Hypothetical situation I've been thinking about.

Suppose you have are in an enviroment and situation where it's just you and a GM executive. You have 30 seconds of his undivided & uninterrupted attention to talk or opinionate about anything you want to.

Who would you want to talk to for those 30 seconds, what would you talk about, and what would you say??


***Note: Get abusive, foul, or stupid and I'll have security throw you out.***

 

Tell him that putting out the #1 product in every single market segment is the only way GM will survive and regain market share. There is absolutely nothing wrong with GM that class leading(NOT COMPETITIVE) product will not solve. The problem is if GM can deliver the goods.

 

It would be Scott and I would stick him with a truth serum and say "tell me everything about the next Camaro!" I would also be holding out a tape recorder so people would believe me and not raise the BS flag.

 

Smack them around for the first 5 seconds, and spend the next 20 explaining the first thing you learn in marketing is that it's the product stupid! Then spend the last 5 seconds smacking them around again.

 

Been there, done that. Try going to Milford instead, crash dummies have more sense.

 

The Rick:

In 22 seconds, completely off the record, tell me why you believe I should hold on to my GM stock.


I do like Casey's idea though!

 

i'd prolly just punch him in the mouth, which should give me my remaining 27 seconds to run like hell before security shows up to make me disappear

 

Sheez... looks like security is gonna be working overtime on this one.

 

After I have beat the crap out of him for the first 10 seconds, & taszered w/ 30000 Volts for the next 10 seconds, I'd tell him to start making better cars or I'll stick around for another 30 seconds!

 

This is exactly what GM needs, but they need more than that. The product has to have excitement behind it. The vehicles need to be STYLED, not just designed. They have to have a personality.

American vehicles have traditionally been vehicles that people are pasionate about. There are very few GM vehicles now that people are pasionate about. GM needs vehicles that people will fall in love with. That is one of the reasons the 300, the Mustang, Corvette, and even the Camaro are so successful. These vehicles have a personality. People used to name their cars because of this. They connected to them. You don't want to be competitive, you want to be unique. You want people to ONLY consider your vehicle because they fell in love with it the first time they saw it.

Do not use clinics to design cars. There is a saying that you can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time. However, with GM's resources (divisions) you should be able to come damn close!! Each division should be devoted to pleasing a certain segment of the population. If each division has the same cookie-cutter cars, you can't do that.

Randy

 

I'd let him know that he's lost me. I'm no longer excited about what GM has to offer. I don't think he'd care though.
He'd probably consider me the minority, or defend what they've done, like many do around here.

 

I'd tell them to make cars that everyday people can afford, that make people say "WOW! this car really stands out", instead of the usual GM cars that fade into the background of public awareness.

 

I would recommend that GM do what Toyota did 40 years ago. Copy the leader.

They should buy one of each of Toyota's models, take them apart, put them back together and build a clone of at least two of them. I'm dead serious about that.

And, so they don't buy cheep parts or second grade built components, there should be a business case to justify the highest grade components or don't even try.

 

Yup.

 

I'd say the success with Cadillac needs to be copied for EVERY division.

Chevy needs to make the best Toyota **** possible by offering a better warranty (5/60 + 10/100 like Hyundai). Bland styling is ok, but it needs to have a touch of class. SS models should add gfx and honking motors...which I think the new SS line successfully does.

Pontiac needs to make the best Nissan/Mazda *****. G6 is on the right track, but needs more passionate handling and the 2.8 HF should be the standard V6...Ecotec is fine for base. Make cars that exude sportiness and quality.

Saturn? Make it like Scion. No, really...it'd work.

Buick? Crap, I only have 30 seconds...

GMC = Leave it be.

Hummer? ??????? ????????? Why did we do that again?

Saab = See above comment for Hummer

Olds = Make a direct copy of the '84-'87 442, stuff an LS2 under the hood and bring it to market for $25k Make it crash test, and throw it back out there. The Cutlass Supreme was the best selling car for years for a reason!!!! I miss Olds...