been, the dealership experience has been anything but. I took the vehicle in for an oil change and tire rotation. First, they took 2 hours and managed to put the tires back on the same wheels they had taken them off of (I knew because there was a pressure differential in the tires). Not only did they screw up the rotation, the missed a lugnut on the right rear and they didn't check the pressure in the tires before putting them back on. After I discovered this, I took it back in to the dealer who tried to charge me for the lugnut they forgot to put on my truck. Then, when I left the dealership, I discovered that my right front tire pressure sensor wasn't working. I have been so furious about the whole situation that I haven't taken the Acadia back to have that problem fixed. Quality may begin at the factory, but it ends when the customer sells the vehicle or trades it in and includes all of the "touchpoints" with the manufacturer (and their dealers). This is an area where GM still seriously lags the competition. Even my Chrysler dealer was better.

In what areas do you think you have made the greatest improvements in quality? Its one thing to drive a lot of miles with a lot of cars, but it is another to diagnose and digest what the data are telling you in a way that impacts the overall driving and ownership experience. Overall component quality? Durability? Integration of those components? Or just the way that it all feels - the tale of the driver's backseat.

I'm sure those are all really nice cars, but why don't you have more small vehicles? I see you sell "commuter" diesel cars in Europe, such as the Vauxhall Agila. Why can't we have that in America?

I've owned about six GM vehicles, but I'm heading toward a diesel Toyota Yaris if they ever sell them here.

Jamie,

I appreciate the efforts that GM is puting into improving quality. But I am sure you understand that initial quality and long term durability are two totally different things. I don't think GM will begin reaping the fruits of the intense work on improving quality untill someone who owns a Honda sees their neighboor keep their 2008 Malibu 7 or 8 years and 150,000 trouble-free miles. By trouble free, that includes power windows and radios that don't break, interiors that remain rattle free (with no drooping headliners), and engines that don't leak or burn oil or coolant. Transmissions that still shift smoothly, suspensions that don't creak, and in general, an ownership experience that has no more headaches than routine brakes, belts, fluid and tire changes.

Hi Gary,

what about turning to an alternative GMC-dealership? I also switched to another Opel-dealership, when I wasn't satisfied about 8 years ago. My brother moved to Florida in 1999 and purchased three Pontiac's in the meanwhile, also due to great experiences with his dealership (Sherwood Pontiac in Delray Beach).

His latest car is a G6 and I could agree with Jamie Hresko. When we did visit him several weeks ago, I even more enjoyed driving his car than the new Mercedes C-Class, which we recently had as a rental car, as we drove to the Netherlands (for my company).

An annotation regarding the Astra. A few months ago a German TV-car-magazine over here completely disassembled both, an Opel Astra and a Volkswagen Golf (Rabbit in the US) after 125'000 miles. Both cars had been driven by the editorial staff under similar conditions. Guess what? The interior-parts of the Astra still looked nearly brand-new! The Volkswagen's interior, in contrast, was showing wear significantly, plastic-surfaces had been peeling off, handles and the shifter looked horrible. This also shows, how underestimated Opel's quality is in comparison to many of its much more expensive competitors over here!

Jamie:

It's quite possible that you have the most important job at GM. Quality builds reputation, and reputation sells cars. I can't even count how many friends I have who drive Honda's. I ask them why they bought a Honda, and they tell me that they heard they are reliable and that they have good resale value. These people know little about cars. They don't know what Vtec is, they don't understand that other manufacturers now offer superior technology and better quality. They only know what they hear from other people, and unfortunately the masses still believe that Hondas and Toyotas are more reliabe that domestic nameplates. If the masses believe that a particular brand is reliable, people who don't know any better will buy-in to this belief and shop that brand. It's unfortunate that it takes many years for reputation to catch up to reality. Even though the new GM products rival Honda and Toyota with respect to quality, some of the poor products that GM produced in the 1980's and 1990's have been etched into the memories of consumers. I can't even count how many times I've heard an "I owned a GM vehicle in the 80's or 90's and it fell apart so I'll never shop that brand again" story. It'll take a while but if GM continues to improve quality the public perception will eventually catch up to reality.

