It doesn't address all of the issues some of us have, but it's a start.

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp on Monday unveiled an unusually frank advertisement acknowledging it had "disappointed" and sometimes even "betrayed" American consumers as it lobbies to clinch the federal aid it needs to stay afloat into next month.

The print advertisement marked a sharp break from GM's public stance of just several weeks ago when it sought to justify its bid for a U.S. government on the grounds that the credit crisis had undermined its business in ways executives could never have foreseen.

It also came as Chief Executive Rick Wagoner, who has led the automaker since 2000, faces new pressure to step aside as GM seeks up to $18 billion in federal funding.

"While we're still the U.S. sales leader, we acknowledge we have disappointed you," the ad said. "At times we violated your trust by letting our quality fall below industry standards and our designs became lackluster."

The unsigned open letter, entitled "GM's Commitment to the American People" ran in the trade journal Automotive News, which is widely read by industry executives, lobbyists and other insiders.

In the ad, GM admits to other strategic missteps analysts and critics have said hastened its recent decline.

"We have proliferated our brands and dealer network to the point where we lost adequate focus on the core U.S. market," the ad said. "We also biased our product mix toward pick-up trucks and SUVs."

But GM also says in the ad that it was hit by forces beyond its control as it tried to complete a restructuring earlier this year.

"Despite moving quickly to reduce our planned spending by over $20 billion, GM finds itself precariously and frighteningly close to running out of cash," the ad says.

A failure of GM would deepen the current recession and put "millions of job at risk," according to the ad, which also highlights the automaker's pledged restructuring and intention to begin repaying taxpayers in 2011.

GM spokesman Greg Martin said the ad was an attempt by the automaker to present "a pledge directly to the public."

"We believe we need to deliver this commitment unfiltered since quite a bit of media commentary has not kept pace with our actual progress to transform the company," Martin said.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut who is central to the effort to craft an auto bailout bill, on Sunday said GM should replace Wagoner.

GM says Wagoner has the support of the company's board.

(Reporting by Kevin Krolicki, editing by Dave Zimmerman)

http://www.reuters.com/article/domes...rpc=22&sp=true

 

pics?

 

Taken a bit out of context that pretty much means the F-Body sucks. I mean this constructively, as they did not separate those designs that sucked and those that did not.

Those manufacturing plants that were competitive and those that were not.

 

I am glad they are acknowledging their issues. GM applied for federal aid under the premise that the "credit crunch" was going to put them under. They knew they couldn't go to the Feds and ask for cash because of their product quality and lineup, and past financial decisions. I'm fairly certain the Feds saw right through that, hence the big "NO -- Come back when you have a plan for viability." So, they scrambled for ideas and are working on it, and for that, it looks like there's some immediate money on the table for relief. Possibly more once the immediate trauma is dealt with.

I think this is a good start. As much as I've loved certain GM products over the whole 26 years of my life, I've always felt like quality was lacking. (You can't argue with how I feel, so let's leave it at that).

If GM is able to come up with a plan, and get their a-game back on in the CAR making business, this could be very very good.

 

I look at that with a mixed reaction. Public acknowledgment of poor management/decisions and an apology are good things.

But where is some tangible short-term change that indicates a true commitment? In other words, why the hell hasn't Chief Executive Rick Wagoner resigned already? It might be a token gesture (and might not), but THAT'S how you acknowledge you screwed up. You resign your post in the hopes of someone better picking up where you left off. If this were a Japanese company, you can bet your *** that the CEO would have resigned well before the point GM is at now.

 

They already did something fairly similar to this 4.5 years ago with their "Road to Redemption" campaign.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...57C0A9629C8B63

 

That's the first thing I thought of when I read this post.

I seem to recall that the Road to Redemption apparently is a journey that lasts only a few weeks In all seriousness, it's a campaign that could have become a bit of a rallying cry for the company and its consumers had GM stuck with it, but I guess more important things came up - like Red Tag sales.

 

I think out of that we got the new Malibu, work on the Volt, the upcoming Camaro, the Astra, the new GMT Tahoe, and Solstice/Sky. The company certainly didn't transform itself though.

 

First thing I thought of too, and they stopped it quickly too when they figured out it wasn't doing them any good.
So in reality the letter about them trying to change their ways is pretty ironic since they didn't even learn from their recent mistake on these types of campaigns.

How about an ad that says if you're a whiney little hippy go hump a prius but if you got a set between your legs get in to something with some HP.

 

"How about an ad that says if you're a whiney little hippy go hump a prius but if you got a set between your legs get in to something with some HP." <<< Now there's an ad I could go along with. NOT sure it would do them much good, but I love it!

 

This sounds exactly like what they've been doing the last 30 years. Doesn't appear to have worked very well...

 

Have you not been paying attention to the G8 campaign?

 

"Most powerful in it's class" is only part of the picture. And for the non-performance enthusiasts out there (which outnumber "us") it's even less important. The entire car needs to follow suit, and that hasn't always been the case for GM. The Camaro being the example that is best known to us. I think it's that for which GM is apologizing.

 

So are they going to offer free extended warranties to make up for their admitted poor quality?

 

The only difference between this and the Road to Redemption campaign is that they have some vehicles that are worth buying... now hopefully they can figure out how to make a compact car worth buying (LNF cars aside).