Poets Might Provide an Answer

PJ O'Rourke's article in The Wall Street Journal, Saturday, May 30th, The End of the Affair presents some not-so-obvious ideas about GM's failures.

"Politicians, journalists, financial analysts and other purveyors of banality have been looking at cars as if a convertible were a business. Fire the MBAs and hire a poet. The fate of Detroit isn’t a matter of financial crisis, foreign competition, corporate greed, union intransigence, energy costs or measuring the shoe size of the footprints in the carbon. It’s a tragic romance—unleashed passions, titanic clashes, lost love and wild horses."

In the timespan that GM fell from profitability, cars have gone from passion-producing machines to "appliances" used for "dreary errands," as O'Rourke states in the article.

We won't "out-Japan" Japan when it comes to economies of scale, and creating reliable, basic (if unexciting) transportation, but when it comes to connecting with buyer passion, Detroit has a record it shouldn't walk away from. I don't know anyone who has written a spirited song about a Camry, Accord, Altima, or Mazda 626.

O'Rourke's idea to hire poets seems as good a place to start as any.

GM problem is not (ONLY) cars

When you are in an industry where repeat purchase is in «years» rather than days like bread or yogourt,if you fail, you are in for a long ride before seing your customer back. If I skip 2 buying cycles because you did not treat me well, you have lost 15 years «of me».
I bought an Alero and had problems starting «day1» up to my ears, the dealer owner in Montreal said, «you are too difficult to please, go get your car fixed in another GM garage». Ha! Ha! Ha!
It was in 2002. Since then, I bought a Mercedes and as gas went up and my niece complaint that I was a typical polluting «boomer» I bought a Hyundai. GM? Did not get a penny from me since then and , sorry Bob, they won't get me as a customer unless they drastically change their way to look upon the jerk that a customer represents to their eyes. Even if I was a «stockholder» by obligation as it is your case in the US, I would not encourage an industry that does not respect customers. The cars is a minute fraction of their problem, the dealers and the «top» has their head in the clouds and they can't see down because of the clouds. I just got a letter thanking me for being a GM client, hey, we are in 2009! I wrote tens of letters to GM back then, to complain and the result was the same as putting my letters in the shredding machine. Now,M. Arturo Elias (real name?), president of GM Canada is scratching my back and thanks me of my support? They need a CRM tool as my letters have to be some where overthere.They could have excluded me from the massive «seduction operation». I hope your tax money will not be wasted, same for mine as Canada has poored money in GM also. Sad, but true and I bet I am not alone in this case.

With GM when it is bad, have no doubt, it can be worse

After my note sent yesterday and posted,thank you; I thought the story was over. What else could happen? This! To day I got a letter from «my» GM dealer «le relais Chevrolet» proud to announce me that they were picked to continue as a GM dealership (with the job they do, wisdom should have told them to close that dealership first) and they will continue to offer the service I have been used to!!!!! Wisdom would be not to offer the same service. And, no I am not used to it at all.
To make a story short, my name and the names of other unsatisfied customers should have been withdrawn from these mailings. The conclusion of the president (M. F. Verdy)of the dealership: «be assured that our priority will always be the satisfaction of our precious «clientele». By the signee, this is the same person who told me to get my car fixed elsewhere while still garanteed. Nice 2nd start. They got money and are taking back the track that took them nowhere before...Not a change in the place they see the customer in the business equation.