Bill Holthaus,

interesting comment and for sure true words. The same what you are saying, referring to GM, is valid for Opel in Germany.

However, I think to a certain degree Japanese brands are overestimated in the US. Honda's market-share in Germany is about 1%, Toyota/Lexus holds roughly 3%, whereas you even have to consider that large European brands like VW or Mercedes repeatedly performed weak at our various quality-surveys. We also know people, who encountered several problems with their so-called German premium-products, nevertheless, in most cases, they stick to their brands. At the end I think this even might be a matter of patriotism to a certain degree, which the Germans may show stronger than the Americans, when it comes to cars.

hi Jamie! It's really an honor to finally able to contribute our ideas on quality. Now, if you would visit
http://www.worldcarfans.com/9080519.007/2010-audi-a6-first-to-receive-new-aluminum-steel-space-frame
and read an article titled "2010 Audi A6 First to Receive New Aluminum Steel Space Frame". Audi, being a technology leader, is able to use a new construction method resulting in 50% body shell weight loss and 50% increased rigidity. It's called ASF II.
Applying the ASF II to the heavy Audi Q7 SUV could save as much as 300 kg. It could achieve the same thing for Tahoe and Yukon too. Not just SUVs, it could also apply to cars and pickup trucks. Think of all the fuel savings that could be achieved. We could even make all cars RWD to achieve fantastic handling and performance. GM should form a technology alliance with Audi or Volkswagen.

Thanks for sharing the comments about the QA checks. I am not a GM buyer yet - waiting for volt.

I recently read an article that mentioned that Ford improved its quality the most. GM newer models were very good in quality bit was dragged by its earlier models. Toyota and Honda - esp Honda were consistently the best. So my point is GM has its work cut out for it.

Keep up the good work.

I'm with Bill. I have a Honda Odyssey and I have been extremely disappointed with it. The only thing I like is the engine power, but it comes at a cost of rotten MPG. That legendary Honda quality is either mythical or waning, or at best inconsistent.

My first car was a 1992 Saturn SL2 and I loved it to death (literally, 9 years and I don't remember how many miles, would still have it but needed more cargo space). It had road noise issues and interior materials quality was only fair, but it was a fantastic machine overall.

So think long term and keep steadily improving the quality, and the nay sayers of the 80s/90s will slowly diminish.

That said, I don't think GM is there yet. In 2006 when shopping for my last car the Saturn v6's and Pontiac just didn't quite have it. The Malibu didn't appeal at all, although Maxx's were all the rage. It was little things - quality of experience more than build quality, like audio controls on the wheel, that other makes had offered for years. Keep in mind there are different flavors of quality to contend with.

I would agree with Bill Holthaus about quality building reputation. My last attemopt at buying an American make was about 1984 when I test drove a minivan and it felt like I was driving in a tin box. The whole experience was disappointing, including dealing with a salesperson with an attitude because minivan were hot items. On the way home we passed by a Toyota dealership and test drove their minivan. What a night and day difference in the quality of the vehicle and the solid feel when I drove it. We drove away with a Toyota minivan. My last 3 vehicles have been 2 Toyota 4Runners and a Honda CRV because they are solid, quality vehicles (I have over 195,000 miles on my '96 4-runner I drive to work) and I expect to drive it for another year.

I will buy a GM product when it delivers a vehicle with true quality. Having rented a Malibu while on vacation last year, I see they have way to go yet.

"Having rented a Malibu while on vacation last year, I see they have way to go yet."

Teo,

according to all the stories from the media, such as numerous road-tests, I think you shouldn't compare the previous, last year's Malibu with the latest, award-winning model, which at least seems to be on par with its best contenders. Please, test-drive the 2008 Malibu and then post a comment here again.

"I will buy a GM product when it delivers a vehicle with true quality. Having rented a Malibu while on vacation last year, I see they have way to go yet."

