GM — Into The Second Century At Year 101
There is a very strong probability that a reader of the Tribune is an automotive enthusiast, otherwise it is pretty unlikely that you would be following along with this gear-clashing chaos that is breaking out between Detroit and Washington. Today the top story in the Wall Street Journal and the Nightly News have the lead story about Mr. Wagoner being let go by Mr. Obama. From the Tribune’s position that makes total sense because reflecting on history associated with the Titanic, just ask yourself if Captain Smith would of deserved a bonus for hitting the iceberg? Well, Mr. Wagoner’s company has continued to lose about 1% market share since he became CEO in 2000.
Last month the Tribune reported about the GM crisis.
GM’s Board of Directors is also in the same, deer in the headlights, mentality. There have been some strong personalities, such as Jerry York, but using a consumer product mentality for a car will not incrase sales.
Commemorative Edition of Automotive News
Your Editor thought it was appropriate to include a few photos from the September 15, 2008 Commerative Edition of Automotive News which had 100 articles that documented the 100 years of GM, titled at the bottom of the page How General Motors Changed the World. That statement is absolutely correct, GM has changed the World.
Looking at the graphics points out the GM slide or plunge. I keep reflecting back on attendance at the Annual GM Shareholder Meeting a couple of years ago. There was no sense of urgency or crisis. This basic fact, no sense of urgency or crisis,is why GM and Ford are two entirely different companies and Ford gets the credit for recoginzing that they were going down and they had to drastically change.
Where is GM going now. Washington is going to re-cast GM. Could that be bad or could that be good? The Titanic after impact with the iceberg then … the rest of that story we know. GM must be re-structured and it needs a new Board of Directors. Re-structure and new Board are tall orders but that is the only way GM can return to profitability. Some strong and accomplished personality types could help right now including: Lee Iacocca, Roger Penske, Mike Jackson, Bob Lutz, Bill Ford, Henry Ford III, Kirk Kirkorian, Jerry York, Brock Yates, and Csaba Csere who recently left Car and Driver.
Roger Penske – CEO and Jerry York – Chairman would be the optimal executive group. There would be no shortage of real leadership and with the rest of this successful group hard at work then “Government Motors” would have a real shot at taking on Toyota.
Olds Cutlass Supreme T-Top with Badge Engineering
Where does GM go in the Next 100 Years?
With proper leadership GM can 1) return to profitability, 2) produce cars that the public really wants, 3) deal with legacy costs, and 4) deal with dealer network. A quick look at the Toyota model points out a successful direction to pursue. Hopefully, GM’s cars built by looking at the Toyota model will be more exciting.
As a GM product line, Saturn is on the ropes. There are some strong players that would like to acquire Saturn. It is only appropriate to recognize that Saturn has some really great product on the dealer’s lot today. Unfortunately, the public either does not know it or the public is not interested in buying the cars, hence the sales slide.
On GM product blunders, there is the Pontiac Aztec which was voted one of the 50 Worst Cars of All Time. Many of us in the automobile industry said that there could never be another Edsel which had been recognized as one of the biggest automotive failures of all time. We felt that with the proper marketing and media budget there could never be another failure like the Edsel. However, the Aztec proved us wrong.
1985 "B" Body with Badge Engineering
Why did the Aztec prove us wrong, should you ask? The Aztec had the opportunity to build on decades of successful failure associated with Badge Engineering. However, the Aztec broke the mold for bad design; not necessarily a bad car, but a bad design. Some badge engineering cars look good including this 1985 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
Badge engineering can be seen in GM dealerships by looking at the Chevrolet Vega and Pontiac Astre in the 70’s. Then there were the J Cars in the 1980’s that included Chevrolet Cavalier, Pontiac Sunbird, Olds Starfire, Buick Skyhawk, and Cadillac Cimarron. Additionally, GM did the same badge engineering to virtually every car type they produced. The same front wheel drive chassis was badge engineered for all 5 GM divisions. For the customer or enthusiast to point out that only minor trim differences existed between Chevrolet and Cadillac products was an observation that never made it to the 14th Floor however this observation was made every day on the showroom floor.
Buick Riviera Convertible Classic Style
If a Higher Power could intervene on behalf of GM and bring back a few additional Board Candidates definitely on the list would be Ed Cole, Harley Earl, Zora Arkus Duntov, Henry Ford, and Walter P. Chrysler. This is a very diversified group. Lee Iacocca would be in charge of the Director Introduction Meeting.
2010 Camaro RS
For GM to be successful going forward the business model must make sense and the company must produce cars that the public wants. With Washington in the driver’s seat then there is a very real possibility that GM may never again produce cars that are serious excitement. They may be great reliable cars that people buy lots of but with no real driving passion … sort of sounds like Toyota. Earlier in this article the Tribune concluded that the Toyota Model was important, for a number of reasons.
Good Luck GM, 100 years in the record books. You have to get through year 101 if you are going to make it through the second century,
