[Colvindesign]

Originally Posted by trapin

Uhh....I wouldn't say we're in "big" trouble. We were in a bit of a downward spiral but are now coming out of it. Don't lopp us in with Ford...that's an insult.

As far as they're concerned, I'm worried about my cousin George...he's been there 16 years and has so far dodged every bullet they've shot. But I wonder how much longer he can keep it up.

The problem with domestic Automakers is more gray than it is black and white. I know I have popped off numerous times on this board and others about the perception people have about our cars. Japan has launched one of the most successful PR battles in this country over the past 20 years and our media has been all too happy to oblige them. They basically can get away with whatever they want and can absolutely do nothing wrong (at least that's what the media will have you believe). Case in point...the FJ Cruiser. Why isn't Toyota getting stoned to death for this vehicle the way we have been over HHR? Just look at it. If you don't see H3 in that vehicle you are blind as a friggin bat. Why aren't they being ridiculed, ripped on, and dragged across the coals? They did it to us over HHR, comparing it to the PT Cruiser. I'll tell you why they can get away with it......BECAUSE THEY'RE TOYOTA...THAT'S WHY. They can do no wrong....they're Gods....everything they touch turns to gold. I'll ask you to (once again) take a look at the Honda Element; praised to death in all the rags as a bold, risk taking concept that for a change is a different take on the SUV. You buy this car and you’re a smart buyer that knows quality and style when he sees it. Take the Honda badge off and put on a Pontiac V crest and you can flush all that praise and adulation straight down the toilet. Our media would have ripped that car a new ass, just as they did to the Pontiac Aztek.

Well, that’s enough. I no longer have the energy to argue this tired, drawn out debate about what’s wrong with our domestic car companies. We can't dwell on that crap. We have to press forward and continue to commit ourselves to delivering "must have" products with unparalleled quality. I am completely confident that the products we have coming out in the next 2 to 3 years will make us a force in this industry once again.

As a designer, I can see huge differences in those vehicles you mentioned (frankly all but the PT and HHR which might as well been designed by the same person). Honestly, the Element looks just ok, the Aztec.... well just look at it.

I don't mean to spark a debate over it, but subtle differences on the same model can mean sale or no sale to a buyer. The Fj is not close to a Hummer. Yes, it is a boxy 4X4, but stylistically I'd say it is a cross between a hummer and a Jeep, in other words faithful to the original FJ.

People don't always believe the media when it comes to taste. Look at movies. Box office hits have many times been criticized heavily by critics.

All I am saying on this subject is the buyer is the one who makes the decision in the end. They can be told something is ugly, or beauitiful but if they don't agree, they don't agree.

I do put GM and Ford in the same category, because both of them have failed to adapt correctly to the changes that have faced them.

Maybe the media has treated your companies unfairly. How about how your companies reacted when the media and the buyers were telling them from the late 70's through the end of the 90's that your quality was not up to par with the Japanese? So when they were telling the companies what the problem was, there was no one listening. On the other hand, Japanese companies have not faltered in offering good reliable products. So there they have the choice of favoring a company that offers a good product, or a company that offered crap for many years and acted like it could do no wrong, and now acts like everything is falling in on them and they don't know why (while the media all along told them what the problem was). The media was not attacking your companies when it said the cars were crap, it was telling them what the problem was. Instead of fixing it, all of them acted like they were being attacked by the media for no good reason and failed to listen.

It is black and white. Adapt effectively or you don't survive. It is not grey, it is not more complicated. That is what the problem is at GM and Ford, everything is too complicated. Putting a price point on every car that rolls off the line is simple, and tells the company exactly what can and can't be done.
I understand that the price point will change with volume and production line efficiency, but that can be factored in as well. And stick to it, if you only have 1m for advertising, make it count, but don't go over.

GM and Ford have commitees and panels and bean counters up the wazoo, instead of having a clear goal and going out and meeting that goal. GM has made strides and is on the right track, but still is overcomplicated and has failed to use it's best business plans to it's advantage to make an effective company wide change, like the Solstice business model, or even the GTO business model. The entire Solstice development cost less than the changeover from 1997-1998 for the firebird and camaro, which still used most of the same components. Instead of looking at that and seeing how that could be used to develop vehicles more efficiently, they go back to the normal way of developing products, by throwing money into it. Using the Solstice way, they can develop 5 niche vehicles that can be medium volume sellers (over 25k units) and be successful, for the price they usually spend on one that may sell 100k units in it's best year.

Sorry again I don't mean to spark a debate, but I too get going over this stuff.