This is nonsense. The mythology of import quality has grown so much that I can't take anything a die hard import owner says seriously. First of all, a bare bones rental car isnt the best way to evaluate a car brand or manufacturer. Secondly, GM interiors of late are as good or better than what is being put out by Honda and Toyota. The interior of the camry can't hold a candle to the Malibu's interior. Its full of cheap plastics, flashing and cut lines.

As for GM products not lasting for 6 or 7 years without problems I would like to note that my parents had an Intrigue for 10 years and just sold it. The car has about 96k miles on it and has had ZERO engine or transmission problems. The car had two out of warranty repairs in their last 7 years of ownership. The car has few rattles and the headliner is still in place.

I know someone who had a second year Mazda 3 that was built in Japan and the car had numerous repairs under warranty within the first 2 years of ownership. The transmission on the car was poor from the outset and the dealer was unable to provide any answers.

To not buy an American car based on an experience from 20 or 25 years ago is simply silly. A lot changes in 25 years and GM has changed for the better as far as I can tell. If people don't believe what the quality surveys and journalists say about GM's quality then what will they believe?

The best way to improve your car quality would be to force your executives to drive cars with 100,000+ miles on them. If all of your managers drive brand new cars--paid for by the company--for six months and then gets new ones, they never experience the frustration that real-world owners experience.

I say, go to the car rental auctions to supply your executive fleet.

In so many ways, this is just infuriating. It's still a case of GM saying it has improved its quality without reality to back it up. Yes, the new Malibu is an improvement over the old in quality. It begs the question I must always ask--why did GM build such low-quality cars to begin with that it now must tout the quality of a handful of hand-picked cars now?
Jamie, you are playing the same game as before (and hence losing credibility in my book). Essentially, you are telling us to forget how badly GM abused its customers, even when it said it was building quality cars (ie, the "Road to Redemption" campaign of a few years ago). GM begged us to forget and forgive, but when we went to inspect all the current product, there was little difference.
Teo has it right: buy a GM product only when the entire fleet has proven to have true quality. I've been in the showrooms and I've seen the cars you DIDN'T talk about. The quality isn't there yet. It's more of GM's dogma of build 'em fast and cheap and hope no one see how badly we pinched pennies.
I question a lot of the GM wisdom. You continue to push big SUVs at a time when gas is nearing $4 a gallon. The Volt is vaporware until it comes out, and it is a worthless solution for anyone who lives in an apartment building (ie, New York City, where it could do some good). I wonder how a board of directors can reward a management team that succeeds in producing the biggest quarterly loss in US history. With that as a basis, how am I supposed to believe the company that brought us planned obsolesence is now giving us the best quality cars?
My personal feeling is GM played the "trust us" card a few times too many and has lost its credibility.

Hello Mr. Hresko,

I bought a new 2007 DTS and I'm generally very satisfied with it quality-wise. There are only a few issues I have with NVH. At a stoplight, you can feel too much engine vibration through the steering wheel, pedals, and shift lever. If you place your hand on the instrument panel pad above the instrument cluster, the vibration is very pronounced. Also, the road and tire noise is still too intrusive although the car rides very softly and smoothly. Finally, there is still some wind noise at speed. I'm not sure you're the right person to address these concerns, but to me, NVH is a very important quality indicator. I'm going to be looking at another new (2009) DTS later this year as the pull-ahead program may allow me to trade cars early. I am also considering the Lucerne, Lincoln, and Lexus models. Will the next DTS be improved in the areas of NVH? Thanks very much.

Ken

Hi Sheth,

excellent comment. What many people also may forget: Japanese brands had serious quality issues in the 70s and 80s, either! My sister owned a late-80s Toyota MR2, showing corrosion, the carpet was completely coming off the floor at the passengers side and the cover (arm-rest) was lacking any fixation. In addition the starter motor had to be replaced after a short time. Just after a few years the fabrics of the seats looked worn, whereas the seats of my 2001 Alero still look nearly brandnew after more than 7 years and 80.000 miles.

