GM has been hitting the media hard with some really brazen marketing campaigns that they are not going out of business but 8 brands was just too much, that they are rebuilding and recreating a ‘smarter GM’ for tomorrow, yada-yada, gee haven’t we heard all their promotional lies before?
“Reinventing the automobile and our company” ??
“General Motors expanded its significant battery research and development capabilities today by opening the largest and most technologically advanced battery lab [b]in the United States[/b] on its Technical Center campus in Warren, Michigan. ”
Since when has the US been known for battery technology at all? Would it take a facility more advanced than a 7-11 store to actually be “the largest and most technologically advanced in the United States”? Not a shot at the US but seriously, since when was battery technology a strength of US manufacturing?
How about Germany, Japan, Canada? THEY all have massive battery technology development plants. Plants such as Ballard, Better Place are massive and have been developing the most advanced battery technology is MASSIVE plants, often in several countries at once.
“GM has the most models with 30mpg EPA HWY fuel economy” …based on 2009m “estimates”
(Of course that includes Saturn, Chevy and Pontiac brands combined).
“Best warranty in America”
While they have a LIMITED 100,000km/5yr warranty, the actual base warranty (which is not even close to being comparable to competitors) is 36,000km/3yrs. FAR below the standard others offer.
It just goes on and on, more garbage from America’s worst vehicle manufacturer to date.
In the 80’s we saw similar horrors from US manufacturers, GM and Chrysler. We were promised improvement through the 90’s. After Chrysler BARELY keept their heads above water through the 80’s, due to Iacoca’s decision to make K-Cars and Lebarons, Horizon’s and Luxury Dynasty’s from identical parts (just with a bigger tag for their ‘luxury cars’) they managed to stay out of bankruptcy and continue into the 90’s.
In the 90’s all the 3-5 year econo-boxes that were sold by them in the 80’s fell apart, including thei rluxury models that sold at nearly twice teh price but also used the same parts as econo-boxes.
Instead of improving vehicle quality, manufacturing quality and safety, as they had previously PROMISED the public, Chrylser went on a marketing campaign with cab forward designs of the Mitsubishi built Intrepid and the clone bodies that again used the same parts, whether an entry level model or top of the line.
GM stayed alive because of Buick and Cadillac products living on former merits which were selling well in the orient also.
But seriously, they are trying to show they are a good car manufacturer in TODAY’S competitive industry, while their past shows us just how well they have competed against the same companies in the past.
Onmi, Horizon, Firefly, need I say more? US manufacturer’s have failed the public and failed themselves time and time again.
Sure people have built lemons like that before, Ford had the Pinto, Hyundai had the Pony, but they BOTH came back to build some of the best in class. Hyundai’s Genesis has been voted car of the year by countless mags, industry shows, pros etc. It’s a Lexus at sub-Honda pricing. Ford now makes some of the most advanced and evolved compacts on the market, while STILL deominating the truck segment, as they always have, they were unstoppable in he midsize market with the Taurua, while GM was playing with mid sized pigs and Chrysler pushed cab forward marketing games in the 90’s too.
NOW, we are supposed to believe that this has all changed, GM’s failure to live up to promises or compete in the last 3 decades is to be forgotten, they are now new and improved. But all I hear are empty promises, judging by their restructuring promises, nothing is changing, it’s all just more of the same, smoke and mirrors with no actual substance to support it.
GM should e left to simply perish, they are not Ford, they are definitely not anything capable of Japanese competition or European cars.
I always understood capitalism as survival of the fittest, while I despise the practices of companies like WalMart, I still must accept that they are a result of capitalism, mixed with some questionable/unlawful business practices, but they initially got strong due to fair merits and fair business.
Why is it that GM, can fail, be beaten by FAIR competition time and time again, show that they are simply unable to compete or keep up to a market and then still get bailed out?
I don’t get it, it’s almost like principles are on a sliding scale for some. One company is justifiably closed due to competition, another in a different marketplace is bailed out to help when fair competition wins their share of the market.