I have have heard a lot about this issue lately and believe that
General Motors CAN and WILL turn itself around.

And I will use an example of how: Toyota.

Simple, isn't it??

#1. DESIGN ISSUES
#2. MARKETING
#3. LOWER LOWER LOWER PRICES - NOT!
#4. CUSTOMER SERVICE - NUTTIN'S PERFICT!

GM(and Ford and Chrysler) all design wonderful cars as far as I'm
concerned.  As such we should be whipping Asia's a.s sales wise and
service wise.  So why doesn't GM, in particular?

Because their prime focus is the bottom $line$.  NOT cars that last.
NOT producing lifetime loyal customers.  And, NOT fixing it right the
first time when there is a problem!

Again, there is NOTHING WRONG with what comes off paper design wise -
the problem is HOW THE DESIGN IS EXECUTED - wielded from a CAD drawing
into hard steel, glass, and rubber.

And GM is painfully guilty of this - cutting corners when translating
the design into a product for sale.  I'll compare the trunk space of my
Impala to that of my fiancee's Corolla.  The separator wall between the
Impala's passenger compartment and it's trunk space contains more holes
(perforations? knockouts??) than a spaghetti strainer.  Are these holes
for running power to accessories on upscale Impalas??  I seriously
doubt it. The Corolla?  Barely half the number - and size - of
openings.  The cabin on that little ricer is tight enough to pressurize
and fly the NY -DC express!

So explain the openings in the Chevy?  Simple - the less metal you
consume, the lower your costs.  Lower costs, at the expense of
structural integrity and a cabin that is as airtight as a WIND TUNNEL!!

Other cost cutting measures?  Not limited to Impala: using the thinnest
metals structurally possible to save MONEY - on panels, structural
members, even on door hinges and seat frames(Ford Escort) - Future
costs: Liability and settlement costs resulting from injury or death
due to those seats failing!

Using the thinnest recommended gauge of spark plug wires to save MONEY
-even though in the long run those plugs become carbon fouled sooner
than later because they don't receive all the spark they were designed
to handle.  Future costs: plugs that foul, detonate, damaging the
block, or need to be replaced 2x or 3x times more often than necessary.

Using cheap grade plastics for interior trim to save MONEY when
higher-grade safer composites are available.  Future costs: replacing
trim that potentially falls off, cracks, or otherwise damages too
easily, sometimes within the warranty period.

So how have the Japanese beat us at our own game??  By not doing the
things above - by building stuff right in the first place.  And of
COURSE that's EXPENSIVE!!  But that higher cost passed on to the
consumer will still be lower than the long-run cost to both the
consumer and the mfg. to bring cars back, and/or recall, to correct
some of the results of the mistakes I illustrated.

#2. MARKETING
For goodness sakes how many brands and segments and niches does GM
need??  I know this is gonna hurt, but how about having just 4 - FOUR -
Brands:

VALUE for the money: Chevrolet
PERFORMANCE: Pontiac
LUXURY: Cadillac
UTILITY: GMC Truck

F#&$K all the rest!! Have these four divisions FOCUS on their CORE
COMPETENCIES, what customers traditionally associate with them.  And
NOT on trying to be all things to all customers - logistically, it is
impossible to be all things: Costs will escalate, quality will plummet,
and sales will be lost.

We've got Cadillac and Buick building SUVs - what in the heck is going
on here people??  Did Hoover Vacuums become great by selling sidelines
of toasters and TOILETBOWLS??  Wake up!

#3. LOWER LOWER LOWER PRICES - NOT!
Constantly lowering prices, and offering "ZERO PERCENT FINANCING UNTIL
THE NEXT PRESIDENCY!!!!" and "BAZILLION DOLLARS CASH BACK ALLOWANCE"
are not the way to get the customer in the door, and into the bucket
seat. GM is not the only one here, either - all car companies trumpet
this crap all over evening TV.

Sure, a sale every once in a while is a cool incentive, but so is
having a product you believe in as much as you expect your customers to
believe.
To build an Impala - or Taurus or Liberty or Hummer - as well as a
Camry, X-Terra, or Sequoia, COSTS MONEY.  It also satisfies the
customer by lowering built in future costs - as described above.

And all the options in the world can't sugar coat that dose of common
sense. So stick your heated seats, heated steeringwheels, and self
adjusting radios and mirrors where the sun don't shine.

#4. CUSTOMER SERVICE - NUTTIN'S PERFICT!
sh.t goes wrong.  Doesn't matter if it's a Benz, a Buick, a Mercury or
a Toyota.  But less sh.t will go wrong if a good design is executed
well in actuality.

But for what does go wrong - back it up!  Don't just say
"Bumper-to-Bumper: 36,000 miles", and then tell the customer that the
bumper that is hanging on by a bolt on one side is "not covered."  FIX
THE PROBLEM PEOPLE - don't give us conditions!!

Also, and this relates to design and everything else - FIX IT THE FIRST
TIME IN!!!  How difficult is it to make sure everything is right the
first time a warranty or other repair is performed.  PAY ATTENTION -
Don't replace a defective oil sending unit and THEN forget to properly
tighten the drain-cock before returning the car to the customer!!

Don't just repair the faulty CD or cassette player and  then, upon
installation, forget to hook up half the speakers to the unit before
bolting it back in the dash and replacing the trim!!!!

IT IS SIMPLE sh.t LIKE THAT THE ASIANS HAVE US BEAT.  COME ON AMERICA -
YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT. Sure, you elected a crappy president, but at
least build quality cars and repair them properly.

whew!!

-ChrisCoaster