My second brother used to drive Nissan's in the late 80s, both also showing corrosion and fatal powertrain-damages. Then, in 1996 he bought a brandnew Opel Corsa and did not have any repair at all until now, he just went to the dealership for maintenance. Only the battery had to be replaced in 2007 for the very first time, meaning it did last for 11 years. Yes, Japanese cars are better......and the Earth is a disk!

"Hope, however, is not active. It doesn't drive results."

Just as a PR point, I don't think I could disagree more strongly with those statements. To put it into car-talk, hope is essential, as it is the fuel that keeps all our good work moving forward.

And, in that, I have lost hope in GM. It doesn't matter how good the engine is without that.

I can't stress GM durability enough. An uncle of mine used to own a Buick Regal and always marveled at how it never burned a drop of oil between changes, even with more than 150,000 miles on the odometer. If GM's now improving, I can only imagine how good the company's cars are today; they were already exemplary 20 years ago.

All this blind veneration of Toyota and Honda is getting on my nerves. I owned a 1988 Olds Delta 88, a model from the heyday of GM's supposed dereliction, and yet it was a fantastic car. I couldn't have killed it had I tried to do so. When I finally gave it to my younger brother, the vehicle had more than 200,000 miles on the odometer and did not burn a single drop of oil between changes.

Despite this wonderful experience, I caught the import bug and purchased a used Toyota Celica (a '91 ST). I then purchased yet another used Celica after that (a '95 GT). While these cars have been more fun to drive (by virtue of being sport hatchbacks instead of large four-door sedans), their durability has been inferior to the Olds', a car that shared most internal mechanical components with Buicks and Pontiacs. Both Celicas have burned significant amounts of oil between changes. I've had to add a quart of Lucas AND a can of Restore Engine Treatment to my '95's 2.2-liter four cylinder at EVERY OIL CHANGE ever since the car turned 100,000 miles. That's not something I should have to do. Both Celicas, in fact, have been insatiable oil burners. I hate that. Furthermore, the '95's chassis has been horrible. I replaced nearly the entire rear-end suspension two years ago, and now the front end shakes on the highway despite the multiple visits I've made to different mechanics to replace various ball joints and tie rods; every time I fix one of these, everything's all better for about a week before I'm back to square one. A front end that shakes on the highway is my number one pet peeve of all, so you can imagine my seething frustration. As for the '91, that car's chassis felt like a go-kart's by the time I was through with the vehicle; for lack of money at the time, I lived with the situation.

Seriously, these Celicas have sucked. The only thing positive I can say about my '95 Toyota Celica GT is that it was fun to drive (albeit, much too slow for a car with its looks) until the front-end suspension began to die; now it's just a constant reminder of how much I hate it. Oh, did I mention that it's loud as all heck, too? I thought Toyotas were renowned for being quiet. In fact, I distinctly remember magazine articles from that era extolling all Toyotas' level of quietness on the roadway. My Olds was much, MUCH quieter; even my parents' Chevy Cavalier from 1985 was quieter than either of my Celicas.

To all those on this blog who post about horrible GM experiences: I challenge you to suspend your biases and really pay attention to your import vehicles from Japan. Do these cars of yours REALLY walk on water? If you think so, you're delusional, and lots of consumer research will back me up on that statement: Consumers often feel irrational affinities to their chosen brands.

These days, Japanese brands are running on fumes, and it's maddening to no end to this rooter for the home team. But GM can take solace in the fact that at least one consumer, yours truly, is returning to domestic brands after leaving them for the Japanese. Let's hope others follow.

Gereon,

Your point is dead on to the difference between Japanese and American car companies: Japan knew in the 1970's their cars were underpowered rust buckets (but hey, let's not turn the blind eye to the fact that every 1970's GM car rusted out just as fast if it didn't live it's whole life in Phoenix or L.A.).

