Organic Mutant

GM CEO Rick Wagoner apparently just learned that product differentiation is key to success in the auto biz. On the heels of the disastrous and pathetic GM ‘Sport Vans’ (nee minivan reskins), the guy had the gall to admit just that::

If I had a chance to rerun the last five years, we probably would have done a little more thinking about making sure that each product was distinctive and had a chance to be successful.

Excuse me, but if the CEO of my company publicly admitted having not thought enough about how we were to achieve success, I would expect his resignation the next day. It is preposterous and it is embarassing. The rhinoplastied minivan rehashes were release a little over a year ago, labeled ’sport vans’, and marketed by Chevy, Pontiac, Saturn, and Buick - all with exactly identical sheet metal and interiors. Each brand got it’s own grille and front bumper, but were otherwise indistinguishable.

Personally, I was embarassed just looking at them; I can’t imagine the shame GM workers and dealers must’ve felt. Such a blunder were the vans that two of them have already been announce for cancellation (the Pontiac and Buick versions). Why the cancellations? No sales. GM - which commanded almost 28% of the US auto market just a couple of years ago, is now facing the prospect of just 20% market share.

Having been an fan and follower of the car industry for 20+ years, the only thing about this situation that surprises me is how long it has taken for GM to fall this far. Because the fact is that GM’s modern vehicles have quality and competitiveness that their predecessors could only dream of. But in the end, the poor product they’ve been churning out for the past quarter century is finally coming home to roost. People who have been screwed one way or another by their Chevys, Pontiacs, or Cadillacs over the past two decades no longer feel the pull of the ‘buy Amercian’ sentiment that was once so strong. And with their neighbors, brothers-in-law, and co-workers so satisfied with their Hondas and Toyotas, the lure of a happy car ownership experience is too strong to deny any longer.

If GM had spend the past twenty years truly caring about the design and integrity of their products, they would not today be faced with the prospects of junk-rated debt, shrinking sales, and potential bankruptcy. Instead, they would be reaping the loyalty and residual good will of millions of satisfied owners. Instead, they let short-sighted financial marks guide their decisions. And still today, they are anchored by a CEO so out of touch with the realities of the car business, that he only now can realize that his customers are not blind fools, and that they actually deserve a product with integrity designed-in, not slapped on via a grille insert and 2-cent chrome badge.