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Automotive News & Views What if you were in charge of GM?
874 messages, Last post on Oct 28, 2009 at 10:20 AM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: fintail (Aug 31, 2009 9:06 am)
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Replying to: lemko (Aug 31, 2009 9:08 am)  ....but I suspect something could be done with a W108 style car. The SL is kind of retro too, it has a lot of old subtle styling cues. But yeah, if a design could be hatched with some of the presence and dignity of the past, I would have an eye on it. I'd also like a "retro" car in terms of sturdy build quality and lack of technology for the sake of technology. I don't need 14 computers to determine the angle of my seatback.
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Replying to: fintail (Aug 31, 2009 9:14 am) If anything, GMs lagging technology has hurt their image. Doubt that? Look at the two GM brands that enjoy some prestige---Corvette and Cadillac---both are easily the most hi-tech in the product line.
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Aug 31, 2009 9:16 am) But yeah, GM hasn't been a tech leader in a long time, and when they were leaders, they were always "almost" there (airbags, FI, etc) and didn't complete the job (but in both cases, MB did). If GM could get away with it, I suspect they'd still be using carbs in their mainstream cars today.
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Replying to: fintail (Aug 31, 2009 9:27 am) |
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Aug 31, 2009 9:49 am)
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Replying to: fintail (Aug 31, 2009 11:40 am)
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Replying to: tj6968 (Aug 31, 2009 12:28 pm) |
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Replying to: imidazol97 (Aug 30, 2009 5:05 am) Nevermind all the problems foreign cars have had.... The manufacturers of some car lines have been able to extend their reputation earned or gained in one period by careful advertising and with pushes on their image.... The higher profit in the purchase price they were able to glean from eager customers helped make that possible as a secret warranty system that US makers couldn't do or didn't want to do due to their higher costs of manufacturing. OK, there's some truth in all of that. The market may have some irrationality, but so what? It is what it is. Undoubtedly most Americans would *prefer* to buy American brands. If they have chosen to NOT buy American brands, they have been driven away in spite of their desire to buy American. And THAT is very telling as to the poor quality of the American products. For each of the problems of the foreign brands, the reality is that MORE people have been driven *away* than driven *towards* American brands. No amount of frustration will change that. No amount of feeling the unfairness of how hard it is to regain customers is going to change how the market works. Where were all the MBA's at GM who didn't realize that a reputation is easy to lose and hard to regain? This is the market and that is how it works! How does GM advertise to change the image and minimize the impact of the lobby of those trying to make the new GM fail? 1 - First of all, GM needs to prioritize great products over advertising. The way this question is worded presumes that ADVERTISING is the answer, and that is wrong! We've been hearing about the Volt and 3 kinds of hybrids for about 4 years from GM and they still have only *crap* in the hybrid space! They have one decently competitive mid sized sedan and NOTHING at the entry level that is remotely competitive! There's been so much apple pie and motherhood from this company that any sane individual wants to puke! Put some of that advertising budget into THE PRODUCT! 2 - GM products have been improving, but don't expect 30 years of junk to be won back with 3 models! This is a marathon, and after running one mile you don't say "where is the finish line"! How about running 25 more miles and doing it well? (In this case, come up with 25 more models that are very good to EXCELLENT). At this point, it is "call back in 5 years and show good progress" and "come back in 10 years and show you have done it". Like Hyundai. Not like GM, yet. Hyundai's crap reputation peaked probably in the late 80's or early 90's. GMs crap reputation probably peaked in the early 2000's. They are running about 10 years behind Hyundai. 3 - It's really unfortunate that they did not change their name at least somewhat. "New GM", "General Motor Company", something connected to the past but with a clear message that this is different. IMHO that is MORE important than more motherhood, Chevrolet, and apple pie. Tell us you are REALLY different now, GM. Tell us with your name. And tell us with your products. All of the above is MHO. But it's likely to be a much better approach than Wagoner's. I only need $3 mill a year to start, a real deal. 
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Aug 31, 2009 8:30 am) Ford seems to be doing OK. And how's Mini doing, anyway? Of course, GM seems to be addicted to the past and they're doing terribly. Last night they had that Sierra commercial on that said nothing about the Sierra..just talked about how GMC equipment built the Interstate, and Route 66, and the Kennedy Space Center, so of course so of course you want to own today's GMC that has nothing to do with all of the heavy equipment they provided for those projects, right?
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