The difference is, by the mid-1980's, Japan learned their lesson and began to build much better cars. I'll ask Jamie Hresko, if you were with GM at the time, what yours and GM's initial thoughts were of the 1989 Lexus LS400. The first Japanese luxury sedan with a big V8, rear wheel drive, and the suspension and capability to safely do 140 on the Autobahn. Think any Cadillac at that time had a chance after that? It was a game changing car, even for the Germans who owed that segment. Only just in the last 5 or 6 years have GM put a few Cadillacs with that kind of engineering prowess.

GM's no longer my ride as GM had no replacement for the Malibu Maxx (Chevrolet, you killed that one too soon), Then again, the otherwise nice Maxx had so many front end suspension problems I lost count of the shop visits (fortunately all done under warranty).

But I would be happy to sample GM's improved quality in the future, once GM builds a vehicle like the Subaru Forester or the Honda CRV.
The HHR, funky and relatively affordable as it is, has no AWD for bad climates. Still, Subaru has had quality issues, and only time will tell if the new Forester will prove more reliable than the Maxx was (unlike the Maxx, it has a turbo to give it trouble).

"The difference is, by the mid-1980's, Japan learned their lesson and began to build much better cars."

Joe,

you must be joking. My brother's mid-80s Nissan Stanza (mid-size sedan) had still NO power-steering and still NO hydraulic valve-lifters, which my father's 1977 Opel Rekord (after all, also a GM-vehicle) already had! After my father died in 2002, we of course decided to keep it. BTW, I am still using it for joyrides, in the meanwhile it has 284.000 miles on it and got a vintage-car registration, meaning significantly lower vehicle-taxes.

As I already asked that often at this blog: Why are Toyota/Lexus and Honda holding just ridiculous 3% and 1% market-share over here in Germany, although their cars would be so far ahead in quality as many people claim in the US.

"I question a lot of the GM wisdom. You continue to push big SUVs at a time when gas is nearing $4 a gallon. "

Can you explain what you mean by "push"? Your statement is typical of GM bashers who make baseless statements and pretend they should be accepted as fact. GM sells large SUVs just like Toyota and Nissan. They are not "pushing" them anymore than Toyota is pushing the Tundra or Sequoia. Unlike Toyota Gm has a hybrid system that works with large vehicles in order to improve their mileage. Toyota thus far has given nothing but excuses when asked why they wont adopt their hybrid system to their biggest guzzlers.

The Volt may be the highest profile GM project but its not the only fuel efficient vehicle they are working on. The two mode Vue is coming out this year and by 2010 the next generation of mild hybrids will be on sale. The of course GM is increasing their use of 6 speed autos, AFM and direct injection. You can deride the Volt if you want to but Honda and Toyota make announcements about future products all the time. Toyota has already issued statements about the next gen Prius and Lexus hybrid.

"In so many ways, this is just infuriating. It's still a case of GM saying it has improved its quality without reality to back it up. Yes, the new Malibu is an improvement over the old in quality. It begs the question I must always ask--why did GM build such low-quality cars to begin with that it now must tout the quality of a handful of hand-picked cars now? "

Can you provide any proof that GM has ever suggested the new Malibu is a huge improvement in quality over the old model? What GM has said is the new car looks better and has a better interior than the old car. They have never suggested the old car was unreliable and that the new car represents a quantum leap in mechanical reliability. You need to learn the difference between perceived quality and reliability. I have seen no evidence that the old Malibu was a poor quality car and thus the new car simply improved on the weaknesses of the old car by having a markedly superior design inside and out. If you are going to make accusations it would be nice if you had some basis for the accusations.

"Teo has it right: buy a GM product only when the entire fleet has proven to have true quality. I've been in the showrooms and I've seen the cars you DIDN'T talk about. The quality isn't there yet. It's more of GM's dogma of build 'em fast and cheap and hope no one see how badly we pinched pennies."

Hopefully GM execs have enough sense to ignore rants such as this one. Anyone with a shred of common sense knows that the oldest vehicle in an automakers lineup is likely to be its worst effort. If you went to check out Trailblazers and Colorados as a indicator of GM's current quality you made a mistake. 7 year old products are not state of the art for GM or any other manufacturer. GM's interiors are no worse than whats being put out by Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Mazda. Compare the interior of the Vue to the Rav4 or Rogue and then get back to us about GM's liberal use of cheap materials. The new corolla is a disgrace in terms of interior design and materials. The Cobalt has better materials and it has been on the market for 4 years. Cheap interiors can be found in most Toyota products including the Tundra, Avalon, FJ Cruiser and Camry. I thought the new Highlander had a nice interior until I sat in one and realized its not even in the same class as the Enclave. The Japanese brands continue to get a free pass from the media and blind American car hating brand loyalists who refuse to be objective.

Presently, GM is offering vehicles with better design, warranty protection and in many cases, better mileage than the Asian competition. The new Pilot is a classic example of the mediocrity being offered by Asian automakers and yet it will likely be given undue praise by the media and Honda fans. GM's crossovers are better looking inside and out, have more room, have more power, have more advanced transmissions and a better warranty while offering slightly better fuel economy. People have said for years if domestic brands built vehicles that were equal to or superior to the imports they would buy American. Those days are upon us, especially when talking about GM products.

Sheth,

Again, I reitterate that the perception of better Japanese cars will continue untill GM proves their cars run flawlessly for over 150,000 miles. All the initial quality stuff you talk about is great, and it's a solid first step for GM. But they MUST make their cars more reliable in the long term, and do whats required to increase resale value. A friend of mine just sold his 1998 Accord 4 cylinder for $5000 - with 141,000 miles on it. My Mom could only get $3500 for her same year Buick LeSabre with 82,000 miles and in pristine condition.

I appreciate all of your comments on quality. Clearly, you get it. Feel free to share with family, friends and whoever you meet on the street! I just want to chime in and comment on some of your comments. There is a common thread woven in the comments and let me tell you I cannot agree more, dealership – sales and service – experience is very important. We work with our dealers to help them provide the best level of service, the best experience possible – whether that experience is in the showroom, in the service bay or even online. While not perfect, GM has some of the best dealers in the industry … but, don’t take my word for it, click here … Believe me, when you feel otherwise, you let us know! And, we’re glad you do. We use your feedback – good and bad – to help us improve. In fact, I’ve been known to surprise dealerships with a visit to see how things are going.

What else is in the equation? Well, there’s real quality, which speaks to the tangible elements – does my vehicle start every time? Is everything in working order at 100 miles as well as 100,000 miles? Is the ride smooth? Am I only hearing the noises I’m supposed to hear? When I say GM is improving, I’m not just flapping my jaw, or in this case, pounding the keyboard. Plenty of our internal data suggests this – but since it’s our own data, that’s not a solid external reference. So, I encourage you to check out third party sources. This is tricky, because sometimes, I have to follow the rules. In all honesty, many times, without a contract, I can’t point you directly to all third party sources, but I’m sure you know who they are. I’ll start you off with two… just this week, Strategic Vision announced its 2008 Total Quality Index findings and AutoPacific announced its Vehicle Satisfaction Awards. In both studies GM performed well. Is there room to improve? Absolutely.

Now, another part of the quality equation is perceptual quality, which speaks to the intangible elements such as the look of the materials, the fits and finishes, the sound the door or trunk makes when it closes. We’re focusing on all of these things … and more! The important thing to remember is that the conversation between you and me is just beginning and I’ll be back.

Wait, before I sign-off … Ken, I’ll be in touch.

~ "This is tricky, because sometimes, I have to follow the rules."

I'd think you'd have to follow the rules all of the time.

The Astra is DOA, importing it from Europe and not from Mexico. If you consider the the labor cost, it's a no brainer. Do you really think those Aveo buyers care where the car was made? I understand that you are actually closing a plant in Mexico; that is insane. With the move to smaller cars because of CAFE and the $4 gas prices, the difference in currency values, I think building or increasing production of small cars in Mexico for export to the US would be prudent.